News?

I got this quote from my iGoogle page today.

People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.
A. J. Liebling (1904 - 1963)

There are also many people who fight tooth and nails to defend the news they "discovered" because to them it's a matter of pride. I am very clever. I found it first. What do you mean it's not true? Be quiet. I will not have a young punk ruin my day.

Fortunately, many of my sisters (it seems men don't like to spread grandmother's stories, perhaps that's why they are not called grandfather's stories) have more sense than that. Most of them upon checking out the evidences and resources are willing to retract the alarming news they shared.

At the grand scheme of things, many of these things matter not anymore. But we Christians claim to have the truth. So, we cannot be take it easy when we quote such and such as true and demand others to take the necessary actions.

Susan Tang wrote a book called the Demand of Love. I say there is also a Demand of Truth. Let's check within ourselves to see are we worthy of the truth that has been given to us once and for all. Are we contending for the truth? Are we confusing truth with fiction? Perhaps in the process of it all, we become as confused as those that are confused by us.

Make no mistake about it. Truth is absolute. There is only one truth. Perception is NOT truth no matter many people believe it to be so.

The next time I received a mail about an urgent plea for me to do something 'if I love Jesus' and I find out it's a hoax, I will still do the same thing, i.e.

1. List the resources
2. Urge the sender to verify before sharing
3. Let her (I don't remember if I ever did it for a he) decide whether she wanted to fix the problem / undo the damage
4. Tell her I think a Christian has a responsibility to remain credible in case we need to share the Gospel (we do NEED to share the Gospel, contrary to popular belief)

As for #3, in my younger days, I once thought to save time, I'd Reply to All with my evidences. The original sender was furious that her mistakes was pointed out without mercy. She complained to all the leaders in the church that I didn't give her face. She stop short of telling me I could not do that to a wife of an important person in the church.

I know don't do that not because I am afraid of such response. I believe one must be responsible for one's actions. You reap, you sow. You caused a problem, you fix it.

Ron said it was George Bush who said Trust and Verify. I found out that Hawk Girl said the same thing in episode 5.13 (season 5, episode 13) of Justice League Unlimited called Destroyer. The episode concluded with this quote.

"Trust half of what you see and none of what you hear."

I'll end a pair of paradoxical quotes from Fox Mulder (another X-Files movie is coming! Are you X-philes ready?)

Trust no one.
I want to believe.

27 Jul 2008 Jerusalem: Facing Conflicts (Acts 15:1-35)

Statement of Purpose: Limited their agenda to one objective – determining the basis of Gentile salvation. ("issue" in v2 and "matter" in v6)

Pastor Reynold Lim (CBC Kota Damansara, English)

Prayer is not easy, it is fighting against ourselves. It is a change agent and we don't like to pray because we don't like to be changed. Prayer brings refreshing and revival. It changes us first. It fights against our mind, our will and our whole bring. Prayer reveals the will of God which we usually fight against. We need to submit and let God does His work.

Psa 25:4-5 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. (5) Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Prayer is a change agent and it re-aligns us with God's values.

Relationships bring conflicts. If we handle them well, it can bring benefit in life.

The background

Before we can understand the Jerusalem Council which decides our future, we need to understand the background. At the end of Acts 14, Paul & Barnabas on furlough in their home base of Antioch of Syria. The served their 1^st term as missionaries in Cyprus and Galatia. They planted at least 4 churches in Galatia in the cities of Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra & Derbe. They had gone back to each of these churches & installed elders (Acts 14:23).

A worst case scenario: Acts 15:1 (AD 48) – Some church leaders visited the Galatian churches and contradict the essence of salvation. The 1^st Gentile churches planted in Antioch in Ad 45 – Uncircumcised Gentiles professed faith in Jesus Christ, God of the Jews (Acts 11:23;26).

When the Jews heard that Gentiles became Christians without observing the whole spectrum of the Jewish customs, they were not happy. Herod took advantage of this and persecuted the Christians. He killed James the brother of Jesus and attempted to capture Peter.

Act 12:1-3 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. (2) He killed James the brother of John with the sword, (3) and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

The notion that uncircumcised Gentiles could profess to be Christians was so radical &

A worst case scenario - The Jews remained mono-cultural and enthno-centric. Salvation did not removed their racism.

Two developments:

The face-to-face theological debate between Paul and these Messianic Hews (Judaizers) in Antioch resulted in the convening of the Jerusalem Council.

The unsettling news from the news churches provoked Paul to write his first epistles - to the Galatians.

The issue of the Gentile circumcision is by all measurements one of the most crucial missiological challenges in the entire history of Christianity.

