It must be more than a Religion

Thoughts gathered during Ladies Fellowship, sermon from the scripture text 1 Peter 2:1-10. 

Religion is something we practice, something that we do periodically for a purpose. It is a practice that can also be put aside for various reasons. If Christianity is only a religion to us, then it must not be all that important to us, since this is something we can do without if we choose to.

So what exactly is Christianity to us? What is the Christian identity we want to be? With identity comes belonging; with belonging comes a sense of self. A little soul searching brings to mind how, no matter how sinful the state of my life is, the fact that I am a Christian is the only sanity amidst my chaotic life. It is the only comforting thought that reassured me that not all is lost. It is a fact that I clinged on dearly to draw strength for me to go on. Being a Christian to me is no less than my life, it is my very being, my entire self.

I recalled an episode in my life when I was in my teens, not too many years after I first accepted Christ. I was exploring a different church where a lady was tasked to encourage me to join her church. She told me I was not saved at all. What I thought was an acceptance of Christ and reborn as Christian when I was 13 years old was "false" provided I carry out a series of actions to cleanse myself, re-confess my sins and re-declare my belief in Christ. To re-declare my faith was not a problem, I would gladly do this over and over again. However, the moment when I was told I wasn't saved and could not be considered a Christian was as though half of me died. I felt as though I was dealt with a blow that hit right into my soul. Being a Christian is not just practising a religion, it is who I am, it is what I am, without which there is no me. 

Recognizing what Christianity is to us is only the beginning of our new life. To live a spirit-filled life is another study on its own. For a start, I am thankful I can call myself a Christian. I can proudly declare I have been called out of darkness to God's marvellous light. I have tasted God's mercy to allow me to be a child of God. I am thankful this is who I am, it is what I want to be and how I want to live my life.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2: 9-10. 

It is finished but He is not

Mark 16:6"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

Prophecy fulfilled. Words and Promises are all fulfilled when Christ died on the cross. Surely it is finished? Yes, for the first part; No for the next. This is because just His death won't save us. He needs to conquer death to give us life. 

Today, on Easter Sunday, we remember Christ's Resurrection, His great conquer over death to rise to heaven so that we can have eternal life so long as we believe. Truly, the Son of God came to be the Son of Man to die and rose from the dead so that we can become the sons of God. 

Facts of history on Christ's Resurrection is undisputable. It was a fact how His resurrection dramatically changed the lives and characters of the disciples.  Even after He has departed from earth, He called Saul to be His disciples through a dramatic event along the road to Desmacus. His power is everlasting, on earth and in heaven.

If we believe Christ to have raised to heaven, why would we not believe that He will return? How He was taken to heaven will be how He will return. The signs of His return are plenty - the corruption of mankind, the widespread knowledge of the gospel and the return of Isreal to their promised land. The Lord is to return to judge the world, save Isreal and restore the kingdom of Christ. 

In the fullness of time, He will return to reign (Rev 19:11-16). 

So He is not finished, and we are not finished too! Act 1:8 - we shall be witnesses unto Christ in our lives. We need to be God's ambassadors, witness and advocate of His salvation work. Have we worked hard for the Lord in our lives? Have we lived a life worthy of the witness for Christ? May the Lord fulfil His will and plan in our lives as He would to all who are called as sons of God. 

A Good Neighbour

"Love thy neighbour as thyself." 

This commandment is only second to the commandment of loving thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul and all thy mind. Matthew 22-37-39. 

What does it take to love thy neighbour? Proverbs 3:26 is clear what we should not do - withhold that which is due to your neighbour. We should not delay that should have been given to your neighbour. God had provided to us all the goodness at the right time and we have been fully blessed, should we not provide for our neighbours the little bit of goodness that we can give?

