Jesus says, "Go. And I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Pr Tony Phang
01-03-2020

Ephesians 5:15-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
Walk in Wisdom
15 See then that you walk [a]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

We are living in evils days. Paul described it as perilous times. He advised us to be wise and don't act like a fool. One of the ways to be wise is to know and understand the will and purpose of the Lord.

One of the will that will not be changed is found in Matthew 28; that is, to go and make disciples. (Matthew 28:19) The Great Commission is a command. Jesus expects you and I to go whether we are ready or not, whether it is convenient or not, whether we have money or not.

You might not be very smart, talented. You might not have the experience.

If you surrender and avail yourself to God, you will be amazed what God can do in you and through you.

Ephesians 3:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

God commanded us to go and expects us to go with the power of the Holy Spirit to all nations. He expects us to shine, not to hide.

Jesus says, "I will be with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

The most amazing thing is to see lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We must be mission minded because we are called to change lives. The Holy Spirit is working in you and through you. We are agents of change. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

1 Samuel 17 New King James Version (NKJV)
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was [a]armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is[b] there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

38 So Saul clothed David with his [c]armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained[d] him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of [e]the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

The change came when one shepherd boy was willing to step forward and trust God and confront the giant and the problem.

We cannot change what we would not confront.

After the change, we complain more.

We have a problem in the church today. And it still remains unsolved.

Matthew 9:37-38 New King James Version (NKJV)
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

This is the good time to share the gospel. The good news is this: "My God is sovereign. My God heals. God is Almighty God."

Anxious people are needy people. When they are desperate, they need answers. You have the answer. We have this good news; we should share it.

Respond to God, "Here am I. Send me."

Or if you could not go, you can give.

There are people out there waiting for you and I to run towards the giants, so to speak, so that their lives would change. Every one of us has a ministry. They are waiting for your anointing and your gifting. They are waiting for your ministry to turn and change their lives around.

We're here today because someone prayed for us and reached out to us. We're here because someone received our distress call/signal. It is time for us to return the favour. It is time for us to give back. It is time for us to go and make disciples.  Now is a good time to share the gospel. 

Completeness in Christ (Colossians 2:6-15)

Mrs. Ang Siew Khim
23-02-2020

Our root should be deep in Jesus Christ the Rock.

He is the Rock. We should ground our roots on Jesus.

Know your Bible. Know the complete Word of God.

Feed on the whole Word of God. Don't concentrate on just one teacher. Have a proper spiritual diet. God wants you to use your anointed mind. Jesus is coming back and soon. We must be prepared.

Keep the Word pure. Make sure that you see the good things. Don't listen to all the wrong music when you have Godly music to listen to. Dwell on the things that are lovely and true. Breath the fresh air and atmosphere of God.

And build up your spiritual muscles. It is in adversity (trails and testing) that people build up spiritual muscles. Adversity is good. Train yourself to pass the test and you have a great testimony.

Stay put in your spiritual home and be rooted. Build the house of God. Do not tear it down by our words and actions. You reap what you sow with your words. Pray and improve it if you can.

Be established in the home that God has planted you. Improve the ground. Flourish the ground.

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

Practise the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit can only sprout and mature if you allow it to. It is supernatural.

Water and fertilise your life with the Word of God and fellowshipping with God, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Have a grateful heart. Thank God for the many things in life. Don't be a grumble, complainer, critical and judgmental. God always puts us there to be the salt and the light. Don't be a salt without taste and a bulb that is fused.

Paul is a well trained, educated and intelligent man. He warned against any philosophy of life based on human ideas and experiences. Be careful of what philosophies you are listening to.

 Christians tend to be very religious. Being religious is we try to please God by our own good works.

Salvation by faith is that in faith in Jesus Christ, we please God and the result is good works. Our character begins to change to be like our Father in heaven.

By faith we are submitted to God, we are obedient and we are saved by grace, not by works to win self approval.

The Holy Spirit enables us to do it. We work because God has given us a calling. We are there to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. In our service, we don't do to get self praise. Ambition makes us jealous and competitive. It is not about ego building. Christ is our vision. 

Do not go on the spirit of condemnation. You are not condemned. You are loved and accepted.

Don't lose your salvation. Remain in Christ and you are saved.

Don't have a sin consciousness but have a God consciousness.

The power encounter is the jumpstart.

Know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

The world is not going to be better. But you can be an overcomer.

Jesus says, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves." But He gives us the victory. He gives us divine protection.

I pray, O Lord, that every one of us who walks under Your divine protection has no fear in the name of Jesus, every attack by the enemy in our families and in our personal lives, I command them to get out right now in the name of Jesus. Set Your people free right now in the name of Jesus. Take your filthy hands off of our families once and for all. We know that you are the defeated foe. The blood of Jesus Christ covers us.

