The Meaning Of Wilderness and 40 Days & 40 Nights

Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. And when He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was afterwards hungry. 

Understand what the Bible means by wilderness and the number 40, and you will have a different point of view on this highly controversial topic in the body of Christ...

It Is Good For The Heart To Be Established With Grace

Do not be carried about with different and strange doctrines, for it is good for the heart to be established with grace, not with foods, in which those who have walked in them were not helped.

Revelation on Fasting in The Light Of New Covenant

It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.", for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So do not be carried about with different and strange doctrines, for it is good for the heart to be established with grace, not with foods, in which those who have walked in them were not helped.

The revelation on fasting came to me about 3 years ago before we started our first teaching session in Celebration Bible School in Medan, Indonesia. This revelation took the Lord a flick of a second to reveal but it is by no mean conclusive and the revelation on this contractual topic in the body of Christ is still growing.

This is the link to the original post on the topic of FASTING written on 13th February 2009.

Established In Jesus' Righteousness

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes and the just shall live by faith. It is the glory of God to hide a thing; but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Start The Year 2012 With Everything You Already Have In Christ!

The following link is my preaching at the Sunday Service in SIB Grace on 1st January 2012.

Start The Year 2012 With Everything You Already Have In Christ! mp3

Be blessed with this fresh revelation from the Lord on the number 12 as the number 12 represents divine authority and appointment, as well as governmental foundation and perfection, and shows completeness.

God called Abram on the 12th Chapter of Genesis, asking him to get out of his country, his people and his father’s house. By referring to Colossians 2:8 and apply this instruction in our walk with the Lord, we see that God was actually asking Abram to leave the basic principle of his country, the tradition of his people and the teaching of his father as these conducts and teachings are against the calling of God as Abram was righteous by faith not by work.

Incidentally, God also brought the Israelites out of Egypt on the 12th Chapter of the Book of Exodus. For this New Year, let this revelation helps you in your walk with the Lord.

We are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly place and do not let any unbelieving word come out from your mouth.

Happy New Year!

 We Have Been Blessed With Every Spiritual Blessing

 What Did Jesus Left Behind Before The Cross?

 The Calling Of The Father Of Faith

 The Calling Of A Prophet

 Righteousness, The Foundation Of All Blessings

 Revelation Comes When We Believe

 Things That We Need For Godly Life Has Been Given Too!

 Take Heed What You Hear!

 Our Work Is To Believe In Him Whom He Sent!

The Meaning Of Leaving Your Country, Your Family and Your Father's House!

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly place and do not let any unbelieving word come out from your mouth.

Happy New Year 2012

I wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous New Year.  

We are now stepping into the year 2012, the "12th day" of the millennium which is the third day in God's eyes. Incidentally, this is also the 12th years of my walk with the Lord. For the first 3 years, I was not walking with the Lord; I was working for the Lord then… The revelation of His grace awakened me and enabled me to walk with Him again. He is concerned with our walk with Him, like Adam walking with in the cool of the evening… not our work for Him.

Because of the year 2012, the number twelve brought forth a new revelation in my heart. I want to declare that 2012 is going to be yet another fine year for our blessing is not in the year but in Christ! Those who settled for destruction in 2012 are preaching from Hollywood's point of view. As for me and my household, the year 2012 is going to be jolly good because we have the "Holy Word". The path of the righteous shines ever brighter and brighter until the noon day's sun!

Here is my revelation on the number 12 in respect of the year 2012. 

The number 12 represents divine authority and appointment, as well as governmental foundation and perfection, and shows completeness. In the Bible, we find 12 sons of Jacob which formed the 12 tribes in Israel; the Lord appointed 12 disciples, there are 12 elders representing the Old Covenant and 12 elders representing the New Covenant in the Book of Revelation. There were 12 Zodiac signs proclaiming the gospel story to Abraham in the night sky of the wilderness and etc. On top of that, there are 12 months in a year and 12 hours to divide a day from day and night… 

God called Abram on the 12th Chapter of Genesis, asking him to get out of his country, his people and his father’s house. By referring to Colossians 2:8 and apply this instruction in our walk with the Lord, we see that God was actually asking Abram to leave the basic principle of his country, the tradition of his people and the teaching of his father as these conducts and teachings are against the calling of God as Abram was righteous by faith not by work. Incidentally, God also brought the Israelites out of Egypt on the 12th Chapter of the Book of Exodus. 

When Elijah called Elisha, Elisha was ploughing with the 12th pair of oxen when Elijah called him by throwing his cloak (picture of righteousness) on him. Elisha then responded by leaving his father’s house, killing his oxen for food and burning his ploughing equipment. This reminds me of Abram leaving his country, his people and his father's household and the Israelites leaving Egypt. These responses are the act of faith for those whom God credited righteousness.

We are like Abraham, righteous by faith. Through the finished work of our Lord at the cross, we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3) even all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). With this revelation, we have to start talking about things that we already have in Christ. We cannot keep on talking about what we are going to have or what we do not have. We already have everything because what were His were already ours and what were ours were already His! This divine exchange had taken place at the cross two thousand years ago.

However, if we are still unable to believe... there is no revelation… therefore, we are yet to see the manifestation of our blessings! The reason of not able to believe is that we do not see the way God sees things. We do not see the Word through His heart! In His eyes and His prospective, Jesus' righteousness is the foundation of all blessings (Matthews 6:33). That is why He credits righteousness to those who believe in Him. We have been blinded by the world for not appreciating His righteousness.

Are you enjoying what you are supposed to have in Christ? Although you might have been sitting under the ministry of grace preaching for awhile, are you still struggling in your walk with Him where you find yourself lacking in many areas of your life? You might not experience the abundant life that He promised in His word. Are you not witnessing the manifestation of His blessings in your life…? If that is the case, let us go to another account recorded in the Bible in respect of the number 12. It is none other than the woman who was subjected to bleeding for 12 years. Her bleeding condition is a picture of self-righteousness and self-righteousness is contradicting and against the flow of His grace and righteousness…

If a woman is subjected to bleeding, her life is not productive at all. Her condition is a destruction to her health and wealth. For the case of the woman recorded in the Books of Gospel, her decision to acknowledge the righteousness of God turned her situation around. When she touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, she was immediate healed of her condition. That was before the cross, and as for us, we are much better than that woman because we are now clothed with Jesus’ righteousness.

