A Pastor With A Big Heart

Last Sunday, 17 October 2010, Elder Alex and I preached at The NEW COVENANT Church (tNCC) in Kuala Lumpur upon invitation from their Pastor, Peter Sze.  Elder Alex preached at their English service while I was sharing at their Chinese fellowship. It was an amazing experience preaching and sharing at a Church very similar to ours and to believers energized by the Gospel of Grace. 

tNCC was born about a year ago and has grown fast into a Church with 250 members.   About a dozen of our Church members studying or working in Kuala Lumpur are attending this Church. tNCC meet at Wisma Atria, an old shopping mall in Petaling Jaya.   Their story is very much similar to ours when members from all backgrounds offered to serve in the newly formed ministries.  Like SIB Grace, they have bought the best equipments whenever possible. It is also a God incidence that they also have after service refreshment.

It was encouraging to see some of our young people serving there. Norman operated and cleaned up their sound system for them, while Darren has been with their worship team for quite sometime.

Pastor Peter and his wife Seefen

We had a refreshing 2 days fellowship with Pastor Peter who opened up his house to us.   As we fellowship, I learned that he actually started this Church with his wife and children and since then, many from the Methodist Churches, Full Gospel Assembly and various other Churches have joined them. 

Pastor Peter is indeed, a pastor with a big heart... We were amazed to see that his big house is actually a meeting place for his members throughout the day or even week and all the invited speakers stayed there. 

tNCC is supporting Churches in Cambodia with finances, teaching materials and teachers.   The Pastor in charge of this Cambodian Ministry had a miraculous healing that Pastor Joseph Prince mentioned in his books and this is the same place where Pastor Joshua Lee had ministered to. We also learnt that this was  a supernatural connection when the Cambodian Ministry's previous support pulled out, God miraculously brought in tNCC.  

Elder Alex has told Pastor Peter that SIB Grace would also explore ways which we could partner them in the Cambodian work.  Elder Alex also mentioned that it would be a good idea to introduce the ministry of Susan Hoover in Medan to tNCC because of their geographical location. 

Pastor Peter has invited Andrew Farley, the author of  The Naked Gospel as speaker for their camp next year and we are delighted to learn that Pastor Peter is able to let us have Andrew Farley for a few days.   Andrew Farley is a well-known grace preacher whose book, “The Naked Gospel” has radically transformed many Christians with the pure Gospel. 

Personally, I am always refreshed when God opened a door for me to preach or teach outside SIB Grace.   I am overwhelmed that we are beginning to allow us to minister out of our overflow.  It makes us more resolute to shout this Gospel of Grace.  

We are no longer alone!   Besides tNCC, there is a Grace Church in Kuantan and a Tamil Grace Church in Ipoh.  I have met some Chinese speaking believers from Penang preaching grace in Facebook. There is also plenty of Holy Ghost movements at Churches in Indonesia and the Philippines.  

So lets cheer, and a goood one...... Grace!  Grace!  Grace!  

Come Boldly To The Throne Of Grace

Grace Upon Grace Conference 09
Sunday Service 10-05-2009

Hebrews 4:16 ~ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:15 ~ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:14 ~ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Once we know that we have been established in grace, we have the righteousness of God and His forgiveness of all our sins, past, present and future. Let us do not stop at the knowledge that we are forgiven. We must come boldly to the throne of grace and have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus to obtain help from Him. That is to seek the Tree of Life instead of depending on our own reasoning base on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

This is the purpose of His grace in imparting His righteousness to us that through His righteousness, we can have unfailing hope that He is the Anchor of our soul and the ever ready help in our life. We can live our life unaware of His presence but we can never live our life away from His presence; for He had promised that He will never leave us nor forsakes us. So come boldly to the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need...

The Former Rain & The Latter Rain

Grace Upon Grace Conference 09
Evening Session 09-05-2009

Joel 2:23-25 ~ Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you — The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.

(Who is your father?)
Restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.