In this day and age, having a neighbour that we can communicate is very rare, let alone one whom we can have a good relationship. Yet we know having a good neighbour is so important, but have we made any effort to connect with our neighbours? I have been most blessed to have a good neighbour in this life. Mr Yang is a Peranakan with such a big heart. He has a little Jack Russell that was happily overweight due to all the good food that came from the owner's table. He extended his love even to my two retriever dogs three times the size of his. 10 years ago when I become his neighbour, he became the unofficial guardian of my dogs. Very often he will come with treats from his own dog's stash or off his own table. My dogs grew to love his regular visits as they finally had the chance to eat something sinful, a break from the strict diet they had in my house. 

I benefitted from Mr Yang's generosity as well. Knowing that I would rather starve than to cook something in my own kitchen, my neighbour will give me a bowl of his own lunch or dinner whenever I am at home. He always thinks I will really starve and selflessly provided me from his own table. His portion is always good for 2 or 3 of my own meals and without him, home cook food would have been a rarity in my life lifetime. Mr Yang is my neighbour, the guardian to my dogs and a second father to me. I thank God for His provision of such a good neighbour in such abundance that truly I do not deserve. 

A Perfect Representative

Throughout history, people elate leaders to represent them, as a nation, as a race or as a collective group. This elated leader represents the people in thoughts, deeds, decisions, and whatever the fruits or consequences are enjoyed or borne by the people collectively. This is not a new concept; it is an inherent nature of man to group together and elate a leader. Why would it then be strange for Christ to be the elated representative of man, albeit elated by God? All that is required is to recognise and acknowledge this fact, and the benefits of what He has done would be passed on those who choose Him. 

Romans 5:12-21 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Man is represented by 2 great persons in history, one who got us into this mess, and another who saved us from it. 

Adam was the first man who fell short of God's law and caused mankind to be condemned. He was the default representative of all mankind since all men descended from him. The lineage and genealogy of man proved this so. Because of Adam, sin and sufferings entered the world and became inherent to all who are born after him. There has never been a need to teach a child to sin for it comes as second nature. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are all that man pursued in his lifetime, without the slightest need to learn how to do it. In fact, man would become so creative and resourceful at sinning that without external intervention there is no hope of ever getting out of the bondage of sin by himself. 

Christ by the elation of God, became a man to represented us and substituted for us to pay for the price of sin. The son of God became the son of man to qualify as man's representative for His redemption work. He did what Adam could not do, perfect obedience to God's commandments for a full 33 years of His life without a single sin. In fact His conquered Satan during 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness where He was tempted repeatedly with the same 3 sins of Adam. He passed all the tests under dire conditions while Adam failed all of them in the comfort of the luxurious Garden of Eden. He went through the water baptism by John the Baptist and all that was necessary to qualify Him as required by God. Finally, when He had to pay the ultimate penalty of sin according to God's righteousness, even God forsake Him on the cross as He alone bore the sin of the entire world and died for us. When the work of atonement was completed, Christ rose again from the dead to conquer death as God would, for He is God and only man for a period of time for our sake. What this representative had done for us would be lost if we chose not to recognise it. 

Do You Understand?

Daniel 12:8-13

And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

God's Words are meant to be understood by believers. These are the milk we needed as babes in Christ; the meat we needed to grow and be strong in the Word. 

There is wisdom in the Bible and more yet to be revealed as future events unfold. During the times of Daniel, certain truth was not revealed to him as the passage talks about the events of the future. We are blessed today to have other passages in the Bible to help us understand this passage. For Daniel he went by faith, knowing that God controls the entire future and all that was written will come to pass.

The key to understanding the wisdom in the Bible is through salvation. Without the belief, there is no understanding of the truth in the Bible. As a believer, the Holy Spirit gives us the wisdom to interpret the Bible as we study the Word.  As we grow in the faith through the study of God's Words we grew also in the deeper understanding of the Word and it's an application to our lives. Our thinkings, feelings and actions will then be more aligned to the teachings of God. We will then go through the process of sanctification, and become more and more Christ-like. This is the path God wants us to take, to grow and gain more understanding of what God wants of us in our lives.

