Humility

Hi Josephians! I hope you’re all still checking on the blog.

Anyway, here’s last Saturday’s Bible Study for those who weren’t around, and also for those who wish to refresh their memories!

Have you ever wondered what God’s will for you is? When I first thought about this, images of me preaching the gospel in some isolated place on the Earth ran through my mind. Well, perhaps, but as Christians, God has a plan for every moment of our lives. He never wastes each moment of our service to Him. God’s will, is basically what He desires for us to do, and to become each day. This means that we have to honour Him every day of our lives, obeying his instrustions and His Word. And He would eventually lead us into serving Him effectively in His ministry. So what has all that have got to do with humility? Let’s turn to the Bible:

Philippians 2:5-11 – Imitating Christ’s attitude

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Our Lord Jesus Christ led a very humble life. Paul described it very aptly in Philippians- Jesus was God in nature, yet He gave up His authority and positon in heaven to come to the Earth. Not in a kingly manner, but was born to an ordinary couple in an ordinary little town. He came not to take up position as a King, but to serve men. There are countless examples- washing His diciples’ feet, even resisting temptation from the devil displayed his meekness. Now the word ‘humility’ appears first in verse 8, and showed how Jesus obeyed God to the point of death- death on a cross! Being God in nature, Jesus knew very well what He had to do on Earth. He knew that he would, eventually, die on the cross and save mankind from his sins. So for every day of Jesus’ life, He was working towards that goal, serving God by serving the people around Him. Jesus had a complete obedience to God and God’s will for Him. And that was what made Him successful. Jesus had not failed when He died on the cross, but He had conquered sin for all of us, and that, was what God wanted Him to do.

Now do you see the link? Most dictionaries today describe humility as not being proud of yourself, or to recognize your bad qualities. These are very legitimate explanations for the word, and may even be supported by the Bible. But I believe it has an even greater meaning. When translated through Latin, and back to English, Humility means Submission. And that was the very attitude that Jesus Christ displayed throughout His life, and every day of His life! Do you not think that Jesus could have established Himself on the Earth very easily? He was God! He could have thrown Himself down from the mountain, as Satan told Him to, and not get hurt! And if the Jews saw Him flying down without getting hurt, don’t you think they would acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah immediately? Or if He had worshipped the Devil, Jesus would gain control of the world, and would be able to influence everybody to be like Him. There were so many easy ways for Jesus to complete what God wanted to do. But He did it God’s way. Jesus obeyed God, and died on the cross. He chose to become the lowest of society because it was what God intended. That was true humility, and true submission.

By submission, I do not mean making intentionally making yourself of no position, or blindly obeying others. But it is submission to God’s plan, and what He needs us to do to serve Him. Our humility must be a complete obedience to God. And this may even mean sacrificing our other personal endeavors for the sake of fulfilling His plan. When Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert, He could easily have turned all the stones around Him to bread, proving the devil wrong and satisfying His hunger at the same time. However, He did not, and by doing so, Jesus had conquered worldly pride and lusts in order to obey God. In the same way, we must humbly give up our personal wants in the process of serving God. It may sound demanding, but that is, plainly, what God requires of us.

Romans 12:1-2

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Only then, would we be able to fulfill the purpose that God has set for our lives. When we offer our bodies as living sacrifices- to used used for God, then we are truly worshipping Him. We must not give in to worldly desires, and it has such influencing power, but instead “be transformed by the renewing of our minds”. This renewal would then get rid of our old, sinful attitudes, and give us a new mind. One that is Jesus’ mind, such that with His humility, we may complete His perfect will in us.

Overcoming Spiritual Attacks

When I was younger, I used to be really afraid of the dark, especially after watching a horror movie of some sort. Well you couldn’t blame me, I also remember having dreams of skeletons chasing me in some haunted house, and where ever else. I suppose all of us have had experienced such a thing before in our lives, and perhaps even do now. I used to think it that my imagination was just scaring me, and reassured myself that Jesus would take care of me and drive away all the evil things. Well today, we shall define such experiences as spiritual attacks.