The former rain speaks of the teacher of righteousness in the Bible while the latter speak of favor as the cloud of latter rain is called favor in the Book of Proverbs chapter 16 verse 15. This is what the Apostle Paul meant by those who receive God's abundant provision of grace (undeserved and unmerited favor) and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ...

In the last day under the dispensation of grace, God is going to cause He righteousness and His favor to rain down on His people that threshing floors shall be full of wheat, the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil; God 's abundant blessing of grain and new wine.

Who Can be Against Us?

Grace Upon Grace Conference 09

Morning Session 09-05-2009

Romans 8:29 - 31 ~ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun. We have no part to involve in His work but to believe....

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, who can be against us...? How can we lose?

Righteousness and Forgiveness of Sins are one...

Grace Upon Grace Conference 09

1st Session 08-05-2009

Romans 4:6-8 ~ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

Righteousness and forgiveness of sins are one... When our sins are forgiven, we are righteous in God's eye. As a believer, we have been forgiven of all our sins; past, present and future because of Jesus' Finished Work at the Cross. Jesus, the Son of God had been resurrected for our justification two thousand years ago...!

Isaiah 1:18-20 ~ "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

If you are willing to believe that you are righteous and your sins had been forgiven, you will eat the good of the land. If you refuse to believe that you are righteous and your sins had been forgiven, you shall be devoured by the sword of condemnation...

The Tree of Life

This post was originally part of the posting in “A Mail from Jacky” posted on 1st August 2008. As I still received revelation concerning the Tree of Life, I felt led to take this potion out from that post and post as a separate title.

The message preached by Pastor Joshua Lee on the 13th July 2008 was a heart revolutionizing message as it touches on Christian's approach on their conducts in everyday life. So we start with the question whether we are drawing our source from the Tree of Life or The tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil?

As for me, I don’t think I ever put a thought on this subject even though I have been a Christian for almost nine years; and because of this ignorant, even though I know I have been enlightened by grace, here and there, I still find myself bound by my own weaknesses.

I realize that as long as you dwell in the grace of God, the grace of God and His faithfulness will bring you deeper into His truth because you just cannot be stagnant but grow in grace. You are just like flowing in His river. I also realize that this is part of the process of growing in grace. Significantly, a Christian needs to be established in grace before this kind of message can take any effect because a truth is built on a truth. If you are legalistic, the focus is on your effort and thus, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is your source. Grace is contradicted to the legalism’s approach, so as the Tree of The knowledge of Good and Evil.

A legalism is earth bound and is restricted by the conduct of doing right or wrong, of which, the root is eating from the Tree of The knowledge of Good and Evil. If Christianity is to do good and avoid doing wrong, then Christianity is the same as any other religions. Every Christian knows that Christianity is not a religion but relationship with Jesus, and in spite of that knowledge, Christian still follow the worldly system or religious way of doing right and avoid doing wrong.

What is Christianity then? Will the real Christianity, please stand up! Christianity is depending on Jesus instead of human effort and Christianity is about eating from the Tree of Life. Jesus said He came to give life and life more abundantly! Praise God, if Jesus did not call me out from the legalistic environment I was in, I will never have the revelation on the importance of eating from the Tree of Life. I will still be living my Christian life religiously, continue to be taught with the earthly way of how to do right and how to avoid doing wrong (of which, we could not, of course..). Or even continue to make Jesus as my example, so that I can be a better man….

Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the words of Christ. If preaching is not based on the grace of God, then there will be no faith to rise up to that level to approach the Tree of Life. Ignorantly, legalists have preached Christian away from the grace of God and make them fallen away from His grace by their justification of good works.

The following passage from the Book of Hebrews caught my attention for quit a long time already and only now I begin to understand what this passage means.

Hebrews 5: 11 ~14: We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil!

The passage continue with, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on the hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so."

If only we can read these passages ourselves without the interference of the legalistic preachers, it is so clear that the teaching on the foundation of repentance from acts is the elementary teachings. It is not about learning to do good or bad, it is to distinguish good from evil. Learning to do good or avoid evil cannot make us distinguish good from evil. We need to be established in grace so as to have the ability to distinguish good from evil. The good and evil here means whether the teaching of God's word is filtered through the cross or not.

