Did Jesus Resurrect from the Dead?
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| The last few weeks have been quite the rollercoaster ride—ups and downs aplenty! I promise that in my next blog post, I will address all the concerns that some of you have raised recently. But for now, I hope that we can all focus on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we celebrate His sacrifice and victory for us this Easter weekend. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The period from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and Easter Sunday is traditionally known as the Passion Week. It is the holiest week in the Christian Church calendar. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ have been documented extensively in the Holy Scripture. If Jesus is indeed the Son of God, death would never overpower Him. As such, we read of the resurrection in the following passages: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Most importantly, Jesus Himself personally testifies that “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:18). In that resurrection, Jesus’ soul and spirit were reunited with His body, which was made alive by the Holy Spirit. He physically rose from the grave, never to die again. Jesus was the first to experience that because while others were restored to physical life, they didn’t have a new body. Jarius’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43) and Lazarus (John 11:38-44) were raised from the dead, but they would ultimately die again. These people would die because Satan, who had the power of death, had not yet been conquered (Heb. 2:14). Christ became the firstfruits (example) of those whose souls would be redeemed from sin (1 Cor. 15:21-23). | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Why is the resurrection important? Because Christianity stands or falls with it. Paul says, “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty . . . And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17). In the landmark book Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Vol. 1, author Josh McDowell writes that “the resurrection of Jesus Christ is either one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless, hoaxes ever foisted on the minds of human beings, or it is the most remarkable fact of history.” | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Throughout the centuries, there have been many theories to explain away the possibility of a resurrection. The Theory of Substitution claims that Jesus was never crucified in the first place. Someone else who looked like Him was forced to take His place. If that is true, then Jesus is guilty of deceit, dishonesty and heartlessness. He cared little for the death of an innocent bystander, or for the grief of His closest disciples. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Another theory is the Swoon Theory that states that Jesus never really died on the cross. After hanging for six hours, unknown to the public, He managed to come down in a “swoon.” He was then laid in a cool cave and was later revived by the application of healing ointment and strongly-scented spices. The Swoon Theory suggests that Jesus didn’t want to die, which is evident by Him “hiding” in Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal. His prayer for God to pass the cup from Him also showed His reluctance to die (cf. Matt. 26:39). Besides, there were no witnesses to actually see the crucifixion. The fact that Mary mistakenly took Jesus to be a gardener confirms that He was in disguise to hide from the authorities! | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Is the resurrection a hoax or an actual historical event? Josh McDowell, a lawyer by training, puts forth the following ten evidences: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| The enemies could have easily disproved the resurrection with a corpse from the grave, but no body was ever produced. Instead the religious leaders resorted to bribery to concoct a story that Jesus’ disciples had stolen the body by night (Matt. 28:12-13). Yet, there is no historical record of a search for Jesus’ body because too many people at that time had witnessed the resurrection. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| The psychological impact among Jesus’ followers was so tangible that they moved from disillusionment, fear and unbelief into courageous faith. What could have precipitated such transformation? Only one thing—an actual resurrection appearance by Jesus Christ! More than just the early apostles, millions of Christians over the last 2,000 years were willing to suffer persecution and death for their faith in a resurrected Savior. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Josh McDowell is right: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is either a terrible hoax or indisputable history. McDowell says that the promise of the resurrection is this: what happened to Christ can happen for us. Like Him, we will die, but His resurrection is a promise that death is not the end. His resurrection is the prototype for our own. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jesus is our example: if we follow Him, He can make a way when there seems to be no way. He can raise our dreams when they seem to have died. He can resurrect marriages that seem to have failed. He can bring divine health to our broken bodies. He can lift you up when you feel like you’ve fallen. |
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| This Easter, let’s put our trust and hope in the One who died and rose again. Because through His sacrifice, we can all do the same. |
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Dear Pastor Kong,
Thank you turning our focus back to Jesus! Truly in this Passion Week, it is a good reminder for us to remember that Christ has died for all of us, regardless of the blatant sinner or the self-righteous religious critics.
Thank you for showing so cogently and logically, through the study by Josh McDowell (incidentally one of my favourite authors), that Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection are undisputed historical facts.
It helps us to remember what our faith is based upon and strengthens our convictions that the fundamental premise of crucifixion and resurrection, which the Christian faith is built upon, stands scrutiny.
Pastor Kong, the hallmark of your ministry is your grace in preaching the truth of God uncompromisingly, defending our theology unapologetically and protecting the flock against strange doctrines unwaveringly. And you do this through reasoned arguments and clarity that speaks of hours of personal study and research.
The fact that your ministry has grown is a fruit of your labour and a gift from the Lord. As 1 Cor 3:6 says, “[Paul] I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” I believe that CHC will see tremendous increase this Easter. Praise God!
No matter what people say, City Harvest Church members are proud of you as our Chief Shepherd and Senior Pastor.
To others who might be reading this, let’s all put down our stones, put aside our agenda and put away all our criticisms. Let the love that Jesus exemplified on the cross of Calvary refresh and inspire us once again.
Just like Jesus said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”.
Alden
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is indeed the MOST remarkable fact of history!
Looking forward to celebrating Easter …
Thank you for this great post, Pastor Kong.
Dear Pastor,
It’s good to hear from you. Thank you for great entry about the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a pillar of our faith, and without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity.
I’ve heard of the theories you mentioned, and I’ve always been baffled by how far people can go to deny the resurrection. From the Swoon Theory to the Disciples stealing the body, to Jesus getting up to push away the stone himself… it speaks of man’s vain attempt to understand the supernatural miracle of the resurrection.
