Why worship is so central

Why worship is so central

Goshen/25/5/12/Pastor Lee Choo

In John 21, we are given the account of how the Lord appeared to Peter and the disciples by the sea of Galilee after His resurrection. Peter thought that he had failed the Lord having denied the Lord three times. However, Jesus did not find fault with him, but tenderly brought him and the disciples back. In John 21:5, Jesus called out “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”. God cares for our basic needs for food, for our family. Jesus called them friends, and went on to help them before commissioning them. Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me?” three times. It was for Peter’s sake, for him to realize that he loved Jesus.

It is so important for us to profess our love for the Lord. Why is worship so central to the Christian faith? The bottom line of everything we do for God is to set ourselves to love God and to say it out. When a wife says to a husband “I love you, my husband, something comes out of her. When you say “I love you Lord”, it draws you out. The more you say it, the more it draws and releases you, anchoring you more and more in God.

At the prayer conference, it was amazing how God loves nations, and how He loves us. The precious song “Deeper in love with you” actually came out of the persecuted church of China. This beautiful song shows how much they love Jesus. And African team would read from the Psalms and weep, and we would weep with them. Any song they sang, you could tell how much they loved Jesus. The power of worship is in declaration. If you don’t worship God, you will worship your worries. Worship releases strength and courage. Fear, depression and guilt will be gone. When you worship, you will know there is now no condemnation. You will know God does not find fault with you.

God is moving powerfully in the nations. We must put Jesus back at the center of our Christian life, back in the center of our worship! We can’t love people until we have been loved ourselves. The key to every marriage is to be anchored in the love of Christ. When you know God loves you, you will be able to go through tribulation.

Ephesians 3:16-19 says “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

It is in the inner man where God is at work, from the inside out. It is the Holy Spirit that establishes us. If we are not anchored in God’s love, we can be centred on ourselves, leading to disappointment.

A missionary had worked on a Thai island for many years, but the church attendance was only 45. Even then, he thought it was not bad considering that in Thailand, 86% are Buddhists, followed by Muslims. At 45, he was already leading the 3^rd largest church on the island. Then this missionary felt led by God to teach his members to become a blessing to the people around them. One of his members was a 60-year old former medium who had been dying of cancer but was miraculously healed after the church prayed for her. To help her, they bought her an ice-cream cart to sell ice-cream. As a medium, she used to surrender her body to evil spirits, but now she surrendered it to the Holy Spirit for works of goodness and kindness. She listened to her pastor and repeated to herself “I am not just a Christian, I am blessed to be a blessing. I am God’s agent!” She saw her ice-cream cart as a chariot of fire and the ice-cream as God’s secret weapon! Somehow, as she sold ice-cream, she amazingly led 700 people to the Lord in 2 years. She decided to witness to the mayor of the island, and shouted God bless you to him every morning. One day, the mayor came to her and said “thank you for blessing me”. She replied “Come to my church, and my Pastor will bless you too!” Amazingly, he came, and that particular Sunday, the missionary felt the Lord leading him to speak on corruption. The mayor at that point was the poster boy for corruption, and when he suddenly walked in, the missionary was wondering if he should abandon his message. He prayed to God “the mayor may revoke my visa”, and the Lord replied “well, I can revoke your breath!” So he continue to preach on corruption, and the mayor left before the service ended. 3 days later, he received a call to meet the mayor, and he thought it was time to pack his bags. Amazingly, the mayor told him that he had just received a 1.5 Million dollar bribe, and he felt convicted by the message that he was actually stealing from the people. He asked the missionary to pray for him. Then, he offered to return the bribe to the multinational company, but they said they could not take it back as it would affect their audited books. Consequently, the missionary asked him to use the money for the poor and the mayor decided to use it as a fund to provide clean drinking water for the poor people of the island whose lives had been devastated by a tsunami. The next election, the mayor received an 86% vote and he was also received a special award for being one of the best mayors in the country. 

In just a few years, the church grew from 45 to 4,000. God’s heart is so big. Our understanding of God needs to be much bigger. As the church was expanding, the missionary told the mayor that he was looking for a bigger place, and the mayor led him to one of the most notorious nightclubs on the island. God was dealing with the missionary and his understanding. Every Sunday, the congregation would come at 5am to clean up the place and get it ready for church. The owner of the nightclub came to church every Sunday, and after a few Sundays, asked the missionary to pray for him. He had realized he needed to close down the nightclub. The missionary asked him how he would cope with the loss of the business but the owner said the nightclub was just a hobby for him. As it turned out, this owner was also the owner of the biggest newspaper on the island and the radio station. In a short time, the missionary was given a slot, where he would pray to bless the island, and his program has become a major influence on the nation. All this started with an ice-cream woman.

