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  They were waving their hands instructing the traffic to move… At that very moment, the traffic light system had been superseded… and it had no authority over the drivers the moment these policemen stepped in.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."

God Incidence

My oh my... I have witnessed the move of the Spirit in my walk with the Lord again. This is yet another  "God incidence" when I read Steve McVey's recent post on "Two Covenants, Not One". I was amazed to notice that the Holy Spirit who is revealing this truth to him has also been revealing the same truth to me. What a honor to realize that I have preached on the same subject in my Chinese congregation two to three months ago, encouraging them to walk out of the confusion and enter into God's rest... When I read through his post, his sharing is so familiar to me and yet very refreshing. Wow... What a life to walk in His grace...

Please sit back and relax and enjoy Steve's sharing on the Two Covenants in the Bible.

For the past three weeks, I've been sharing a three-part series of teachings on the "Sunday Preaching" broadcast called, "Two Covenants, Not One." For many years, I stayed confused when I read the Bible because I didn't understand this simple aspect of understanding the Scripture. The Old and New Covenant are very different from each other in many ways. God told those in the old covenant that a day was going to come when He would make a new covenant with His people and it would not be like the covenant He had made with them through their Fathers. (See Jeremiah 31:31-32) Through Jesus Christ, that day came to us so that now the covenant He has made is totally different - not at all the same. It's new and, according to Hebrews 8:13, the old one is "obsolete." It has passed away. It's gone, expired, finished, over!

This fact is a sticking point in many people's minds. "Isn't the Old Testament God's Word?" they will ask? Of course the Old Testament is as much a part of the Bible as the New Testament, but here's a key that will help us immeasurably when we understand it. The Old Testament was not written to us! It was written for us, but not to us. (See Romans 15:4) There's a big difference. That's why the Apostle Paul cautioned Timothy to take great care to ensure that he would "rightly divide the word of truth" when he taught the Bible. (See 2 Timothy 2:15) All kind of trouble is created in our minds and lives when we don't do that.

 Read More @ Steve McVey's Blog  >>>>>

Divine Arrangement...

About two weeks ago, I was very much enlightened by a message excerpt by Pastor Joseph Prince which was posted on the Facebook. The title of this excerpt is Receive Restoration As You Walk With Jesus, which was preached on the 10th of October 2010. It was a special day indeed...When I posted this excerpt on Facebook and my Blog, I was thinking to myself: "How long do I need to wait to have this message CD..." and then on the 22nd of this month, about ten days from then, this CD message was miraculously in my hand. It was a divine arrangement through a sister who attends NCC, came back to Kuching to visit her family. I did not share with anyone regarding my thought... Nobody knew of my thought but the Lord…!

The moment I watched this excerpt, there was a confirmation in my heart (as my heart was burning). This excerpt is in line and at the same time, the continuation of the message that I have preached in my Chinese Service on the same date...! Wow... He is preparing my message for my next sharing! My preaching on that Sunday was about reminding us as believers who are under His grace, to use our heart to comprehend His grace instead of our mind (brains)... Many believers walked away from grace because they have been using their logical mind (brains) to comprehend His grace. Our brains (right and left brains) is actually a shadow of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the two Stones of the 10 Commandments... Although the Lord has called us out of our previous environment (the ministry that the glory is faded away) into a grace environment, we still find it hard to walk with Him because we have used the wrong organ. We cannot walk out of our "flesh" if we keep on engaging our logical mind. If it is logical, it is not of faith....We cannot walk in the Spirit if we do not use our heart...

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

This video Message excerpt is about the experience on the road to Emmaus… The disciples partook of the Bread, that is the picture of the Lord’s body as well as the Tree of Life, their eyes were opened. The eyes were opened to see the Lord. Thus, their eyes were opened to see their righteousness, their abundance, their life… and their hearts were burning.

Whereas in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve partook of the wrong tree and their eyes were opened too, but their eyes were opened to see their nakedness, their lack, their sinfulness… and their hearts were fearful…

Only Jesus knows His Father’s will perfectly and praise God, He has given us His own heart.The Bible in the book of Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 19 says, I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. He had given us His own heart. The burning heart that we have now is Jesus' heart. This burning heart is always led by the Holy Spirit, will always be Christ centered and thus..., we can walk with Him with His attitude of grace.

On the other hand, our logical mind can only leads us to see what the world has. It is in this world that we see our lack, our nakedness, our sinfulness. When the logical mind is in control, man made religion is in control...

Adam and Eve by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the eyes of their mind were opened, and were opened to man made religion... We who are under His grace, the bread (His Body) opened up the eyes of our heart, and are opened to see His grace...

Is your heart burning now...?

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!  