When logical facts are presented like Josh Mcdowell’s 10 evidences, I am amazed at God’s love for me. I will definitely take heed of the focus of Easter, despite the many distractions we are facing. Isn’t Jesus the most important now? Believing for my family and friends to be touched and saved this season!
Ed
love this. you always have get insights to important topics. and may CHC have a great harvest this week during easter
Dear Pastor,
Thanks for reminding us of what’s most important.. Jesus’s death and resurrection for us.
I’ll never forget the day I accepted Christ in this great church. I will always thank God for leading me here, into His presence and saving knowledge of Him. The message of the cross has indeed changed me forever :) Even as I matured with faith and grew up in the church, I realize many times our faith can be challenged. But I’ve since learnt also that our faith is build on facts :)
Thanks Pastor for taking time to share with us and remind us of the reality of Easter, even if it happened near 2000 years ago :)
Indeed like what Edmund has said, despite the many distractions, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith :)
Praying for you Pastor! :)
Thanks for the blog post, Pastor. I am blessed indeed. Jesus Christ is risen. Yes, He DID resurrected.
Greetings from Jakarta,
EW
Dear Pastor Kong,
Thank you so much for all that you have done for the church! We are so proud to have such a wonderful leader and pastor like you. Truly, Jesus is the reason for this season and in Him, we will always have the victory!
I especially appreciate your insights on Josh McDowell’s ten evidences of Jesus’ resurrection being an historical event. It is a reminder that our walk with God is always built on truth and truth, being truth, will always prevail.
Take care Pastor, praying for you always.
Dear Pastor!
Another great post!
Thank you so much
David Loke
Dear Pastor,
Thank you for a clear and concise presentation on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Truly He is the reason why we are doing what we are doing in CHC!
Let’s celebrate His resurrection, and rejoice for the thousands of souls to be touched by His love this weekend!
God bless …
TKH
Pastor, always love reading your blog and the insight you put in.
Turning our focus back to Jesus.
=)
This is an interesting blog post by Pastor Kong.
Before I comment, let me say that I am definitely not a Bible scholar, nor do I have a degree or PHD in Biblical studies or Biblical history.
However, I do have great interest in studying these topics, particularly on the New Testament. I write this in the spirit of sharing and debate, not to bring down the church or any individual.
Let me start with a quote by a prominent Biblical scholar NT Wright: “I believe that each generation has to wrestle afresh with the question of Jesus, not least its biblical roots, if it is to be the Church at all.” NT Wright.”
This quote carries with it a great promise, and also great caution. It is a great promise because the person of Jesus Christ carries great meaning in each of our lives, and is central to our faith. It brings with it caution because there is no firm consensus among Christians worldwide about the meaning of Jesus.
Christianity in Singapore, unfortunately, is of the same variety. Churches here tend to be of the Evangelical variety, and they tend to be of the traditional and conservative variety. When I say this, I do not mean conservative in terms of practices, but in terms of theology.
City Harvest Church, as liberal as it is on the outward, still holds to a largely conservative theology, as demonstrated by its statement of belief. It holds to the view that scripture is inerrant, and as a result carries a rather traditionalist interpretation of the Bible (except for the prosperity gospel).
As such, we often tend to presume that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a given fact, and central to Christianity, as McDowell would like to claim. This, however, is not necessarily true.
I would like to argue that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not necessarily central to Christianity, in fact it may be counter-productive to the future growth of the religion. It is possible to be Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Christ. It is also possible to be a Christian and not believe that the Bible is inerrant.
First, let us look at what the likelihood that Jesus did in fact rise from the grave.
The historical veracity of the Bible is indeed impressive. It is by far the most well preserved document in the world. What’s more, scholars will generally agree that Jesus Christ did in fact walk the earth, although they would dispute whether he really was God.
Also, there is no strong reason to reject the resurrection of Jesus, although there is no strong reason to accept it either. Though we may be impressed by how well preserved the Bible is, Bible scholars would agree that there is not yet enough evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus did in fact rise from the grave.
It seems that at this point of time, whether you believe Jesus resurrected is dependent on your belief in miracles, and whether it is possible.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke have many things going for them as well. These gospels are remarkably accurate, and they provide a rather similar account of the life of Jesus. The harmonious picture that they present of Jesus is indeed impressive, and it bolsters the case that the gospels are indeed historical documents.
Bible scholar NT Wright himself asserts that the gospels are intended to be written as history, not as myths. He contends that the gospel writers intended to mimic the style of the Greek historians of the era, therefore lending weight to the argument that gospel writers intended to write an account of Jesus that is as accurate as possible.
Here’s another interesting nugget of information: Women were reported in the scriptures as being the first ones to see the resurrected Jesus. This itself is peculiar: In a patriarchal Jewish society, why is it that these women were given such a prominent placing in scripture? Surely if the gospels are myths, the gospel writers would surely not give women such a place in scripture.
We must also account for the fact the Christianity spread far and wide, in spite of the fact that Roman persecution was heavy. What could possibly account for such rapid spread of the religion in spite of strong persecution, if not for the sheer fact that the disciples believed with all their heart that Jesus did in fact rise from the grave?
But looking on the other side of the coin, we must consider the fact that the gospels were in fact written by human authors, and therefore subject to error. Bible scholars argue the gospels were first transmitted orally before being written down in words. There is always a possibility that error could be introduced this way.
Based on the above considerations, it is my view that there is indeed a possibility that Jesus had in fact risen from the dead. However, I must say this with the precaution that historical evidence is far from conclusive about this topic. The common argument that the tomb of Jesus cannot be found does not stand up to scrutiny. What about the tombs of Moses, Abraham, or Paul the Apostle? We can’t find them either, even though they have passed on.