In this week's weekly newsletter, there is an article on the English Translation of the Bible. An article was written by TS Eliot in 1962 on the then-new translation of the New English Translation vs the established Authorised King James Version. In the article, there was a few interestingly funny translation of the passages in the Bible that showed the simplicity of man when they decided that the old translation was no longer relevant and must be discarded. Examples of such translation include: "Do not feed your pearls to pigs"; "Or how can you say to your brother, 'let me take a speck out of your eye' when all the time there is that plank in your own?"; and as for the house built upon sand, "down it fell with a great crash!". Any student of the Word knows that the wisdom of God is written in parables and never as literal meaning. When man uses his own understanding to interpret the Bible, it not only make a mess of it but also misled people down the wrong path. The scholars of old had God as their guide to provide the faithful translation in King James Version, we will do well by following that translate and pray for wisdom to understand God's Word as it is revealed in the Holy Bible.

Saved in the Icy Waters

Today at Sunday service there is a very touching story in the weekly newsletter. It is a simple story but it demonstrated the sovereignty of our God and His loving-kindness towards those willing to seek Him. The story is reproduced below.

Just before midday, April 10, 1912, the White Star liner Titanic sailed out of Southampton Harbour to begin her maiden voyage to New York. The ship weighed 46,000 tons and travelled at 22 knots. It was the largest and most luxurious ship afloat, and because it had a double-bottomed hull which was divided into 16 water-tight compartments, it was thought to be unsinkable. The captain of the ship, which carried 2,223 people was Captain E J Smith.

Shortly before midnight on Sunday the 14th, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. Five of the watertight compartments ruptured and the ship sunk just after 2am the next morning with the loss of 1,513 lives.

The rest of the passengers and crew were rescued from lifeboats by the Cunard liner Caparthia, which arrived several hours after the Titanic had sunk.

Among those who perished was a Baptist minister named John Harper. When the ship began to sink, hundreds of people jumped into the icy cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. One of these was a young Scotsman, who was a careless and ungodly sinner. Soon he found some object and clung desperately to it. People were crying and wailing all around him. John Harper was also clinging to alone object to keep afloat and drifted near this young man. He called out to him,"Is your soul saved?" He replied, "No, it is not." Then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," said Harper urgently and lovingly.

The two men drifted apart for a time, then the current drew them together again. "Is your soul saved?" Harper cried out,"I fear it is not." "Then, if you will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, your soul shall be saved," said the minister, with the deepest feeling. Again the current separated the two men. Herper loudly spoke the gospel messages to others who were struggling in the water.

The young man in desperation cried unto Christ to save him. He believed on the Lord and was saved.

In a few minutes, the young man heard the preacher say,"I'm going down... I'm going down, then"No, no, I'm going up", and John Harper was gone, his body into the dark, cold waters of the ocean, but his spirit went to be with Christ whom he had just proclaimed.

The young man remained afloat until he was rescued. Years later, he gave his testimony of how the Lord wonderfully saved him and had kept him in the ways of God.

Story written by R. Cameron Smith.

A very simple story of faith with the most straightforward message of "just believe and you will be saved." It is such a simple truth, but few believed it to be so. Surely there are so many difficult and complicated things we have to do to redeem ourselves in order to be saved? But the truth cannot be simpler than this. The ways of men are not the ways of God. God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, has done all the "complicated redemption" work that we thought we had to do. We could never have done anything to redeem ourselves for we are sinners; Christ being sinless, died so that we can live. I thank God I was given the ability to believe in Christ, purely based on this simple truth - "believe and thou shalt be saved."

All That Thrills My Soul

This Sunday service we sang such a joyous hymn "All that thrills my soul is Jesus, He is more than life to me." Many times we would rather walk away from Jesus rather than stay with Him. In John 6:66-69 was an account where the people still leave Jesus and only 12 left. Simon Peters knew and saw the truth "And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Many times in life we walked away from Jesus not because we do not know who Jesus is, but precisely because we know exactly who he is, and we were ashamed. We felt we were not worthy of Him because of our sins. Truly we are not worthy but Christ delivers those who recognize this and confess their sins. Running away from him is not the answer. Run towards Him to receive the gift of salvation; repent and place Jesus at the center of our lives. Jesus is much more than life to those who follow him.  