The Epistle to the Galatians is Paul's response to these tumultuous events, before the Jerusalem Council.

Gal 1:6-7 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- (7) not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

If we understand the background in Acts 15, we can appreciate better Galatians.

Act 13:38-39 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, (39) and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Paul's 1^st recorded sermon was met with anger.

The foundational nucleus of the church at Antioch was made up of Gentiles who had become Christians and elders in the church without being circumcised.

Gal 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Paul was furious at the insistence of Jews to circumcise the Gentiles believers.

Paul described the Judaizers in Gal 2:4 as false brethren secretly brought in.

Gal 2:4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in--who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery--

If there was no Jerusalem Council, men today need to be circumcised and worse, Satan would have nullified the work of Jesus on the Cross. Satan made many attempts to do so, in Queen Esther's time, and the time when Jesus was born.

In Gal 2, we see the conflict between Paul and Peter regarding Gentiles conversion.

Gal 3 deals with problems arising from Jews and Gentile believers (formerly Gentile proselytes).

Gal 4 deals with problems arising from pagan Gentiles, including the God-fearers.

Gal 5 shows that both of the problems can lead to the works of the flesh as opposed to the fruit of the Spirit.

Four steps to conflict resolution:

1. Acknowledge the Issue (1-2)

What was the issue? The central question was What should a Gentile do to be saved?

Justification by faith was not seen as enough – one must keep the Mosaic Law and be circumcised.

The response to this question would affect the entire history of Christianity and determine the way we view salvation today.

We need to put down the issue.

2.Look at the Issue (5-12)

a. Method of Discussion: Show respect to both sides of the question. Allows for much debate (Acts 15:7a, cf 1 Tim 2:24-25

b. Testimony of Peter (Acts 15:7b-11) God who knows their heart gave them the Holy Spirit. Peter reminded that God used him as a vessel to bring good news to the Gentiles. He then reminded that the Gentiles are saved in the same way, i.e. through faith by grace and he confirmed the salvation of the Gentiles. Paul pointed out that the Jews were trying to imposing the yolk that they themselves they could not bear on the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas then shared their testimonies of God's miracles among the Gentiles.

3. Look at the Scripture – James, who was seen as the chief elder presented a Theological Pattern with 4 Strands of Thoughts (v13-21)

a. God is doing this, not man (v 14)

b. It had been God's plan all along. The Word of God is being fulfilled, not contradicted. (vv 15-18)

c. The basis of salvation is grace, not law (v19)

d. A lifestyle of obedience and love must follow salvation, not license (Acts 15:20-21, Gal 5:13)

When we consider the Scripture, we need to look at what God has been doing in the church. Elder James was not telling the people he ignored all their rights. He recognized four things that offend the Jews greatly.

Act 15:28-29 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: (29) that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

4. Reach a Consensus - a Written Statement (v 23b-29; 30b-35)

Act 15:23-29 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. (24) Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, (25) it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26) men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27) We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. (28) For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: (29) that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

Two points stood out.

1. Restricting one's liberty is a burden. Limitation is burdensome but love motivates us to bear them to protect weaker believers from stumbling.
   
2. These restrictions are essential. Harmony in the body of Christ depends on our willingness to forgo a privilege.
   

A public announcement was made in Acts 15:30b-35. Paul, Barnabase, Judas and Silas (v22) sent to Antioch with the letter in hand. The response to the council's decision was tremendous. The people rejoiced, were encouraged and strengthened. They felt a sense of peace. They continued to preach the Gospel.

Application

Let's ask ourselves some hard questions:

1. Do we really believe in God's grace?
   

   Do we welcome in to our fellowship those who look different than we do? Who talk differently whose pasts may littered with failures or sin Do we shim rough-edged new converts? Do we shun divorcees or single parents? Are we willing to listen to others' opinions? Why can't we accept? Could we be prejudiced / self-centred / arrogant?
   

2. Chapter 15 of Acts is not just about Gentile salvation – it's about being open to change.
   

   How do you take to change Are you flexible when grace make changes to your own law?
   

   God's grace always challenges us to be open to any change that better communicates the Gospel. Is God pushing for a grace change in your life right now? What it is? Resistant to this change? What do you need to do to be flexible?
   

3. Conflict handled properly can sharpen us.
   

   English Puritan Richard Baxter says, in necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.
   

   Does your disagreement centre on a necessary thing or secondary issue? Is it truly worth fighting for?
   

   In "all things," are you holding to "charity" as your goal and motivation? What's in your heart?
   

Conclusion

We must focus on the fundamentals: God's grace, salvation through faith alone, freedom in Christ and making loving sacrifices for another.

