Washing the Master’s Feet

Washing the Master’s Feet

This Sunday at CDC, we were privileged to have our own Pastor Richard give the message on “Washing the Master’s Feet”, on the famous passage of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus.

Six days before the Passover, in the house of Simon the Leper, a feast had been given in Jesus’ honor. Martha was serving, and Jesus, Lazarus and His disciples were reclining at the table. And then Mary came to the Lord. In her hands, she held a pint of pure nard, a very expensive perfume, and poured it lavishly on Jesus feet until the house was filled with fragrance. And she wiped his feet with her own beautiful, long hair….

It was an unprecedented act, unthinkable of any woman in those days. But Mary did not care. She loved Jesus and worshipped Him the best way she knew how. She did not care what the other men thought, not even what her own sister and brother would think. She only thought of Jesus, and expressed all her love for Him.

Pastor Richard at this point shared with us three lessons that we can learn about worship from Mary. Firstly, Mary bowed low before Jesus. She came to Him knowing He was Lord and worthy of all reverence and glory. Secondly, Mary was bold. She was willing to suffer ridicule and shame because of her love for Jesus. Thirdly, Mary was extravagant and generous. No worship of the Lord can be too extravagant or generous. When we worship the Lord, we must not hold back, but give all that our heart stirs us.

Pastor Richard said that there are three kinds of givers. The first giver is like a flint. One must strike it hard just to get a few sparks and chips. The second giver is like a sponge. One must squeeze it hard to get out any water. The final giver is like a honeycomb, overflowing with honey. We were challenged to be like the honeycomb, giving freely and generously to the Lord, whether in offerings, service or worship.

Judas had a far different spirit. He said “Why this waste of perfume?” To Judas, Jesus was not worth it. He had not grasped that Jesus was Lord, King of Kings and no sacrifice could be lavish for Him. Jesus was worth EVERYTHING to Mary. Who is Jesus to us, really? Is Jesus really worth it? Is Jesus really worth it? Would we be able to give of ourselves without counting the cost for Him? Judas’ calculating mind immediately estimated that the perfume cost a year’s wages. Could we give up even 10 months salary to the Lord?

Pastor Richard shared that “Kenosis” means to empty, and many times, he had his fellow servants at Kenosis emptied themselves for the Lord’s work, and each time, the Lord showed Himself faithful. They saw miracle after miracle.

Jesus said “She has done a beautiful thing for me”. In closing, we were exhorted to examine ourselves, to see if were doing anything that Jesus could call beautiful. Jesus is worth all our sacrifice. Jesus is worth all our extravagance. Jesus is worth all that we can give and more. God bless, Jason 

Walls of Jericho

This Sunday, we were privileged at CDC to have Pastor Richard give the message on the famous story of the Fall of Jericho from the book of Joshua Chapter 6. Starting off the message, Pastor Richard brought us to the place where it happened, trying to capture the emotions of the people as they marched round Jericho again and again for days, and in silence. The people of Jericho must have laughed at them, thinking these people odd or insane. One wonders whether any stones were thrown, whether any arrows shot. Perhaps, the people were just too curious to see what this strange ceremony would lead up to. It was never done before and it would never be done again, but the result of that famous march is of course one of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen. 12-15 feet high walls crashing down altogether, pandemonium as the Israelites rushed into a shocked city. Just like the Titanic sunk, the great walls of Jericho collapsed.

The people needed faith to be obedient to Joshua, but miracles were not new to them. They had seen so many in the desert, they truly believed that anything was possible for God and we too need to believe that anything is possible for God! It does not matter how high our walls of imprisonment, how treacherous and huge our mountains.

However, we should well realize that before Joshua’s great victory, he first had a very powerful encounter, an encounter with the Lord. The man with a drawn sword in his hand, the commander of the Lord’s army, spoke to Joshua from the Lord Himself. Many scholars are sure that the commander of the Lord is actually the pre-existing Christ Himself for indeed Jesus Christ is the commander of the Lord’s army.