As such, the belief that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead is a faith proposition, it is far from being certain knowledge.
Next comes this claim: Because Jesus is risen from the grave, then he must be the Son of God. This is another claim that Christians like to assume, but this claim is premised on the belief that a Theist God is real in the first place.
With regards to the claim of God, philosophers are divided on this. Once again, there is no certainty that God exists. If God exists, then it is conceivable that Jesus could indeed be the Son of God as he allegedly claims to be. But if He doesn’t exist, then can the resurrection of Jesus, even if it is true, prove that God exists? The evidence seems tenuous at best.
Once again, we must consider the fact that the Bible was indeed written by fallible human authors. Just because these gospel writers are “inspired by the Holy Spirit” does not mean that the Bible will be infallible and inerrant. Just as how the Church has often veered of course as a result of sin, why can’t we reasonably conclude that even the scriptures themselves have been tainted with inaccuracy and cultural bias?
As such, can we necessarily say for certain that Jesus did indeed claim he was the Son of God in the sense of literally being God? Or is this the addition of gospel writers who do not have perfect memory about the events that transpired. There are no simple answers to these questions, and these are topics that demand deeper investigation.
Many Christians, at this point of time, will assert that God is known through experience, and therefore these historical arguments and loopholes do not matter. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Christians think that religious experiences and so-called “encounters with God” are unique to Christianity. But it is a fact that Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus do have spiritual encounters too. And yes, they do have visions and dreams. We are often quick to say that the visions and encounters experienced by people of other faiths are of the devil.
But this is too quick an assumption. We simply cannot account for the religious experiences felt by these individuals. It could be possible that God, if he exists, is in fact responsible for the encounters of these people, even though they are not Christian. Religious experiences like speaking in tongues, seeing visions, so-called prophesying are therefore not absolute ways of determining the veracity of the Christian faith.
If we take into account recent neuroscience research on the brain, we soon realise that there is a possibility that these religious experiences could simply be phenomena of the brain and nothing more. Of course, this is also not a foregone conclusion. Neuroscientists have no idea if it is God that created Man with the ability to experience these sensations, or whether God is simply a product of our active imaginations.
Having taken all of the above into account, Christianity is therefore not the rock-hard faith that we would like it to be. If we question hard enough, we realise that much of what we think is true is indeed open to rebuttal. However, we must also not be careful not to sink into absolute skepticism. It is up to us to determine where we want to draw the line between faith and doubt.
Christianity therefore, can be as diverse as we want it to be. You can have fundamentalist conservative believers who believe that the Bible should be read literally, that God made the earth in exactly six days, that there was a literal Great Flood. On the other hand, you can have liberal Christians who doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who believe in evolution, and did not think the Great Flood is a historical event.
Both liberal and conservative Christians have taken their place of prominence in the seat of history, and it would be too presumptuous of us to declare Christians who don’t think the same way as us as “heretical”.
As such, I cannot accept the claim that the resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity. Rather, it is the Spirit of Christ that is more important. It is the practice of Christ-like love towards our neighbours that should take a prominent seat in the church. Christ may be historical or he may be metaphorical, my contention is that it doesn’t really matter.
By insisting on a historical Christ, we risk sinking into religious dogma, holding on to dead traditional beliefs that we fight so hard to resist. We also risk turning away potential Christians who do not want to believe in the resurrection of Christ, or have problems accepting miracles. By being overly literalistic and dogmatic with our interpretation of the Bible, we risk becoming irrelevant.
Ultimately, we need to balance Christ the Spirit with the Christ of History. Let us not be lazy in being critical about our beliefs, accepting a historical Christ just because our religious leaders instruct us to. Let us call a spade a spade, and not market Christianity as what it isn’t. Let us be radically honest about our intellectual struggles with the religion we call Christianity, even as we treasure our relationship with the God we call Jesus.
scholarly pursuit with emotion.
Even as we are celebrating Easter in a few days’ time, Pst i am truly grateful of your entry here.
It serves as a great reminder to put our focus back on Jesus once again.
It is such an encouragement to know, that Jesus has indeed died for us, but He did not remain dead, because on the third day He rose again.
I always remember what Pst tells us, that because Jesus has resurrected from the dead, it serves to tell us, that no matter what dead situation we are facing in our lives, we can believe that it can be resurrected, because Jesus said that He is the resurrection.
Once again Pastor, thank you for this excellent post, and we are looking forward to having a great Easter with you!
God bless.
Great post, Pastor! Very informational and revelational for me even as a Christian! Yup, I really like what you quoted from Josh McDowell. God bless, Pastor. I believe Easter will be a great time of celebration in City harvest!
Dear Reverend Kong Hee,
As we approach this important day for Christianity, it is good to see a clear explanation of what Easter is all about.
It is not about eggs, or the Easter bunny but it’s all about Jesus Christ.
This article is a good reminder to me of my Christian roots and “where I came from”.
Just as you quoted,
“Paul says, “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty . . . And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17)”
I was a sinful man but now am no longer living in sin because I believed correctly in the resurrected Christ, who took away all my sin and “sin-fulness”.
This is my experience in my walk as a Christian, regardless of what anyone else may say.
A person with an experience is NEVER at the mercy of a person with knowledge
Shooting straight,
Archer
Great post Pst! Enjoyed reading it :)
Dear Terence,
I totally agreed with your statement on “let me say that I am definitely not a Bible scholar, nor do I have a degree or PHD in Biblical studies or Biblical history”
Because after reading your post i have a good laugh… Your comment is really very absurd… Thanks for your “info” – tainment :)
Dear Terence
Btw thanks for your post :) There do have different views on this matter
I like the statement “the tomb was empty”. This is the reason why I believe in God and His anointed word.