We are not called to be dull in our Christian lives. We should be attuned to the Lord every day. When we are not dull, He is able to inspire us. We must never feel like we know it all. Jeremiah 33:2-3 says  “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:  ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” We must not forget who our God is! We can never fully comprehend how truly great and mighty our God is.

When we are changed, the world around us changes. Never think you have arrived. There are spiritual forces at work everyday, darkness that challenge us. In an Indonesian island, 500 witches covenanted to meet together to fast and pray, calling down 4 curses upon Christians – to fill the churches with division, to bring breakdown of the family, and unnatural disease and accidents. The Indonesian church pastors also prayed together, setting up prayer round the clock. Later, the tsunami wiped out all the witches in that gathering.

What overcomes fear is perfect love. If we are anchored in God, fear will leave us. Prayer must be accompanied by worship. Prayer is surrender to God. Prayer should not be overly focused on petitions. Prayer is about being desperate for God. Don’t take God for granted. When God passed by, blind Bartimaus reacted. You have to give God the time, not fit God to your convenience. God is our Master and Lord and King. You can be at church and miss Jesus’ coming. People who press in will be most blessed. They are those who make time for God.  

Jesus, God with us

 

Jesus, God with us

Goshen, brother David, 23/3/12

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Matthew 17:1-8

In a recent meditation, the passage of the transfiguration spoke deeply to brother David and he shared with us several powerful insights that he gained.

Firstly, the transfiguration clearly shows us the deity of Christ. Too often, people think of Jesus as just a man who lived a long time ago and gave good teachings and died. However, Jesus,although fully man was also fully God. Even in our relationship with Jesus, we may focus too much on the Lord who understands us because He was man like us, that we forget He is also our divine God and Creator. The transfiguration shows Jesus as He really is, with the veil hiding His glory removed. In the Old Testament, after Moses spent time with God, he had to wear a veil when he came down as his face shone too brightly from God's radiance. Peter, James and John now personally experienced the beholding of this marvelous radiance of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. The more we know Him, the more we will understand how incredibly pure and holy the Lord is, and how precious His sacrifice is for us – the perfect, holy Lamb of God dying for wretched sinners like us. Compared to Jesus, our righteous acts are truly like filthy rags.

Secondly, the transfiguration reminds us of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In a corresponding passage in Luke 9, we read in vs.17 that Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses concerning His departure which he was to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Some translations define departure as “exodus”. Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses about His coming death and resurrection at Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, the Exodus was signified by God coming to save His people through Moses and the Passover in particular was the event whereby a lamb was sacrificed and the people were set free to leave Egypt. This was a shadow of the coming Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus who sacrificed Himself, so that we might be set free from our bondage to sin.

Thirdly, the appearance of the cloud in the transfiguration reminds us that God is with us. Another major event at the transfiguration was the bright cloud covering them and the voice from God from heaven saying “This is my Son whom I love. Listen to him.” The phenomenon of God's cloud was seen often in the Old Testament in Israel's travels where God followed them in the desert in a pillar of cloud. The cloud with God's people reminds us of God's presence with us. Emmanuel means “God with us”, and reminds us of God's desire to be with His people. In Exodus 40:35, we read how when the cloud of God settled on the tent of meeting, Moses could not enter it because the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Later in 1 Kings 8:11, when Solomon first consecrated the temple, God's cloud filled the temple, and the priests could no longer perform their service because of the glory of the Lord. In Luke 21:27, Jesus tells us that He will come again in a cloud of glory. How wonderful that whenever we look at the clouds, we can be reminded of God coming to be with us.

This Easter, as we meditate on the Lord's sacrifice, let us truly appreciate His divinity as being full God, marvel with thankfulness for His great sacrifice for our deliverance from sin, and remember that God is with us even on earth!

Redeeming the Time

Redeeming the Time

Goshen/10/2/12/Pastor Lee Choo

This Friday, we were privileged to have Pastor Lee Choo share her wisdom. The subject was time, and to start off, we were reminded of common things we say about time:- not enough time, no time, out of time, time and tide waits for no man. With the group being mainly in their 30s, Pastor Lee Choo wanted to particularly emphasize the importance of making the most of our time in the crucial years from 30-45, where we can grow the most in our spiritual development and maturity.