The main point of the whole message was to focus on this key word – Encounter. It is the basis, the foundation, from which we can have any true lasting victory in our lives. Joshua encountered God, he listened, he obeyed, and he was victorious. It is the same for us, we need to encounter God, to listen to Him, to obey Him, and then be victorious in Him.

If we don’t meet God, how can we listen to Him? If we don’t listen to Him, how can we obey? But how many of us truly set our hearts on meeting God, often and always? Much has been said about the great importance of the personal Quiet Time, and indeed, that cannot be emphasized enough. Christianity is not about a set of rules. Following rules in our own strength can get us nowhere. The most important thing is our heart, our desire to know what is God’s will. The Bible teaches us to live, but we can only truly understand what the Bible means if we know God and spend time with Him. We need to read, to listen, to pray, to seek God. As Paul says, God is not far from us. We only need to reach out and find Him.

All around us, there are many walls of Jericho in our lives - Walls of greed, walls of sorrow, walls of pride, walls of immorality, walls of racism. There are so many walls of sin, walls that reflect our shame and our failures.

Again, the key is the Encounter. As we continue meeting God, continuing to seek His face day after day, we will see these walls come down one by one, as the commander of the Lord’s army goes before us, to make straight paths for us. The Lord told the Israelites, “You need only be still. The Lord will fight for you”. And He swamped the Egyptian army into the Red Sea.

In closing, Pastor Richard led us in singing “Be still”, and indeed, may be learn to be still, to seek God, and encounter the joy and blessing of knowing our Savior. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Sheep and the Goats

The Sheep and the Goats: Pastor Richard Lee

This Sunday at CDC, we were privileged to have Pastor Richard Lee share on the passage “The Sheep and the Goats” from Matthew 25:31-46. With dramatic pictures taken in the course of his ministry with Kenosis home, it was a very real message that opened our eyes to the incredible needs out there in the world.

Pastor Richard began by pointing us to the life of Jesus. Throughout the course of his life, our Lord spent most of His time among the poor, the sick, the lowly, and the despised. He freely mingled with beggars, lepers, paralytics, tax collectors and prostitutes. He availed Himself to all, regardless of their physical conditions or status in society. Being God Himself exemplified, our Lord Jesus showed the great heart of compassion God has for the poor and needy especially.

The parable tells us of a time when the whole world will be judged by the Great King. He will separate the people to two sides, as a shepherd separates sheep and goats. The sheep are characterized as those who have been kind to the poor – the hungry, the thirsty, those without clothes, the sick and those in prison. The goats are simply characterized as those who did not help them….

The sheep will receive their reward of eternal life while the goats will go away to eternal punishment….

In the book of 1^st John, the apostle candidly tells us “The man who says I know Him but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4. In another part of Scripture, Jesus warns that many will say to Him on the last day “Lord, Lord, did we not do this and that in Your name?” And Jesus will reply “I never knew you, you evildoers”. Only we who do God’s will can enter the kingdom of Heaven, and being kind to the poor is certainly a very important aspect of God’s will. 

For much of the sermon, Pastor Richard showed us the terrible suffering that drug addicts are going through in the streets. They inject their bodies until there are no more places to inject. Sores cover their bodies as many die agonizingly from full-blown AIDS. The leg of one man was so badly mutilated by drug abuse that a pencil could go through as easily as going through tofu. It is hard to think of suffering worse than these people go through.

Yet, amazingly, our great God miraculously rescued Pastor Richard from such a terrible life and continues to use him mightily to save many from the jaws of death.

In closing, Pastor Richard exhorted us to open our eyes and try to look at the world around us differently and act to make a difference. Behind every poor beggar and dying drug addict, our Lord Jesus is there….. Whenever we are kind to someone because of Jesus, we do it for our Lord Himself.

May the Lord  indeed help us obey His will in our care for the poor – and learn to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give clothes to the needy, take care of the sick and strangers, and encourage those in prison. God bless, Jason

The beauty of Forgiveness

The beauty of Forgiveness: Pastor Richard Lee

On Sunday at CDC, we had the honor of Pastor Richard Lee preach on the beauty of forgiveness.