Anybody can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving about this.
Excellent post. I like it.
Thanks Pastor! You are the best!
xwf,
ridiculing my comments behind a veil of anonymity doesn’t make you any more credible than me. If you want to be constructive, address my points reasonably, otherwise you’re just making empty noise.
xwf, that said, I will take no offense at your remarks, but I hope we can address each other as reasonable individuals.
Dear Pst,
What a great presentation for the case of the resurrection!
This is indeed the most significant event in the history of mankind.
Without which, we will all have no hope! Like Paul, all Christians want to attain this in our future!
For the present, it is like what you have said:
Jesus is our example: if we follow Him,
He can make a way when there seems to be no way.
He can raise our dreams when they seem to have died.
He can resurrect marriages that seem to have failed.
He can bring divine health to our broken bodies.
He can lift you up when you feel like you’ve fallen.
WOW!!! That’s the power of God. That ‘s the power to transform lives!
I look forward to seeing many people’s lives transformed this Easter when they encounter the resurrected Christ!
Dear Terence,
It is interesting to read your comments as it allows me to have a better understanding of your theological understanding, as well as your core beliefs in Jesus Christ. I pray and hope that my response can be of help to you in your journey with Christ.
You said “City Harvest Church, as liberal as it is on the outward, still holds to a largely conservative theology, as demonstrated by its statement of belief. It holds to the view that scripture is inerrant, and as a result carries a rather traditionalist interpretation of the Bible (except for the prosperity gospel).
The definition of liberal or conservative has really become undefined due to many post-modern thinking. What is liberal to one may be considered conservative by another. The point I wish to highlight is that CHC (from my understanding) seeks to understand and interpret the Scriptures according to both the revelation of the Holy Spirit, as well as the traditions handed down by the church fathers. It is correct to say that we are evangelical in our understanding of Scriptures, at the same time, seek the relevance of Scriptures in its application to our modern context.
You said “in fact it may be counter-productive to the future growth of the religion.”
I’m sorry that I can’t see your arguments that the resurrection is “counter-productive” to the future growth of the religion. Maybe I got lost half-way looking through your points. Care to elaborate a little more?
You said “It is possible to be Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Christ.”
Technically speaking, this is impossible. Rom 10:9 tells us “if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him FROM THE DEAD, we shall be saved.”
That is why the resurrection, according to Scriptures, is central to the salvation of mankind. Scriptures are overwhelmed with evidences on the need of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us to be saved. If you are interested, you can email me at tkh.original2010@gmail.com and I will be glad to explain to you. It will take up too much space to type here.
Of course I must qualify by saying that if one do not believe or accept the authority of the Scriptures, then there is no common ground in the explanation. If that is true, we can’t really be a Christian, as the Christian faith is absolutely dependent on the revelation of the Scriptures.
You said “Bible scholars would agree that there is not yet enough evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus did in fact rise from the grave.”
May I know your references of these Bible scholars? I would love to study them and see what kind of arguments they put forth. From Ps Kong’s blog above, the evidences seem strong enough for me. Actually there are more evidences, but I think it would be difficult for Ps Kong to discuss all in this blog.
You said “It seems that at this point of time, whether you believe Jesus resurrected is dependent on your belief in miracles, and whether it is possible.”
What you said is quite true, but I would argue that the resurrection of Jesus relied more on the facts presented by the gospels than a mere belief of the supernatural.
You said “Bible scholars argue the gospels were first transmitted orally before being written down in words. There is always a possibility that error could be introduced this way.”
The textual criticism of both the OT and NT scriptures is a widely studied topic. Recent scholarship does vouch of the reliability and accuracy of the Scriptures. Again, I shall not bore you with a long presentation.
Also I would like to highlight the reality and power of God in the preservation of Scriptures. Though human is the transmitting channels, yet God is the author. I am sure that the Almighty God is more than able to keep the scriptures the way He intended, else how can we trust Him with our salvation?
You said “The common argument that the tomb of Jesus cannot be found does not stand up to scrutiny. What about the tombs of Moses, Abraham, or Paul the Apostle? We can’t find them either, even though they have passed on.”
I must say that there are more arguments than the empty tomb argument. Maybe you can research a little more?
You said “With regards to the claim of God, philosophers are divided on this. Once again, there is no certainty that God exists.”
If you stand on the above point, the discussion on Christianity and the resurrection is meaningless to you.
For me who was an atheist before I was saved by His grace, I honestly don’t care about resurrection or heaven. It is of no concern to me, until I personally encountered Christ. Like what you say, every religion has its own experiences, which I do not deny. That is why Christianity is a faith that is not only build upon personal experiences, but as well as the authority of Scriptures. If I am not mistaken, only 2 other religions (Islam & Judaism) believes in the authority of sacred text.
You said “Both liberal and conservative Christians have taken their place of prominence in the seat of history, and it would be too presumptuous of us to declare Christians who don’t think the same way as us as “heretical”. ”
I have to disagree with that. The Apostle Creed summarized what the Christian faith is really about, and the resurrection is part of the confession. It is the most basic tenets of our faith in Christ. If someone do not believe in the resurrection, the apostles themselves will probably call them heretics.
With this verse I will conclude:
1Cor 1:22-24
“For the Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom;
but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness. But to them, the called-out ones, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
God bless.
TKH
Dear Pastor!
What an awesome post! Truly we serve a resurrected Savior who is alive!