Legalism – emphasis on Works, impact is Guilt. "If you don't achieve, you are a failure."

License – emphasis is on self, impact is Offense. "Do it your way, don't worry about others' feelings."

Grace – emphasis on Christ, impact is Love. "Love others as Christ has loved you."

Grace is the middle of the two extremes. It is the essence of a Christian life.

(I did not hear Ps Paul Huang's message completely as I left earlier for another meeting, hence no notes.)

Evangelism in the Gospel

Pastor Ronnie Teoh

Luk 13:18-21 He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? (19) It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." (20) And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? (21) It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened."

3 levels of learning

1. Cognitive learning – lowest level
   
2. Affective learning – touches the emotions and the truth touches us in a special way
   
3. Psychomotor – e.g. playing tennis, etc.
   

We want to invite the Holy Spirit to open His truth to us (at the 2^nd level of learning.)

Pastor Teoh participated in a 3-day pastors and leaders national prayer. Their counterpart in England did the same and saw a vision of Malaysia.

1. These two parables indirectly answer the question – Why is revival not happening
   

The context

Jesus had just healed a woman who had a bent spinal column (possibly calcification) in the synagogue on a Sabbath. This was prohibited by the religious leaders. The synagogue rulers openly opposed Him.

Jesus explained through the Parable of the Mustard Seed that His Gospel cannot be confined by Jewish restrictions because it is universal in character.

Birds nesting on a tree was a familiar symbolism for the gathering of the nations of the world. Birds observed no boundaries. The parable explains the universal scope of the Gospel, it is not just for the Jews but for the whole world. The Jews could not understand this and no wonder they opposed Him.

By the Parable of the Yeast, Jesus explained how the Gospel would spread to the whole world through its transforming power.

Thumb drives and hydrogen fuel are inventions of Malaysia. We have the ideas but we may not have the capability to develop and manufacture the product. The idea of the thumb drive was sold to Koreans who popularized and commoditize it.

By this parable, Jesus was illustrating the most basic method of evangelism.

EEIII (Evangelism Explosion III) works well in the Philippines because most of the people there have a Judea-Christian understanding.

Yeast in the Biblical concept is almost always used as a negative symbolism. The Israelites' offering to God never contained yeast. Yeast represented the evil influence of the Egyptians. In NT, Jesus warned about the yeast – the hypocrisy of the Jews and their negative influence.

1Co 5:1-6 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. (2) And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. (3) For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. (4) When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, (5) you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (6) Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Jesus must have very good reasons to use yeast to represent the dynamism and the work of the Kingdom of God.

The principle to observe about a parable is that it usually carries one central idea. We should not be creative and spiritualize the parables. It's "and earthly story with a heavenly meaning." We don't have the liberty to interpret parables. We just need to focus on the central truth. Once we identify the central truth, we can attempt to amplify it.

1. There are two things we can learn here
   
   1. The Parable of the Yeast demonstrates how the Gospel transforms human society.
      

Yeast does its work of transforming dough through direct contact. Yeast it mix together with flour before it's kneaded. A little yeast affects the whole lump of dough. The Jews then were familiar with this. The total character of the lump of dough is changed by the yeast.

Jesus was not interested in the commercial potential of yeast, rather He was using it to communicate a powerful message of the Gospel's ability to transform minds. When this powerful Gospel is deposited in our society and then it will do its work.

Jesus brought the Gospel to the planet earth. He came to earth and walked the earth. He lived a perfect life and die for our sins and rose again. It is now our task to take the Gospel out into our society.

1. Yeast is effective in doing its work because although it started out as dough, it had now been transformed by the power of fermentation.
   

When we received the Gospel, we went through the powerful transformation in our lives. We can bring this transformation into our society.

1. Let us draw three application points that speak to us today
   
   1. Understand the primacy of GO Evengelism taught by Jesus in the Parable of the Yeast.
      

All evangelism methods are either go or come Evangelism. Statistics show that 90% of Christians DO NOT REGULARLY ARTICULATING the Gospel to others.

Haggai Institute in Hawaii published a startling statistic which suggests 75% Christians never bring someone to Christ in their lifetime. If we are a fermented people, we should go to share the Gospel.

Billy Graham once told a story about a middle age man in small town America. He didn't think he needed to become a Christian even though he knew many Christians. He admired his boss. He thought that if he could become more like his boss it would be ok. His Christian colleagues invited him to a church service and to his surprise, his boss was a leader in the church and yet he never once shared the Gospel with him!

We are comfortable with COME evangelism. We'd invite people to come for services and meetings. We hope by attending the event, our friends will receive Jesus.

A lot of Christians cannot even invite friends to evangelistic events because they have never been doing the groundwork.