There is a very different feeling when we are in Christ. There is peace and joy in our hearts, such feelings that we ourselves are unable to full explain why. A simple lightness in our steps, a joyous beat in our hearts and a sense of peace and contentment knowing that we lacked nothing so long as we are in Christ. We ahould lean closer to Him to enjoy the peace, joy and blessings knowing that we have Jesus who is much more than life for us. 

If God Be For us

Romans 8:28-31 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did pre-destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did pre-destinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

We are blessed in every way in our life, and we thank God for all things provided to us. Why would God blessed us? How can we continue to receive God's blessings? 

1. Love God - if you want to have a good life, love God. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God". If you love God, you will keep his commandments. Do you have a ability to keep and obey God's commandment. We can do this because God gave us strength. He was the one who loved us first, that's why he made all these possible for us.

2. God called us- When God called us, you will know that it is it irresistible. He touched us via many ways - through a friend, a flyer, a website, and you are moved to come and understand and accept Christ. When he called, we accept and he will give much all the goodness we need in life. 

3. We are predestined to be called because God knows us even before we were born. He chose us before all things and predestined us for salvation. An example is the nation of Israel. Why did God choose Israel? Because he loved them. He chose to save Israel. We can love God, only because he first loved us. If we loved God, God will bless us and help us. Just like how He helped Israel. "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Years on, after we received the Lord, have we had any lack? None. God's provision is in abundance and His will and timings is always perfect. We will learn to love him and abide in him because He love us. Be on God's side, the side that is always blessed beyond any doubt. 

The Sheep of His Pasture

Lord's Day, 9 July 2017
Psalms 100 A Psalm of Praise

The heaven is a place of joy and praise and our lives on earth should also be themed in joy and praise.  To do so we can consider 2 elements:

A. The right relationship - the relationship between us and the Lord. Who are we? We are God's created on earth among many creatures, but God's focus has always be on man, who was made in God's own image.

Know ye that the Lord he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3)

We live by God's Word, and to esteem the spiritual, not the physical things on earth. While we focus on Him, he provides abundantly. We rely on him for all our needs, spiritually and physically.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:4)

When we have the right relationship with God on earth, we will have joy to praise the Lord for all his gooodness. We recognise His goodness towards us, we depend on Him for all things.

B. The Real Rejoice - we will be able to have fullness of life if we have God in our lives, and we will be able to have real rejoice wholeheartedly. Only such a life is worth living. Such a life is a life of service unto the Lord. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. (Psalm 100:2)

The formula for a praiseful life on earth:
Make a joyful noise (v1) ~~ Serve the Lord with gladness (v2) ~~ Know ye the Lord is God (v3) ~~ Enter with thanksgiving, be thankful and bless His name (v4).

With a life of great joy, there is nothing we need to fear, for we have the Lord in our hearts.

Church Camp Theme Message 7: The Holy Spirit in Counselling and Restraining

15 June 2017, Thursday, 11:00 am

Eastin Hotel, Makkasan, Bangkok

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:7-12) 

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and the only Comforter we need in life. No humanistic counselling method can set things right, except the Holy Spirit that teaches us all truth and cleanse our lives through understanding of God's Word. He is the Spirit of truth, when we pray He will cause you to remember the words of God and make you understand what is it that you need to do.   

How should we live our lives? Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Eph 6:10-18)

• Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
• Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
• Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
• Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
• And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
• Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Love the Lord with all thy heart, mind and soul, and let your heart be filled with peace and joy. Your soul will be healed and you will know how to live your life right. The cleansing work of the Holy Spirit will lead you on the right path. Your mind will be filled with positive thoughts and you will be cheerful and people can see that, and feel the joy in you. 

The only counselling advice we will ever need?

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

In times of need, pray and submit your request to the Lord and wait for the Lord to speak to you through the conviction of the Holy Spirit in your hearts. There is always an answer to our problem, we just need to be sensitive towards the Spirit and learn to experience him - how He can use the Word to make you live a successful life in the Lord.

