Week 16: It's all about His love

Good day, Mdm!

Last week, we talked about the significance of Holy Communion, partaking the bread in a worthy manner. We also looked into the scriptures in detail and know that eating the bread has to do with our healing, health and wellness. With that, we are much pretty done with this sharing which has to do with the topic on "healing". I would encourage you to do this as often as you can. Also, do keep listening to the sermons on healing or read the books/scriptures pertaining to healing. Faith is very important when you are partaking the elements. By listening to the Word of God, it will help you to build up your faith.

Believe has two sides of a coin - faith & fear. If you have faith (a form of believe in the spiritual) that eating the bread will make you wholesome, it will. Likewise, if you fear (a form of believe in the natural) that eating the bread will make you gain weight, it will. Therefore, believing right is important for us to live right. Amen!

Ok, for this period of time... I believe everyone will be busy shopping, travelling, partying, I'll be sharing for the last time for this year. We'll resume beginning next year. With Christmas round the corner, let's just focus on the significance of this celebration.

We all know that when we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ. His birth is part of God's plan to redeem the world from the curse of sin. And we know that God has this plan because in John 3:16, it says:" "For God so loved the world.... "

Without a doubt, God love us... to the extend of sacrificing His Son! How do you feel when you first hear this? Do you feel loved? To be honest, I don't. Because I cannot relate how God, by sacrificing his Son, love me???

It is very much like a stranger come to you and say that he love you. Very difficult to understand nor relate. So you might ask the stranger:" What do you love about me? What is the reason?" Let say for example, the stranger start to reveal his identity as your father and begin to tell you the touching story why you are abandoned and seek your forgiveness.... (Sounds like a typical drama, isn't it?) Probably, by then, you might feel for his love towards you, isn't it?

Likewise, in order for us to understand God's love, we need to find out more about Him and the reason why He love us.... Where can we find the answer? The bible, of course.

In Gen 1:26-28 

" Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them...."

Clearly, we are created by God. Not only did God blessed man after the creation, He gave man authority over all others of His creation! Note that if you read the previous verses, God created other creatures as well but none of them were given the authority over the earth. If the creator of this universe God want man to take ownership over the earth, we do mean something to Him, isn't it?

What happen next? Man fell, sin entered into this world when Adam disobeyed God's instruction not to take of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
When sin enter this world, ageing, deterioration, sickness, death become part and parcel of human life. And it gotten worse.

Gen 6:5-7"Then the Lord[b] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Man became evil and God grieved in His heart. Have you ever grieved over someone? Isn't it true that you will grief over someone because you love that person? This is exactly how God felt...He was on the verge to destroy the entire evil mankind, yet He did not. The following verse says" Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Subsequently, God made a convenant with Noah that there will never be another flood to destroy the earth.

Now, when God made a promise, He cannot reverse it... Yet, the sin on earth has not been fully dealt with... What to do? God cannot send another flood to destroy mankind because of His convenant with Noah.

The problem then was God is a just God; If a sinner is not punished because God become soften on sin, then God is no longer a just God. Yet, God love His creation, man. What a dilemma..... (Fast Forward...) That's why Jesus came into the picture. Just like any other sacrificial lamb (which blood were used to cover the sins of the sinner), His blood was required to redeem every man on this earth of their sins.

When we are saved, our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, we became righteous in the eyes of God. Therefore, God cannot punish us for our sins because Jesus had already bored the sins of all mankind 2000 years ago and was punished once and for all. God cannot punish the same sin twice.  What a plan!

Only when we understand our God, then can we understand His love for us. The reverse is true. Without knowing how much He love us, our eyes will continue to set upon the things of this world.... Have a look at these video clips:

With this, I know everyone will be busy celebrating during this festive seasons, I leave you with this verse...

2 Cor 13:11 (NIV) 

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.


And also, take a peek of the upcoming movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uVJAGJ5SVM

Finally finally, I leave you with this "million dollar chicken" video by Chef John... I thought you might need this just in case you need to cook up an "expensive" dish for your friends...

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Shalom!

Bro

P.S. There is a reason why those breads are underneath the chicken... Don't forget to take your holy communion! :P

Dated: 18 Dec 2013

Week 15: Bread Talk

Good day to you, Mdm!

Wow.. yet another year has come and will be gone soon.. I hope your year has been fulfilling.. both outside as well as inside.. It has been a great year for me.. Though I had a rough start, I'm glad it is going to end well. Praise the Lord!