FGBF in Alor Setar organized a grand dinner and invited all their friends and associates. 400 were invited. That's a big number in Alor Setar. The guests expected this to be a normal Christmas function with dinner and presents. It was then announced that a speaker would share the message of Christmas. Pastor Teoh had 40 minutes to lead the people who knew nothing about Christianity to accept Jesus. The Gospel can transform lives. But the primary method of evangelism taught by Jesus is GO Evangelism. We are fermented and so we should go and deposit into the lives of people.

Organizations all over the world have a tagline. CNN's is Be the First to Know. HSBC calls themselves the World's Local Bank. Pastor Ronnie's tagline is 'Deposit the Gospel As You Deem Best and Let The Holy Spirit Do the Rest.'

We cannot squeeze someone by the neck until they are blue to make them believe in Jesus.

Pastor Ronnie published a booklet entitled 'Are All Religions the Same?' This is the number one religious concept in Asia. The booklet starts with a no and explains why. It also contains a persuasion part. He is going to publish another booklet called 'What is the Meaning of Life?'

1. Effective personal evangelism is the result of a transformed life.
   

If you are still just a lump of a dough with the label Christian on you, you are not much good to the Kingdom of God.

Communism is a second class call. They bring to it the first class commitment. Communism is such a threat because of its ability to influence. Christianity is the first class call. There is nothing that compares to the call to share the Gospel. But we bring to it a second class commitment.

1. God can bring about revival but each of us must obediently bring the Gospel into contact with people
   

Ps Reynold said the 3-month prayer journey must culminate in evangelism, something that connects to people. Revival and evangelism always work hand in hand.

Pastor Ronnie once took a flight from LA back to KL. He took a Korean Airline flight. He chose the cheapest seats. It was a 7-hours flight and they stop over in Korea. He was promised a tour. He went to a place called Nam San (literally southern city.) It was cold so before long, Pastor Ronnie wanted to run back to the bus which was heated. Before he reached the bus, an elderly lady passed him a tract. She probably targeted foreign tourist in Nam San in her distribution of English tracts. It was a cold night,

Korea is seen as a revival country. Amazing amount of evangelism is going on there.

Many years ago, Pastor Ronnie and wife went to the SS2 Pasar Malam around 5:00 p.m. Stall owners were setting up. One was a stall selling idols. The owner was eating noodles when a woman came to rebuke the idols loudly. The man put down his bowl of noodles and told the woman if there was a problem they can discuss. He didn't understand English. The woman continued.

This is not the way to share the Gospel. Ps Ronnie has given us tips for evangelism with his tagline. When there is no personal revival in the Christians there will be no results. Christians need to be stirred up so they will go to the LORD and let the LORD transform them.

We judge who, what, how, etc. in evangelism. One way or another, some way or other, we find some way to deposit the Gospel into the lives of the non-believers. The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts. It is our part that we have failed.

How do we go about doing it?

1. Use common factor / interest – tennis, tour, bakery, etc.
   
2. Once we established a friendship, we must direct / steer relationship without condemnation. A non-Christian has a different value system and operate in a different way. We introduce spiritual truth. Share our testimonies. We must have the agenda that we want to do something, that is to share the Gospel with our friends.
   
3. Grab opportunities – neighbours ask why we go to church every week instead of every month, friends asking us why we give 10% of our income to God, etc. Acknowledge they have legitimate questions and tell them it's hard to explain everything. Offer the booklet ('Are All Religions the Same?') Once the Gospel enters their lives, we let the Holy Spirit do His work.
   
4. Create opportunities – organize parenting seminar. This allows the Christians to connect to non-Christians. We then find an opportunity to share the Gospel. We partner with the Holy Spirit.
   

Ps Ronnie was the first pastor in Malaysia to pick up EEIII. He went to Ft Lauderdale twice.

Question 1: When we tell others the Bible is the truth, how to we respond to doubts? (Kevin Suit)

Don't give theological answers. Determine if our friends are genuinely looking for an answer. Explain how the Bible was written. Talk to pastors, teachers and get them books.

Question 2: What to do with someone who knows about Jesus but could not love his father? (Ong)

Show the stories from the Bible that shows a father's love, e.g. the Prodigal Son, John 3:16, etc.

There are supposed to be 99 names of a god but none of them is love. The God is the Bible is love.

Question 3: Is believing in Jesus enough to go to heaven? (Ong)

We are in a consumerism era where we can choose the best things we want. Many people believe in Jesus in that way. They have minimal involvement with the Body. That's not Biblical Christianity. This is substandard Christianity. (Ps Ronnie just wrote this down in his notebook today in preparation for his preaching tomorrow.) This is a major problem for the church today. People pick and choose what they want from the Bible.