Colossians 2
6  Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 
7  rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8  Beware lest anyone rob you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. 
9  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 
10  And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, 

To tell you the truth, it is the basic principle of this world, our human tradition and our (earthly) father's teaching that hinder us to walk in the blessing that we already have. Therefore, in God prospective, His righteousness is the foundation of all blessings. That is why before He was crucified, He leave behind His garments and tunic on this earth for the world. After He cried out, "It is finished!" at the cross, everyone who believe in Him are saved… and God call this faith as "righteous by faith"!

We are righteous by faith just like Abraham.  Abraham was a king in his dispensation and he is a believing Abraham (Galatians 3:9) . This means: a righteous man believes and continue to believe all the time. Jesus said the work of God is that we believe on Him whom He has sent. Our work in God's eye is to believe in Jesus. And if that is the case, are we working very hard in His eye?

For this New Year, let this revelation helps you in your walk with the Lord. We are already blessed and do not let any unbelieving word come out from your mouth. 

Mark 4
24  And He said to them, Take heed what you hear. With that measure which you measure, it shall be measured to you. And to you who hear, more shall be given. 
25  For he who has, more shall be given to him; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has. 

We are to work hard by believing in the Word of Christ. The Word of Christ always magnifies the righteousness of God - Christ and His finished work on the cross and subsequently, faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. God's righteousness and faith always come hand in hand... 

We are already blessed to be a blessing!

How to Walk After the Flesh in 20 Easy Lessons

Author : Paul Ellis
Website: Escape To Reality 
Post Title: How to Walk After the Flesh in 20 Easy Lessons
Written On: 11 August 2011


If you’ve ever taken young children to the zoo, you will know that the big animals are initially more popular than the small ones. Elephants, rhinos, and tigers get more attention than otters, turtles, and geckos. And so it is with works of the flesh.

Ask any Christian to list the works of the flesh and they will likely respond with the list found in Galatians 5:19-21: adultery, hatred, idolatry, murder, etc. Paul calls these the “manifest” or “obvious” works of the flesh. They are the biggies, the elephantine examples of what it means to live apart from God. But the Bible also provides dozens of lesser examples of fleshly living that you may not be so familiar with. I’ve listed some of these lesser works of the flesh below.

Walking after the flesh is when you attempt to get your needs met independently of God. It’s trusting in yourself (your abilities, your understanding) and living solely from the basis of your earthly experience (what you see, hear, touch, etc.). Now here’s the important bit: You can walk after the flesh in the pursuit of both good things and bad things. Paul’s manifest works of the flesh – the biggies – are all clearly associated with bad deeds, but some of the lesser works in the list below are not bad at all. This is a critical point. We are not comparing good deeds with bad but flesh with spirit. And as we saw in the last post, when you’re walking after the flesh even good things can be bad for you.

A classic example of something that is good yet bad for you is God’s law. It is not sin, it is good! But try to live by it and you will find yourself walking after the flesh. Paul said his ability to keep the righteous requirements of the law was ineffective because he tried to do so in the puny strength of his flesh (Romans 8:3). Living under self-imposed law is one of the primary ways we walk after the flesh – hence its position at the top of my list.

Just a reminder: The wrong way to read this list is the carnal way – identifying things you should or should not do. Christianity is a bit like marriage – it’s a love-relationship. You will kill it if you try to reduce it to a set of rules. We are less interested in the what than we are in the how. So how do we walk after the flesh? 

Here are 20 ways:

1. Try to keep God’s law (Romans 7:9-25): Think that you have to do stuff to be blessed (Ephesians 1:3), that you have to perform to stay saved (Galatians 2:21). The old covenant is the fleshly covenant; the new covenant is the spirit covenant.

2. Set your mind on earthly things (Philippians 3:19, Jn 3:12): Keep your eyes on the here and now. “What you see is all there is” (Colossians 3:2). Entangle yourself in the affairs of life (2 Timothy 2:4).

3. Think about how to gratify the lusts of the flesh (Romans 13:14): If it feels good, do it (Romans  14:17).

4. Pursue your goal through self-denial (Colossians 2:21-3): Don’t look. Don’t drink. Don’t touch. Fast twice a week. Practice perfectionism (Galatians  3:3, KJV).

5. Make sacrifices to impress God (Hebrews 10:1,8): Be conscious of your debt to Jesus and consider it your duty to serve. Put your ministry or business before your marriage.

6. Load others with heavy burdens (Luke 11:46): Expect your Christian staff to work harder for less pay. Send the message that the work is more important than their families or their health. Shackle them to your vision. Use emotional manipulation or, worse, scripture, to pressure people to support you.

7. Take pride in your independence (Jeremiah 17:6): Respect no one (1 Peter 2:17). Scorn authority (2 Peter 2:10). Flaunt your freedom (1 Corinthians 8:9). “Who needs fathers? I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12).

8. Worry about your life (Matthews 6:25, Luke 8:14, Philippians 4:6): “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?” Entertain fear and doubt. “I can’t do it” (Philippians 4:13).

9. Cultivate self-belief (2 Corinthians 12:10): “I can do it!” Boast in your accomplishments (2 Corinthians 11:30). Boast in your wisdom, strength and riches (Jeremiah 9:23).

10. See yourself as a victim (Romans 8:37): “Woe is me. I’m not worthy. My sinful nature made me do it.” Blame God (James 1:13). Blame the devil (1 John 4:4). Blame your circumstances (Deuteronomy 28:13).

11. Be a man-pleaser (Galatians 1:10): Wonder, what will my boss think? How will the board react? How will this affect the tithers? Say only what they want you to say.

12. Make plans in a worldly manner (2 Corinthians 5:7, Jeremiah 17:5): Do a SWOT analysis; list the pros and cons; make decisions based on money. Manage the risks and stay in control.

13. Try to grow a ministry (Psalms 127:1, 1 Corinthians 3:6). Work hard to make things happen.

14. Define success by human standards (John 8:15, 1 Corinthians 1:26): It’s all about the numbers. “How many soldiers do we have? How many attend the prayer meeting? Are donations increasing? Are we doing better than last year? Am I doing better than my predecessor?”