Last week, we talked about meditating on God's Word and the goodness His Word could bring forth in terms of healing, health, wholeness, peace and completeness. I believe by now you have fully understand what meditating God's Word is all about- slowly "chewing" and digesting each and every word until all the "nutrients" are fully absorbed into your body!

Now, as mentioned last week, this week we will take a closer look at "Holy Communion". This is important... Why?? Because there is a provision given to all of us as children of God. It is free and yet not cheap?? because Jesus has paid for it at the cross! And until we understand it, it will be left unclaimed!

Many of us are aware that by drinking the wine, we are believing that that's the blood of Christ was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Even the bible states that very clearly. However, when partaking the bread, there hasn't been a clear explanation of its purpose. Some believe taking both bread & wine together are mean for the forgiveness of sins. So, are these two elements for different purposes or for the same reason which is the forgiveness of sins??

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the conduct of Lord's supper, he was pretty upset about the way they partook the communion. And then he went on to say in 1Cor 11:30 " 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."

Note the sequence of order - weak , sick & many sleep (which means die at young age). He was talking of physical conditions of these Corinthians. Apparently, they were not looking good. And notice Paul said "For this reason" - in other words, there is only one (singular) reason why they were in such condition. What was it? Let's take a look at the context to understand what he was saying.

1 Cor 11:27-30 

27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood[d] of the Lord. 

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 

29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."

The Last Supper: Bread & wine representing the body & blood of Christ

Paul stressed the importance of eating the bread and drinking the wine in a worthy manner. What is considered a worthy manner? Look at verse 29 "not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason......"

In other words, many are weak, sick and die young because they are NOT taking the holy communion in a proper manner! The bread represents the body of Christ. That's why Jesus said He is the bread of life. And in the Lord's prayer, we are taught to say " give us our daily "bread"!

Make no mistake about it .. Partaking the bread has to do with healing our body! The bible says "We are one body of Christ!" By taking the bread, we reckon to be part of Christ's body. If God want us to be part of Christ in a body, would you think that He wants this body to be weak, sick and die young???

Remember, the Law of First mention... The "law of first-mention" is the principle in the interpretation of Scripture which states that the first mention or occurrence of a subject in Scripture establishes an unchangeable pattern, with that subject remaining unchanged in the mind of God throughout Scripture.

Ever wonder when the word "bread" was first mentioned in the bible and what revelation it gives??
It was first mention in Gen 3:19 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread "

Interesting, eating bread has something to do with us sweating. Some interpret this verse as "you got to work hard (sweat) in order to earn your meal (bread)."
When you look up the meaning of the word "sweat" ... it also mean worry, anxiety, lose sleep, agonise, fuss, panic, agitation.

 I would classify these "worry, anxiety, lose sleep, agonise, fuss, panic, agitation" as "weak". "Weak" always come before "sick". In the modern medical science, it has been proven that the root of major illness & sickness (SICK) has to do with worry, fear and stress (WEAK)! (You've heard the sermon on "The root of your problem is condemnation", you know what I am saying).

Are you seeing the love of God now? Imagine, since the fall of Adam and the curse of sin enter into this world, it is already in His mind to provide a way out for us!

If this is not enough, look at what Jesus did after He rose from the dead... He followed a couple back to Emmaus... (you know the story).. He broke bread for them before He disappeared in front of them. Before He went to the cross, He broke bread for His disciples, after He rose from the dead, the first he did was to break bread for this couple.  What does that tell you?

He want to tell us that breaking bread is more than just remembering Him, it is about remembering what He has done for us at the cross! And when we partake the bread with sickness in our body, we can boldly say to this sickness that it does not belong here because Jesus has already paid for it and taken it to the cross. Hallelujah!

Now, when you meditate these verses like John 14:27 & Proverbs 4:22. Do they make sense to you now?

And the word "peace" in Hebrew is "Shalom" which means "peace, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, health!" Praise the Lord!

I hope you're blessed by this sharing. Sorry for being lengthy this week coz this is important. If Jesus can spent almost 3/4 of His ministry in healing, how much more do you think He want us to be in good health as children of God? Amen!

Smith Wigglesworth (a plumber) had raised more than 10 dead people during his ministry and those miracles were recorded. He took holy communion everyday. With this, I urge that you will practise holy communion as and when possible (DO NOT make it a ritual but do it in a worthy manner).



Shalom

Bro

Dated: 11 Dec 2013

Week 14: More on God's Word

Good Day Mdm!

