A Loyal Soldier of Christ Jesus

This is a true saying:
"If we die with him,
we shall also live with him.
If we continue to endure,
we shall also rule with him.
If we deny him,
he also will deny us.
If we are not faithful,
he remains faithful,
because he cannot be false to himself."

2 Timothy 2:11-13

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Will Six do when God says Seven?

Rev Ricky Ho

11.4.2010

2 Kings 5:1-14: Naaman, the cmmander of the Syrian army, wa highly respected and esteemed by the king of Syria, because through Naaman the Lod had given victory to the Syrian forces. He was a great soldier, but he suffered from a dreaded skin-disease. In one of their raids against Israel, the Syrians had carried off a little Israelite girl, who became a servant of Naaman's wife. One day she said to her mistress, "I wish that my master could go to the prophet who lives in Samaria! He would cure himof his disease. When Naaman heard of this, he went to the king and told him what the girl had said. The King said, "Go to the King of Israel and take this letter to him."

So Naaman set out, taking thirty thousand pieces of silver, six thousand piees of gold, and ten changes of fine clothes. The letter that he took read: "This letter will introduce my officer Naaman. I want you to cure him of his disease."

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay nd exclaimed, "How can the King of Syria expect me to cure this man? Does he think that I am God, with the power of life and death? It's plain that he is trying to start a quarrel with me!"

When the prophet Elisha heard what had happened, he sent word to the king : "Why are you so upset? Send the man to me, and I'll show him that there is a prophe in Israel!"

So Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and stopped at the entrance to Elisha's house. Elisha sent a servant out to tell him to go and wash himself seven times in the River Jordan, and he would be completely cured of his disease. But Naaman left in a rage, saying, "I thought that he would at least come out to me, pray to the Lord his God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and cure me! Besides, aren't the rivers Abana and Pharpar, back in Damascus, better than any river in Israel? I could have washed in them and been cured!"

His servants went up to him and said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it. Now why can't you just wash yourself, as he said, and be cured?" So Naaman went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had instructed, and he was completely cured. His flesh became firm and healthy, like that of a child.

*80% commitment is no commitment at all
*Oversmart
- we try and check God out
- often we miss out what God want to do with us
* 7 illustrates completeness
*Henry Blackaby said experiencing God is seeing where God is at work and joining him in that work
*God is at work in your life, to grow each more of the day
*too often we miss experiencing God
*When you come to church you,
1. You are prepared to worship God
2. God is working in your life
It is a process- santification
*God is also at work in your family life
*Naaman was powerful but had leprosy- his slave girl wanted the best for her master

2 Principles
1. God's ways are not man's ways
*God does not use perfect man - weaknessess are exposed when you are imperfect
*He uses a FAT man too
Faithful
Available
Teachable
*Common problem is a problem of pride- Naaman called Elisha but Elisha sent a messenger -Naaman was furious because of his pride
*We fall short for the glory of God
*While man expect fanfare and enter, God simply shows himself and works in his own way and in his own time
*Sometimes the ways of God seems foolish to men
*Men do not understand heavenly things
*We will have our own plans but God knows best
*Come to God with great expectation because he wants the best for you, Just realise that God is working in your life

2. God's ways require complete obedience
*Naaman would have missed God if he had not walked in full obedience
*Many times we're willing to obey God as far as it makes sense to us. As long as its convenient, as long as its comfortable
*Naaman was a finisher.
*God's ways can sometimes affect your emotions, pride
*If he sent the slave girl to death and did not wash himself at the rive Jordan 7 times, he would have missed the blessing

*Naaman took off his gown, armour that represent as the Great Syrian commander
*He took out his undergarment in the middle of his subjects and soldiers. He was exposed
*Naaman understood commitment -He washed himself 7 times
*There are men and women committed to their work
*We cannot expect to experience God if we are not willing to obey God
*We cannot experience God when we have bitterness and unforgiveness, talking and fighting
*Faith requires obedience

Conclusion
*It was foolishness to the world but goodness to God - the crucifixion
*What is it that we are missing out because we refuse to walk in obedience?
*God will not make a heart whole that is not wholly his
*Do what he wants to do, there is no shortcut to the power of God
* 7 is 7, 6 is not enough.




**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The Greatest Stone Movers

Rev Ricky Ho

Easter Sunday

4/4/10

Mark 16:3: And early in the morning you say, "It is going to rain, because the sky is red and dark." You can predict the weather by looking at the sky but you cannot interpret the signs concerning these times!