Most of your responses to what actually spiritual attacks was were quite standard. Some in my cell mentioned fear, spiritual unrest, doubt in God’s purpose, and so on. I must say they were quite spot on. But evil may even affect us in the most subtle ways. Perhaps having little self control, giving in to temptation, procrastination, and as seen above, fear of the unknown. And we realize that sometimes we just cannot seem to do anything about it. I declare now that these things will haunt us for the rest of our lives. But what makes the difference, is our choice to prepare ourselves against it.

^{Ephesians 6:10-12
10}Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, first establishes that our battle now, is not one that is physical, but one that is against the evils of this world. And therefore, to equip ourselves against it, we need the armour of God.

^{Ephesians 6:13-18
13}Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

And likewise, the armour of God is used to represent the defenses that God has provided for us to overcome all spiritual attacks. As Paul knew the Roman soldier’s armour well, he very aptly used them to show us what we have.

Firstly, we have the belt of truth. Of all the pieces of armour, this was the first thing the Roman soldiers put on. The truth, God’s Word must be our spiritual foundation. It holds up the rest of the armour and likewise, God’s Word supports all our defenses against the evil one. Also, in order to fight off a spiritual attack, we have to identify it first. And only by knowing the truth may we realize that the lies of the devil are untrue.

Next is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protects our vital organs, and more specifically, our hearts. Because we are Christians, we have already salvation, and our bodies are transformed into one that is holy and purified. But the devil may try to sow doubt in our hearts, against our relationship with God. He may try to stop us from asking for forgiveness after we’ve done wrong by making us feel guilty. But it is because we have righteousness through Jesus Christ, that we may openly rebuke all the claims of the devil. And hold fast to our identities in Christ, as children of God.

The shoes of peace gives us direction in all that we do. Whenever God gives us a direction, or we make a decision that we believe is God’s plan, Satan will attempt to sow doubt in our minds. He will stir up unrest, make us worry, even if it may be about the smallest things. Then we must remember that we have God’s peace, that transcends all understanding, so that our hearts and minds are guarded in Christ Jesus. Also, we are called to bring peace where we go. That is, to spread the gospel to the unbelievers so that they may believe and have salvation. And when God calls us to do so, we are to be with “readiness”. That is ultimately, the calling that God has for all of us.

The Roman shield was really huge. It was large enough to cover the whole body of the soldier, so that it may fully block all arrows from their enemies. Similarly, by our faith in our God, we can resist all attacks from evil, because we know that God will protect and equip us.

Now the helmet of salvation guards our minds, that we may be assured and affirmed that God had won the battle already because He sent down His son to die for us. That we may have salvation and eternal life. So the devil may never lead us astray, or cause us to doubt our salvation.

Lastly, but definitely not the least, is the sword of the Spirit- the Word of God. At this, I must draw a comparison to the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Three times the devil tempted Him, and three times Jesus used the Word of God to counter the devil. It is the best and the only weapon(if you’ve realized) that we may use against all the attacks of satan. So we must arm ourselves with the Word, that at any time, when we face temptations, doubt, or discouragements, we will use it to rebuke the devil. And I would suggest Ephesians 6:13-18 first of all.

For Christians, God has actually already won the battle for us. When Jesus was crucified, the curtain of the temple tore, and when we believe now, we are saved by grace. But we must also be aware of the evil that is ever present in this world. Because of sin, we may be influenced or distracted by things that we may think is right.

^{John 15:18-20
18}“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

But we shall be wary of the things of this world. Apart from it, as God’s children and disciples of Jesus Christ, we have every power to destroy the influence of satan from our lives. So ask God to equip you, for He always will, and live truly, as a Christian.

~Joel

Speaking in Tongues…

To my dear sister Evan and to others who may benefit from reading this, have faith in the gift of speaking in tongues. 2 Cor 9:15 “Thanks be to God for this inexpressible gift!”

 

Below is a summary of what’s written in this book, “A Handbook on Holy Spirit Baptism” by Don Basham. I’ve tried my best to keep in whole those parts that are very important. If anyone would like to borrow the book to read more, you’re always welcome to borrow from me! =)

 

======================

 

Questions commonly asked by Christians…

 

How can I be sure that I’m truly speaking in tongues? Or is it gibberish that I’m saying?

 

Do you identify yourself with these questions?