Church Camp Theme Message 6 - The Holy Spirit in Sanctification and Service

14 June 2017, Thursday, 9:30 am

Eastin Hotel, Makkasan, Bangkok

Romans 8:1-13

The process of Sanctification is facilitated by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

The means of being sanctified is the Word of the Lord. John 17:17 says "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

What happens when we walk in the Spirit?

A. We produce the fruit of the Spirit - Gal 5: 22-25 states love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 

Question: have I seen the fruits of the Spirit in ourselves? We should see a slow but gradual transformation in you to produce these fruits of Spirit.

B. Eager to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In Acts, the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost and they started to speak in tongues, different but known languages of others. They were eager to share the Gospel to all people and spread the Word widely. When you are filled with the Spirit, you will want to share it with others. You will also be eager for Spiritual things and wants to serve.

Question: have you lost the fire to evangelise for the Lord?

C. You will love God's people and desires fellowship

You will look forward to have fellowship with like-minded people and children of God. You will want to contribute to the church in terms of service and tithes, to support the work of God. You will be moved to see the need of the church and act to close the gap by contributing your resources and do your part. Have you been dedicating your offers to the Lord, as thanksgiving for His blessings for you? 

Question: do you love the people of the Lord enough to do your part?  

D. You will love to worship the Lord.

You will desire the Lord's worship in church and use the worship to draw strength from the Lord to go through your life. We may be lost in the world during the week; we attend the Sunday service to adjust our bearings in life.

Question: do I have such desire for the Lord's day worship? 

What must we do to be sanctified? 

1. You must repent of your sins - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:19-20)
2. You need to read and study the bible - As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2)
3. You need to pray, privately and corporately - if you have the desire to exhort fellow Christians, you will want to pray for them and desire to know their needs. Hebrews 10:25
4. You need to exhort fellow church members - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)
5. You need to be baptised and partake of the Lord's Supper. These 2 are the sacraments of Christ. We put God first by practicing these sacrament.
6. You need to give tithes and offerings - Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (2 Corinthians 9:7-8). In return God will give you back in your life abundant grace - not monetary but need spiritual needs. 
7. We must serve the Lord with our spiritual gifts - And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12). The Holy Spirit provides you with the gifts you need to serve the Lord and the church. You get active in the church and be involved, and you will know what you have as gifts to contribute to the church.

Church Camp Theme Message 5 - The Holy Spirit in Prayer and Decision-Making

14 June 2017, Wednesday, 11:00 am
Eastin Hotel Makkasan, Bangkok

Luke 11:13

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Our God the Father is a very responsible father. When God gives us a commandment, He does not just leave us to it, He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us his commandment. He gives to us His very presence and power through the Holy Spirit. 

John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

We can succeed with God; He is our protector, provider, preserver and also our prayer partner. The Holy Spirit is our comforter; He guides us through difficult times, convict us of our sinful ways and comfort us when the journey gets hard. He also intercede for us in prayers when we struggled with our prayers. When we need to make the right decision, but don't know how to pray, He prays for us on our behalf. 

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

The Christian journey is a journey of experience, through the continuous sanctification of our lives towards Holiness and learning God's truth through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. We look forward to this journey and delight ourselves with the will of the Lord. When we move a step closer in the right direction, God will make the journey smooth and clear all our challenges along the way. The Lord will send reinforcements, encouragement and motivation for us to move along the right way. 

Church Camp Theme Message 4 - The Holy Spirit in Biblical Interpretation and Discernment

14 June 2017, Wednesday, 9:30 am
Eastin Hotel Makkasan, Bangkok

2 Tim 15- "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 

Studying is hard work, especially God's Word. We need to understand what God meant in the Bible, as there is only one meaning and understanding, for yea is a yea and nay is a nay. To do this, we need the Holy Spirit's guidance to study His Word.

If the Bible has only one meaning, why do we have so many interpretations? Note that this is nothing to do with God, but everything to do with us. The study of God's Word is a journey; it is a sanctification process as we grow in the understanding of God's truth. The emphasis on God's truth should be every Christian's top priority. 