15. Nurture your reputation (Philippians 3:8): Put on a good show and make a good impression (Luke 16:15; Galatians 6:12). Be face conscious. Make a name for yourself (Genesis 11:4) and blame the wife when things go wrong (Genesis 3:12).

16. Pray long prayers, especially if others are listening (Matthew 6:5-8).

17. Regard people from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16): Engage in office politics. View new-comers as potential recruits or leaders for your programs. Cultivate task-based friendships. Choose the best-looking man for the job (1 Samuel 16:7). Show favor to the one with money (James 2:3).

18. Sacrifice people on the altar of your principles (1 Corinthians 3:1-4): “I’m right, you’re wrong.” Judge the weak (Romans 15:1). Distance yourselves from those who aren’t as doctrinally pure as you (1 Corinthians 9:22).

19. Combat worldly problems with worldly weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4): Put your faith in politics. Start fights (Zechariah 4:6). Picket the abortion clinic. Protest the gay parade (Isaiah 42:2).

20. Pretend to be Jesus (Matthew 24:24): Draw people to your ministry and build toward yourself (1 Thessalonians 3:8). Teach others to depend on you. Stand in the gap. Try to crucify yourself (Colossians  2:20).

This is a yukky list and frankly, I didn’t enjoy writing it. Just about everything on this list, I’ve done. God help me, some of the things on this list I’m still doing! Don’t let this list condemn you. A better response is to get mad because we’ve been conned! The prince of this world has deceived us into thinking that this is how things are done, that the fleshly way of life is normal. But this is not normal life for one born of the spirit. We act this way out of habit and ignorance. We walk after the flesh because when we were in the flesh this was how we lived:

You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:7)

I have to say this again: Some of the activities on this list are good! Please don’t think I am against the law or fruitful ministries or planning or praying without ceasing. I am not. But understand that the carnal mind longs to be told what to do when God is much more interested in how we are doing it. Are we trusting in the power of our might or are we resting confidently in His? Are we walking as “mere men” (1 Corinthians 3:3) or are we being revealed as mature sons and daughters of our Father? Flesh cannot give birth to spirit. Neither can walking after the flesh empower you to live the life God has called you to live.

I encourage you to review the list again and ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify those areas that He wants to deal with today. “But Paul, that’s pretty much everything on that list!” Don’t panic! Your heavenly Father knows you are a work-in-progress. Some of these issues can be dealt with now; others can wait. He loves you regardless, without any reference to your performance. He knows everything that you’ve done and everything that you’re ever going to do. It’s impossible to disappoint Him.

In this post I’ve given you 20 generic examples of walking after the flesh. In my next post I’m going to provide some classic examples of walking after the flesh found in the Bible. Then, in the post after that, I will give you a simple “flesh test” that you can take on your own. This test consists of two easy questions that will help you determine whether you are walking after the flesh or the spirit in any given situation. In other words, it will reveal those areas in your life where freedom and joy and peace are about to come bursting through!

GPS

There is a reference about us that always is constant and true. This reference does not calculate, factor in and reason conditions, effects or defects. While your particular GPS position varies with wherever you are, it is yet a constant at any position, a true reference a unique standard making your position known. Just like our GPS position is constant at any given time, yet unique, it is a constant reference that is not influenced by the sun, rain, wind, snow. 

No conditions can add or subtract to this reference. Your GPS unit might be confused, do not pick up your true reference. It might become distorted, distracted along the way by some defect, yet your position remains a constant at any particular time. Sometimes to get a better perspective and context to your position we would use a GPS companion, a map. This map is also handy for those times our GPS unit is distracted, distorted or it contradicts your original position. We might also use a GPS manual to reset or reboot the original unit. What a beautiful thought to know that we have yet another, yet more constant, more accurate reference to our lives other than latitudes and longitudes. 

The reference of Christ in man is an unshakable, uninterruptible reference to our position - it never varies. The Bible has for most of time been portrayed incorrectly in terms of its original and PRIMARY purpose. It is not a book to negotiate through life according to a disciplined standard. Do we use our GPS companion maps or the GPS manual to learn HOW to drive?...or to know the rules of the road? ....maybe only for direction, but the PRIMARY purpose is to get a perspective and context on your true position. In respect to your GPS position on the GPS unit it normally displays at least the essence of your position, longitude & latitude...some units give more information when you are driving, ie speed, ETA, distance covered, etc. 

The Bible becomes such a beautiful reference when read in context of the essence of Christ in man. Whatever is true about Christ is true about man. The fullness of what time and space can ever and has ever tried to communicate about our life has found it's true constant reference, the blueprint of our original design, in Christ. 

A Facebook note by Werner-Lizeele Tenten .

Genesis 

12:1 ~ Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 

The Lord said: "To a land that I will show you" of which, in our desperation, that land is in Christ!

His Heart ~ The Way Of Grace

I have been wondering and asking the Lord why is that some believers who have tasted His grace and still shy away from Him after a short period of time… With this question, He is not slow in revealing the answer to me. To my surprise, His answer has become a series of my preaching in 3 separate sessions.

Ever since He started to reveal His answer, He has been showing me the biblical truth in respect of our mind and our heart.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, we could find the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. In the wilderness, we could see the Israelites asking for the two tablets of Stones even though they had the leading of the Lord. Even in this dispensation of grace ever since the resurrection of our Lord, we, the believer, the temple of the Holy Spirit, have been using our mind instead of our heart.

The Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, two tablets of Stone and our mind have the same characteristic, whereas the Tree of Life, the Lord’s leading and our heart are of the same characteristic. With the help from the structure of the tabernacle, we can actually see the picture of the two Trees at the outer court, the two tablets of Stone and God’s leading at the inner court and our mind and heart as the Holy of Holies.