To be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison, yet there is something even sweeter, to forgive …………..

Based on the principle that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”, likewise, to forgive is far greater than to be forgiven.

Immediately after our Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in the majestic Lord’s prayer, he exclaimed:-

 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15

It is the calling of every Christian to forgive – it is our most important basic Christian quality. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven - this is completely clear from the Words of our Lord.

Furthermore, it is our calling not only to tolerate our enemies but to love them, and to pray for them. In the most supreme example for us to follow, our Lord Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him as He suffered intensely on the cross beyond what any human could imagine. God forgave us when we were his enemies, sacrificing His own Son on the cross that we might be reconciled to Him!

In the parable of the unmerciful servant, we are told the story of an unmerciful servant who refused to forgive his fellow servant although he himself had been forgiven a far greater debt. In judgment of him, his Master declared:-

“Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. Matthew 18:33-34
And Jesus declared as the conclusion of the parable:-
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:35

Bitterness and unforgiveness damage the offended much more than the offender. Sleeplessness, high blood pressure and various health problems are all related to bitterness and unforgiveness. A revengeful heart will only destroy ourselves. Indeed, life, peace and joy cannot reside in an unforgiving heart. And when we forgive, we should do so as soon as possible, before the sun goes down in our anger.

Pastor Richard told us the story of a poor, bitter lady who tragically contracted HIV from her own husband, and was severely mistreated by her parents-in-law. To provide for her children, she became a prostitute, and in her bitterness, sought to infect as many as possible with her deadly disease. As she lay dying in bed as the disease ravaged her, a Christian social worker came to her and shared the forgiveness of Christ which was available for her. Touched that all her sins could be forgiven, she accepted the Lord, and miraculously, her health began to improve and she was moved to a welfare home. And then one day, she said “I forgive them all for Christ’s sake.” She had finally understood.

It is so important for us to realize the ultimate reason that we forgive, it is for Jesus. Only be looking at Him and depending on His Strength, can we really forgive from the bottom of our heart.

In conclusion, Pastor Richard shared what God revealed to him from Matthew 5:23-24.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Forgiveness is an act of worship…….. God will not accept the praises from an unforgiving heart. Before we come to church to worship, we need to search our hearts, and release all bitterness and unforgiveness from us before we worship God.

May the Lord give us the strength and wisdom to forgive, not by human might or power, but in the glorious name of Jesus, for our Lords’ sake.

God bless.

Jason

Love the Lord

Love the Lord

" Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

This Sunday, CDC had the privilege of Pastor Richard share the message on a quiet Chinese New Year weekend. The topic of the day was focused on the Greatest Commandments.

Every year, we tend to make New Year resolutions, planning to improve ourselves in one way or another, do this or that. However, more often than not, they are quickly forgotten, and before you know it, another year has passed. This New Year, Pastor Richard challenged us to forget about resolutions but focus on one simple thing – obedience.

The entire Bible is summed up in just two commandments –

(a)    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind

(b)    Love your neighbor as yourself

Pastor Richard shared with us that to love the Lord with all our heart and soul is to love with all our passion. We need to love God with fierce emotion, seriously seeking Him and wanting to know Him better. This we need to do in basically two ways, listening to Him by reading His Word, and talking to Him through prayer.

Secondly, to love God with all our mind means to think constantly of Him and to safeguard our minds from images, thoughts and materials which do not glorify God. We need to be disciplined to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Finally, to love God with all our strength means to love God with all our ability, everything that God has given us – our time, resources, talent and money.

The second commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves is easy to understand, but hard to do. Pastor Richard stressed especially on the topic of forgiveness. We need to first of all learn to forgive those who have hurt us for only by forgiving will we truly be released to love.