All About Grace

All About Grace: Joseph and Wendy Prince

World renowned preacher on the topic of Grace, Joseph Prince will be speaking at the Coca-Cola Dome in JHB in October. Hereunder an extract from his recent preach.

“Grace is possibly one of the most misunderstood concepts by Christians today. And yet Grace is integral to our walk with God – for Grace is actually Jesus Christ. He is Grace personified. His Grace is evident through the work of the Gospel – for the Gospel itself is Grace.

THE GOSPEL AND GRACE

The test of the Gospel is Grace. If the message excludes Grace, or mingles law with Grace as the means either of justification or sanctification (Gal 2:21; 3:1-3), or denies the fact or guilt of sin, which alone gives Grace its occasion and opportunity, it is ‘a different’ gospel. (v. 8-9). We are saved by faith, not works. Our Christian walk is only by Grace…we cannot do anything by or of ourselves. When you put Jesus in the midst of your life, your marriage, your church, He will hold everything together.

 “For the law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ”. John 1:17. Notice that Grace and Truth are linked together. So what is this Truth? It is the Truth of the New Covenant. Grace is not a doctrine. It is a person. The person of Jesus Christ. Grace is not a teaching, it is the Gospel. Sometimes when you look at Bible Schools they will teach on Grace….but Grace was never a doctrine. We need to rediscover the Gospel that Paul preached for it is in this Gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed – that is, the Grace of God through Jesus.

Read more  @ Joy Magazine >>>>>

Let's Say Grace

Do you say grace before you partake of your meal?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Before partaking of our meal, why do we Christians have to say grace…? It is because we are Christian, and we are obligated to say grace? Is it because of other Christians do the same thing, so we also have to say grace? Or because it is a Christian tradition...?

Recently I have a revelation on saying grace in the midst of my preaching when I was expounding on the Finished Work of our Lord… This revelation could also be related to a status update posted by my friend in his Facebook and without me knowing it, this act of exchaging comments has became an inception to me...

My friend posted this question in his Facebook status…

Question: Which crab can run faster… a crab that is black in colour or a crab that is red in colour?

Answer: The black one.

Reason: Because the one in red has been cooked!

So, in respond to his status, I wrote this comment: "Hahaha... Let’s say grace…"

Delicious Black Pepper Crab (the loser) available in Padungan Bay

So, why do we have to say grace…?

Before we can partake of our meal, we must be aware that there are dishes on the table… right? The dishes on the table must have been carefully prepared and well cooked to their finest stage… any further cooking or under cooking would have spoiled those dishes… These fine dishes with splendid aroma are actually a reflection of the finished work of our Lord at the Cross. He had cry out: “It is finished!”

2 Corinthians 3:17 ~ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Praise the Lord for opening my eyes to look for the Spirit of our Lord in Moses. The killings of animals for foods was first introduced to Noah after the flood. These ordinances on killing of animals for food were recorded in Moses. Before the cross, the killing of animals for food was a virtual to point people to the scarifying Lamb that is yet to come and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!

We are now under the grace dispensation and we are after the cross… Instead of looking forward to the cross, we are now looking back to the Cross. What we are partaking on our table is a "finished product" of fine aroma and these are foods for our temple, the temple of the Holy Spirit! This revelation gives yet another beautiful insight on discovering the Spirit of our Lord in our everyday life. With this beautiful insight, saying grace and giving thanks before meals become more meaningful...

Well..., let’s say grace!

We Are All Under Grace!

We are all under grace… all of us... even the unbelievers. Every human being on this planet earth are under God’s grace…

John 1:17 ~  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

It has been over two thousand years ever since our Lord Jesus died on the Cross and resurrected on the third day of His death. When He was spending His six hours of long suffering on the Cross, He had made seven remarkable statements... these statements are selectively recorded in the four Books of Gospel!

i) "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

ii) "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

iii) He said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."

iv) "I am thirsty."

v) "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

vi) "It is finished."

vii) "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

With these seven remarkable statements from the mouth of our Lord during His great suffering, as human being, we ought to believe that Father God is indeed faithful in loving us, for Jesus' death was a confirmation to His declaration that He so loved the world and He would gave up His One and only Begotten Son… and we, who called ourselves BELIEVER..., yes BELIEVER..., oh yes BELIEVER, should better know that our sins are totally forgiven In Christ..., past, present and future! Sin is a looooong settled issue!

Jesus with His death on the Cross had changed the dispensation and ended the era of human performance religion. His death on the Cross had called the human race out from the era of law, into the era of abundant provision of His grace and the gift of His righteousness… This is the era whereby the sins of all mankind had been forgiven… It is finished…! God had done His part… His grace has been lavished to all mankind… it is now up to mankind to respond to His love by receiving His Son through faith. Faith is indeed,  believing in what Jesus had done, not what our faith can do. 