In the outer court, Adam and Eve had chosen the wrong Tree and were driven out of the Garden. In the wilderness, the Israelites had chosen the two Tablets and they took forty years to complete an eleven days journey. My oh my… in this dispensation of grace, believers are using their mind, intellect, and their head knowledge to walk with the Lord. These three eras shared the same consequences which gave birth to human religions…

2 Timothy 1:9 -10 ~ who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

It is NOT only those who preach GRACE is under GRACE... GRACE is not for Christians only, but as long as you are a human being, you are under His GRACE. As long as you are born after the death of Christ, you are under this Grace Dispensation! Believers of Christ are no more under law but under grace. Believer did not invite Moses into their heart to be their Saviour... Believer has invited Jesus into their heart, and Jesus is their Saviour.

From the picture of the tabernacle, we could understand that Jesus’ death had already positioned us in the Holy of Holies where we can freely commune with Father God. The problem with many believers is that, we are using our mind, intellect, and our head knowledge to dwell in the Holy of Holies. As a result, we are moving the furniture that is supposed to be in the inner court into the Holy of Holies. We are practising the ritual of the inner court in the Holy of Holies. We are still abiding to the law even though we are now in the dispensation of grace.

Because of these reasons, the Lord pointed me to a verse in Philippians chapter 3 and reminded me to watch out for dogs. Yes..., He meant dogs… dogs that bark, and there are two dogs!

Philippians 3:2 ~ Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

Although the Lord had used this verse to speak to me before and warn me to be aware of those who used the Law to bind believers, but He regards that incident as in the outer court when I was still in “Babylon”. He wanted me to look at this verse from a different point of view from the Holy of Holies.

I then realized that He was referring these dogs as our brain. Our brain has the shape of the two tablets of Stone brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai. Our brain is the storehouse of our memories, rules and regulation, our intellect and etc… Our desire to work and to abide the law is from our brain. Our brain is also our religion stronghold. Our brain barks at us whenever we made mistake… and we might consider this as self checking. Our brain pushes us to do well… Accuse us of our failures… condemn us of our pass mistakes, sins, failures… and even condemn others! Our brain is actually the shadow of the two tablets of Stones. Our brain is also the shadow of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

If we associate our intellect with what Apostle Paul called flesh, we will have a better understanding on what Paul meant by living according to the sinful nature and according to Spirit.

Romans 8:1 ~ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh (using their intellect), but according to the Spirit (using their heart).

We are under the dispensation of GRACE. We are already in the Holy of Holies. We cannot use our intellect anymore; we have to use our heart…Or else, we can never walk in His grace and we can never walk with Him. Grace is not in line with our logical mind. We need the Holy Spirit to reveal His grace to us. Can you still remember the moment when you decided to put your faith in Our Lord Jesus, you invited Him into your heart...!? From that moment onwards, He has given you His own heart and His heart is the way of grace.

I will continue to share this revelation in respect of our heart in my next post....

The Faith Has Come!

When I was on my way to my office this morning, I was using the same route that I have been using for years but this time around, I had a change to stop at the pole position in one of the busiest cross junction in the city, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

As I was waiting for my turn to move, I saw two traffic policemen alighted from their bikes and went forward to the centre of the junction to take over the control of the busy traffic.  They were waving their hands instructing the traffic to move… At that very moment, the traffic light system had been superseded… and it had no authority over the drivers the moment these policemen stepped in. It was of no effect...

The Holy Spirit suddenly quickened me to see the Spirit of the Lord… and "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!" I saw these policemen as a picture of Christ. As they came into the scene, the traffic light system that we have been obeying suddenly came to past. On the road, we are put under guard by this systematic traffic light, but when the policeman comes into scene, we are no more under the control of this tutor (traffic light), and we will be in big trouble if we still insist to abide to the traffic light.

These policemen are there at this hour to perform their duty to ensure the smooth flow of the traffic because the pattern of the traffic flow has changed during the morning rush hour. They are there to give "life" to the traffic!

Galatians 

3:23 ~ But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 

3:24 ~ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

3:25 ~ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 

The same principle applies to our belief system. Does the Law disagree with God's promises then? No, it doesn't! If any law could give life to us, we could become acceptable to God by obeying that law. But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God's promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ. The truth of the matter is we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.

All of us are God's children because of our faith in Christ Jesus. And when we were baptized, it was as though we had put on Christ in the same way we put on new clothes. Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of us equal with each other, whether we are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. So if we belong to Christ, we are now part of Abraham's family and we will be given what God has promised.

Look at Galatians Chapter 3 verse 25, it says "But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." The Faith has come, this Faith is a Person... the Person of Jesus...! Are you lacking in faith? Behold Him, He is our Faith!

Therefore, Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes, as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

A Wise Gardener and His Trees

I love my church SIB Grace… and I honor her pulpit, not because of the height of 9th floor at Crown Tower, but this is a well guided pulpit that only the message on the grace of God can be ministered through this pulpit.

I also respect my Elder… he is a skillful gardener faithfully looking after the trees that are planted by Father God in this garden called SIB Grace. He is not the kind of gardener that emphasize on fruits bearing … He does not stand under the tree, with one hand on his hip, the other pointing to the tree, going from tree to tree, scolding the trees for not bearing fruits. He is more concerned on the roots rather than the fruits. At this point, I just cannot help myself but to add in this phrase… Grace deals with the root while religion deals with the fruit!

Week after week, he would concentrate on loosing the ground and taking away all the “STONE” that are hidden in the ground. He makes the ground loose and gracious for the trees to grow. He would allow the "RAIN" of the Holy Spirit to water the trees and he is also making sure that the trees have sufficient “LIGHT" from the Son of righteousness. As the strong light of Righteousness continue to shine on the trees, the self righteous leaves will dry up and fall on the ground. With these self righteous leaves falling to the ground, they make good fertilizer… because according to Apostle Paul, our self righteousness is nothing but smelly stuff called DUNG! With these elements of gracious soil, sufficient “WATER” and “SON” light, plus the organic fertilizer, the trees just cannot help but grow and bear fruits… thirty fold, sixty fold and hundred fold.

I am one of the trees that grow in this garden. For the past four years, I have grown to be quite a big tree. Why do I know that I am quite a big tree...? This is because from times to times, I can see people coming to me looking for shade as resting place and to be ministered to by my fruits. I have also notice that the Word of God has come to past in my life and I have already been blessed to be a blessing.

I am writing this not to boast about my glory but to boast about what my Father God has prepared for me in this garden. As a tree, if I do not have such a good and gracious environment, I would not be a fruitful tree at all. As a fruitful tree, I am just a witness to the ministry that bring everlasting righteousness.