I pray for everyone who is tormented in their guilt, break that power of the enemy over them in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Lord, that you set them free.

I pray for those in the cycle of failures, I pray for wisdom for them. In the name of Jesus, I break that cycle once and for all and break the hands of the enemy. Take your filthy hands off of his family, of his work and of his wrong thinking, especially, and remove it right now in the name of Jesus.

I pray also, O Lord, that you cover the church with Your precious blood that no enemy comes in to destroy the work of the Lord and that each and every one of us be established in the church and grow strong in the Lord to be warriors for Jesus Christ. We thank You, O Lord, that we will be completed in Christ and be rooted in Christ. Thank You, Lord, in Jesus' precious name. Amen.

RELATED:
A Holy People in the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:1-14)

The Supremacy of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23)

How Should We Serve Christ (Colossians 1:24-2:5)

Completeness in Christ (Colossians 2:6-15)

Freedom in Christ (Colossians 2:16-23) The Attack on a Christ Centred Life

Mentality in Christ (Colossians 3:1-17)

Our Roles in Christ (Colossians 3:18-4:6)

How Should We Serve Christ? (Colossians 1:24-2:5)

Mrs. Ang Siew Khim
16-02-2020

All of us are serving God. Our retirement is in heaven. So serve God to the end.

When you serve God, you have a stewardship straight from God.

Paul was a persecutor of Christians. He hated Christians.

He was on his way to Damascus. God struck him blind and he saw the light. Ananias was told to pray for Paul.

Sometimes when we share the gospel, we only show the blessing.

You all have a ministry.

How many of us rejoice in our sufferings?

To serve God is a paradox. We have to sacrifice. We have to give up something. While we are sacrificing something, we never lose God's blessings. When you are called by God, God provides for everything. You have the confidence in God. You know God is always there for you. Be a true shepherd and servant of God and give God a chance to work miracles in your life.

It is a responsibility. It is a burden. It is hard. It demands your time. Sometimes you want to give up. But it is compensated with a joy and satisfaction because you are serving God, and not serving yourself. All of us should be happy in what we do for God. Just do it for God.

We are rejected messengers. But we bring a message of hope and salvation. We know that this is the way to salvation. Don't keep quiet. We share the gospel because we know we love them even though they might reject us.

God is with us. He who touches you touches the apple of His eye. Never ever persecute another Christian. We pray, plead and ask them to know God for the sake of their own selves.

Suffering is different depending on where you serve.

When we suffer for Jesus Christ, it is for good. Everybody's calling is to share the gospel with our lives, our attitude.

Are you suffering for the right reasons? Are you suffering for righteousness' sake?

Just rejoice.

The mystery would be that Jesus would die on the cross and take away our sin. He fulfilled God's plan. What the devil means for evil, God turns for good. Don't let suffering pull you down. Praise God for that.

We are body, soul and body. The Holy Spirit lives in our spirit. He is cleaning up, making our body healthy if we obey Him. The Holy Spirit is in the cleaning up business in our lives.

Your commission is to share the gospel.

If the devil speaks a lie, it is a lie.

If God speaks the truth, it is truth.

But if it is in the extreme, it is untruth. Many Christians fall in the untruth trap.

In love, we have to correct wrong thinking, wrong behaviour and bad habits.

God's Word stands forever. Don't learn from the influence of the world.

Love the sinner but don't condone the sin. Don't hide behind a face of religiosity because you are only deceiving yourselves.

There are many challenges. Use our God anointed minds.

Saying the sinner's prayer alone is only a start and an acknowledgement.

RELATED:
A Holy People in the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:1-14)

The Supremacy of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23)

How Should We Serve Christ (Colossians 1:24-2:5)

Completeness in Christ (Colossians 2:6-15)

Freedom in Christ (Colossians 2:16-23) The Attack on a Christ Centred Life

Mentality in Christ (Colossians 3:1-17)


Our Roles in Christ (Colossians 3:18-4:6)

The Supremacy of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23)

Elder Saw Lip Hean
09-02-2020

Whether a person believes in God or not is not so important. But the kind of God that he believes in is more important.

God is not some idea that you evolve for yourself and then stick Him in the temple.

God created you and put you in this time and history in order for you to find Him.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

What the Bible teaches is accurate. God made man in His image. But man started going in his own way and made God in his name. They want to control God. They made God into their servant. Man wants to try to make God in his image. We have confused ourselves.

Man has an instinctive knowledge of God.

The world tells us we don't know God. We must therefore figure it out.

The Bible tells us the nature of God and who God is.

We have confused ourselves with all kinds of nonsensical ideas.