I find this post most insightful because not only do you give us the theological reasons for believing in the resurrection of Jesus, your points from a lawyer’s perspective add greater depth to our understanding of this great event. Truly being a Christian and using our intelligence are not mutually exclusive! The contrary theories to the resurrection totally fall flat against the truth.
Pastor thank you for always inspiring us to be stronger in our faith, knowledge, convictions and belief. We can never thank you enough Pastor.
Looking forward to a GREAT weekend!
Wow less than 12 hours and already so many comments…
Very timely article just before the Easter season, and never really seen it in this perspective before…
Thank you so much Pastor, will be praying for you as you get ready to preach starting Friday night onwards (:
Love,
Pastor,
Appreciate it so much that you are bringing us back to the cross, where our entire belief is centered upon, where Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for each and every one of us. That if we accept this sacrifice, that we will achieve life everlasting.
Thank you that among all the chaos, in the middle of “the rollercoaster of life”, that you remind us where it all begins, and the beginning is Jesus.
The horizontal, to love people fervently, and the vertical, to love God wholeheartedly.
Praying for you always.
This post has deepened my understanding with regards to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. But more than that, we are being brought back to where it all began – the Cross.
Jesus is indeed our Resurrected Savior that made the Christian faith a reality, giving us power to overcome obstacles in life.
Pastor, this is truly a good post and I learnt something from it. Thank you for sharing with us.
Looking forward to Easter celebration!
terencelee,
You argue that “the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not necessarily central to Christianity”…. I disagree with you.
Apostle Paul rebutted such view in 1 Corinthians 15:12-17…
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”
To Paul the resurrection of Christ has implication on our Christian faith, forgiveness of sins and thus our salvation. As such, it is clear that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential and central to Christianity.
Dear Pastor Kong,
Good Friday is tomorrow! And it is great that this entry is reminding us again why we do what we do, why we make time to go for service and cell group, why we pray, why we tell the census board we are christians! :)
Thank you once again for making the stand so clear for all of us christians what Christ is all about.
TJ
Hi Terence Lee,
thanks for taking the time to do a thorough exposition on the resurrection.
I’m a little puzzled with one particular statement made:
“It is possible to be Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Christ. It is also possible to be a Christian and not believe that the Bible is inerrant”
Erm… wouldn’t that be a very humanistic view and approach towards Christianity?
I’m not purporting that it is wrong to be able to dissect the faith and argue against the core belief within it. That’s what many do when they go into apologetics debates. I’ve read that, heard them and understand they come from a non-believer’s view.
Notice I said, “they”?
I’ve read your blog, and your posts. I gather you are a attendee in CHC (new status it seems), and still loves God, believes and have had personal encounters with Him. So I can safely conclude you’re a christian, ya?
hmm.. then why the argument that resurrection is not essential in a christian’s belief system? You would choose to take the ‘not lazy’ way out and believe in critical analysis of the faith?
And it’s funny, you, of all people, would prefer to believe in simply ‘the Spirit of Christ” without historical corroboration?
You know, one of GOOGLE’s core belief is to push the limits to create a fast search engine. But as a huge fan of google, I can’t say that being fast is not essential in Google’s business. It’s the spirit of the search engine–the user, the cross border info, the democracy of it, that would define google. You can’t. Being Fast, is google.
Just like a resurrected saviour is christianity.
TJ
Ren,
I understand what the scriptures say about the resurrection. But I am also interested in knowing if there is strong historical basis for Jesus’ resurrection and if scripture can be used as historical evidence.
If it is found that this is disputable, then what do we make of the resurrection?
TJ,
how is it humanistic?
I understand the importance of historical evidence. But my question is that is it strong enough to warrant us believing in a risen Christ? What is the criteria in belief?
TKH,
I elaborated on it here: “By insisting on a historical Christ, we risk sinking into religious dogma, holding on to dead traditional beliefs that we fight so hard to resist. We also risk turning away potential Christians who do not want to believe in the resurrection of Christ, or have problems accepting miracles. By being overly literalistic and dogmatic with our interpretation of the Bible, we risk becoming irrelevant.”
“That is why the resurrection, according to Scriptures, is central to the salvation of mankind. Scriptures are overwhelmed with evidences on the need of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us to be saved.”
That argument is based on the premise that scripture is reliable and authoritative as history and theology. I’m interested to know your reasons for believing in that premise.
“Of course I must qualify by saying that if one do not believe or accept the authority of the Scriptures, then there is no common ground in the explanation. If that is true, we can’t really be a Christian, as the Christian faith is absolutely dependent on the revelation of the Scriptures.”
Then again, I have to ask you what you mean by “authority of the Scriptures”? Authority can mean many different things.
“May I know your references of these Bible scholars? I would love to study them and see what kind of arguments they put forth. From Ps Kong’s blog above, the evidences seem strong enough for me. Actually there are more evidences, but I think it would be difficult for Ps Kong to discuss all in this blog.”
You can read works by NT Wright, Borg, Crosson. Some of them belong to the extreme liberal camp, however. Some of Pastor Kong’s arguments are sound. However, most of them are, once again, premised on the belief that scripture is accurate as a historical and theological text.
“The textual criticism of both the OT and NT scriptures is a widely studied topic. Recent scholarship does vouch of the reliability and accuracy of the Scriptures. Again, I shall not bore you with a long presentation.”
It is more accurate to say that a segment of all bible scholars vouch for the reliability and accuracy of scripture. Then again, ‘reliability’ and ‘accuracy’ are very vague terms.
