What A Quiz...

It was all started with a few of us taking up the quiz in Facebook on "Which Singapore church are you best suited in?" and the result are New Creation Church. All of us were having the same result and I found out that the trick of this quiz is on question # 3: i.e. What else do you do besides attending services? If you don't choose the given answer "I like to listen to Hillsong and DVD sermons", for sure you go other church, like... mmm???

At first it was a happy exchanging of words among close friends then came a friend of Samuel and Jennifer, contributing his comment… Wow… Religious people as what I’ve learn from Pastor Prince's sharing do exist… From his comment, I find it interesting to steer up the religious wave (I usually don’t do this sort of thing) to see how big the wave can go…



Here it goes…

Jennifer: we go 2gether-gether ok?? ;)

Penny: yeah..........

Jennifer: felicia & calvin took the quiz too..hehe! same result.

Felicia: Yoohoo!!!

Xxxx Xxx: hmm... some people say that new creation church preaches health and wealth gospel, a feel-good version of the Truth...

i'm not saying they are wrong or anything, just saying be careful and always exercise discernment, ok. =)

Alan: Jesus heals the sick... that is health. Jesus multiplies 2 fishes and 5 loaves... that is wealth! He is the same yesterday, today and forever... hmm good discernment!!!! Amen!

Felicia: AMEN PASTOR! :D

Xxxx Xxx: Yes, Jesus heals the sick. when He was on earth, He healed every sick person who came to Him - there is no record of Him ever refusing to heal someone.

yet, after He ascended to Heaven, although His disciples continued to heal (and yes, i do believe that the gift of healing is still active in the church today), the incidence of healing was no longer 100%. see how Paul told timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and his frequent illnesses in Timothy 5:23. or see how Epaphroditus was sick and almost died, in Philippians 2:25. why not just heal them, if we were able to heal at all times and in all cases?

so the fact is that, in spite of the purest faith and the most fervent prayers, God does not always heal. we may not understand why one is healed and another is not, but it is something we have to deal with. yet this is a fact that one almost never hears from the lips of those who preach the health and wealth gospel. and yes, God can prosper us if He chooses. Promotion comes from the Lord (Psalm 75:6-7). yet reading Jesus' words, "you cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24), and His reply to the rich young ruler, "go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:21) and paul's words in 1 Timothy 6:10, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"... all these verses show us that there is something wrong with the kind of gospel that can blithely proclaim that all God wants to do is to bless and prosper you.

God does not want to make us happy - He wants to make us holy. and that means struggle, sacrifice, disappointments, dying to self, and etc. not the hollow promises of health and wealth that some churches peddle.... once again, a disclaimer - i do not say that New Creation Church is one of these. just that this kind of teaching is becoming prevalent among some churches, and we would do well to be careful and practice discernment. =)

Alan: 2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Father, whatever promises that he doesn't want, please give to me and I say, " Amen!" to Your glory...

Felicia: I want also.. Amen!

Xxxx Xxx: lol... i do not deny, and neither do i reject, the promises of God. so, alan and felicia, if you're hoping God will give you my "rejected blessings", too bad, they're all mine! =D

but... here's a promise (or is it a warning?) that ties in with what i was trying to say earlier... "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine... Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

one thing that makes the health and wealth gospel so dangerous, is that it's exactly what we want to hear. we must not 'censor out' the difficult, hard, challenging parts of the gospel. ok? =)

Felicia: aww.. shucks.. hehe.. but God's promises for me are sufficient for me and much more. wouldn't mind rejected blessings to come my way.. hehe

Samuel: Xxxx Xxx.... some people say is not good enough...what do you say? What's important is whether you know or not? Why listen to what other people say?

Matthew 16:13-20. Jesus asked his disciples who he is? They replied, 'some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. But Simon Peter answered 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God'.

Let's not argue on what others say... find out for yourself... the bible is simple to understand but really a mystery for some... as the truth is kept a mystery to those that do not appreciate the generosity and abundant grace that comes from the father of lights. Why cast pearls before swines?

Alan: You are reasoning with your mind... discernment is from our heart... Many people tell you here you don't want to listen... It is not what people say, it is what you think... Repent (renewal of our mind) from reasoning than you can discern. What we are doing here is discerning the truth not reasoning the truth. It is not about NCC but it is about Jesus... Grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Samuel: Yup...let's not rob fellow believers of what Christ has so graciously and freely given...it has never been cheap grace but it was the most 'costly' sacrifice- if you can put a value to it, that God has given. It cost Him His Beloved Son. If the greatest miracle (which is salvation) came by us believing in the finish work on the cross, tell me why is it that you need to work out your salvation. It has never been about 'you + Christ=salvation'. The equation in the bible has always been 'Christ+0=salvation'. If you can work out your salvation then there is no need for Christ in the first place. Let's not 'Pharisize' our faith in Christ by complicating it with our self effort. It all begins with pride and not humility to say that you can live a perfect life without sin. No one can but Christ. That's why you need to fully depend on Him and His willingness to bless you out of your socks. There's so much to share but I doubt you will discern what we wish to share with you…Xxxx Xxx.

At least the rich young ruler know that he can never meet God's standard of a perfect life. Jesus wanted him to realize that he can never reach God's standard. Neither can anyone say that he or she can fulfill the 10 commandments fully. You fail in one you fail all ten. And it's your thoughts that count. The Christian way of life, if there is any is an impossible one, that's why you need Christ in us to live His life through you. Let's not get carried away with our self righteousness. It's pride bro... pure pride... Are we now trying like the Galatians who were initially saved by grace trying to fall back on our self efforts to reach God's standards? Rightly discern the old and new covenant bro... and you will not be confused. Do not pour new wine into old wine skins. The root of evil has never been money bro....it's the love of money...How are you gonna bless your neighbor if you yourself cannot even support your own family?

How is it possible for a believer that believes that God will not prosper him to sell all that he possess.

If you believe that God can put sickness on you and make you suffer to teach you a lesson so that you can be tough then you might as well think of your earthly father to be the same. Does it make sense for your dad to decide one fine day to take all your privileges away, send someone to mow you down with a truck, or send someone to rob you and beat you up so that you can learn self discipline and become tougher? Of course not. If your earthly father loves you very much, how much more do you think your Heavenly Father? He did not spare His Son, don't you think He'll will give you much more... and much more...and prosper you and give you health?

Samuel: That's why Paul in Romans wrote this...'And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't, and life can't (even life). The angels (even angels) can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the... Read More deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord'. Jesus is really, really good. Let's not take away what he has suffered and paid dearly for on the cross.



Well, what do you say? As for me, I’ll say, ”Preach it Bro… there are still a lot of "unbelieving believers" out there...!"