 

Let me point you to a seemingly unrelated, but very important and helpful passage in the Scriptures, Matthew 14:22 – 31,

 

“Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many distance from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

 

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 

This Scripture contains the story of Peter seeking and experiencing a miracle. For you, receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit and to speak in tongues is to experience a miracle too. By examining this story and identifying with Peter, you will be greatly helped.

 

Peter said, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come…”

 

Peter wanted assurance that the miracle he sought was in accordance to God’s will. How do you know that you’ve received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues when you ask for it?

 

We have Jesus’ own word for this…

 

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”               (Luke 11:11 – 13)

 

So now you have it. If you are sincere and honest in seeking for it from our Heavenly Father, you can be assured that our Father will keep to His Word and bestow upon us this baptism and the gift of tongues.

 

Now identify once again with Peter’s request, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water” with a sincere prayer, “Lord, if You say I can receive – if You say I can speak in tongues – I trust You to make it possible.”

 

Jesus said, “Come.” (Receive)

 

This is the point where your faith and trust must resolve themselves into action.

 

This is the point where Peter acted boldly and in faith, “Peter got out of the boat and walked…”

 

These few words hold the key!

 

Before the miracle of God could take place, Peter had to do his part. He didn’t do anything supernatural, he just stepped out and began to walk. It was however, an act of faith and courage. And when that happened, God performed the supernatural.

 

As Peter walked, God held the water firm under his feet.

 

It goes the same with the miracle of speaking in tongues.

 

You step out with your own lips and voice and trust God to furnish you with a new language of praise – words and syllables in a new and unknown tongue.

 

Do not hesitate. Do not be afraid to open your mouth and speak. Refusing to speak out in faith leaves you like Peter sitting in a boat.

 

When the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost (Acts 2:4) “…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

 

Read that again.

 

They spoke. The Holy Spirit “gave them utterance” or provided the words.

 

As you allow the Holy Spirit to furnish you with this new language of praise, you will not be able to understand – it will be unknown to you, but don’t let this stop you from speaking! Your responsibility is not to understand but to speak out in faith. At this point, the devil will tempt you and whisper, “You can’t do it.” He’s a liar. YOU CAN DO IT! Ignore him and go ahead and speak.

 

Do not dismiss them as mere imagination; you are under the control of the Holy Spirit and the words are from Him. Speak them out in faith, even though you may feel foolish doing so. Peter must have felt foolish walking on water too.

 

Once you have begun praising God with this new language He has given you, it is important for you to exercise this gift until you become completely familiar and comfortable with your new spiritual ability. It may be at this point that your greatest doubts will come. Satan will use your conscious mind, the old mind of the flesh, to tempt you to reject the whole experience by saying, “That’s not it! You’re just making up sounds and syllables.” But remember that he’s a liar. Go ahead and speak. Keep on speaking.

 

We read on to notice how Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began staring at the wind-swept water. We can almost hear Satan taunting Peter the impossibility of what he was doing, using his rationalization to cause his faith to falter.

 

Paul said in 1 Cor 14:14, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.”

 

When you become self-conscious of the words that the Holy Spirit has given you, Satan will use the “unfruitfulness” of your intellect – the fact that you can’t make sense out of the tongues – and attempt to discredit the miracle which is taking place.

 

So disregard your doubts; disregard feeling strange; keep your thoughts centred on Jesus as you praise Him in tongues. The more you continue to praise Him, the firmer you will become established in this new spiritual dimension, and the more fluent your praise will become.

Session 1 The Real Story

In order to grow into godly men and women God intends for us to become, we must understand the nature of the world in which we live.

 

More than ever before, we should realize that just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Like germs attacking healthy bodies, strategies from Satan are daily attacking those who follow Christ. (Pg 11)

 

We will now look into 1 John 2:15 – 27 to understand the situation we’re in.

 

A brief information about this letter written by apostle John:

- This was a letter mentioned to no one in particular thus suggesting it to be a circular letter sent to Christians in various places.

- Purposes: (i) To expose false teachers (2) To give believers assurance of salvation

- One of the most dangerous heresies during the 1st two centuries of the church was Gnosticism, which defines salvation as the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by special knowledge, Gnosis in Greek.

 

1 John 2:15 – 17 clearly states for us that love for God and love for the worldly things can’t coexist. Let us not forget that though we are in this world, we are not of this world. 