The purpose of the forgiveness of sin from God is not for us to start a new sinless life ourselves but to make us have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus so that we can draw from the Tree of Life. Through the cross, we have already been reconciled; we have already been made righteous and we are already one with Him in Christ. So let us move on to enter with boldness!

These passages bring out another issue; i.e. the knowledge of righteousness is not milk but solid food. Therefore, the knowledge of righteousness is for the mature not for the infant. We can only be established with the teaching about righteousness through His grace. We have to settle the issue of sin once and for all that we are made righteous by His grace through faith. This righteousness is about His righteousness not our righteousness. Our righteousness is described as filthy rags by the Bible. When we understand what His righteousness is, we will know that teaching on the foundation of repentance from acts is elementary. It’s finished! Or else, we will continue to drink our milk.

Therefore, humble ourselves knowing that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The proud in God's eye are those who depend on themselves and the humble are those who draw from Him. Knowing also that grace is with the truth. If we think that grace is not with the truth, then we will never find our way to the Tree of Life.

Humble yourself before God not before legalism. Start to believe that Jesus loves you and He had done everything on the cross just for you. If you guard this little faith in you, you will know His grace and you will be set free.

The purpose of His forgiveness is not for you to start your new sinless life yourself; His forgiveness is for you to have the boldness to enter into His grace.

A Mail From Jacky

Today, we received a mail from Jacky containing a message CD by Pastor Joshua Lee entitled "The Tree Of Life or The Tree of The Knowledge of Good & Evil". This message was preached while we were in Singapore on 13th July 2008. Surprisingly, this CD reaches us without any obstruction from the authority concern. Maybe once in a while, we can ask friend in Singapore to sent message CD via post or even we can consider subscribing message CD online.

Adrian (Left) and Jacky (Right) are enjoying Donut @ Donut Factory in Suntac City Mall
Photo taken by Norman.

Jacky is now working in Singapore and he is attending the New Creation Church. He just signed up as a Royal Steward in NCC while we were there in Singapore. We encouraged him and prophesied that he will be the Head of the Royal Steward so that next time when we attend New Creation Church's Sunday Service, he is in the position to grant us special favor for by-passing the long queue.

Divine Practical Assignment

My family and I were in Singapore from 11th to 13th July 2008. Of course our main purposes for this visit were to attend New Creation Church's Sunday service, visit some of the Shopping Centers in Singapore, our friends and relatives.

There are not many changes in Singapore. Everywhere you can see people walking. Singaporeans are good in walking and they are fast too. The infrastructures too, are at their best condition. There are some good discounts at certain outlets and the children had reasonably good buy from these outlets. We have one and a half days to do our shipping, meet our friends and relatives.

Richard, I could not find Pho Bo "Vietnamese Beef Rice Noodle" in Ngee Ann City this time. This stall has been replaced by other type of Beef Noodle stall. What a waste....

There is one thing I realized in this trip is that, I found myself easily anger and frustrated in a few occasions as my legs grew tired while I was trying to catch up with my family. My wife reminded me a few times to mind myself so as not to ruin the fun of this holiday. I wanted to do good and wanted to avoid myself from being easily angry over certain thing but I grew weak when the strength of my legs grew weak.

Walking to NCC. These photos were taken by Norman. He is a Photographer not a Camera Man.

When Sunday came, we were well rested and refreshed. We were early to be on our way to New Creation Church in Suntec City Mall. We used the Citylink Mall to go to Suntec City Mall from our Hotel. It was Pastor Joshua’s turn to preach that Sunday and his sermon was “Anger Management”. My wife and I met at our eyes, gosh....what a divine inspired sermon! I presume this is another syllabus for me and this trip to Singapore is another practical assignment from the Kingdom Academy.

The queue up church

It is not to our intention that, we all want to do good and avoid doing evil. Touch your heart folk, how many of you can agree with me? Even though we are already a Christian; we would try to do good and try our best to avoid doing evil. It is good that we do good and it is real bad when we do evil. By doing all these, we are ignorant that we are actually eating from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil! Our evil doing is already bad while our good deed is also equally bad because there is no life in the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. It is bad because we are eating from the wrong tree!