The world is full of cynics and agnostics. At the end of the day, we have no answer.

Does everything that is inside you and what causes you to think and the individuality of your soul just disappear after we die? Then what is the purpose and meaning of life?

The logic of it is such that for life to be meaningful, there must be existence after death. That is the logic of the cynic.

But the logic that God gives man is unfortunately rejected by man.

God understands that we have been confused. That's why Jesus says He is the revelation of God.

John 1:18 New International Version (NIV)
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 10:30 New International Version (NIV)
30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus is the firstborn of creation. It is a title. The firstborn inherits everything. The firstborn and the Father is one. When the Father is not around, the firstborn becomes the patriarch of that family.

The firstborn is also self-existence. God is God. If God is God, there must be only one. If God is God, He must exist in Himself; He cannot be made. God is self-existence just as Jesus is self-existence. He must be holy, just and perfect. God cannot be sinful. If God is light, He cannot exist together with darkness.

We are sinful creatures. That is why you and I today cannot go to God like that. Sinful man cannot come into the presence of God.

But God is also love. He created a way out for us all. All things were created in Him and through Him. God created everything through His Son Jesus.

We are limited in our understanding because of time and space. We cannot conceptualise what is beyond that. What is infinity? If God is God, He has to live outside infinity.

We can only conceptualise that things are solid. We cannot conceptualise God outside space.

Trinity is like a server. How do we access the server? We need a terminal. The terminal and the server is one. It is all connected by optic cables. Therefore the terminal and the server are one.

Instead of having electronic parts, let's conceptualise that this physical aspect is invisible. It is a source of a force. There is connection through a universal WiFi so that all things are one.

The Son, the Holy Spirit and God the Father is one.

When God deals with mankind, He deals through the terminal that is God the Son.

He is going to bring the ultimate creation of the new earth and new heaven (Revelation 21) through Jesus. The creative power and authority of God is through Jesus. Jesus is the centre of it all. Not only is He the creation of it all, He is the ultimate end as well. Ultimately Jesus will bring all of God's plan into fruition.

It is important for us to reach out to God and find God.

The history of mankind is God working out His plan.

Jesus not only creates; He is in full control. Jesus is the sustainer of all things. He holds the entire world and the entire universe together. He holds all the spiritual forces together. He is holding everything and maintaining everything and sustaining everything together.

Whenever we see a disaster, we are so quick to pray for deliverance. Before we pray for deliverance, let us understand and pray for God's will. "Let Thy will be done."

We are dealing with a nation that wants to wipe out the church. We are dealing with a nation that thinks it is so powerful that the power and ability alone can rule the world. Now we are dealing with an enemy that is so small that the eyes cannot see and everyone panics.

Understand where we stand in the light of God's creation. See how feeble and frail our lives are.

At the same time, we are not disheartened. God is still in control. Jesus being the sustainer of all things has two implications:

1) The destiny of the church. Jesus is the Head.

2) Jesus is the first of the resurrection. The destiny of individuals ie you and I are safe in His hand.

Jesus sustains all things.

Some of us feel we are in a hole because of our own foolishness or the steadiness of our foolishness.

Understand that Jesus holds everything together. He is going to deliver you as the perfect bride at the day of judgment. Jesus will deliver you. The consequences are painful but God will provide a way of escape. The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Jesus is still in control. Like David, go to God. "God, give me a break!"

Man is a fallen nature. Jesus paid the penalty of our sin when He died on the cross so that you and I can be holy.

The Holy Spirit resides in you. That power that rose Jesus from the dead is in you so that you may overcome sin.

Provided we remain in the faith.

Faith without works is dead.

Salvation is like a boat. The boat will take you from this position of alienation from God to a position of unity with God. Jesus is the sustainer of all things. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the resurrection and the life. 

By faith, we go onto the boat.

But what happens if we get out halfway?

So long as you come to God with simplicity and humility, you will get there.

Let us focus on Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God. Jesus is responsible for creation. He is going to reconcile everything at the end of the day. Because He sustains everything and holds it all together, He will bring everything into completion. If you and I are separated from God, today make sure you are on the boat. That is God's plan for salvation. God welcomes you with open arms. Take that step of faith. Come to God and say, "Jesus, I messed up big time. Give me a break. I recognise that You are my Lord and Saviour."

RELATED:
A Holy People in the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:1-14)

The Supremacy of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23)

How Should We Serve Christ (Colossians 1:24-2:5)

Completeness in Christ (Colossians 2:6-15)

Freedom in Christ (Colossians 2:16-23) The Attack on a Christ Centred Life

Mentality in Christ (Colossians 3:1-17)


Our Roles in Christ (Colossians 3:18-4:6)