Question 4: How to we handle non-Christians who have been hurt by Christians, perhaps by their lifestyles or cheated by Christians? (Joshua Chan)

It's difficult. Believers are still imperfect. Do not let believers who are imperfect prevent you from knowing the perfect love of God. Don't share testimonies because they already have bad experiences with Christians. We encourage them to look to God and not men.

Question 5: Some people think they already belong to a certain god. How do we share with them? (Jen Leong)

We have to show the idea of science. If we look at this world, we can tell there is a Creator. Friendship is important as it enables us to have heart to heart talk with our friends. There are many evidences. The Big Bang Theory (the expanding universe) supports the idea of a Creator. If we read the Bible, we find that the Big Bang Theory is consistent with the Creation of God.

Days with my Father - Philip Toledano

Please take a look at this.

Use your mouse wheel to scroll down or press the down arrow. Wait for the text to appear on the left hand side. Read them before you move on.

Do you know that much about your loved ones? Granted, we don't need to compete to see who knows more details about their loved ones. But doesn't loving and caring about someone entails knowing them?

Do you know your dad's favourite good? How about your mom's idea of an outing? What is your spouse' greatest desire? Why makes your children proud / happy?

Dr Doug Carter who spoke during the 11th Malaysian Cell Church Conference revealed that Dr. John Maxwell could immediately find out the 5 things that mattered to a person he just met - including what makes them happy / sad, what do they aspire to do, etc.

I think this is not such much a skill / ability as a will / desire. Do you want to know more about the person praying beside you? Will you listen to his / her story?

Everyone has 24 hours in a day. We can choose to invest it on others or not.

The Starving Baker

The starving baker is one habitudes named by Dr. Tim Elmore. It is a picture of one who is constantly giving without receiving.

In ministry, there is no two ways about it - if we don't spend time with God, there is no way we can effectively serve Him and His people.

"Without a meaningful devotional life, the ministries of these influential church leaders in their 30s are dry and lifeless. But the constant and enormous demands of leadership regularly threaten to crowd out their time with God."

"I don't tell my wife I'm going to spend 20 minutes with her doing one thing and then 20 minutes doing something else, and call that a 'relationship,'" says Les Hughes, pastor of Westwood Baptist Church (Alabaster, AL). "It's much more fluid, more varied, and more about understanding and communicating our hearts than going through some arbitrary motions."

"In relationships with people, sometimes I'm talking, and sometimes I'm listening, and sometimes we're just together and nobody is talking. I'm trying to cultivate that kind of relationship with God."

Read on here.

2,200,000 % Inflation Rate

Read this news article from the Associated Press.

What does a 2,200,000 % inflation rate mean? Let me pick up some points to share.

A loaf of bread there is 100 billion Zimbabwean Dollar (that is RM 17.39). This is in a country where unskilled workers earn ZWD 200 billion a month. In other words, for those who are fortunate to get work, they can get 2 loaves of bread a month.

80% are without jobs.

Bus fare could be higher than one month's salary, so people walk to work and sell vegetables in a vain attempt to make ends meet.

The sham of a goverment is printing currency notes of bigger denominations.

Wait till some smart and bright leaders use that as a benchmark to claim their country is doing alright. Before they do that, it will do them well to find out what caused the problem.

20 Jul 2008 - Galatia - Facing Troubles

I preached three times on Sunday, Mandarin in the morning, Cantonese in the afternoon (it's after 12) and then Malay in the evening.

After the sermon, we had good fellowship with Stan and Jen and their children over lunch before we work on the final artwork of the booklet to be printed and distributed during the church anniversary on 03/08/2008.

Stan has put in a lot of effort. Wow!

When Paul and Barnabas went to Galatia (specifically Iconium, Lystra, etc.) they faced troubles in the form of rejection, misunderstanding and persecution.

When their 'good news' rejected by the Jews (they are still awaiting their Messiah until today), Paul and Barnabas didn't give up. Instead they depended on God (Pro 3:5-6) to keep preaching the truth. Then only they left for Lystra.

Now, when a man born lame stood up and walked at Paul's command, Paul and Barnabas were seen as incarnation of gods from the Greek mythology. They proclaimed this in a language that Paul and Barnabas probably could not understand. It is interesting to note here that Barbanas was seen as Zeus (the king of Gods) while Paul Hermes (the messenger of gods.) Either way, Paul and Barnabas did not succumb to the temptation to take glory that belongs to God alone.

Perhaps many today would let it get into their heads. They will get bloated and take credit for God's doing and lost focus. Paul and Barnabas didn't. They explained the truth to the confused and deceived people.