*The kiasu spirit
*we put hope in children, husband, but in the discipes, they put hope on Jesus but their hope was shattered when Jesus was crucified on the cross
*Some of us put hope in our business, but we fail. Children may put hope on parents and vice versa
*It takes many people to open the tomb as the tomb is inclined
*There are stones that hinder us from coming to God
*Someone who is able to roll the stone out of your way and give you freedom

5 stones he removed
1. Stones of discouragement
*No matter how spiritual we are, we will face challenges
*When certain dreams go unfulfilled or our hopes are shattered, it is discouraging, sometimes devastating
*Problems in career, pornography, relationships you can escape. Only God can help
*Maybe that stone represents your kiasu spirit

2. The Rock of fear (Kiasu)
*All the 12 disciples that were picked abandon Jesus Christ when he was crucified.
*They feared and hid behind close doors.
*Do you have a fear of rejection that keeps you from sharing your faith?
*Or a fear of intimacy that prevents you from having any meaningful relationship?
*Maybe a fear of failure that thwarts every attempt to try anything new
*Whatever challenges we meet, whatever obstacles we face, we do not have to be afraid because we are not alone
*Jesus is the healer. The Risen Christ removes the fear from us.

3. The Stone of Doubt
*Thomas was a skeptic, but he certainly wasn't the only person to doubt the Christian faith
*A good skeptic who finds the truth will know the right way
*There's nothing wrong to be skeptical as long as we get evidence along the way

4. The Stone of Defeat
*Peter failed Jesus when it counted the ost
*Do you know what's it like to fail?
*He was ready to quit
Compare
Matthew 4:19: Jesus said to them, Come with me, and I will teach you to catch men."

John 21:22: Jesus answered him, "If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"

*Peter had a second chance
*We have a God of second chances, who rolls away the stone of defeat

5. The Stone of Death (Kiasi)
*Death is unescapable
*Everyone will finally encounter death
*Jesus conquered death through his resurrection and offers to do the same for you and me
*Eternal life, immorality.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Trampling Christ Under Foot

Hebrews 10:26-29: For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgement and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God! Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty on the evidence of two or more witnesses. What, then, of the person who despises the Son of God? who treats as a cheap thing the blood of god's covenant which purified him from sin? who insults the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment he will deserve!

Pastor Andrew Lim

*God gave a part to himself
*3 in one are together in unity
*Cut apart and gave it to us -his magnitude of Christ
*God gave us eventhough we did not ask, eventhough we are sinners
*He was not only read to die for us but he gave everything including the glory of heaven
*We need God to show us the way to live
*He did not come from a rich family but worse than an average man
*He came to earth crying and screaming like any of us
*He, the powerful God who created the universe
*was subjected to a 15 year old girl - Mary
*allowed himself to be in that condition because he loves us
*Whatever problems you encounter, God knows -He lived in poverty, having enemies, and parents gave up on him because they think he was crazy.
*The pain, the suffering both emotional and psychological- He sweat drops of blood
*He did it for us to reconcile to God, to become children of God by removing sin
*He became our sin, all the suffering, fogging was the price he has to pay
*At that time, he said the Father and Jesus are one, he turned his eyes away because he was sin. As a result, he was all alone
*Symbolizes the magnitude of Christ love for us

*Imagery of sin in the Old Testament
1. Avert - evil desires in you, lawless behavior
2. Tresspass the boundary God has limited. Knowing the acceptable and the not acceptable.
3. Translated as sin, not living to God's standards
4. Hakamiah - not living up to God's standards

Hebrews 10 -sin

Willfully sin- not repent although they choose to knowing the standards of God
*We might have strong conviction that God wants us to live
*We fail because we are weak in flesh
*Selective ignorance -Choose to purposely ignore
*Willfull sin includes self-righteousness- thinking we are the best, we know everything, we do not need God, we make sin our dol

1. Fail to live out God's standards of holiness
*Sometimes we think we are relatively good
*All unrighteousness is filthy rats, in God's eyes its not about holiness but our actions
-If you look at a person with lust, you already commited adultery
-If you hate a person,you already committed murder
This is God's standard of holiness
*If you allow God to search your heart, you will know how sinful we are

2. Fail to live out to God's standard of service
*Specific things that God alone wants you to do
*We give lots and lots of excuses
*Tho we may willfully sin, but if you come with a willful heart, repentent, he will forget our past and clean us

James 4:8
- Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

How Love Serves and How a Servant Loves

Maunthy Thursday

Mrs Lily Ch'ng

John 13:3-7: Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel round his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel round his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?"
Jesus answered him, "You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later."

*Maunthy's maundatum - Italian
*Leonardo made a mistake in the piture of the last supper. He painted the disciples looking up and smiling but actually they were fighting on who would be the greatest
*Jesus must have been exasperated. Not about power and position

Matthew 20:26-28: This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be your slave -like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people."