Before this, I was once a fruitless tree… but then, I was also a witness, a witness to the ministry that brings condemnation. Though that ministry of condemnation has glory, its glory is fast fading away. Therefore, I was a victim of that condemning ministry which glory is fast fading glory.

If that ministry of mixture of law and grace which brings confusion is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of grace that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory from the ministry of grace. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since I have such a hope, I am very bold...

Psalm 92
12 ~ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 ~ Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 ~ They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 ~ To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

So let this fruitful tree who boasts boast in the Lord.

The Old Concealed, The New Revealed!

Many years ago, I was reminded by the Lord that Apostle Paul, who wrote two third of the New Testament had only the Old Testament as references at his time and dispensation. It actually took years for my peanut brain to comprehend what the Lord is hinting to me... By the grace of God, I finally begin to understand the true meaning of what it means by “The Old Testament is in the New revealed and the New Testament is in the Old concealed.”

The Old and New Testaments are not two books but one. Since the literary context of the Old Covenant in the Christian canon is the New Covenant, this means that the Old Covenant must be understood in the context of the New Covenant Spirit.

However, God is always progressive in His revelation to man. With this wonderful enlightenment and as I begin to read the Old Testament again, I begin to understand that God used avenues of “visual aid" to express His Truth to man. I begin to realize that He always moves from the lower to the higher level; like from first Adam to the last Adam. He always moves from ritual to reality… from shadow to substance, from types to antitype, from prophecy to fulfilment, from symbol to its spiritual truth, from the natural to the spiritual and from earthly to heavenly.

Even at the stage of His last breath, in the midst of the two thieves, Jesus demonstrated the difference of the Old and the New Covenant. The thief who saw the GRACE of God was able to cry out: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." ... And he was saved!

2 Timothy 2:15 ~ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

What Jesus had done at the Cross had totally changed everything from the Old to the New. And since the old book is Jesus Christ concealed, and the new is Jesus Christ revealed, the heart of the New Testament is Jesus Christ. In between these two books stood the mighty cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that every message from the Old Testament must be seen in the light of Jesus Christ. This is what the Apostle Paul meant by rightly dividing the word, and consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

However, the principle of "The Old Testament is in the New revealed and the New Testament is in the Old concealed" could only be understood through revelation from the Holy Spirit, under the New Covenant Spirit i.e the Spirit of Grace. For it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" — but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.

Jesus, Our Valentine!

In the Jewish marriage custom, before a man can marry the woman he loves, he needs to demonstrate the extent of his love and commitment to his bride-to-be. He would have to come to the woman’s house with his father who then would negotiate the price of this marriage. Very often, the bride parents would ask for a high price for she is precious to her family. Ha-ha... verily I say onto you, this Jewish custom is quite similar to our Chinese custom. The bride parents would demand a high price which at least would cause the bridegroom some "pain". (Remember because of us, Jesus had paid a heavenly price and died a painful and shameful death at the cross).

When the agreement is made, the man would then take a cup of wine with him and approach the bride-to-be personally. This wine is a symbol of his love and commitment to the woman. The presentation of wine in a cup is a gesture of saying to his bride-to-be: “I am pouring out my life for you just as this wine is being poured out. I love you so much that this cup is a covenant that I will give my life to you.” Smiling and deeply persuaded, the bride would accept the cup and drink from it as if she is saying, “I accept your love and I am willing to enter into this covenant with you for the rest of my life.”

Is this similar to what we are doing every Sunday during service? He ordained holy communion so that we can do this often in remembrance of Him. 

Custom be it of the Jewish or Chinese origin, are pointers to a more glorious and profound love demonstrated by the Trinity God. During Jesus’ ministry and being a Jew Himself, He lived among Jewish community and offered the same wine of love to His disciples… There were at least three occasions that He celebrated the festival of the Passover with His disciples. But on the night before he died on the cross, He took a cup of wine, offered it to each and every one of them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” 

Wow… being a gang of law abiding Jews at that time, how could this gesture escaped the minds of these disciples that what their Master offered them was something which could only be done by a groom to his future bride!

Jesus is indeed our Valentine. This same Jesus is offering the same love to us today. To demonstrate His love and commitment towards us, He had gone to the extent of hanging Himself on that cross at Calvary and set us freed from all our nonsense that lead us to our empty and meaningless life. He Himself demonstrated this love not only by offering us the cup but also through the breaking of bread, before inviting us to enter into His everlasting romantic covenant. 

To respond to His glorious love, we just simply need to be persuaded, smile and partake of  the cup in remembrance of His love and what He has done for us. Anything apart from the response like a bride is religion, not relationship. Therefore, confession of our sins before communion is indeed religious and self righteous!

The Aftermath

I was asked by my Elder to share on the subject of fasting (a revelation which I received from the Lord in the month of February this year) in the main service last Sunday. Indeed, I was blessed by the experience and this is the aftermath of the sharing… (I use the word aftermath because in farming, it means “new grass glowing after mowing or harvest”). Praise God…!

I quoted Romans 14:17 i.e. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” to start off my sharing. Then I quoted Matthew 4:4 i.e. the famous scripture on Jesus went fasting for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness and immediately tempted by the devil. I then went on to Jesus’ answer on fasting in Mark chapter 2 when He was asked by the Pharisee. To end my sharing, I quoted Daniel’s example on his decision not to partake King Nebuchadnezzar’s royal table and wine, which is the typology of Babylonian teaching (teaching that mixes grace with law).

The moral of this sharing is to encourage you to fast from partaking any teaching that is not pointing us to the Finished Work or any teaching that is not Christ centered.

While I was driving to my office this morning (I used to have my quiet time with the Lord during my half an hour journey to my office every morning), the Lord linked these verses together to show me yet another precious revelation that expounds His Finished Work. So, lets fasten your seat-belt... !

Romans 14:17 ~ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Matthew 4:4 ~ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Daniel 1:12 ~ "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

For the kingdom of God is not about our doing or anything that concern with our effort or our flesh. The used of the term “eating and drinking” is to show us our daily activity which is necessary in our living. But the kingdom of God is all about righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit are the “by products” of His Finished Work! These “by products” are given by grace and are New Covenant stuff!