Next stop - old friends (read 'enemies.') Their old acquantances from Antioch and Iconium missed them and pursued them all the way to Lystra. This time passion run high and they 'passioned' Paul. Some may find this funny that Paul is now at the receiving end of what he dished out earlier in his life. Either way, the believers displayed courage when they risked their lives to go see Paul outside the city. They possibly wanted to bury Paul if he was really dead and helped him if he was still alive. Paul sprang up and did the unimaginable. He returned to the city and left only on the following day. He remembered the tasks God gave him. He would finish his work before he moved on.

He then revisited all the previous places (including Antioch and Iconium). One would imagine he had a death wish. He and Barnabas revisited the believers to strenghten their faith. They wanted to encourage the bew believers. They helped to elect Elders. They fasted and prayed for them. They also gave them the truth - that being in the Kingdom of God, the believers would go through many tribulations. Wow! What kind of marketing strategy is this? This is God's way. What you see is what you get. There is no attempt to trick you into accepthing Christ. This should bring to shame those who rely on 'good stuff' to attract believers. God will heal you. God will bless you. God will bring you to heaven. God will give you a job. God will prosper you. Really? I'd take the God who gave His life for me anytime, despite all the tribulations and hardship I will endure.

This had been a cry of many churches. Heaven without hell is not balanced. 'Promoting' God's providence and blessings without mentioning presecution and rejection is a distorted truth, if it can be called the truth at all.

God's good news should be presented in its entirety. We cannot just pick the nice stuff and hide the more scary parts.

You can get a PowerPoint on this topic here.

Have a good week!

Barnabas – Son of Encouragement

Barnabas is known as the son of encouragement.

Encouragement – inspiration to hope and service; to continue in the Lord

An overview of Acts – Ordinary men and women with Jesus. Jesus called 12 disciples. These were people not called to be leaders. They were not educated. Jesus chose them and spent time with them. In Acts, ordinary men and women who were called were empowered by the Holy Spirit and were able to perform extraordinary acts. The power of the Holy Spirit transformed us to do extraordinary things. The power is not meant for us to magnify ourselves or to build our own kingdom. It is always to glorify Him.

Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

When we are empowered, we are given the authority, confidence, assertiveness and enabled to perform extraordinary tasks.

Act 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

When the people were surprised to see Peter and John who were untrained and uneducated spoke so eloquently.

HR people locally preferred to take people from TAR College among all the local universities / colleges because they are passionate to learn. They are good students with potentials but they could not get into local universities and they could not afford to go overseas.

The people tried to figure out where Peter and John were trained. The conclusion is that they had been with Jesus. This is the only explanation they could arrive at. When people see us, what conclusion do they come to? Do they see our academic qualifications or do they see that we are with Jesus?

People who go

1. Stephen – Boldness (the boldness will come when we go.)
   
2. Philip – Consistency (in good times or bad times, God doesn't change. Neither should we.)
   
3. Paul – Total Commitment (to live is Christ, to die is gain)
   
4. Peter – Openness (God wants to work in us and through us. We cannot have prejudice.)
   
5. Barnabas – Encouragement
   

Out of the five, only Paul was well-trained. God picked a mixed list so we know God can use those who are intelligent and well trained; He can also use those who are not educated.

1. Encouragement stems from a good heart

It's difficult to encouragement when the heart is not good. It will instead be manipulation.

Act 4:36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,

Joseph was called Barnabas to indicate his encouragement, which is consistent in his life. Do we recognize Barnabas in the church?

Act 11:22-24 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. (23) When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, (24) for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

The leaders sent Barnabas to find out what was happening. In the book of Acts, only Barnabas was mentioned as a good man. Barnabas had a pure heart; there is no ulterior motive or hidden agenda in what he does. How do we know he has a pure heart? He gave all the proceeds from his land to the church. In Acts 5, we read that no one lacked anything because they sold their properties and share. Ananias wanted to be part of it but they were not willing to give all. They were not honest and kept part of the proceeds. They were not pure. They could have done it due to peer pressure. They didn't join with their heart. Probably not every Christian sold his / her land but God didn't punish them.

Act 8:21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

In Acts 8, we saw the Simon the sorcerer who craved for the power. Peter told him his heart was not right in the sight of God.

Barnabas was also able to see the grace of God in people. He believed that God can bring out the good in people.

An alcoholic would tell you he has not been drinking and he would say a prayer of repentance but he would get drunk again. If we do not see the grace of God in him, we will give up on counseling him.

Barnabas had a heart like Jesus. To have a heart like Jesus we need to be with Jesus.