In the Greek, there are two words for time, Chronos and Kairos. Chronos refers to the chronological, sequential time that all of us have. Rich or poor, educated or not, all of us have the same 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Once passed, time can never go back. Kairos time, however, refers to a time in between when something special happens. It is a right or opportune time. While Chronos is quantitative, Kairos is qualititative. Spiritually, we think of Kairos as special, anointed seasons when God’s power and anointing are especially present in drawing men to himself. Throughout history, there have been these kairos times when great revival has been seen at different places on the earth –(E.g. the Methodist revival under John Wesley in the 18^th century, the Welsh Revival in 1904-1905, in Argentina and South Korea in recent years, even the Bario revival in Sarawak from 1971-74.)

This year, in SIB, there has been a tremendous change in the spiritual atmosphere. It started with the leadership being led to call for a series of early morning prayer meetings for the new year. Since then, every prayer meeting has seen a very strong presence of God, and in one particular Sunday meeting in January 2012, the presence of the Lord was so strong that even those at the back could feel it. When the call for prayer was made, most of the church went to the front. One lady, an unbeliever who had come from Hong Kong was at the meeting did not go up. A sister went to speak to her and got a word that she was suffering from severe back pain. When she mentioned this, the lady wept and asked how she could know. She too went forward for prayer for healing, and was delivered.

The leadership has seen this time in SIB as a divine, kairos time for the church, and Pastor Lee Choo encouraged us to attend the prayer meetings where hundreds have been coming. Attendance there has never been so high.

We can be in the church yet miss this season, if we do not participate and seek God now. A key emphasis is on Isaiah 61 regarding the anointing of the Lord and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor this year!

In one of the prayer meetings, an Iranian girl spoke to Pastor Lee Choo the urgent need to pray for believers in Iran who were being put in jail simply for reading the Bible. They read the Bible or go to prayer meetings with the threat of imprisonment but do so anyway, in a land where almost all churches have been closed down.

We take for granted our access to the Word of God, but a time may well be coming when the Word will be forcibly taken away. In Amos, there is a prophecy regarding a famine of God’s Word. In the time we have now, when we have easy access to the Word, we must take the effort to study it, to know it well, to even memorize Scripture and songs based on Scripture. If we don’t, what will we do when we no longer have the Bible with us?

In Ephesians 5:17, Paul exhorts us to “make the most of every opportunity” (NIV), or “redeem the time”(KJV), because the days are evil. We can use our time in a right manner or a wrong manner. In the same chapter, Paul describes such right actions as imitating God, walking in love (v.1), being thankful (v.4), walking in light, by the Spirit, producing goodness, righteousness and truth (v.8-9), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord (v.10). In contrast, the wrong way to live includes “fornication, uncleanness, covetousness (idolatry), foolish talking, coarse jesting (v.3-4), disobedience (v.6).

What is acceptable to the Lord? For one, the hearts of the Lord are always for the poor, for their justice. In Sabah, just as in Africa, there are children starving and malnourished with bloated stomachs. If we have no concern for such as these, are our hearts acceptable to the Lord? Pastor Lee Choo encouraged us to join a mission trip to Sabah to see for ourselves the conditions there. Also, the hearts of the Lord are always for the lost, who do no know him. This does not mean we should go around shoving the gospel down people’s throats, instead we should position ourselves in such a way that our colleagues and neighbors know we care and are able to reach out to them to help when they have any needs.

Why did you despise the Word of the Lord?

Why did you despise the Word of the Lord?

Goshen

Study led by Brother Daniel/ 4/11/11

2 Samuel 12, Psalm 51,

Our study on Friday was focused on the event where the prophet Nathan confronted King David and cleverly exposed to him the serious error of his sin via a carefully crafted story. Nathan told King David the story of a rich man with many lambs who took a poor man’s only lamb, leaving him nothing. King David responded in anger to the injustice but was shocked when Nathan told him “You are that man”. King David repented and was forgiven, but his sin still had terrible consequences on him and his family. In Psalm 51, we also see a very deep insight into the repentant heart of King David as he cries out to God for forgiveness and mercy.

Lessons from the study:-

·      Sin has terrible consequences, not only for one person, but for the future generations to come. Nathan’s first prophecy “the sword will never depart from your house”, came true, when David’s son Absalom killed his brother Amnon and was later killed himself by Joab. Later, King Solomon also ordered the death of Adonjiah. Counting Bathsheba’s first son with King David, four of King David’s sons died prematurely. As in David’s own words, he paid for his sin literally “four times over” (vs.6). Nathan’s second prophecy (vs.11-12) –“Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel” came true when Absalom under the advise of Ahitophel, slept with David’s concubines in broad daylight to shame his father David. It is also interesting that Ahitophel could possibly have been Bathsheba’s grandfather (2 Samuel 23:34,11:3)

·      What was the purpose of Nathan speaking to David via a parable and not denounce him directly? David thus far, had shown himself to be a brutal king, a man of war, and such direct confrontation could easily mean a swift death for Nathan. More likely though, Nathan’s parable led David to view the situation from a more objective, third party view. Otherwise, he probably would have thought up some excuse or reason for his actions. Why is it difficult for people to be objective? Pride is a big factor. We just don’t like to be wrong and be vulnerable to judgment from others.