Ephesians 2:8 ~ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Therefore, in this dispensation, it is NOT only those who preaches GRACE are under GRACE... But as long as you are a human being, whether believer or not, you are under 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... Believers have invited Jesus into their  heart, and Jesus is their Saviour. 

So, if we are not listening to the preaching of pure grace, or even if we are listening to the preaching that mixes grace with law, we have been robbed of all our blessings that Jesus died to give us…! We will slowly be "killed" and eventually, be "destroy"...! Before the devil comes to kill and destroy, he has already done his ground work on his targeted victims, that is to steal the truth from them. It is this lie on unforgiveness, condemning, legalistic preaching that keeps Christians bound. Christians are carrying a lot of guilt over their life which are bound by the teaching and preaching of prideful men. The end result is, instead of looking for victory that they already process, they focus on their own lacks. Instead of being positive in life, they are negative… Instead of being free, they are bound!

John 10:10 ~ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness is a bombshell to this religious world… Grace is unearned, underserved and unmerited favour from God. Nobody deserved anything from God but He chose to love, He chose to give... for He is Love and we are the object of His love! It is all about what Jesus had done… and our faith is to receive what Grace has given, no question asked…!

For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God.

Their Eyes Were Opened...

Pastor Joseph Prince

On the Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:30 ~ Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 

Luke 24:31 ~ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 

Luke 24:32 ~ And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 

@ the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:6 ~ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 

Genesis 3:7 ~ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 

10.10.10

Today is 10th of October 2010. (10/10/10)...

The Lord is using this date to remind us that we are perfectly PERFECT because He is PERFECT! As He is , so are we in this world.

Hebrews 10:10 ~ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14 ~ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

In this perfect day, it is good to remember that the measurement of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was 10 cubits x 10 cubits x 10 cubits...

Perfection x Perfection x Perfection ...

The Balance Of Grace and Faith

Andrew Wommack

We are not saved by grace alone, we are also not saved by faith alone... 

We are saved by grace through faith!

Where Do You Stand...?

How well we can see is very much determined by the position that we are in. Therefore, the angle of our sight will affect the way we believe, the way we talk and the way we behave…

John 1:17 ~ For the law was given  by Moses, but grace and truth  came by Jesus Christ.

The law stands alongside with Moses, while grace and truth stands alongside with Jesus. Law is standing at the different mountain with grace and truth. Law is at Mount Sinai while grace and truth is at Mount Zion. Law is the word of God but Grace is the word of Christ (He is the Way, the Truth and the Life... no one comes to the Father except through Him!). Therefore, the way we interpreted the Bible also demonstrate to us the mountain that we are camping on…

If we see in the Bible that we need to obey the Law to be righteous and holy, we are standing alongside with Moses and we are dancing with the Pharisee and the Sadducee. This is the attitude of a servant. From this angle, we can never understand that our righteousness is from our Lord Jesus Christ. From this angle, we are actually using our mind to comprehend what the Bible says. We reap what we have sowed. We do good, we get good, we do bad, we get beat.  Though we are zealous for God, but our zeal is not based on knowledge. Since we did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish our own, we did not submit to God's righteousness. We cannot comprehend that Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Because of our ignorant, we have insulted God grace.... We have slapped Jesus on His face... We are saying  His death meant nothing to us!

My friend, concerning law, Jesus only used His finger to write on the stones… when come to Grace, He  gave up His whole body on the Cross.

Grace is unearned and unmerited favor from God. We cannot use our effort to earn God’s grace. We have to humble ourselves before Him to receive His grace. This is the kind of humility that is pleasing in God’s eye... and this kind of humility is definitely not the kind of humility that is advocated by any legalistic preacher. 

If you are a legalistic preacher and you are now facing the ever increasing pressure from this grace revolution that is happening all over the world, I think the most difficult thing for you to do now is to humble yourself and preach against all your past teachings. You may try to use the word “Grace” in your preaching, but your motive is to further implant an inception into your "sleep walking" congregation… 

I am going to share with you a little revelation and I hope this revelation can help you to wake up from your sleep walking as well...

If you can understand that Saul the Pharisee was definitely more legalistic than you, there is still hope for you. God loved him as much as He loved Paul. It was the grace of God that converted Saul the Pharisee into Paul the Apostle. The Apostle Paul was called the Apostle to the Gentile and he wrote two third of the New Covenant. He even personalized this gospel of grace as “his gospel”! He was called the Apostle of Grace for his revelation of God's grace... like the late Datuk Ramsay Jitam, he was called the Apostle of Loving Tears for when he preached, his tears would fall when he was overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit...

If we are saying we believe in Jesus, do stand alongside with Him… Be a believer that acknowledge and glorifies His finished work. Be a believing believer…