Last week we've mentioned about meditating on God's Word and the healing it can bring forth to our body (not just spirtual health). In essence, the bible is like a medicine. Of course, we do not despise doctors. We do believe in medicine and doctors for they are on our side, fighting the same enemy! But as much as there are natural means to restore our physical health, we believe our God has also provide the means to restore us from this fallen condition of this world, Amen?

Be warned though, God's Word do have side-effect... It will rejuvernate you and make you look younger! Go to Genesis 20 and read the story of Abimelech & Abraham. King Abimelech wanted Sarah for his harem only to find out (through God) that she was Abraham's wife.... Wait a minute, before chapter 20, in chapter 17 verse 17, it was mentioned Sarah's age was 90 years old! Think for a moment... Why would a King of all the women he can have, want Sarah (old as mentioned in Gen 18:11) for his harem??? Why would Abraham need to lie to the King about his wife???  The bible says that Abimelech took Sarah into his harem when Abraham said she was his sister. Do you think at that moment Sarah was physically attractive or spiritually attractive in the eyes of King Abimelech?

 Actually, this week I would like to share more on the Holy Communion. I can't stress more how important this topic is... The more I listen to the sermon and look into the Word, the more I am convinced Holy Communion is one of the greatest gift from our Lord Jesus. Having said that, I'm going to KIV this sharing until next week. This is because I've just come across these videos relating to God's Word and I believe it is going to bless you.

Remember Proverbs 4:22 

"22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh."

Enjoy and be blessed by these sermons!


Shalom!

Bro

Dated: 4 Dec 2013

Week 13: Be Thankful

Good day, Mdm!

Hope you are having a great time in Japan! Imagining myself waking up in the morning, next to Mt Fuji and taking a deep fresh air, staring in awe at the gorgious scenery has already made me feel so afresh and relax...

Yes, I embrace "rest", "relax" & "refresh".... We mentioned last week that "healing" & "health" in Hebrew come from the root word "raphah" which mean "relax". Even a non-believer would say:"Relax, take it easy!" when he see someone in anger.... How much more we, as Christian where the foundation truth goes all the way back few thousand years ago, should embrace the state of being "relax" (not laziness though).

Proverbs 14:30(Amplified) 

"30 A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones."

How do we have a calm & undisturbed mind and heart?? Last week, we talked about meditating on God's Word...

Proverbs 4:20-22(Amplified) 

"20 My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings.21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart.22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh."

God's Word has the effect of healing our body (with no side-effect, of course)! But, we say that not all of God's Word is beneficial to us, we need to find them. The thing is this, since the fall of man at the garden of Eden, we are all subjected to the curse (death, aging, body deteriorate) whether we like it or not. God has thus provided the remedies. One of which is the Word!

John 10:10 

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." 

Jesus says that He is the way, the truth and the life! Therefore, in order to have the effect of healing/healthy body, our focus must be in Jesus and Jesus only... as well as His finished work.. (which is in line with the word "healing" in Hebrew "rapha" - "think, speak of sacrifice") By the way,are you seeing the beauty of God's word? The formation of this word "rapha" alone was few thousand years ago before Jesus came to fulfill the Word! There are more than this. And the more you start to "see" Him in the Word, the more there is life!

My prayer to you is that one day, you will come to a place where you are so in love with His Word and not because you need to read the Bible for the purpose of healing or whatsoever, just loving Him for who He is... And then the healing, blessing, peace, grace will just flow unnoticingly in your life...

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, I thought I should share a little on "Beng thankful". Having a thankful heart unlock the power of God in our life.

In John 11:41-42, Jesus gave thanks to His Father and raise Lazarus for his death... Wow! Jesus did not pray for a supernatural healing power... He looked at the situation but not overwhelmed by the situation (Lazarus is death for 4 days!!!) and then He thank God for hearing Him... Next moment, He said:" Lazarus, come forth!" And Lazarus raised for his death! Short and sharp prayer... Cool!

That also say that we don't need to pray a "long" prayer when ministering healing to others.. I know the "stress" of praying for others, but prayer is not about praying an impressive prayer.... It is about Him! Even when we are not composed in our prayer, our heavenly Father know....I'll share about this another time, we'll continue to focus on personal healing first. Still got quite abit to talk about.

And in John 6:8-13, Jesus gave thanks for 5 loaves and 2 fishes and multiplied to feed 5000... If in situations of death & lack, Jesus gave thanks to His Father, how much more we , as a believer, should do likewise. We don't thank God for the problem, but we thank God He is the answer to our situations. Amen!

As you have notice by now, I've included Yubing and Angeline in the email. I am thankful to bump into Yubing recently and have her and Angeline included in this email. As much as I've benefited from this sharing, I hope they too can benefit from it.