·      How is God’s mercy and judgment revealed in this story? On one hand, David’s sin was severely punished, and the consequences suffered by both himself, especially in the affair of Absalom and his family. On the other hand, the Lord was merciful in still being with David, and delivering him from all his troubles. Later, God showed his supreme grace in allowing David’s son with Bathsheba, Solomon, become the greatest and wisest king of his time. David himself was spared for a specific purpose for God had s destiny for him.

·      What is the difference between brokenness and broken-hearted? Here we revisited the important point brought out by Pastor Lee Choo that brokenness is an attitude towards God while broken-heartedness is an attitude towards self. Broken-heartedness comes as a result of disappointment in a failed dream – a boy-girl relationship that did not work out, a sportsman who trained his best but could not win, an entrepreneur who had great business ideas but failed, a couple who bought a dream home that was destroyed in an earthquake. The focus is on self and can easily lead to self-pity, depression or worse. Brokenness, on the other hand is coming before God in utter humility, knowing full well our depraved sinful state as a sinner, and hoping for the Lord to accept us and help us for we know we are helpless and lost on our own. It is like the tax collector who beat his chest before God and cried “Have mercy on me, a sinner”. It is brokenness that enables us to come close to God. As Jesus declared in the Beatitudes “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”. In Psalm 51, we see this brokenness in David’s words “Have mercy on me O God”, “My sin is always before me”, hide your face from my sins”, “do not cast me from your presence”. David recognized the depths of his sins and repented before God, humbly asking for help. Even in his sin, he desired to be forgiven, to return to fellowship with God, to have a pure heart and a steadfast spirit. We have to be careful not to lose that in our relationship with God. Once we become complacent and think we are righteous, pride comes in, and we begin to drift further away from God. We cannot be 100% perfect as long as live in this world, but as we come humbly before God often, we become more and more holy, more and more like Jesus.

·      Although David hurt Uriah by his adultery and murder, Nathan said that by sinning, David was “despising the word of the Lord”, and showing “utter contempt for the Lord”. When we know what is sin yet purposely go into it, we are despising the word of the Lord and showing contempt for the Lord. Strong words indeed. We must never treat sin flippantly but recognize that willful sin insults the Lord. That’s why we need that heart of brokenness to truly desire for a new heart that hates sin but seeks to please the Lord.

·      When Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon, the Lord loved him and sent word through Nathan to name his Jedidiah which means beloved of the Lord. How precious is our Lord who loves us though we are sinners. Praise His Holy name!

Origins and the Future of SIB

Origins and the Future of SIB

SIB, Pastor Chew/Elder Koon Tat 22/10/11,

Goshen, Elder Koon Tat 21/10/11

In 1977, Pastor Chew and Lee Choo went to Sabah and served there as doctors and in SIB for 14 years, and watched the church of SIB there grow tremendously and saw Pastor Dr Philip Lyn join the team. In 1991, both Pastors took a step of faith to pursue their theological studies in Vancouver, and in 1994, started off SIB KL as a small group of 15. In just 17 years, SIBKL has now grown into a church of 3,000, including children. Still, Pastor Chew highlighted that it is not about the numbers. Small is not strong, big is not strong, strong is strong. It is always about a church being strong in God, whether small or big. In those early years, the first major challenge facing SIB was time. Pastor Chew himself was still working as a gynecologist and Pastor Lee Choo was pediatrician. There was no full time pastor, and the members quickly found themselves working double time, serving God in the ministry as well as in their current jobs. Next, SIB experienced rapid growth when it shifted to Uptown in Damansara Utama from 1994-1997, increasing to 80 in just 6 months with some youth of the best quality, including Pastor Daniel, Pastor Andy and Pastor Linde. SIB were indeed blessed with very passionate and committed youths, from the start. SIB then moved on to CP Tower in 1998 and to her current building in 2006. Two early prophecies given to SIB in her early years was that a youth movement would come out of them, and that SIB would not just be a church, but a movement.