 

Verse 16 also identifies for us the 3 strategies in which the enemy uses to pull us away from God and His purposes for us:
1. “Lust of the flesh” – Physical pleasures like sexual pleasure, luxury etc.
2. “Lust of the eyes” – You see something, you want that thing.
3. “Self-pride” – Being proud and arrogant of what you ‘have’

 

Honestly, this is not anything new as the enemy uses it in Matthew 4 as he tries to tempt Jesus in the desert: 
1. “Lust of the flesh” – Turn stones into bread to satisfy your hunger.
2. “Lust of the eyes” – You can have all these possessions that you see.
3. “Pride” – If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down to prove it. 

 

Yes Jesus went through the exact same things but most importantly, we note how our Lord overcomes it. “It is written…“

 

The power of the Word. 

 

Have we often tap on this power source? If not, let’s encourage one another to exercise our faith in applying His Word to overcome our love for the world or anything in the world.

“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” Verse 17

 

“As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him.” Verse 27

Remain in Him. Cling on to His Word. Have faith in His promises. Learn to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit which lives within you. His anointing teaches you about all things.

 

We’re all made to be more than conquerors. What He has started in us, He will see it to completion. God has promised us that in His Word. 

 

Here’s some questions for you to ponder….

 

Are you a world-lover? Is there something that you cannot live without and it has replaced God as your first love?

Where do you place your marker in life of being Christ-led to being Self-willed? Whose standards do you often make decisions by? 

 

And a bible passage to conclude this…

 

“ And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.”     1 John 2:3 – 6 

 

Obedience is the only hard/”heart” evidence that we are God’s redeemed people.

For the eternal, never the transient

Hi all! It’s been a while ago since we did this Bible Study during cell, but I found some time to type it out! I hope we haven’t forgotten what we have learnt, and continue to remember all these lessons as we grow closer to God as a cell group. I ripped it off my blog, so the context is more from my point of view. God Bless!

Joel~

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. ¹⁷So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²²“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

²³“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

As a second generation Christian, I’ve read this passage many times. Younger, when I read it, I never knew how much we could gain from it. I thought it was just telling me to use my talents to serve God. Well, it was, but is serving really that easy? The passage just answers everything else.

Every Sunday, I go for the main service at 830 am, and see the mass of people sitting in the chapel, waiting for it to start. My church has a population of a few thousand, I think. But I always wondered how many actually serve God in some way in their lives. And what about the others? I tried to look from their point of view, and I believe many don’t know why they have to serve God in the first place.

Like the master in the parable, God has given us talents, skills, abilities. And to each of us, we have a different set, that God intended for us to use in this world. And because we were created by God, shouldn’t we be giving back these talents to Him is service? Of everyone we know, who is the most deserving besides our Creator Himself? Furthermore, I can personally testify that giving God my time and abilities, which He gave me first, has caused me so much more gain. I once thought about the future, when I pass down my leadership in the youth service to someone else younger. What would I do then? I would feel so lost without serving God. I would have lost my purpose.

I’ve heard the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 being quoted so many times. Indeed, God has a plan and a purpose for all of us, and we can claim it. So go on and fulfill that purpose by serving God. It’s just that simple. Then, like the servants with two and five talents, God will put us in charge of greater things, as I know God will do so for me when the time comes.

Perhaps another reason why some Christians don’t serve God is because they don’t feel ready. I’ve heard this reason countless and countless of times. The answer I always give would be, “You’ll never feel ready.” Again, let us go back to the Word. Did the master ever warn his servants of his leaving? Not really. He just gave them the talents, and left. In the same way, God will call us to serve even when we feel the most ‘unready’, at the most inconvenient times, when we are the most busy… .. What we can choose to do, however, would be to trust Him in His plan for us, and just do it. If we reject the opportunity, how different would we be from the servant with one talent, who was afraid, and buried the talent? We cannot choose to be afraid and withdraw, but instead, have faith in God’s plan, and just take the step forward.