Also, last nite, my friend, MacDonald messaged me and said that he would like to join me for service this weekend! Praise the Lord! As you might have know, he has been suffering from skin problem for many years. He has tried many ways and seen many doctors but to no avail. The last time when I met up with him, I told him this:" Do you believe that your skin problem can be healed just by eating bread?"

Of course, you know I am talking about Holy Commuion and we've talked about the importance of it before. But for him, he was puzzled with my question. Anyway, I didn't manage to convey the full message to him as he is not receptive at that moment. But, deep down in my heart, I sense the need to share this message with him. I am hoping that with his initiative of asking me to go for service, he will find his answer to his skin problem.

With that, I wish you & your family peace in the remaining days in Japan.

My favorite verse for this year -

John 14:27 (NKJV) 

"27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. "


John 14:27 (Amplified)

"27 Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]"


Shalom

Bro

Dated: 27 Nov 2013

Week 12: Healing & Health

Good morning Mdm,

Just to wrap things up for the past weeks on discussion...

Last week, we talk about activating "angels" and the biblical references. The key to this is not to worship them but to know that they are around us, as long as our focus is in Jesus.

Throughout these weeks, we're still in the topic of "Healing".. Be it physical or mental healing, we believe that Jesus Christ, our Lord had come to set us free from sickness, illness, mental torture.. If u read the gospel and His ministry on earth, a huge part of it was attributed to healing.

We've also look into the hebrew word for "healing". Amazingly, it reveal that 'healing' has to do with 'speaking and thinking of the cross'. i.e. 'to focus on the finish work of Christ on the cross.'

So far, the discussion revolves around personal, individual healing...  There's a little more to talk about in this area before go on to talk about extending your hand to heal others.

In personal healing, we talking about the importance of holy communion, taking in a worthy manner in remembrance of what Christ has done at the cross. The other two area of importance are meditating on the Word and speaking in tongues.

In view of all of us going for holiday sometime this week, I'll touch on the topic on meditating on His Word.

Let's look at Proverbs 4:20-23

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;

22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

Note verse 22 says: " the Word become life to those who find them...." Find them.. that mean you need to find or search them. All the Words in the bible are from God but not all benefit us...
What do I mean by that?

eg... Let say now I wrote you this email. Apart from you, as you can see , it is CC to Siu Ching & Akiko. All of them benefited from my sharing besides you. However, if for example, I were to say :" Sis, you should stop driving recklessly on the road..." This statement would not apply to Siu Ching or Akiko since they do not drive on the road...

Likewise, we need to filter out those Word that apply to us.  The key to this is to focus on God's promises and the New convenant promises. How do we know if we are focusing the right Words? The verse say " they are LIFE to those who find them!" Ask yourself if you feel "alive" or edified after reading that particular verse??

Note the verse continue with "And health to all their flesh"

The word "health" in Hebrew is "marphe" (Pronoun : mah-pey) מרפא

Remember the word "heal" in Hebrew "Rapha"  רפא

Note the similarity between "health" & "heal" in Hebrew... health has to do with healing and both come from the root word in Hebrew "Raphah" (Pronoun:  Rah- Far -Hey)

This Hebrew word "Raphah" mean "relax".

Ahhh... Health has to do with healing (speaking thinking of the cross) and has to do with "relax".

That make perfect sense in natural, isn't it? Why do we go holiday?? Relax, of course... And usually we feel refresh after coming back from holiday.

In the same manner, reading and meditating on the bible verse has the effect of healing/relaxing your body. Yes! your body. The verse says:" health to ALL their FLESH!" Flesh mean your physical body, not just spiritual being.

The bible in essence is a medication. Reading the bible can keep one in good health not just spiritually, but also physically. Research shows that out of those healthy people around, 20-30% of them actually goes to church.

Have a look at this:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer

As such, I would encourage you to meditate on God's word (Remember those sermons on meditate on God's word) Pick one or two verses and start "chewing" on them.... Slowly bit by bit... Don't have to rush through the entire bible. For the "healing" effect comes when the "nutrition" of the Word is fully absorb by the body. Amen!

I hope you and your family will have a wonderful holiday in Japan... Without a doubt, as much as I embrace "rest' & "relax" and will definitely enjoy ourselves in Chiang Mai.

Lastly, I shall leave you with this verse to meditate

2Cor 13:14

" The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."


God bless, have a fruitful & blessed trip!

Bro

Dated: 18 Nov 2013