Fidel Castro rid a dictator from Cuba but he ended up being the same. The heart is deceitful. The power to do good can never come from an evil heart. We need to see the grace of God to be able to be good encourager.

Act 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

The initial Jerusalem leaders in Acts 11 and 15 contended with Peter and Paul in the issue of circumcision in the conversion of the Gentiles. They saw tradition and customs not the grace of God. . Circumcision is a Jewish custom and not a Christian ordinance. They had prejudices. God dealt with Peter's prejudices via a vision 3 times. God made him understand that what He made clean is clean. We cannot choose who we want to encourage.

Chinese are prejudice. Some of us cannot accept interracial marriage. God asked Jonah to preach to the people in Nineveh. He refused because they are the enemies of the Jews. God put him in the belly of a fish 3 days. He relented and went reluctantly. He only preached once. He just wanted to go what God wanted him to do instead of being inside a fish. This is the first time we see people receiving God but the preacher got angry. God had to teach Jonah a lesson. God showed him he valued the tree more than the 120,000 souls.

If we want to be a good encourager, we need to get rid of our prejudices. We need to have Barnabas' eyes and heart to see the good in others and not just to criticize the bad, build up and not be pulled down by social prejudice. We are put together to encourage one another.

2. Encouragement affirms the believer

Act 11:25-26 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, (26) and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

An encourager is always on the lookout to bring out the best in people and to not make them feel left out. It's not an issue of worth. We always tell people they are worthy in Jesus Christ. When we have Jesus we are no longer orphans. But the Bible also tells us we need to work out our salvation. It doesn't mean we need to work to earn our redemption. We need to work on to live out the life of our salvation. Our doing must flow out of our being. It's not just being. We don't do at the expense of our being. We need both.

Barnabas looked for Paul and affirmed his calling. When Paul was convicted in Acts 9, no one cared about him. Barnabas went. He saw the potential in Paul because he saw the grace of God. He believed Paul's conversion was genuine. He took Paul to Tarsus. Barnabas allowed God to use him. His involving Paul in the work in Antioch paved the way for Christianity's greatest missionary and interpreter of Christ.

Peter denied Christ three times. John wanted to know who would sit beside Jesus. We are not perfect. But God can use us.

In Acts 13:37-39, Paul didn't want to bring John Mark. He saw the problem. Barnabas saw the potential instead. Paul went with Silas and Barnabas went with John Mark. John Mark went well and it was acknowledged by Paul. Don't give up on people that failed the first time or second time.

We can help encourage Christians by helping them to recognize they have spiritual gifts that are to be used in God's service. We also can assist them in finding specific ways to use their gifts.

3. Encouragement includes action

Encouragement extends beyond words and praise and prayers. It must include actions, otherwise they will be mere empty words and not encouragement.

Act 11:28-30 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). (29) So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. (30) And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Jas 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

We must translate some of the things we say into actions. God wants to let everyone know he is worthy. God wants everyone to reach his potential. He is looking for Barnabas in the church. The church is not a place of competition. One of the biggest challenges in the corporate world is that no one is willing to mentor. We are intimidated by the possibility of our disciples will be better than us.

Barnabas got Paul started and Paul became more famous.

Neh 4:20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."

Whenever anyone has problem, is sick, is depressed, we come together to encourage them, to help them. If we want to move in the fullness of God's power, we need to have Barnabas.

Having no SENSe

On the fateful day in June, I gave my consent for Vista to apply the latest security patches like I always do. I set Windows Update to download automatically but ask me before doing any updates. Normally, I just want to know what's being updated before I ok it.

It was a different experience that day. After the update, the machine restarted (again, with my permission) but it could not start properly. There is no network and lots of things are NOT working.

I did a lot of digging in the web. I went down to the server to Google for a solution since my notebook could not connect to anywhere. I was appalled to find that many share the same fate. Some even reverted / downgraded back to Windows XP out of frustration.

I kinda like Windows Vista even thought it's sluggish with 2 GB. After trying some suggestions to no avail, I formatted my C:\ drive and reinstalled every thing. My data in in D:\ so no major problems with data loss.

Due to the problem arising during the upgrade, SENS (the System Event Notification Service) could not start anymore. A lot of other services are dependent on SENS. If SENS is not running, they don't run. These services include Event Log (I could not find out what went wrong), the System Restore (I could not undo the damage), DHCP (I could not connect to the network and hence dropped 90% in my resourceful index), among others.

It was the first time I had such painful experience stemming from an innocent Windows Update from Microsoft. Who woulda thunk it?

With no SENS(e), I had time to think while re-installing the notebook.