There are some people in the church who will, perhaps, be ushers, some who will teach and preach, and another few who will befriend. Some others you don’t see all the time do the admin, while others prepare snacks for fellowship. Tell me, who is the greatest? I’d say all of them.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Paul was speaking to the Corinthian church in his letter, telling them about spiritual gifts. All of us, as Christians, have the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and thus, have spiritual gifts. It is just that we all have different gifts, but by the same Holy Spirit. Today, as God equips us with gifts and abilities through the Holy Spirit, never underestimate it. What you are doing is serving God’s purpose, and not serving men. After that passage, Paul continues to talk about the church being one body, and that each part is equal and indispensable.

We are called to do different things, but God does not judge what we do, but He looks at our effort. As humans, we naturally classify things as better or worse, more desirable or less. Perhaps some may feel that worship leading is a great thing to do, and ushers have a less important role in the church. But that is merely human judgement. God sees the heart you have when you serve. Wasn’t this also displayed in the parable? Though two servants had received different amounts, five and two, they still did their best, and duplicated them. Notice what the master says to both of them.

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

We may think that having five talents is better than having two. But God doesn’t see it that way.

What do we want God to say to us when we go to heaven? ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’, or ‘You wicked lazy slave’?
Can we have faith like a child then, to serve Him? Like Samuel had. When God calls us to serve, let us say “Here I am, speak Lord, your servant hears.”

Then go forth and do so.

Look up your birth date verse =p

 http://WWW.birthverse.Com/mybirthverse.cfm

Water that gives life and life more abundantly

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalm 1:3

Let us be trees planted by the banks of  refreshing living water, soaking in the Lord’s goodness and blessings everyday! If you like the song ‘Be like a tree’, do sing along =) 

Change…

Today was the day that Matthew’s resignation was announced over YPM and Samson taking over as acting Head of YPM… Walked away with many thoughts after YPM Sermon today….

Samson left us with a few good questions to think about…

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Do you believe that He is still the God of this ministry? 

Have we been following God’s lead or are we ‘leading’ God? Can we truly say that “God, I’ll follow you wherever you go” when He is leading us down the narrow path that requires us to carry our cross, crucify our old selves and surrender ourselves to Him? Jesus did. 

When Uncle William shared his desire to see the young people rising up in this ministry and the burden that he felt for this ministry, I was thinking, “Can we also hear the heartfelt cry of our Father who even more desires us to rise up in faith?”

When Samson encouraged all to see themselves as a significant part of this ministry and that they too, can contribute to the ministry, I pray that all of you really see that… 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that we are all part of one body and no part is considered dispensable. When one part suffers, the whole body suffers with it. We are all given different spiritual gifts and we’re encouraged to use them and not hoard them. Do you see yourself significant to the Young People Ministry? Let me tell you this, you are.

Because God has a sovereign plan for each of you…

“…in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” 1 Cor 12:8

Have we found where God wants us to be?
Can we hear Him speaking to us today? Have our souls quieten down to hear His voice?
Do you know that God can use you in this ministry of His? All He needs is your availability not your ability…

Be like David. No fear even as he faced Goliath. Just his usual stones that he flings. But he did it in faith.
Be like Abraham. He didn’t know where he was going when God asked him to leave his home. But he went in faith.

Are you willing to give God your 5 loaves and 2 fishes? Or you fear it’s too little to feed the multitudes? Trust Him. It will feed not only the multitudes but there will even be baskets of leftovers.

God bless.

Love,
Yun

Mission Trips update!

Hey Josephians! Here are the mission trips for this coming June! Okay it works like this- Each mission trip will be anchored by 2-3 cell groups, which means we would most likely sign up as a cell. Other members from other groups are welcome to join too. Could you all consider and we’ll discuss this Saturday? It would be great if we could all go for one together.

The estimated cost is per person, but if it is an issue, we’ll let Pamela know. Any other questions can go to her too.

Country	Dates/ Duration	Brief Description	Target group	No. of ple required	Estimated Cost (incl transport, accom, food, ministry fees)
Batam (led by Uncle Chuan Iau & Chiau Ho)	26-28 June	- medical ministry	15yrs & above	8-10	$100
	Dec (exact date TBC)	- visit bible college- distribute food to villages & slum - children’s ministry: skit/ song/ gospel presentation	12yrs & above	8-10	$100
Setapak, KL(led by cell grp leaders)	12-14 June	- children’s ministry: teach bible stories, games, etc.- youth ministry: lead P&W, games, sharing testimony, etc. - street witnessing	12yrs & above	8-10	$100
	18-20 Dec			8-10	$100

 

Joel~

Trials and Temptations

Hey all! Here’s the first post on BS I’ll be making, for the benefit of those who missed it and those who wish to revise what they learnt last saturday! I wouldn’t be putting in too many of the examples we discussed as it would mean a really long post. Most of it is ripped off from my blog anyway. I wrote it there first to make sure I don’t miss out anything here!

