After 40 Days

40 days of corporate spiritual discipline, of fasting, prayer and reading the Word of God. No games, no TV, these were but samples of the "toys" that frequently threaten to eat up our time.

We gave God total freedom in the one hour set aside each day for Him, shutting out every other competing agenda. This was so that we would begin to develop a taste and appreciation of the fundamental building blocks of Christian life.

So what's next after 40 days? What will our schedules look like after the "corporate campaign"?

Our hour of devotion time is just what we set aside as non-negotiable - we will give it to God, no exceptions. Yet it is important to open our calendar and ask God, "Holy Spirit, tell me what I should do with the other 23 hours?"

The truth of the matter is, ALL of our lives belong to God - every second of it. We do not segment our lives into blocks of which belong to God, and which belong to us. We learn to ask God what we need to do for every second we breathe.

Sleep? Play games? Sure! Let's do it with freedom as we seek God's agenda. We should not live life in a legalistic manner.

Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

As we prepare for the new week ahead, let's open up our calendar and go to God in prayer first to organise our days for us.

Hot For Jesus

On last night of Sanctification Week, Senior Pastor brought a sobering message to the church.

"How does God see FCBC?" ; "How does God see you?"- were you taken by surprise to be likened to the church at Laodicea, one of the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation?

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth....." (Rev 3:15, 16)

Ouch! Did we miss the good news first before the bad news? Without first a word of commendation to soften the blow, these words were strong and harsh, whichever version of the Bible we read from.

But wait a minute, here's something from the heart of a loving Father ...and it's not said for any of the other churches...

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
(Rev 3:19, 20)

Sanctification week may be over but let us continue to press on with the Lord's sanctifying work in our lives. Let us pray that the fires of revival will continue to sweep through our church and turn every lukewarm spirit HOT FOR JESUS!

A Transformed Heart

Have we been to the sanctuary of God and come out with a transformed heart?

What does a transformed heart look like? Pastor Eugene shared these 3 indicators - a transformed heart is tender, teachable and transparent.

A transformed heart from God is truly one that is tender towards God. We will not allow our past wounds or disappointments to harden our hearts towards God or people. A heart that is tender is able to allow God to move freely within, is able to feel and beat with His passion.

A transformed heart from God is truly one that is teachable. We will be willing to hear from God and obey Him. We will not be stubborn and set in our ways nor will we put a condition to our obedience.

A transformed heart from God is truly one that is transparent. We will allow God to search and test our motives, recognising that our heart is deceitful above all things. When there's nothing to hide from God or people, we can walk in true freedom.

Is this your heart today?

If it is, praise God and yearn for more of Him.

If it is not, then cry to God to create this new heart in you.

The Bible says that we are new creations in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new creation would include a new transformed heart. We can all claim this new transformed heart. Don’t settle for any less.

We shall BEHOLD HIM !

We're more than halfway through our 40 day period of prayer and fasting. Have you lost your weight?

Not just your weight in kilos but your weight in sin and burdens and baggage which have been bugging you, for the longest time perhaps. Some of us have grown so accustomed to all these extra weight that we don't even feel it anymore. I pray you have experienced some measure of personal victory and success in overcoming and conquering self.

We've also read through more than half of the 150 chapters of Psalms - Well Done! Have you drawn closer to the Lord and found Him to be everything David declared Him to be? Our Refuge and Strength, Our Protector and Provider, the Mighty God and our Shepherd King?

For those whom the Spirit of the Lord has been given access, it's been a period of cleansing and deep heart searchings. This is the preparedness we need to enter into for Sanctification Week which crosses Good Friday and Easter Sunday (20-23 March). Let us come with willing hearts and expectant spirits to wait upon the Lord - for Him to deepen His purifying work in each of us, to lead us to the Revelation of the Cross and a Renewed Consecration of our hearts and lives to Him.

"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory." ( Psalm 63:2 )

In GOD Alone

"Now I know God calls me to DESIRE for Him and DEPEND on Him alone. But where do I start? How do I even begin to "fix" the condition of my heart?"

Let us ACKNOWLEDGE that it starts with God, that unless the Holy Spirit reveals to us the true condition of our hearts, helps us realize that we need Him, and puts in us a desire to draw near to Him, we cannot even progress. So cry out to God and put our confidence in the Holy Spirit's ability to transform us.

Let us ALLOW God to lead us on His path of transformation. Many times we refuse to follow the Lord's leading even into challenging situations because it's easier to stay in our comfort zones where our competency is sufficient to carry us. Unless we allow ourselves to be led to positions of need, we will not discover God's sufficiency and strength. So surrender and let God lead. Young people, let us die to ourselves and follow where the Holy Spirit leads.

"my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1B)

Let us ASPIRE towards God's standards and visions. We tend to set goals that are of the flesh and become satisfied with our own accomplishments. Yet it takes God's touch to light up our eyes to see the impossibilities and put in us a desire and hunger for the God-possibilities. This often happens in silence, in solitude and in prayer. Young people, allow God to excite you beyond your wildest dreams!