The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. It is with such attitude that we follow the Holy Spirit to study and to know the truth, built upon the doctrine of God. Through study of God's words our lives will be gradually transformed and to be more conformed to God's thinking. Truth also unite fellow Christians to have a consistent belief, and the ability to discern truth from falsehood. They stand united towards outside influences and prevent division within a church.

There are many knowledge to be gained from the bible through many doctrines. We learn them by faith, for faith is the start of our understanding. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe in Christ, and will continue to give us the faith to believe in the many truths of the bible. Where understanding is hard, we rely on faith that God is always right and all truth will be revealed to us in God's own timing.  

Church Camp Theme Message 3 - The Holy Spirit in Biblical Inspiration and Preservation

13 June 2017, Tuesday, 11:00 am
Eastin Hotel Makkasan, Bangkok

No bible no salvation, for there is no faith without God's Word. The Holy Spirit works in conjunction with God's Word to give us understanding of God. The Spirit is a Spirit of truth and understanding. However we cannot have the Spirit without the Word and either can we understand the Word without the Spirit.

We have 2 perfect gifts from God the Father. His perfect Scripture and a teacher in the Holy Spirit. We are guided by the Spirit on all things in our lives; He is within us and searches deep within us to chastise us of our sins with the perfect Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

The Holy Spirit also inspire and preserve every single word in the Bible, so that it is also perfect for us. All the books of the bible are inter- connected and related to one another. Thus it is plenary inspiration - all books and words are inspired by God to be written by man. All words are inspired to be written as part of Scriptures, and by faith we believe all words of the scriptures as perfect God's Word. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 

Church Camp Theme Message 2 - The Holy Spirit in Evangelism and Salvation

13 June 2017, Tuesday, 9:30 am
Eastin Hotel Makkasan, Bangkok

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

This commandment continues until today - that we are all witnesses for God, and we continue to share with others of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

What is the purpose of evangelism? It is not our work to convict and convert someone to Christ, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is regardless of what we do. Our job is to share the Gospel as plainly as it is to others. What we should not do during evangelism:

• Prove the bible or Christianity: for we are putting God under the test/logic of man. Using science is prove God has never been proven to convict and convert on its own. Let God be true and every man a liar. Using signs and miracles is also another popular ways of evangelism, but God never promised miracles as part of salvation, even if these miracles are all real. It is not the point of salvation. The fundamental purpose of the Holy Spirit in evangelism is to manifest God and the Gospel in man's hearts, not to perform miracles to prove the Gospel. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It is not to be seen, but heard and felt.
• Try to answer all the questions: even if we can answer all of them correctly, there will still be more questions.

We need to evangelize with the correct method, else there will not be any result, and we get depressed, thinking it is our fault.

How to go about evangelizing correctly?

1. Pray - pray for the person that God will move the heart. We go with the presence of God and He will be with us. The Holy Spirit must be in our midst to convict and converts the hearts for us to see results.
2. Know the Gospel - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4   "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
3. Share the message in pure and simple way. Jesus died for our sins, shed his blood to redeem us of our sins, buried and raise from the dead on the 3rd day to bear witness and rose to heaven. Leave the rest of the work to the Holy Spirit. 
4. Other messages - man needs to recognize how sinful we are and how hopeless it is for us to try to get ourselves out of our sins.

We need to go into evangelism with the right understanding of where we are as man. Romans 3:10-18 says we have broken every single law of God, we fall short of the glory of God in all ways. There is none righteous, no, not one. Thus we cannot exalt man and belittle God by trying to prove God exists. Man already knows it, it is a deep recess of our soul as our conscious self. 

1 Corinthians 1:17. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. All glory to God in all things we do.

Church Camp Theme Message 1 - The Third Person of the Holy Trinity

12 June 2017, Monday 7:30 pm

Eastin Hotel Makkasan, Bangkok 

Tonight this message kick start the first message of church camp 2017. 

"We are here to study God". This is Pastor's first sentence, after reading the passage of John 3:1-8. Knowing God is the highest of all knowledge, it is the apex of all sciences. Knowing God helps us to know who we are. It is the knowledge that will last forever, while all other knowledge all become obsolete once this world passed away. 