May the Lord help us love Him with all our hearts and souls and minds and strengths, and enable us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

God bless,

Jason

Foundation Day Message

Foundation Day Message: CDC by Pastor Richard Lee

As we celebrated CDC’s 12^th birthday this Foundation Day, we had the tremendous privilege of having our very own Pastor Richard give us the message. Dear Pastor Richard had served faithfully in our church for almost a decade before he answered the call to go full time into the drug rehab ministry with Kenosis home. Nevertheless, he still plays an active part of CDC today, and is dearly loved and respected by all CDC members young and old.

His message text was based on 1 Peter 2:4-10, typified by the sermon theme based on Living Stones.

 ⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For in Scripture it says:
   "See, I lay a stone in Zion,
      a chosen and precious cornerstone,
   and the one who trusts in him
      will never be put to shame."^{[a] 7}Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
   "The stone the builders rejected
      has become the capstone,^[b]"^{[c] 8}and,
   "A stone that causes men to stumble
      and a rock that makes them fall."^[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

 ⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The sermon begins after the Bible reading, with a story – the tale of the King of Greece who boasted of the powerful living walls of Greece to a visitor. The visitor looked and looked again, and for the life of him, could not see any walls around Greece and exclaimed so. Then the King regally gestured to his powerful, well-trained army all around him and proudly declared “These are my living walls.”

Cornerstone - the name carefully chosen by the early pioneers of the church points to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the ultimate living stone, the stone that the builders had rejected that is in fact, the cornerstone, the foundation of all things. 

And in vs.5, we, each one in the church of Jesus Christ are described by the Apostle Peter as living stones, being built up into a spiritual house to be a spiritual priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God! CDC is not made out of the building in Bandar Sunway – CDC is made out of us! We are the living stones of CDC which form the house of God!

At this point, Pastor Richard draws our attention to some type of “stones” that we must not be:-

Deadstones and tombstones:- These may look good on the outside, but they are only on display, and do nothing of value to build up the church. (This brings to mind the rebuke by Jesus of the Pharisees, who were described as whitewashed walls which look good on the outside but have nothing good on the inside)

Kidney stones and gallstones:- These stones give pain to body of Christ and this is especially typified in a negative, complaining attitude. Pastor pleads with the congregation, if you have to say one negative thing about the church, you must back it up with five positive things. Sometimes, a single tile on the roof out of place can cause havoc!

Instead, God is looking for living stones that love God and love one another!

How, then can we be living stones?

The first foundation is our daily walk with God. To be true living stones, we must make the effort everyday to spend time with Jesus and His Word. Only by learning from the ultimate Living Stone, can we too learn also to be living stones according to God’s will.

The second foundation is our life’s testimony to men. Throughout the Bible, our mighty, Living God continuously stresses on the importance of holiness! “Be Holy, just as I am Holy,” says the Lord. We must ask ourselves this question “Are we doing more harm than good?” There must be a righteous difference between us and the rest of the world. As living sacrifices, we have a spiritual responsibility to honor Christ with our lives. We must be the salt and light of the earth!

In his closing, Pastor Richard refers back to our CDC Mission Statement:-Cornerstone Doulos is a family-oriented evangelical congregational church with an every Christian ministry mission.

Family-Oriented:- Our church focuses a great deal on spiritual family values, and the unity of all the members as a big family of God.

Evangelical:- Typified by our theme for the year – Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. Our purpose in life is to know God and to make Him known.

Every Christian Ministry Mission:- The second part of our CDC name is Doulos, which means servant.  We are saved to serve. To Pastor Richard, a non-serving Christian is a contradiction.  Our main purpose in life is to serve God and serve others.

Therefore, let us be learn to be living stones, and united in our love for God and each other, build up this spiritual house that is called CDC together in Jesus name.

(Note: Perhaps some of us may desire to serve, but may not feel capable enough, or may not know where or how to serve. Here, the most important thing is to have a willing heart. Next, each one of us must join a home fellowship. It is here that we can first start effectively serving our fellow brothers and sisters and growing together in the Lord. Finally, ministry is not just about serving in church or home fellowship, but it is a natural extension of our lives as Christians. We serve the Lord by doing good wherever we go, showing kindness and helpfulness to others in need. God bless, Jason)