"I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory." (Psalm 63:2)

Brokeness

As a young Christian, I was impacted greatly by the writings of Watchman Nee, a spiritual giant who knew and experienced close intimacy with God. His books like "The Normal Christian Life" and "The Release of the Spirit" increased my understanding of the spirit man by leaps and bounds. "Brokenness" has been the buzz word this last week. I thought I can do no better than share with you some gleanings from his writings on this subject:

"Many of God's servants are not able to do even the most elementary works. Ordinarily, their spirits should enable them to know God's Word, discern the spiritual condition of another, send forth God's messages under the anointing, and receive God's revelations. However, because their outward man has never been dealt with, revival, zeal, pleading and activity are a waste of time. There is just one basic dealing that can enable man to be useful before God, and it is this: brokenness."

"Without the breaking of the outward man, the inward man cannot come forth to bless others because Christ's life is imprisoned by us. It is not that the Lord cannot bless the church, but that the Lord's life is so confined within us that there is no flowing forth. If the outward man remains unbroken, we can never be a blessing to His church, and we cannot expect the Word of God to be blessed by Him through us!"

How do we know if we've been broken?

"There is one common feature that marks those who have been enlightened and disciplined; they become meek. Meekness is a sign of brokenness. All who are broken by God are characterized by meekness" (Note: not weakness!).

Jesus said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63)

The King Beckons...

The King Beckons...

What are you doing with the invitation from the King? Go on with life as usual and come back to the invitation when you have the time? We trust not. You drop everything you're doing and you re-schedule your priorities so you will be able to make it to His Presence!

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

While we can be assured of "finding God", this verse also gives a key condition. The condition is to search for Him "with all your heart". We cannot find God if we are not seeking Him with all our heart. It will be naive on our part to think that we could just experience intimacy without giving God all our heart.

"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me." (Proverbs 1: 8)

"All our heart" does not refer to diligence (in effort or action) alone. It is an issue of complete dedication (heart) to the person. And it is best reflected in our attitude.

"Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD." (Proverbs 1:29)

The attitude needed would be the "fear of the Lord" i.e. a deep reverence for Him.

Can Intimacy and Fear go hand in hand? Yes, fear of the Lord is the key to intimacy because it ensures we hate sin and all the things that turn the King's face away from us. We cannot enter His presence with a casual attitude and expect God to come near.

Let's press on to the King's presence and find each other there!

Dying To Self

Somewhere in Senior Pastor's message last week was a nugget of truth worth repeating.

That Delight in the Lord and Denial of self are both sides of the same coin. Did you catch that?

We cannot bring delight or find delight in the Lord if we come to Him like a sugar daddy or a vending machine which can be manipulated at our every wimp or fancy.

Luke 9:23, Jesus said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up His cross daily and follow me."

I reflected over three counselling cases which I was involved in recently. In all three cases, the problem would have been solved by Jesus’ prescription - to deny oneself. Ahh, the self is too much with us. Selfishness, self-centredness and self-love. What does it take to come to a point where our delight is God's delight, where we desire what He desires and we care for what He cares?

Impossible to do? Absolutely. It calls for death. Someone who understood this cost of discipleship was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and Christian martyr who wrote this prayer, "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free."

Growing In True Devotion

Psalm 40:4, "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods."

As we seek God's face by reading the Psalms daily, we can discern differences in how we relate to God, using a structure shared by Ps Edmund Chan at the Love Singapore Pastor's Prayer Summit.

The Psalmist through his writings reveals a FUNDAMENTAL dependence upon God – he cannot live for one moment without being sustained by the breath of God. Not a single day apart from God's guidance and direction, not just when he is under siege. He actively puts aside false gods to turn to the Lord.

There is the person for whom devotion to God is merely ORNAMENTAL. Even though he or she may come to church and read the Bible, life goes on relatively unchanged and independent of God.

Yet there are others for whom devotion to God is INCIDENTAL. From time to time, he runs across an inspiring touch of the Holy Spirit through the word and is encouraged by the grace and goodness of God.

Then there is also the man who reads the word, draws from Him intentionally, but that inspiration is only SUPPLEMENTAL to all other sources of support in his life.

Whatever position we are in, let's press in to drink deeply from God, to have Him as our FUNDAMENTAL source and sustenance. It requires tasting of the deeper things of God and a humble thirsting for it, renouncing all other sources of dependence. We find rest when we find our sufficiency in God alone.

Psalm 27:5, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

Lights off by 5, Home by 6

This is February. If you did not get a good start to the New Year on 1 January 2008, you can still claim a new beginning on the first day of the Chinese New Year (CNY) on 7 February 2008. Second chances… how we need it so often in life.

Whether you’re Chinese or not, CNY is a time for family and friends. How do you enjoy the reunion dinners and rounds of house visits? These are great opportunities to renew and rebuild relationships which often get neglected in the busyness of life. This is one key focus in this Year of Sabbath.

In fact many of the things we do during CNY, are in the spirit of the Sabbath.
Like ceasing from work, getting our house in order, preparing special meals, celebrating with family and friends, giving and receiving blessings.

So, for the month of February, it’s lights off by 5 at expo hall 9 and let’s all be home to be with our family by 6.

Be ready to open up your home or embrace anyone who may need a home to go to!

新年快乐,
恩福满堂