There is only one God, and the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. God is so huge, so big, so infinite; can puny man ever hope to comprehend all of God? Deuteronomy 29:29 say that we don't have all the answers pertaining to God. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; thus we remain silent where God did not reveal. All that we can do is to trust and obey, for God knows the best. It is an experience that we ourselves will know once we submit to Him, and enjoy the peace that comes with it. "Be still and know that I am God." We experience such things through the work of the Holy Spirit, and only if we have the Holy Spirit with us can we understand God's word and feel the peace within. "Verily verily I say unto you, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

The concept of the Holy Spirit is difficult to understand without "supernatural" understanding from the supernatural book of books. The Lord our God is one God, yet there are 3 distinct persons - the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost; and three are one. (1 John 5:7) Yet these three are distinct - when Jesus was being baptised by John in Matthew 3:14-17, Jesus the Word was baptised, and the heaven opened and the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, descent upon him, and he heard God the Father said: "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

Of the three Persons, we needed the Holy Spirit to guide us into all understanding. In return we should know more about this Person. John 14:16 says the Holy Spirit is another Comforter, someone that is of the same kind as Jesus. Romans 8:27 says that the Spirit has a mind, he thinks and makes decision. 1 Corinthians 2:10  says that the Spirit searches all things and knows the things of God. 1 Corinthians 12:11 says that the Spirit decides what gifts we have. In Acts 4:3, the Holy Spirit was lied to. The Holy Spirit can be resisted, grieved, insulted, blasphemed; it is in every way a Person. 

To be born again is to invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and transform us. To do this we need to ask, ask the Lord to come into our lives, so that we can receive the Spirit within us. To be born again is to be born of the Spirit, a spiritual birth. We allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, in His own unpredictable, mysterious ways. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8. Those who experienced such workings of he Holy Spirit in their lives, they are truly blessed. 

The Curse of Wealth

Is wealth a curse or a blessing? Should we follow the Prospersity Gospel - "Believe in God and you will have wealth!"? Should the church be blessed by the number of  'influential' people they have in church? Apostle Peter and John did not have any silver and gold, were they then considered as failures? Jesus on earth has no wealth, was he then also a failure?

It is not wrong to have wealth on earth, it is good that God blessed us with riches for he trusted us in managing the possession well. If we see riches in a wrong way, then it will become a curse to us and prevented us from entering into the kingdom of God, for the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Tim 6:10).

The rich man in Mark 10:17-31 called Jesus "Good Master" and did not see Him as his saviour but a person being successful and therefore had obtained eternal life. This rich man was very eager and earnest, although all in the wrong place. Jesus told him how to have eternal life - keep thy commandment, to which the rich man was confident that he has done that since young. He thought he was pretty good! However, there is only one who is truly good; the rich man was blind to Jesus' goodness. He was sincere, but was sincerely wrong about what is truly good in the spiritual sense, not worldly sense.

Jesus pointed out the only thing that the rich man lacked - sell away all the possessions and follow Him. "Take up the cross and follow me." Jesus was telling him to worship Him but not his wealth. Jesus is saying that He is all that the man needed in life, not the worldly riches. Thus the rich man had broken the commandment of having no other gods except Jesus. The rich man did not see this; he went away. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25. If it is impossible for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle, then who can be saved? This is a rhetorical question - the answer is "no one!" However, for with God all things are possible; and only with God, not God and man, not God and riches, only God alone can save.

The way ahead is to live for the Lord, using the wealth and riches blessed to us; and with the heart in the Lord, He will see it fit to give us the riches we need in life, for us and for His work.

Salt & Fire

Mark 9:48-50
For everyone shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

The context of these 2 verses in the entire passage is punishment in times of sin. Fire in this passage is punishment and everyone here refers to every non-believer. The end of the fire is destruction. People who are unrepentant will be seasoned with salt to be roasted in the lake of fire. Thus the importance of spiritually cutting off our hands (v43); foot (v45) and eye (v47) that have caused us to sin against God. Spiritual surgery is important for our Salvation from the Lord.