Elder Koon Tat shared how as a young Christian, he was on fire for the Lord, and went to conferences and heard speakers, growing very quickly as a result. While SIB was in uptown, Elder Koon Tat remembered one overnight prayer meeting where he suddenly had a tremendous prompting from God to say these words to the intercessors “this church is not brick and mortars”. What Elder Koon Tat did not realize was that the prophetic words uttered through him was a confirmation of something very important that the Pastor Chew and Pastor Lee Choo had been praying about. Just the next Friday at cell group, Elder Koon Tat found out to his great shock that based on the words he said, the leadership had taken it as confirmation to give away a whole building that someone had given SIBKL. Historically, SIB started as a church without walls, with sermons preached under a tree.

At that time, when the church leadership was looking for a bigger place for the church, they found an ideal location in Section 19, PJ which was just the right size. However, they were disappointed when they found out it was already sold but they continued to pray. And then in one prayer meeting, a man walked in and introduced himself as the buyer. He said he could feel no peace and had to let the church have it. It was a miracle! Still the building cost RM1.3 Million, which was a lot of money, and they had to settle the balance in 3 months. Earlier, someone had offered to help, and when the leadership approached him again, he surprisingly told them that his deal just went through a few days ago, and 10% of the deal was RM1.3 Million. It was a supernatural provision from God. What the leadership did not realize was that this gift of the building would become a critical test for them. Somehow, they began to feel that they should give the church to SIB Bahasa who were sharing the same premises with them at Uptown. It did not seem to make sense, but when Elder Koon Tat inadvertently uttered those words, Pastor Lee Choo took it as confirmation that it was the Lord’s will for them to do that. The Lord was dealing with the generosity of their spirit and their trust in Him.

After that, Elder Koon Tat became very cautious about what he said, and in the next 3 months, whenever Pastor Chew spoke to him, he mainly answered yes or no. When SIB decided to look for a new building, Elder Koon Tat worked extremely hard, perhaps due to a guilty conscience. It so happened that he found out that the top floor of CP Tower was available for rent and he was friends with the owner at that time, a very careful and prudent man. The market rental was about RM450 to RM550 per square feet at that time, which far exceeded what the church could afford. The congregation had grown to about 60 people, and they could only afford RM10,000 per month which was only a fourth of the market rental. Amazingly, the owner agreed to rent to SIB at that amount. Immediately, SIB received pledges to help pay the rental for the next 2 years. Amazingly, CP Tower was also greatly blessed as a result of helping the church. Siemens, who had been on the verge of signing a tenancy with the Luxor building chose CP Tower instead, taking 7 floors. Soon, the whole building was filled up with choice tenants.

Now CP also owned Eastin hotel. At that time, while still waiting for the Certificate of Fitness, Pastor Lee Choo had requested for a space to have a ladies’ conference. As the CF was not even out, SIB was allowed to use it for free. Still, with the conference due on Saturday, the CF was still not out by Wednesday. The church prayed and amazingly, all the approvals came on Thursday evening and the conference went ahead. Eastin Hotel went on to become one of the most profitable hotels in KL, having almost always a full house. Later, CP sold CP Tower but kept Eastin. CP also saw God’s hand by enabling him to purchase a partially constructed Queensbay Mall for only RM60m, and later sold it off for more than a billion. It was a testimony to CP that God blessed him when he blessed the church.

Every step of SIB’s journey, God hand was with her. The leadership always had a policy not to borrow. They trusted in God’s timing and would build brick by brick if they had to. The principle is that if God wants it, He will make the resources available. In good time, everything came. God’s work done God’s way will never lack resources.

After just 5 years in CP Tower, SIB was forced to move to a bigger premise. In one prayer meeting, a man who had never prophesied before began to prophesy. He said that SIB would be like Joshua and Caleb and God would lead SIB to the promised land if we were faithful. Otherwise we would become a monument. We were reminded again that SIB is God’s church. And so building began in Bangunan Yin.

In his time as a developer, Elder Koon Tat had seen approvals take months but for the new SIB building, he saw all the approvals given within a record 7 days. At the dedication of the new building, there was a power failure, and being the project manager, Elder Koon Tat was very concerned. However, the electrical contractors were fortunately there and brought everything back to working order in a short time.

The next day, during his devotion, Elder Koon Tat thanked God for what He had done. He continue to pray and thank God and then a revelation came on Thursday. “Why do you think I gave you this building?” God said. “It’s not how good you are. The raising of the RM21Million was easy, everything went smoothly. I am no man’s debtor.” Elder Koon Tat realized that the building was God’s way of showing us His faithfulness for giving their building to Him those few years ago. God is faithful when we are obedient. As he continued to ponder this, Elder Koon Tat was wondering if he really had received the revelation. Then the Lord led him to consider the day of revelation, the fourth day. On the fourth day, the Lord created the lights in the sky. That how brother Koon Tat knew that it was from the Lord, for on the fourth day, the Lord brought light to him.