“Also I would like to highlight the reality and power of God in the preservation of Scriptures. Though human is the transmitting channels, yet God is the author. I am sure that the Almighty God is more than able to keep the scriptures the way He intended, else how can we trust Him with our salvation?”
That is a faith proposition. And if it is a faith proposition, then ain’t I free to accept or reject it? I can trust God with my salvation even though the scriptures are flawed. I don’t think it is impossible.
“If you stand on the above point, the discussion on Christianity and the resurrection is meaningless to you.”
The resurrection of Jesus, therefore, doesn’t prove his Divinity. This statement is premised on a belief in a Theist God.
“I have to disagree with that. The Apostle Creed summarized what the Christian faith is really about, and the resurrection is part of the confession. It is the most basic tenets of our faith in Christ. If someone do not believe in the resurrection, the apostles themselves will probably call them heretics.”
Interestingly, the apostle’s creed says nothing about the authority of scripture. I would like to think the Christianity in the First Century was more diverse than we think, especially before all these creeds were formulated.
I think in debating this issue, it is important to keep in the question of what constitutes sufficient evidence for belief. This is primarily a epistemological question rooted in philosophy.
I guess, sometimes we use too much of our head… until we forget that there are things that are decided by the heart.
Keep the faith simple. Just believe. Because you do. Just make a choice, otherwise toss a coin and move on.
And I still read all these posts because I find entertainment value while munching on my McChicken, spicy shaker fries and coffee (the comments here is like “Who Killed Roger Rabbit” and the other blog is like MIB-2). Too early for sweet popcorns.
Dear Pst,
I enjoyed reading your post as always.
Thanks for showing, through such cogent reasoning, the death and resurrection of Christ, which is so central to our Christian faith.
I pray that many will experience the resurrected life, love and power of God this Easter!
Praying for you.
Terence,
Thank you for your interesting post. Much as I would like to give my perspective which differs from you, I would not like to go down that road because there is no end… We can never logicalise God or Chrisitianity because our intelligence is far too limited and constrained despite of what we think of ourselves… I’ve learnt to approach God, not with my head but with my heart.. and one thing I do know, heaven and earth will pass away but His word will ALWAYS remain and it is and always will be my source of promise, hope and victory. Thank you Lord..
God bless..
Dear Pst,
Thank you for explaining that Easter is more than just about Easter egg and bunny!
I hope that by reading this awesome post, many will understand the SIMPLE meaning of Easter! Christ died, buried and rose again!
Thank God He rose again, otherwise, my water baptism experience would be to go into the water and STAY THERE…:)
Hi Terence & TKH,
I’ve to say that reading through both of your comments have been really enriching. Here are some things I felt towards what was posted.
“But this is too quick an assumption. We simply cannot account for the religious experiences felt by these individuals. It could be possible that God, if he exists, is in fact responsible for the encounters of these people, even though they are not Christian.”
Totally agree. We simply cannot put God into a box. His ways are definitely higher than ourselves. Otherwise, Saul’s spiritual encounter that turned his life around would not have happened.
“We also risk turning away potential Christians who do not want to believe in the resurrection of Christ, or have problems accepting miracles. By being overly literalistic and dogmatic with our interpretation of the Bible, we risk becoming irrelevant.”
I remember a recent sermon preached in CHC, of how God’s presence being able to touch any corner / person on earth. I believe God’s love, & arms are wider than what we can phantom. & I’d think that He has no problems with pple struggling with accepting miracles, or have theological issues. Just like how a new-born christian might struggle with quitting smoking/gambling/drinking… God still loves us just the same. Life is a progression, & so is our walk with Him. I see accepting miracles & faith in the Word as a progression too.
“rather, it is the Spirit of Christ that is more important. It is the practice of Christ-like love towards our neighbours that should take a prominent seat in the church. Christ may be historical or he may be metaphorical, my contention is that it doesn’t really matter.”
To this, I can’t agree more. Being more like Jesus & Christ-like is what every “Chrsit”-ian looks forward to. His depth of love for His Father, His love for people (us), his lifestyle, character, etc…
To this, I’ve a slight differing opinion. To understand how JC can demonstrate such unconditional love, it is His character & what He stands for that we’ve to look into. The degree at which He studies the Holy Scriptures, understands Them, lives by Them, quotes Them, speaks a lot of the importance of the Word.
As to whether the passing down of the Scriptures have been altered due to human error… … I’ll leave the asking when I get to heaven.
Recently learnt something that blessed my heart.
“Ask in love, not question in doubt”
Terence, it’s been a pleasure to read your thoughts.
Hi Terence,
I think there’s no way, anyone here will be swayed or be convinced by your suggestion that the early church viewed the resurrection any differently.
Its good to be open-minded to ideas and look wider and deeper, but I’m afraid to say, sometimes being overly ‘open-minded’ can make one a very confused person. It is like what the bible says, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. One moment believe, another moment swayed, with no point of reference for conduct and faith.
The very foundation of Christianity and evidence of God’s faithfulness, consistency, truth and character is entirely based on the Word – the bible. If one is not convinced that the bible is divine and inerrant, everything else has no meaning and point of reference anymore.
Can I suggest, if it so engages you intellectually, you can start by investigating the authenticity and divinity of the bible. Only from there, you can have a point of reference for everything else.
God bless.
starfish,
I’ve always believed in struggling authentically with my faith intellectually, even as I accept God in my heart. Only then can we approach others honestly with our faith.
melvin,
i’m not trying to “sway” anyone towards a particular point of view, because I know I don’t know enough to be sure. I think being open-minded does not mean being double-minded. I stand firm on my open-mindedness, believing that faith is diverse and that there is no answers to everything. I’m not going to claim that there is “absolute proof” that God is real if there isn’t. To me, its about being honest.