When we discuss about both trials and temptations, we have to recognize that as Christians, it is inevitable that we face both, and need to overcome both. And to add to that, we’ll get them all the way until we die. Great right? And I’m not being cynical. Really.

Trials and tests come from God, and they were meant for us to overcome and succeed. Temptations, however do not come from God, as God cannot tempt us. In the Bible, examples of temptations are mainly from the world, our sinful bodies, and the devil. This is the difference: They were meant for us to fail.

James 1:12-15

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

In our world, there are three “root sins” which would be the causes to everything else evil that we do.

1 John 2:16

¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

The lust of the eyes- when we desire to possess what we see and like. Or desire to possess more of what already have. The most common example would be money. I feel that it is important for us to always remember what we are on this earth for. Not to make as much money as we can to live life, but to carry out God’s purpose. Materialism, I want to stress, is wrong. Instead of placing value on what the world has created and make out so good to be, we have to remember that true meaning in life can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The lust of the flesh would be gratifying our sinful natures by complying with it. What I find many people think of first would be satisfying sexual desires. It is true that that is a common problem, but the lust of the flesh may be subtle at times. Even consumption of alcohol, smoking and overeating are sins. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we shall not violate it, nor cause any deliberate harm to it. The Bible does speak very strongly about such sins, and maybe I shall talk about them another time.

The pride of life, I find, is the sin I personally dislike the most. Of the three, I find that this root sin is the most difficult to evade, and the most difficult to detect. Sometimes you’d never know. I admit I’m still struggling hard with it. Pride elevates us above the rest. We may become so self-centered that we just lose control of what we say, and we we do. And I shall tell say this: people know it when you’re proud in speech and actions.

So that’s a short summary of the three root sins.

Trials and temptations however, do have a purpose.

James 1:2-4

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When we overcome tests and temptations, we would develop perseverance. This is the endurance that we will have spiritaully. We will be able to overcome even more, and succeed in greater tests and temptations. In the NKJV, verse 4 says that we will then be perfect. Perfect in this case means that we will be spiritually mature.

Isaac once told me that “The more crap you go through in your life, the better, because it would mean you grow even more”.  And this is true. The more we are tested, and the more we overcome, the more spiritually mature we will be. And that is why we are called to “consider it pure joy”. Joy of receiving tests is not an uncontrolled feeling, but something that we choose to do. When we are faced with trials and temptations, we should choose to accept them. And then choose to overcome them because we know of the benefits that we will receive.

At this point in time, I hope you would realize the seriousness of this topic. I would state some ways that we could overcome trials and temptations, but the onus is on you all to take responsibility for your Christian life.

1 Corinthians 10:13

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Many have found this verse rather encouraging. God will provide a way out, definitely. But if He provides a way, you still have to choose to take that way.

I have personally found that using God’s Word is a very effective method of overcoming temptation. I would put them on my walls, behind my locker door, in my wallet, and everywhere I can think of. Ephesians 6:10-18 would be a good passage to read, but I guess I won’t make this post too long. Maybe we can discuss that another time..

One other way would be to deliberately remove temptation from your life. Bring less money with you so as not to overeat or overspend. Don’t walk pass the clothes shop which you know you would go into.

And in all things, put your trust in the Lord, and you’ll never go wrong.

Overcoming temptation will be difficult, but it is even more satisfying knowig that you have overcome it when you have.

After all that, I still want to constantly remind you that temptation will bug us as long as we live. So do not be complacent when you overcome one, but always be on your guard against the devil.

As Christians, we are called to defy the evils ways of this world, and let us do so. Then, we shall receive the crown of life that God had promised us, and blessed we will be.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

It would be good to continue reading from verse 4 onwards..

Oh yes, and don’t forget to read Colossians 3:1-17 over the week!

Joel~