The NIV version of this verse (For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit) misled me, for this version does not have an “and” in between righteousness and peace. So it gave me the impression that righteousness, peace and joy are three different issues in the Holy Spirit. From the NIV version, my religious mind also tells me that I must have righteousness first then I can have peace and then the joy in the Holy Spirit. The Lord prompted me to look at NKJV, and I then realized that all these three issues are one in the Holy Spirit for the NKJV has an "and" in between righteousness and peace. (For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit). The Lord has to clear this religious blockage so that His revelation can flow through me. Hmmm... I'm still religious, ok?

In Matthew 4:4, the Lord answered the devil: “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The verse in Romans 14:17 and this verse started to connect when the revelation flows… Is “Man does not live by bread alone” having the same meaning of “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking”? And on the phrase of, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God…, what do you think the kind of word will come out of the mouth of God? At this point is before the Cross, but after the Cross, is our Daddy not proud of what His Darling Son had done at the Cross? Is He not going to boast of the Finished Work of His Darling Son? Now, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit the every word that comes from the mouth of God?

In Daniel 1:12, Daniel said to the guard: “Give me nothing…” Nothing of what??? Nothing on the matter of eating and drinking, nothing of the royal food and wine i.e. the Babylonian teaching that edified self effort and provoke his flesh…! What did Daniel resolved to partake then? Of course, he asked for vegetable and water… In the KJV, the word “vegetable” is “pulse”, and the meaning of the word “pulse” is the word “seed”. From the Book of John on the parable of the sewer, Jesus used seed as word of God. Seed by itself is already a finished product. A seed by itself is completed. We have the whole tree and its fruits in a seed! Is Daniel not mentioning about the Finished Work again? We all know that water speaks of the Holy Spirit! Is it not that vegetable and water speaks of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”? No wonder Prophet Daniel could prophesy on the coming of Messiah and the end time events…

Now, the Lord prompted me to line up all these three verses in the sequence of the times the Books were written…

Daniel 1:12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Oh Hallelujah..., see for yourself what the Lord is telling us... Give us nothing, but vegetable and water, for it is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!" and the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!

Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

No wonder Jesus is hungry after fasting for forty days and forty nights… :) Praise Your mighty Name, Lord… Thank you for this precious revelation… Man…, I find myself more and more hungry. Give me more….!

Pomegranate

I was very much "intrigued" by Aaron’s status in his Facebook on the fruit called Pomegranate…

Aaron Chouravong thinks the actual fruit Adam & Eve ate was a Pomegranate, b/c it has 613 seeds and the Law consists of the 613 commandments in the Old Testament (incl. the Ten Commandments) that we would've had to obey to be right with God. Btw, under Law, if you break ONE you've broken them ALL...but under Grace today, if you believe in ONE, Jesus Christ, you are justified and made right with God as if you kept them ALL. woohoo!

This interesting comprehension trigged me to look up Wikipedia for more informations on Pomegranate …

The name "Pomegranate" derives from Latin pomum ("Apple") and granatus ("Seeded"). This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (e.g., German Granatapfel, Seeded Apple).

The Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to between five and eight meters tall. The Pomegranate is native to Southwest Asia and has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. It is widely cultivated throughout Georgia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, India, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, the drier parts of southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia, the East Indies, and tropical Africa. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.

Jewish tradition teaches that the Pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. For this reason and others, many Jews eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. It is also a symbol of fruitfulness. The Pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "Pomegranates" (rimmonim) placed over the two upper scroll handles. Some Jewish scholars believe that it was the pomegranate that was the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Pomegranate is one of the Seven Species (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, Shiv'at Ha-Minim), the types of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Deuteronomy as being special products of the Land of Israel.

Deuteronomy 8:8 ~ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;

Indeed Pomegranate is very closely related with many religions in this world. It’s all about getting right to reach God. It’s all about eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Praise Jesus for what He had done on the cross... His grace has enlightened us and we are now eating from the Tree of Life, and Jesus is our righteousness…

1 Corinthians 1:30 ~ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Grain, Wine and Oil

In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as Protector and Provider. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, has often been set into music. For Christians, the image of God as a shepherd evokes connections not only with David but with Jesus, described as "the Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John.

Recently I discovered the power pack from God in the 5th verse of this beautiful Psalm. This verse mentions of the Lord’s Table is Holy Communion and the oil that the Lord uses to anoint us is olive oil. These elements of the Holy Communion and the anointing oil can freely be found in the Old Testament as grain, wine and oil. However, these elements carry significant symbolic values of the sufferings of Jesus and these are the pointers that carry biblical value in pointing the believers to the Finished Work of Christ at the cross.

Psalm 23:5 ~ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

What a powerful verse this is. A resurrected life of abundant life is what the Lord had promised in John 10:10b. Psalm 23 is therefore the secret to divine granted abundant life in a Shepherd and sheep relationship.

Holy Communion and anointing oil are like medicine. These elements help us to believe the finished work of Christ progressively. We have this divine provision from our Lord, and we can eat and drink towards our health and prosperity that He had restored for us. We are to take good pleasure to look first to Communion and anointing oil before any other conventional provisions.

Grain – The Lord is our Bread and He offered His broken body to us as bread from heaven. In our nature world, the way we get bread from grain is to process it by sifting it, punching the dough and baking it at high temperature in an oven. These gestures are symbolic of the punishment Jesus Christ took on our behalf. During the process of making bread, the punching of dough has to be complete in term of force and time and Jesus, the way He sustained the sufferings were complete. He had totally absorbed all our punishments on His body.

Wine – The ways we get wine is to crush the grape fruit, trodden it and leave the fruit juice to be fermented. The crushing and troddening of these grape fruit also point to the suffering of Jesus and the colour of the wine has a symbolic value of Jesus’ precious blood.

Oil - The way we get oil is by crushing the olives. Jesus was crushed so that we can be healed. Crushing the olive fruit removes the bitterness and produces the oil. In the circular world, there are 3 pressings in the extraction of olive oil:-

The oil from the ‘first’ press is used for lighting the Holy Place. In substantial to Paul’s revelation, this first press serves to light us, as our body is the temple of God! In Gethsemane, it was the darkest era of darkness and distress, and Jesus was pressed until His sweat was mixed with blood, so that we may have light to see His truth spiritually.