“Can I suggest, if it so engages you intellectually, you can start by investigating the authenticity and divinity of the bible. Only from there, you can have a point of reference for everything else.”
That is what I am doing.
To digress a little bit, I just want to share a YouTube video with you guys. It’s a poem by Chris Tse entitled “I’m Sorry I’m a Christian”. Chris Tse was the 1st place winner in some poetry slam competition. I hope you guys will be blessed by it even as we enter Easter.
Instead of preaching repentance, sometimes we are the ones who need to repent…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EieFdXy_HwM&feature=player_embedded
Hi Terence,
I believe once we remove the faith element and attempt to put reason to what we believe, it becomes human-istic. :)
This is very different from critiquing and breaking down a philosophy or teaching. For those who argue and defend Poverty, Abortion, Civilisation, Communism, even Sexual Orientation–this is part of critical thinking. Why, some of the above are what I studied in uni!
But when we do the same to Christianity, I’m sorry, it is just no longer critical thinking.
I am convinced that there is only so much that man can understand God, His ways, His plans etc. In all our critical analysis (for those who choose to), we can only understand that much. The remaining portion that needs explanation and clarification is when faith comes in.
Some choose to believe.
Others choose to declare it is thus not true, didn’t happen, didn’t exist.
Isn’t that humanistic then? Attempting to understand God with our limited knowledge and understanding?
You see, in our daily lives, we already have problems understanding why people do what they do, why they say what they say, why they make decisions… psychiatrists come in and try analyse human behaviours… but conclusion is never really there until we ask the subject directly.
So the human mind and behaviour is complex enough… surely God’s ways of doing things, are way way beyond us? That’s why it’s with faith, that we please God.
TJ,
there’s always an element of spirituality that demands faith. But at the same time, reason and critical thinking have a role. By using reason to analyse certain aspects of faith, I don’t see how I am being humanistic. Perhaps humanism would be attempting to box in God to academic disciplines, which is something I don’t subscribe to.
Hi Terence,
I do not dispute the face that reason and critical thinking is important. But there are some tenets of faith that are core statements. undisputable.
When you state that we become irrelevant because we’ve become dogmatic about Christianity, you make Christianity’s core belief system fluid.
Are you saying that Centuries later, there’ll be differences again to theology cos we need to be relevant?
Christianity is not like a mooncake, which evolves into variants as time passes.
Well, we don’t need to please them do we? I’m not compromising these beliefs just so these potential christians won’t be turned away.
that’s what conviction is all about right?
TJ
Christian doctrine, ritual and theology are based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus being actual historical events. To remove this fundamental belief is to invalidate not only the Bible but Christ Himself.
The Bible clearly states that Jesus appeared to many people over a span of forty days (Acts 1:3) claiming he resurrected from the dead before his return to heaven (Ascension). (Acts 1:9-10). These witnesses not only gave credibility and validation to death and resurrection of Christ but many witnessed his ascension.
Even if you question the Bible’s validity, history documents that this man was not a myth but a real person and the historical evidence for this is excellent. The popular historian Will Durant, himself not a Christian, wrote concerning Christ’s historical validity and I quote, “The denial of that existence seems never to have occurred even to the bitterest gentile or Jewish opponents of nascent Christianity” (Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 3, p. 555). And again, “That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels” (Ibid., p. 557).
It is a substantial thing that any historian who spends his life considering historical facts should affirm the reality of Christ’s existence as well as the rapid growth of the early movement.
The Jewish historian Josephus, writing for the Roman government in the 70’s A.D. records some incidental things regarding Christ and the church. He confirms that John the Baptist died at the hand of Herod (this same incident is recorded in the gospels) as well as the death of, “The brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James. . . he delivered them to be stoned” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, ch. V, p. 20; Book XX, ch. IX, p. 140 ). Again we have sources external to the Bible that demonstrate the historical reliability of the text. Josephus, who was probably alive during the time of Christ, is attesting to the reality of his existence. What this also tells us is that within 40 years of Christ’s death, the knowledge of who he was was widespread enough that Josephus could reference him and expect his readers to know exactly who he was talking about.
The resurrection of Christ is central to the Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. Paul says, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Cor:15:14). Paul who was a vigorous persecutor of the church before seeing the risen Christ maintains that Jesus did rise from the dead. In writing to the Corinthian church he says,
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep [died]; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all . . . He appeared to me also. (1 Cor 15:3-8)
What he is telling his readers is that many people saw Jesus after the resurrection. He is saying, “if you are skeptical you can go and speak with them yourselves because most of them are still alive!” Paul is so confident of what he and the others saw that he is willing to stake everything on this claim. This was not an event that occurred to a few men in a remote location. It happened in a huge metropolitan city and there were many witnesses to verify it.
The logical conclusion is that the Bible therefore is a reliable historical document. Its accuracy has been proved numerous times. Its historical inaccuracy has never been demonstrated. When we approach the Bible, we can do so with a good amount of confidence that what it records actually happened. If this is true, then we need to come to terms about what the Bible claims
Some claim Jesus was a prophet and not the resurrected Savior of the World and Son of God. If that is the case, He was neither a Prophet nor a good man but the biggest liar and con-artist who ever lived in history. To believe that a con-artist could have fooled so many witnesses and made such an impact in history is harder for me to believe than the authenticity of the Bible and the man, Christ.
The question is, how much evidence will it take for us. As Christ stated in John 20:29, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Like the Apostle Paul and millions of others throughout history, I choose to believe in a Savior who was crucified, died, was buried and on the third day rose again! Happy Easter!