God continued to move SIB to a higher purpose, to love the lost and to influence the nation. As the verse says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him. All God needs is our faithfulness to follow Him one step at a time.

It is one of the dynamics of church growth that when you reach 70% of your capacity, you should begin to look for a new building, and when you are 80-90% full, you should move out of the building. Hence, the church leadership began to look actively for an additional satellite building. However, every new building was costing RM10-60 million. The leadership thus turned to God to being them to a building they could afford. Of all surprises, during the 2008 recession, a promising building in Sunway Mas became open for sale. Although it was up in the market, no one bid for it, and the asking price was only RM8 million, which was basically the cost of the land and the building. In early 2009, the market crashed, and SIB was able to purchase it for only a remarkable RM3.2 million.  

In 2008, when Pastor Chew and Pastor Lee Choo went up to the mountain to pray, they asked “Why is it, Lord, you have raised SIB to where it is today?” The Lord answered that it was for such a time as this in the history of Malaysia, and God showed Pastor Chew certain things in the nation, that in years to come, God would raise up SIB to help face the challenges of the nation. God needs the church to be strong. The church has influence when it is strong.

For SIB, there are 3 main fronts for which God has opened the door. Firstly, God has opened a door in Sabah and Sarawak. For SIB, ministry in East Malaysia is so distinctive. Take it away and SIB’s history is gone. SIBKL has been raised up to plow back and influence the church there. If they are strong, therein lies the future of Malaysia. Where they are weak, SIBKL will lend them strength. In recent years, SIBKL has worked extensively to train more pastors and evangelists who will go into deep into the rural areas. SIBKL has built a school of evangelism and also physical churches as well as preschools and kindergartens. The training, influence and resources has lifted up the whole mood and spirit of the bumi churches.

The second major front is to impact Malaysia’s generations through Generasi Gemilang. The aim is to impact youth across the nation to become principled, strong leaders fro the nation. GG has extensive programs to build up youth in schools, cyber-wellness and community centres, partnering with various corporate and government bodies. Great emphasis is placed on character building of the young. Young people love God. There are wonderful young people under Pastor Daniel in GG. The church’s role is to lend them our strength, to be the wind underneath their wings.

Thirdly, SIBKL’s efforts will be on the Sunway Mas Community Center. The purpose statement of the SMCC is to be an extension of SIBKL to influence and impact the community. There is 1 church, 2 locations, with the same sermon in both places.

The renovation led by Elder Koon Tat is well on schedule and the first service is expected to kick off there in July 2012. From Day 1, everything has been under-girded in prayer.  Through the many prayer meetings, we received precious Scripture from God. One of them was Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Though men work, the Lord is the one who builds His House. Another important revelation was based on the Lord’s response to David when he voiced his intention to build a temple for the Lord. In 1 Chronicles 22:9 The Lord explained to David that a man of peace and rest would build His temple. The revelation for the church was that the building of SMCC would have to be done with an attitude of peace. Our God is a God of peace and Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Therefore, Elder Koon Tat has been mindful to ensure that the testimony shown to the people there even during the building must always be that we are people of peace as we come into the community. The caveat for the contractors is that nobody argues with the neighbors. If there is any problem, it is to be resolved amicably. The builders have been tested in this. Winds brought scaffolding onto some people’s homes and cars. There were objections from neighbors but Elder Koon Tat went to see them peaceably and they withdrew by God’s grace.

1 Chronicles 22:15 was also especially meaningful: “You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work” meaning that God would provide people with ability to help with all types of work. We were called to begin to work and trust that the Lord would be with us.

Another key verse was John 3:14 which says that the Son of Man is to be lifted up. In all that we do, we must always remember that Jesus must be supreme.

During the 40 days prayer and fasting, the Lord released through Elder Gilbert Joshua 12, signifying that SIB would have victory over 31 kings. Initially, thinking that 31 days signifies every day of the month, we thought that it means victory in God every day. However, as Elder Koon Tat studied the meanings of the names of the kings, the realization came that SIB would have victory over particular spirits and areas. God would give SIB victory over the spirit of terror and domination, over earthly exaggeration and people pleasing, over addiction and laziness, over a spirit that seeks enjoyment and playing, over those who suppress authority in Jesus, over the moon god, over rain, over fear and death, over destruction, over crookedness, over legalities, over alliances, over winds, over division, over those who use astrology, over deception, over those who push people down, over those who rely on their own spirit.