The oil from the ’second’ press is used for medicine. Jesus was pressed the second time when He was scourged 39 times by the Romans soldiers so that by His stripes, we are healed!

The oil from the ‘third’ press is used for making soap. When Jesus was nailed at the Cross, His shed blood washed our sins away eternally!

All traditions in Christianity feature this Psalm prominently in funeral services. Hey, do we really need abundant life when we have passed on to be with Jesus? I think we need this Psalm more while we are still in the sheep pen (graceyard) instead of in the graveyard!

Wow... I want my cup to overflow in this graceyard! What do you say?

A Tale Of An Eagle

When I was hatched into this spiritual realm, I did not really know my real identity. I resembled myself through my surrounding. I followed what others were doing; I learned my speech and my language from the people around me… This went on for years until one day; people around me seemed to find out that I was different from them. They said my thinking was different from them; my revelation was different from them; they could hardly understand the thing that I shared, and they could hardly understand the language I used…

From that day onwards, I was in a stage of dilemma. From that day onwards, I found myself being isolated by the multitudes; they somehow recognized that I was very different from them… From that day onwards, I started to realize that I was tired of trying to look alike among them… From that day onwards, I was tired of learning the way they flied. From that day onwards, an urge inside of me magnified, telling me that I should be looking up in the blue sky and fly…

As I began to look to the Sun of Righteousness and stretch my wings, I created a tremor in my surrounding. I was doing something that nobody was doing in our midst… but as I put my focus on the Bright Morning Star, I flapped my wings and I was lifted up in the mighty current of the Holy Ghost. Instead of flapping my wings, I was soaring… Wow…! As I was soaring in the blue sky, the current of the Holy Ghost was cleansing me, refreshing me, strengthening me, electrifying me and energizing me!!! My whole being was more cleansed, more refreshed, more strengthened, more electrified and more energized than ever. It was much better than those scheduled rituals performed by the chicken farm owner.

I have found my identity; I know who I am now! I am an eagle not a chicken! I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus not a sinner saved by grace! I am speaking the language of GRACE! Righteousness is the rightful status of an eagle, a gift from God. The language of an eagle is GRACE!!! That is why eagle is used as a symbol for the Gospel of John and among all the Apostles, only the Apostle John portrayed grace and truth came through Jesus! Hallelujah!!!!

That is why they could not understand my language! They need to know that their righteousness is a gift from God, or else they will still be working hard like chicken busy cultivating their own righteousness in a grounded, self isolated, smelly farm that is full of dung! Although Grace is everywhere, ever present in their midst; but grace is a language that you can only understand after you have the knowledge of your righteousness is a gift from God not of your own!

Romans 5:21b ~ even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That is why the Apostle John had the revelation to portray the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John as the Holy Spirit comes to convict the sin (singular sin, sin of unbelief) of the world and convicts the believers of righteousness!

Abraham, a Pagan in the midst of the desert, before any tribes of Israelite existed, was called by God and he believed the same gospel we believed. It was then credited to him as righteousness! It is then written: The righteous will live by faith and for those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham! This blue sky up there is the place where our Lord Jesus had restored for us. That is the realm where all the Abraham blessings are reinstalled! That is what our Lord had promised our father Abraham! Wow... blue sky, everything nice! So soar, eagles soar!

Genesis 26:4-5 ~ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."

I will never want to go back to that smelly farm where I was once hatched ever more! But I know deep down in my heart that when the Lord leads, I will fly back to that farm and show them that we are eagle not chicken.

The G-8 Summit

Heaven and earth had the most important G-8 Summit at Mount Hermon two thousand years ago. This G-8 Summit was attended by Jesus; grace personified, Moses, representative of the Law; Elijah, representative of the Prophet; Man – represented by Peter, James and John and Heaven was represented by the Holy Spirit and the Father God.

In the Hebrews language, Peter is "Kepha" which means "Stone", James is "Ya'aqob" which means "to supplant" and John is "Yohanan" which means "Grace". Ironically, the representative of man was signifying the Law (two tablets of stone) is to be supplanted by Grace!

Minutes of Mt. Hermon G-8 Summit


Matthew 17:1 ~ Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
Matthew 17:2 ~ and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Matthew 17:3 ~ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Matthew 17:4 ~ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Matthew 17:5 ~ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"
Matthew 17:6 ~ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
Matthew 17:7 ~ But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."
Matthew 17:8 ~ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

During the Summit, each representative was given a chance to speak.  Jesus representing grace was transfigured. His face was shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light. Moses and Elijah, the representative of the Law and Prophet talked to Jesus regarding the Death that He was about to accomplished in Jerusalem. The representative of man, Mr. Peter was speaking of putting Jesus (Grace), Moses (Law) and Elijah (Prophet) on the same level by proposing the building of three tabernacles; one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah.

At this moment, Moses and Elijah, the representatives of Law and Prophet departed immediately from the scene and the Holy Spirit intervened Peter’s proposal with overshadowed white cloud. Father God spoke from the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"... The voice of Grace said immediately, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” The Summit at Mount Hermon adjourned with man looking up and seeing no one but Jesus only.

Heaven and earth had concluded with the ultimate resolution of "Listening to the voice of Grace". This resolution was further endorsed by the Jesus' blood when He gave up His life... signed, sealed and delivered at the Cross!

Do you still have fear and uncertainty in your Christian walk? If you have, you might have been camping on the wrong camp of the tabernacles of Law and Prophet. The Father said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" So fear no more... I have good news for you! Today, Jesus is still saying to you, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”

Listen to Jesus. Listen to the voice of Grace. Listen to Grace…

Fasting

I was quickened by the Spirit to realize that I have been fasting for the past five years ever since the Lord has enlightened me with His teaching on grace. This revelation shocked me a bit but I was immediately comforted by a fresh insight on fasting.

Please bear with me for awhile and if you feel this is misleading, you are welcome to throw stone at me at the end of this sharing. So be cool…

With this fresh insight for a rather controversial topic in the body of Christ, I went around asking for answers from the average believers with charismatic background, the purpose for fasting. The answers I gathered are as followed:-

1) To restrain and weaken our flesh so that our spirit can grow stronger.
2) Spiritual discipline.
3) To be closer to God and hear His voice.
4) To obtain spiritual power.