As we all have been enlightened by grace, we are supposed to put our faith in eating from the Tree of Life instead of the knowledge of Good and Evil. In and out of ourselves, we have nothing good and how can we do good? Beside, our anger is just a sign that we are frustrated with our failure in our attempt to do good but we put this blame on others. The accuser of the brethren has been using our failures to condemn us. We feel condemned when we realize we have failed again. We got to wake up and know the truth that; this is just a sign to tell us that we have been eating from the wrong tree and do not receive it as a condemnation.

We are in Christ and there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set us free from the law of sin and death.

We do wrong because we are trying to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good or Evil. If we eat from the Tree of Life, we can never be wrong because God can never makes mistake. While we are eating from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, the accuser of the brethren is there to condemn us because he hangs around in that tree.

Once we have been established in grace, we all know that we are forgiven of all our sins, past, present and future, but do not just stop at the knowledge that we are forgiven. The Bible says in Hebrews 10:17~24, after we know that we are forgiven, we must have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus to obtain help from Him. The Bible also says that, those who wait on the Lord, his strength will be renewed like an eagle and the Lord also told Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Folks, when we fail, do not let our failure condemns us but let our failure trigger us to admit that we are weak and let us enter and wait on Him and He, who is faithful, will give us strength to do the real good deed.

Again, this trip to New Creation Church has been a blessing to me and I have attended a divinely orchestrated three days two nights practical course from the Headmaster of my Bible Academy. I have been awakened by Pastor Joshua’s sermon and I want to eat from the tree of Life. I still do not know how but one thing I know for sure is that, I must repent (renew my mind). Once I renew my mind from the old way of my conducts, every responsible falls back to Him. He, who is faithful, will give me strength to do the real good deed. Once the good deed flows out from my life, I will know that this is from my Lord, not me.

Which tree are you eating from...?

Sheep Farming?

Richard and I visited New Creation Church in the month of March 2007. During the visit, we had a change to fellowship with Pastor Joshua Lee and Deacon Anthony Lau. Though the time was short, it was a blessing to both of us.

I came across this DVD "Shepherd and Sheep - The Secret To The Abundant Life" in the Rock Gifts & Book Center. The first thing I did was to find out whether there are dogs among the flock on the DVD cover. Obviously there are non, praise God, goooood job! In fact, I am a bit concern whenever I see this sort of shepherd and sheep pictures. My peace would be disturbed if I see dogs among the flock.

I believe in bible way of shepherding the sheep but not the worldly way. The bible way is call shepherding and the worldly way is call "sheep farming". What is the difference? Well, in the bible, our Lord never use dog to help in shepherding the sheep. In fact, He warned us to watch out for dogs! Our Lord is always leading the sheep at the front not from the back chasing after the sheep or forcing the sheep to move on. Our Lord would leave ninety nine sheep on the hills and go to look for the one that wander off. Sheep farming method would say I still have ninety nine sheep, who cares about the one that wander off? To be honest, how many sheep were hurt or wounded by dogs in this modern way of "sheep farming"? We are not aware that we are in fact, copying the method of the world and not the bible way of shepherding. If we have heart to see, our Great Shepherd is busy seeking the lost sheep and putting them back to an appropriate sheep pen. Good Shepherd knows each and everyone of us and He calls us by name.

I was very much blessed by this DVD. The way Pastor Joseph Prince delivered the message was full of cleansing water and the aroma of our Lord. This is the kind of spiritual food that we need for our spiritual life to face our everyday living in this fallen world. The word just refreshes us and strengthens us with the revelation of the Jesus' grace and love. It is this kind gracious aroma that leads us to follow the Good Shepherd!

When we are dwelling in the realm of grace, we are actually pointing the sheep to our Good Shepherd and the sheep are following because of the aroma of His grace. As we all follow, He says My sheep hear My voice.

What kind of voice are you hearing? A condemning voice from the dogs or a loving and affirming voice from the Good Shepherd?