*He walked all the way from Bethany with dusty feet
*He took out his outer cloth, wrapped a towel around him, poured water and washed the disciples feet
*Can you imagine the surprise, the shock and the quietness?
*John Sung brought a coffin in chuch saying that everyone will die but where would our spirits go?
He urge them to believe in Jesus -it was a lesson that people won't forget

1. Jesus, the ruler of the universe became a servant
*We should have security and confidence to be children of God
*There is witness that we are children to the King of Kings
*Wash their feet and serve by humility (training in servanthood)

2. Only those who are washed by Jesus Christ can be part of the Kingdom of God.
*Washing of the feel symbolizes cleansing of our sin
*Peter was saying 'I am a sinner' 'You are a great teacher (v8-11)
*Disciples considered clean because of the word that was spoken to them
*Allowed Jesus Christ to wash parts of us that are dirty
-Eyes for watching pornography, mouth for gossipping, heart for unforgiveness

1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.
- he will always forgive us from all unrighteousness

3. Our mission for Jesus, to be humble ike Jesus
*Jesus instructs to follow him washing feet of one another. -he says it three times (v14-17)

What is Jesus trying to say?
1. To learn servanthood, act of kindness to the world

2. The unwillingness to forgive will eat you up
-Jesus always emphasize on unforgiveness
-Do not forgive seven times, but seventy times seven times
-We too need forgiveness from God

3. We must set up foot washing groups -encourage, nurture one another
-It is ony when we come in small groups - where we can trust, be encouraged and vulnerable to one another

John 13:17: Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

-He concludes his comments on foot washing
-Not just intellectual capacity/ knowledge but practical work as well
-Come to the table, repent, resolve to be obedient, be willing to forgive each other and let your dirty feet be washed.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The Transforming Power of Prayer

Dr Thomas Chung

28.3.2010

*Bario Revival
*They climb a mountain which is said to be if your don't climb yourself, you have sinned
*Preacher up there prophesy to 2 Yang Berhormat and many people
*Manifested evil spirits
*Pray in tongues, healing takes place without doctors
*Acts 12:1-17 : About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went on to arrest Peter. (This happened during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.) After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover. So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.

The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shouder, woke him up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's hands. Then the angel said, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the angel said, "Put your cloak round you and come with me." Peter followed him out of the prison, not knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed by the first guard post and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate leading into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter.

Then Peter realized what had happened to him, and said, "Now I know that it is really true! The Lord snt his angel to rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen."

Aware of his situation, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outside door, and a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer it. She recognized Peter's voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Peter was standing outside. "You are mad!" they told her. But she inisted that it was true. So they answered, "It is his angel."

Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. At least they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were amazed. He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, an he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell this to James and the rest of the believers," he said; then he left and went somewhere else.

*Earthquake - an aftershock
*When Jesus said it was finished, an aftershock happened
*Jews offering sacrifice - curtain torn from top to bottom, only God can do that.
*Cross imperfects sufficient sacrifice
*red, purple, blue - heavy curtain
*Sinful man can enter heaven if he/she believes God died for his/her sin
*Acts 5: 17-21: Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them, "Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching.

-open prison door for apostles
*Acts 16:16: One day as we were goin to the place of prayer, we were met by a slavegirl who had an evil spiritthat enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.

-prison in Phillippi (Paul) -conversion of jailer
-letters to Phillippians = more personal and emotional
*Chuch of Phillippi started from the house of Lydia
*Beautiful description of the world - the book of Joshua about Jericho
*to go in, you have to open the outer door and you can only do that with the sword that is the word of God
*God still has the last word - sovereignty of God
*Wealth, family, health -cannot touch his life -God has the last say
*If God were to bow to Satan and get his authority, the cross could be avoided

1. Nature Prayer
*We rest in the victory God gave us, we do not need to be involve in Spiritual Warfare

2. Earnest Prayer -without any foul language towards Satan

3. Emphasize made for Peter

4. Must be Specific

5. Must be directed to God
-Prayer meeting use to direct to God, not one another
-made by the chrch -more powerful, is the apple of God's eye, "and I will build the church against the gates of hell."

6. Directed against the enemy

Picture of the World
1. Peter is sleeping-not expecting anything
- without Jesus, they are on their way to hell

2. He was sleeping between 2 soldiers
-let us hope the church is no asleep

3. Bound with chains

4. Centurions guarding the door
-Don't need to be Christians -family is good, I'm not as bad as the other man, I live by my conscience
-different people have different conscience,  beheading people to some may be normal

5. Nature/characteristic of prayer

6. Work of evangelism
-don't see between their consequences
-transform thinking

regeneration = metamorphosis
we become like a butterfly when we have the spirit of God.