Hmm… what is your answer?

I don't think fasting is what we used to think as restraining ourselves from eating our meals for certain period of time and achieve the purpose of weakening our flesh to gain spiritual power or to make God obligated to move in the area of our needs. If this is so, any other religion that practices fasting would also achieve the same purposes. In fact, they claimed to have the same result too!

The only thing that sets Christianity apart from the rest of the religions is God's grace. Grace is not natural but supernatural. We need the Holy Spirit to understand grace and most of all, Christianity was born by the grace of the Father through the death of the His beloved Darling Son. If only we can have the revelation knowledge of this truth, we will be led by the Spirit to understand more including the meaning of fasting.

Those of us, who are so much into grace, are very familiar that our flesh is edified by legalistic and performance oriented doctrine which is self centered and based on law abiding. It is this self righteousness doctrine that give strength to our flesh! The preaching of law is the food to our flesh!!! The moment we embark ourselves on Christ centered, grace based doctrine, that is the moment we start our FASTING!!! Because we have restrained ourselves from exposing to legalistic and performance oriented teaching, we have stopped supplying “FOOD” to our flesh. I think this is a more biblical way to define fasting in the light of the New Covenant.

Can you find evidence in the bible to support your claim? (You may ask…)

Let’s go on…

Matthew 4:1~4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.' "

So, after being baptized at the River Jordan and before Jesus started His earthly ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry…!

Jesus was born under the law and was brought up in a legalistic, law abiding Jewish society. This was the darkest era in the history of Jewish culture. After the baptism, He was immediately led to the wilderness to stay away from the law abiding, legalistic environment. He restrained for forty days and forty nights. John the Baptist was growing up in the wilderness and was isolated from Jewish legalistic society. Paul, the Apostle of Grace to the Gentiles, was led to Arabia to be away from Jerusalem which was their religious center and Judaism's stronghold.

The number 40 here is the representative number for one generation. It was not what we literally think as our forty days and forty nights. The Israelite were wandering in the wilderness for forty years while Moses was up in Mt. Sinai for forty days and forty nights.

The devil was quick to draw Jesus’ attention back to the “stone” again right after Jesus' fasting by saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”

Do you think this kind of dialogues are dialogues of our human nature? I don’t think so… A spiritual being was talking to a SPIRITUAL BEING; I think these dialogues are spiritual!

The devil was quick to point Jesus in turning the Ten Commandments (Two tablets of stone) into His food. The devil was asking Jesus to feed on Law... How did Jesus reply him? Jesus said man does not live on bread only (the bodily man), but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (the spirit-man). As far as the devil is concerned, if our flesh is strong, our spirit will be weak. As such, Jesus expounded the existence of spirit-man in man that the spirit-man lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He was in the wilderness, being far away from the legalistic environment, He was there to receive words direct from the Father.

What kind of word did the Father minister to Jesus? At Mt. Sinai, God was showing Moses the beautiful story of the Tabernacle which is a typology of Jesus. The Father was ministering grace to Jesus in the wilderness just like Jesus Himself ministered grace to Apostle Paul in Arabia.

However, as I continue with this passage, the phrase “He was hungry” caused a bit of doubt in my mind… What about you? Hey, the Bible says He was hungry you know...? Well, I was "asked" to put this phrase aside and continue with the reading... So, let’s go on.

Let us look at what Jesus talked about fasting in replying to the Scribes and Pharisee...

Luke 5: 33~38 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?" And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days." Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' "

In this passage, Jesus interchanged in referring the man with flesh and spirit-man. Jesus was saying as He (the Bridegroom) was with them in flesh, it was time for celebration. How could the Bridegroom make them fast in the time of celebration? When the time had come for Him to be glorified at the Cross, they (their flesh) would have to fast because grace dispensation only came into effect when the Holy Spirit was poured out at the Feast of Pentecost. Under the grace dispensation, His disciples were already made righteous by His blood and were justified by His resurrection. They were to live by faith not by law. So by then, they were to fast from partook the Law and to live by the Spirit.

It is funny that Jesus did not continue to expound on fasting but changed the subject from fasting to the famous parables of new and old garment, new wine and old wineskin. Eh..., very interesting!

We all know that the parables of old and new garment together with new wine and old wineskin are talking about the doctrine on grace and law dispensation and is telling us that grace cannot be mixed with law. Jesus is not interested in how we abstain ourselves from eating our meals as a way of fasting. He is interested in the feeding and the health of our spirit-man. Babylonian teaching (confuse by mixing grace with law) mixes up our flesh and spirit-man which causes confusion in our Christian walk. While legalistic and law abiding doctrine edify and strengthen our flesh.

Christ centered, grace based doctrine is LIVING and ACTIVE (because of the witness of the Holy Spirit). The message of grace is sharper than any double-edged sword, can penetrate even to dividing our souls and spirits, joints and marrow and judge our thoughts and the attitude of our hearts. Grace divides our souls and spirits so that we can be sharp when Holy Spirit prompts our spirit. Grace divides the joints and marrow so that the life supply to our flesh is cut off. Grace judges our ungodly thoughts and the religious attitude of our hearts!

If the purpose of fasting is to stop feeding our flesh and build up our spirit-man, I think it is wise for us to sit under a Christ centered Ministry. In order to stop feeding our flesh, we are to restrain ourselves from sitting under a Ministry that emphasizes legalism with law abiding preaching and Babylonian teaching that causes confusion in our midst. As born again believers, we are Spirit filled and we need the Gospel of Grace expounded in the light of the New Covenant Spirit, as food for our spirit-man... Amen!

Oh ya... now back to my doubtful phrase: "He was hungry"…

The Lord told me, “You have been sitting under a Christ centered Ministry for so long, do you still feel hungry…?” Ha...ha...ha... If you know what He means…

So, how long have you been fasting? As for me and my household, we are not going to fool around but to steadfast with our FASTING for the rest of the "generation" and continue to sit under an anointed Ministry that preaches Christ centered message and glorifies the Finished Work of Christ.

Who say those who are under grace are not fasting?