1. Communication is key. A notebook that cannot connect to a network is pretty useless to me.
2. It's not nice to be isolated.
3. Do not take things for granted. I must have applied Windows Updates hundreds of times. I never expected it to cause any problems, much less a problem of this magnitude.
4. Do on depend on our own ability (or notebook) for it can and will fail us. (Refer to Murphy's Law.)
5. Only God can be trusted.

I pride myself as an IT-savvy person. People turn to me for help and advice (these are the poor folks who don't know anyone better, hehe.) But I was stumped then.

Today, my Dell notebook is running along fine (albeit jogging would be a better fit to the speed it's moving along.) I hope I will not get another such episode. But I will not be surprised anymore.

The Openness of Peter

Elder Stephen Choi, 06 Jul 2008

In Acts 2, we read about the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the people. Peter preached and 3,000 Jews accepted Jesus. In Acts 8, salvation also came upon the Samaritans.

Someone calculated and estimated the time of Pentecost to the time the Gospel reached the Gentile to be 10 years.

In Acts 11, Peter is back to Jerusalem. But news travelled fast that the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles even before he went back to Jerusalem. Prophet Joel prophesied that God would pour out His Spirit on His people. Young men would see visions while old men would dream dreams. We need to be close to God to see visions and have dreams. Otherwise, we would be having dreams about our finances, family, etc.

If you want to dream dreams, we cannot be sleeping all the time. We need to be active and alert to see what God wants to reveal to us.

1. Listen to God

Act 11:1-10 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. (2) So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, (3) "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." (4) But Peter began and explained it to them in order: (5) "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. (6) Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. (7) And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.'(8) But I said, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' (9) But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has made clean, do not call common.' (10) This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.

The Jews still remembered the martyrdom of Stephen was seen as going against the Law of Moses. Apparently, if a Jew mixed with a Gentile, he is unclean / defiled for 7 days.

The leaders took Peter aside to criticize him. Peter, an orthodox Jew explained that it was God who initiated it. He had a vision of unclean food and a voice asking him to kill and eat. He refused three times.

Lev 11:45-47 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." (46) This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, (47) to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

The original law was given to distinguish the Jews from the gentiles.

Peter was brought up as a Jew and not to eat unclean animals. Now, God showed him the way and led him to Cornelius house to bless him. Peter's was reluctant initially. God wants to show us new things. Are we open to new things from God?

How is your prayer life? We bring our petitions to God which is all good. But prayer is not just looking at the hand of God who gives us. Prayer is ultimately an intimate relationship with God. Prayer is not just one way to God to ask God to bless us. It is also to hear what God want to tell us. When was the last time we hear something from God. When we have an intimate relationship with God, there is a two-way communication.

Act 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

God spoke to them during worship. God used someone who was open to God to pass the message.

How's your Bible study? Are you studying the Word of God? However many of us feel sleepy when we read the Bible. The Word of God is active and alive. It must do something for us. Does the Word of God come alive to speak to us?

Are you willing to follow when God speaks to us? Are we willing to let go of our traditions and pre-conditioned concepts. 20 years ago, the church was at a cross road to move from traditional worship to a free flow worship to listen to God. While there is nothing wrong with hymns, God wanted us to move on. Discard our own thinking. Receive from the LORD what he intended for us.

2. Look for Confirmation

Act 11:11-14 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. (12) And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. (13) And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; (14) he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'

God always give confirmation to what He is going to provide. Right after Peter finished praying, three men came. The Spirit told him to follow them. Jewish laws require 2 or 3 witnesses. He took another 3 to make 7 including him. 7 symbolizes completion / perfection.

As much as we want to be open to what God is doing, He always gives confirmation. Do not believe in our presumptions. Get someone to pray together to get confirmation. We must ALL be open to hear from God. If one is hearing and another is not, then the will be problems.

If we hear a word, speak it. If it is not correct, our brethren will correct in love. There are always three voices in play, God's voice, our own voice and Satan's voice. When we move in the area of hearing God's voice, we must learn to recognize the voice of God.

3. Live up the Vision of God

Act 11:15-18 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. (16) And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' (17) If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" (18) When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."

Because Peter was willing to go, salvation came upon the Gentiles. Be obedient. God wants to use in special tasks. Why did God call Peter to go to Cornelius and not Philip who was nearby? Each one is given a special gift. We should seek the Lord and find out what gifts we have and how to use them.

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基督教奉耶和華為獨一父神，以其子耶穌為基督，真王天下者也。奉其國臨於人世，自認原罪，虛中以受聖言，領浸洗禮，並以左右諸色人種為友于，愛之不息，並敏於行。各支派教義有少異者，而其大處相合無疑矣。

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