Consequences of Prayer
1. The angel of the Lord appeared -symbolic of God coming to the scene

Daniel 10:12:
Then he said, "Daniel, don't be afraid. God has heard your prayer ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer.

 "It is beacuse you have prayed that I came"

2. A light shone in the cell - "darkness have not overcome it"
John 1:5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

3. Angel strike Peter on the side- God made contact with him, worship is a form of making contact with God
(not physical contact)
*Pray.Results in a spiritual awakening - in the presence of God
The angel said "Get up"
*God sets no conditions -his love is unconditional
*Salvation is free of charge but the price is to surrender to him
*When you serve God, you are not the highest servant but out of love
*My chains are gone - free man, we can follow Jesus whole- heartedly

4. Sometimes we have not even realise God has answered our prayers

5. Prayer is sometimes like a dream - spiritual awakening by God
*What is God doing in your life today?
*You got a testimony of your life today
*Christian life is a living experience
*Sometimes if we persist to ask about the wrong thing and get angry because God did not answer it, our spirituallity will slowly swivel
*We don't expect because we got a perception on how God ought to answer our prayer.
*God will only give us good things
*Never cease to give God his glory

John 17:1-5: After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. For you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. And eternal life means knowing you, the only true God, and knowing Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do. Father! Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made.

*He moved on from that experience of being feed from prayer before he goes for his next transformation.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Living Life Out of the Bottom Deck

Pastor Andrew Lim

*Cruise ship = Christian Life
*We fail to keep to the promises of God - we prefer the bottom deck -secure food
*Completely new life altogether - full of God's love, help and promises.
*Traditional image = goes to church, be holy, life of restriction.
*Salvation only happens when we die. This is not true but it is normal for a Christian to have suffering.
*Don't live a non-full Christian life.
*There will be suffering, tribulations but God wants us to live a full Christian life.

Privilages and Benefits
1. Eternal life on our present life
2. Victorious life - privilege to
Romans 8:35-37: Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? As the scripture says,
"For your sake we are in danger of death at all times;
we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!

1 John 5:1-4: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God; and whoever loves a father loves his child oso. This is how we know that we love God's children : it is by loving God and obeying his commands. For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us, because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith.

*What are we overcoming -sin and bondages

1 Corinthians 10:13: Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will no allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain frm; at the time you are put to test,he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

*Have the potential to break the sin and bondage
*Past hurts, everything that hold us back from a wholesome life

Romans 6:6-7: And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. For when a person dies, he is set free from the power of sin.

*We carry our burdens forward and affects our relationships with the Lord, family, friends, etc.

Luke 4:18:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind;
to set free the oppressed."

1. Victory over sin and bondages
2. Victory over problems and circumstances

Romans 8:28: We know that in all things God works for good with those who ve him, those whom he has called according ot his purpose.

*Whatever the circumstances, you have a helper.

John 14:16-18: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you for ever. He is the Spirit who reveals the truth about God.
The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.

John 14:26: The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.

*Promise of God everyone must hod

Isaiah 43:2 :
When you pass through deep waters,
I will be with you;
your troubles will not overwhelm you.
When you pass through fire, you will not be burnt;
the hard trials that come will not hurt you.

*God did not say he will take away your problems but in the midst of your difficulty, I will be there.
*We choose to fight problem with our own strength, we will feel self-pity.
*Know the difference between righteousness and foolishness sake
*To overcome the problems with relationships and others, reap the benefits just like the cruise ship

3. Abundant Life

John 10:10 - Not a dog eat dog world out there.
The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life- life in all its fullness.

*Problems with health, wealth (success in life)
*Good to make God prosper in your life

Joshua 1:8- Free of worries, love and peace
Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Ten you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 1:3:
They are like trees that grow beside a stream,
that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up.
They suceed in everything they do.

*We have access to direct healing. Jehovah Jireh - healer

*God's miraculous healing is available for us. According to his will and purpose

Ephesians 3:20: To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more that we can ever ask for, or even think of.

Luke 6:38 : Give to others, and God will give it to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands - all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.

how? to recieve abundance in life?
*Accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour
*Set a purpose/desire in your heart that you want to live a full Christian life
*Recognizing you cannot do it alone but only the spirits of God

Romans 8:5-8: Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. To be controlled, by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. And so a person becomes an enemy of God when he is controlled by his human nature; for he does not obey God's law, and in fact he cannot obey it. Thos who obey ther human nature cannot please God.

Romans 12:1-2: So then, my brothers, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicate to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God --what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

Do you desire to live a full Christian life?
*Enough of struggling, defeated life but an abundant, full Christian life:)



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**