As SIB goes into Sunway Mas, Pastor Chew focuses on three vital ingredients. Firstly, is God’s presence. Before the temple was built, the ark of the tabernacle was brought back first. Unless God goes ahead, we will not go. The presence of God must be ushered into Sunway Mas. That is why different cell groups have been going into the area to pray every weekend.Secondly, our posture must be correct. There will be unequal giving but equal sacrifice. Everyone is to give willingly from his own heart, according to his own ability. Finally, God’s people must be willing, to really believe in the vision. Don’t be a spectator, be a participator.  

Trust in God rather than men

Trust in God rather than men

Goshen/Study led by brother David/ 14/10/11

Our study was focused on the incident where King David sinned by ordering a census to be taken of all the fighting men in Israel, resulting in God’s wrath being poured upon Israel. Even though Joab and the generals protested to the king against this plan, King David overruled them, and brought great trouble in Israel. God gave King David a choice whether to accept as judgment, 3 years of famine, 3 months of being overrun by enemies or 3 days of plague. David chose the 3 days of plague and 70,000 died in Israel before God withheld further punishment because of His mercy, and David built an altar and sacrificed a burnt offering to the Lord. It is amazing that the Lord sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice! Eventually, the threshing floor which David purchased to worship the Lord became the site of the future temple built by King Solomon.

Lessons from the study:-

·       “Why was David’s action of counting his fighting men considered a sin?” Both the passages in 1 Chronicles 21 and 2 Samuel 24 do not explain why he sinned, although the sin was already obvious to Joab and the commanders. Our main conclusion here was that in ordering the census, David was showing that he trusted more in man than in God. The pagan kingdoms of the world prided themselves in their vast armies, but compared to the mighty, living God, it was no comparison at all. In his younger years, when David came up against the mighty giant Goliath, he declared bravely, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”2 Samuel 17:45-47. The key point is in the last verse: for the battle is the LORD’s. It is not great armies or technology or weapons that can save us, but the Lord Himself, who is far greater than any of these things. In recent times, we are reminded of man’s vulnerability in the tragic sinking of the Titanic, the greatest ship of the time ever built of which man boasted “even God Himself could not sink this ship”.

·      What is the significance of the three choices? Which would we choose? The first option was a three-year famine, which could mean a slow and lingering death from hunger for many. The second option was three months of being overrun by the enemy. David of all people, being a man of war,  knew how cruel invading armies could be. The third option was plague, death by disease. David’s choice was probably the most merciful for the people, as a quick death meant less prolonged suffering and also no violence.

·      Was there any significance in the number of Israelites who died i.e. 70,000? In a way, it seems to be God’s way of telling David. Don’t trust in numbers. No matter how great an army, God can easily take it away. Many years later, the Assyrian army found this out when God went into their camp during a siege against Jerusalem and 185,000 of them died. 

·      “Why was it that David’s sin with Bathsheba was judged personally (on him and his household” while David’s sin of the census was judged nationally (on all the people of Israel)? This incident reminds us that the sin of a nation’s leaders can result in terrible judgment for the whole nation. It is said that the terrible bonfires in Australia known as Black Saturday occurred in the year that abortion was legalized. In America, where abortion is rampant and prayers have been taken out of schools, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes have begun to abound more and more. On the other hand, when a country’s leader repents and turns to God for help, great miracles have happened. England experienced this in both World War I and II. When the head of the church, the king of England called for a national day of prayer, things changed miraculously in the battlefield, and England, from a losing position succeeded to incredibly overturn the odds and vanquish the enemy.

·      “Why the threshing floor?” The author of the Chronicles took great trouble to record in detail the facts concerning the threshing floor and the purchase of it by King David. During the time of Nehemiah, when the Chronicles were probably written, there were Arabs who challenged the validity of the Jews’ ownership of the temple grounds. Hence, some theologians believe that it was important to show how the threshing floor was acquired in the historical records as a testimony to validate the ownership of the temple location by the Jews. In his sermon, Pastor Daniel also went into great length to explain the spiritual significance of the threshing floor, of judgment (burning up of the unwanted chaff), of separation (separating the chaff from the wheat), and blessing (the finished process would bring food and revenue).

When God moves, we are to follow

When God moves, we are to follow

Goshen/Sharing by Pastor Daniel/30Sep11

The theme this year is “the Next Level” and God is leading the church to new, exciting places. One of the key verses for the year is Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. “ Faith is not only believing in spite of evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences.

On the flight home from Melbourne, Pastor Daniel was led by God to study Joshua Chapter 3. In this passage, the children of Israel were camped at the Jordan River, about to enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.