Col 3:5 - Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Mortify here is to put to death. The old man that have all these sins have been washed by the blood of Jesus to become the new man.  We need to show the fruits of our salvation in our lives, and be salted with salt as we get cleansed. The sacrifice speaks of the believer, as a sacrifice unto God. Our body is a reasonable sacrifice to God. Thus we are salted with salt to further sanctify ourselves to God. The salt here is a covenant with our God. It will last forever, just as salt preserves us forever.

Romans 12:1-2. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Let's us not conform to the world and salted with fire; but be transformed in Christ to be salted with salt and be preserved forever.

Spiritual Surgery

Mark 9:42-48

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Cut it off! Pluck it out! If this is taken literally, our church will be full of handicapped people, and we would have to repeatedly do this every time we sinned.

These passages refer to the doctrine of Biblical  Seperation. We need to be separated from sin, from erroneous doctrine and practices of the world. Make no mistake, Jesus' teachings above are commandments to us, thus this is not a choice, it is to be done. The language is clear, cut it off and pluck it out; it is as clear and as straightforward as it can be. Biblical Seperation is for every Christian; it is a fundamental doctrine for all of us.

2 Col 6:14-7:1
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

Seperation here is stated as a commandment by Apostle Paul - "be yes not unequally yoke"; "come out from among them"; "be ye separated"; "touch not the unclean thing"; "let us cleanse ourselves". These is no mistake on what every Christian will do. Only then will God be a Father unto us, and we shall be His sons and daughters. (2 Col 6:18)

We need to take a serious look at our lives. Are we addicted to worldly activities that take us away from God, and cause us to sin? We need to purposefully tear ourselves away from things t hat Seperation us from our God, and set our hearts to cut them off and pluck them out! We will survive without these worldly addictions and gain the grace & mercy of God. We need to walk closer to God to know what is bad or wrong in the eyes of God, so as to deliver a spiritual sensitivity that will allow us to know when we should separate ourselves from things that we should not do. We listen to the Holy Spirit to separate ourselves from sins that will keep us away from God.

Let us check ourselves and let us be safe on the Lord side!

Notes taken from Sunday Sermon from True-Life Bible-Presbyterian Church, 12 February 2017.

Christ-Sufficient: Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

1 Tim 6:6-10 

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

Gen 3:19 says "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 

Since we cannot take anything away with us when we die, what should our expectation of wealth be when we are alive? Shouldn't it logically be that so long as we are clothed and fed enough to sustain us on earth, that should be enough. Whatever we accumulated while alive, we have to leave behind. 

1 Tim 6:8 - And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

We trust that God will provide us what we needed to sustain us. When God provided enjoyment of good food, we go ahead and consume it and be thankful. Where God provide simply we gave thanks too. We must be contented in God and His provision. Godliness with contentment is great gain when we are Christ-sufficient. 

1 Tim 6:9- But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 

The root of temptation is desire. When our wealth increase our desires increase; and temptation crept into our hearts. With temptation comes a snare, a trap for us to fall deeper and ultimately drown us in the lust for more. 

Thus, we must set our desires right; have the right expectation and we will see through the lure of earthly wealth. Always putting God first and be Christ-sufficient, and we will be happy and contented in our lives. 

1 Tim 6:10- For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Is money the source of evil, no, it is the love of money that is the source. Money in itself is useful and needed to sustain us, but the desire for more money will drive us to do things against the will of God. If we are consumed with the love of money we will do all things to get more money and fall into sin. The Bible has numerous stories of people who loved money and came to no good end. The famous one is Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. In modern days, how much money do you need to give Christ up? We gave up attending Sunday services for worldly gains, isn't this also betrayal of Christ? 

What worldly desires do we have that held us back from setting our eyes towards God? Remember that nothing on this world can bring us contentment. The poorest man is one who has nothing but money. Christ gives us riches not in money but in the salvation of our lives, which is riches beyond the worldly money. Leave the worldly desires behind and set our desires right. Contentment will come when we are Christ-sufficient.