“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.” Joshua 3:1-4

When the Israelites saw the ark moving, they were to follow since they had never been that way before. The principle for us, is the same. When God moves, we are to follow, even to a place we have never been before. Our job is to follow and trust God to lead us.

“And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” Joshua 3:7-8

“So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3:14-16

In Numbers 14, the Israelites who came out of Egypt had rebelled because of the bad reports of 10 people. The 10 represents unbelief, the comfort zone. Better be where it is safe back in Egypt where we have plenty to eat. Don’t do anything you don’t know. However, the Scripture records that Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit. This is very powerful. The Scripture doesn’t describe what spirit it is, just different, not unbelief…. Joshua and Caleb would rather be where God was although it was dangerous than to go back without God.

In Joshua 3-4, the ark is mentioned sixteen times. To move forward, we must be led by the presence of God. The ark represents the presence of God and the holiness of God. The manna in the ark is symbolic of God’s provision. Aaron’s rod is symbolic of God’s protection. The stones of God’s commandments is symbolic of God’s promises.

Only when the presence of God goes before us is there a guarantee of success. God will open a way. What should be our condition before we follow God?

“Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5

To consecrate (kadesh) means to be sanctified, hallowed, holy, separate. Are we ready for God to use us as his instrument?

“So the people crossed over opposite Jericho” Joshua 3:16.

It took faith for Moses to lift up his rod and part the Red Sea. It took faith for the priests to step into the water. Faith must be rooted in obedience. Faith is simply obeying the Word of God.

The Red Sea parted at the obedience of one man, the leader Moses. The Jordan River parted at the obedience of the people of God. The Red Sea symbolizes deliverance from sin.  The Jordan River represents the claiming of our inheritance. Once they passed the Jordan, they were in the promised land.

When the presence of God leads obedient people of God, the power of God will be displayed. When people obey, God blesses.

The sin of King David

The sin of King David

Goshen Bible Study

Led by brother Daniel

Our study was focused on 2 Samuel 11, on the notorious incident where King David fell into sin. In a time where kings normally go off to war, King David had stayed back, and in his leisure happened to notice a very beautiful woman bathing. Desiring her, he proceeded to inquire about her and then sent for her although he knew she belonged to another man’s wife. Her name was Bathsheba, and her husband Uriah the Hittite was a valiant warrior, one of the mighty Thirty who served David. Soon Bathsheba became pregnant, and King David tried to cover up his sin by arranging for Uriah to come back from battle and sleep with his wife. However, despite David’s desperate efforts, Uriah refused, as he was convicted he should not have this pleasure while his commander and fellow soldiers were at war. Finally, David plotted with Joab the army commander to have Uriah killed by the enemy by placing him where the fighting was fiercest and withdrawing suddenly. And after Uriah died, King David sent for Bathsheba and took her as his own wife. Even after this, David did not repent until the prophet Nathan came and rebuked him through a carefully constructed parable. And although David was forgiven, there were terrible lasting consequences of his sin on his household.

Lessons from our study

·      There is an order in which sin works as described in James 1:14-15 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Normally, we are not tempted by a great sin straight away, but it starts with small steps, leading us deeper and deeper into a whole sea of sin. Therefore we must always keep watch

·      As the saying goes “idle hands are a devil’s workshop”. In a time when kings go off to war, King David wasn’t doing anything constructive, and this led to temptation. Even in our leisure, it is important to be constructive and positive in what we do, and we should not slack off from our work and responsibilities.

·      Even the mighty can fall. Although King David was so great and so close to God, even called a man after God’s own heart, he fell. This is a warning to us that all of us can fall, so we need to be humble and beware of pride always.

·      The battle is in the mind. The seed for King David’s sin was sown when he first saw Bathsheba and continued to look at her, probably lustfully. He must have continued to let thoughts about her linger in his mind, and this led to him inquiring about her and then sending for her. It is in the mind that we have to arrest unhealthy thoughts or images, but instead focus on godly, holy, good things.

·      Sin has tragic consequences on others. King David’s first son with Bathsheba died as a result of the sin. Later, Nathan’s prophecy that the sword would never leave his house came true. David’s son Absalom killed his brother Amnon and rebelled against his father before finally being killed himself by Joab. Later, King Solomon, the son who succeeded King David ordered the execution of his brother Adonijah.

·      God forgives us when we turn back, no matter how heinous our sin. Although King David’s sin was so terrible - adultery, betrayal and murder, God forgave him when he repented. In the end, it is not for us to judge one another, or even ourselves, but to come back to God humbly, and receive His grace and forgiveness through Christ Jesus.