TJ,
even conviction must be based on fact. If there is no reason to believe in these facts, why should they become indisputable? If Christians insist that Jesus’ resurrection is a fact, on what grounds are they standing on?
dear terencelee,
you are talking too much.. you should spend your time to serve God in ministry instead.. Serve more, talk less.. the world will be a better place!!
jjblunt
Hi Terence,
hmm… it’s really tough convincing you of anything ya? Faith is not an element. Everything must be substantiated.
XYZ vacuum cleaner can clean off all dust mites.
So before you buy it, the sales guy has to show you how the machine does it.
And after that, prove that ALL dust mites have been cleaned off.
I’m sorry, but I have to ask then how do you live your life Terence? How do people around you substantiate their emotions for you?
The evidences that have been put forth that the resurrection is a fact are enough to convince me. You can say I’m not having a critical enough mind, too naive to believe so simply. But simply cos the Bible says so, I believe.
I don’t mean to be rude, but all the I Love Yous and You are Specials in bday cards and valentine’s cards that you receive–do you believe them?
jjblunt,
I’ve been serving God for seven years of my life. Can’t i take some time off to think about things?
TJ,
I choose to subject my beliefs to higher scrutiny and criticism. I’m not a blind believer.
By asking the questions which you did, you seem to be implying that we should have simple faith in God. Well, maybe I don’t wish to have simple faith in God. I don’t want to be gullible.
But to answer your question, of course I believe them. Because it is easier to prove that they do care for me than proving that God cares.
And besides, if we have simple faith, what stops us from believing that the Spirit of Christ is sufficient as opposed to the Christ of History?
Because with simple faith, I can believe in anything, can’t I? I might as well be Muslim because the Quran says that Islam is superior to Christianity.
besides TJ, Pastor Kong talked about reaching out to the Third Space, the intelligentsia. Do you think “simple faith” is sufficient to convince people with high intelligence and great intellect? I don’t think so.
Really very detail blog and I much appreciate it. You are a wonderful pastor and teacher. You took so much bashing over the last couple of months but never cease to love us all. I pray the Lord strenghtened your body, soul and spirit. That the wings of God cover you and your family from the fiery darts and your annointing will increase with each passing day. Happy Easter.
@Terrence,
Take a break from debating man. For the next week, stow your bible and PC away. Just spend some quiet time with the Holy Spirit. Pray, worship and talk to HIM. See if He is real. The encounter is better than debates. If there is no encounter with God your Word research would be dry and meaningless.
@MyNameIsAHuat:
no I do not deny that such encounters are powerful. I’ve certainly experienced them. But Christianity is more than just experiences. Even people of other faiths have “encounters with God”. What separates us from them?
“Because with simple faith, I can believe in anything, can’t I? I might as well be Muslim because the Quran says that Islam is superior to Christianity.” [by terence lee]
Lets keep the discussion on this blog focused on our own faith (or the lack of).
There is no need to implicate another religion.
@Philosopher: I’m making a point here. What I’m trying to say is that with simple faith, we can believe whatever we want.
Terence,
Make your point without implicating another religion.
The point can still be made.
Dear terence lee,
I really think that you have too much time to think about these things.. You should spend your time more fruitfully in helping people who are less fortunate and in need, and not waste time in posting your comments in this blog..
Life is already so stressful and chaotic. Why go and complicate yourself? Come on bro! Easter coming… Lets be happy and give praises to Jesus together! God loves you and I love you too!
jjblunt
jjblunt,
who says thinking and writing isn’t a form of doing? Where will the world be without people to do the thinking? :-P
@Philosopher: sorry i have to disagree. If you are in anyway implying i am being seditious or insensitive, I beg to differ. It is one thing to maintain religious harmony, another thing to veer to the extreme and become oversensitive. Besides, why are you harping on this minor issue when there are other things to talk about?
Hi Pastor,
If not for your teachings, I won’t be the person I am today. Thank you for your silent sacrifices and love towards us.
Proud to have you as our spiritual father! :)
Terence,
I am not surprised that you are disagreeable.
Nobody is veering “to the extreme” and becoming “oversensitive”.
In making a point on this blog, there is no need to implicate another religion.
Besides, I decide on the issues that I am interested in.
@Philosopher: I hope you’re not succumbing to a climate of fear that is the result of…. nevermind I’ll not say it in case you say i’m implicating certain other higher powers. And I’ll ignore your not-so-subtle dig at me. Let’s keep this discussion in good spirits!
Hi Pastor,
Thank you for the extensively researched blog!
I’m believe that being a Christian is not about experiences alone, because experiences fluctuate and are different from day to day. Living from experience to experience is basing life on how you feel, and that would make my life unstable to put my trust in that which changes all the time.
It is important to me as a Christian to establish my faith on basic fundamental truths such as that of Jesus’ death AND resurrection. Just like the way we put our faith in a well-designed chair so that when we sit on it, we know ain’t gonna fall. On this truth, I can build a strong spiritual backbone, so that when the storms of life come, I can still stand strong.
No matter how ‘liberal’ and accepting we are to different groups of people, there are still some basics we should all have in common, without compromise. Or else we will end up with spiritual spina bifida, flailing at every turn of the wind.
Terence,
Don’t worry for me.
Cheers!
yes.. yes.. terence lee, you are going to turn this blog into a war zone! cool down.. bro.. love you lots..
jjlblunt, didn’t i say this to philosopher just now: “Let’s keep this discussion in good spirits!”
Happy easter to you my friend. May you be more critical of your own faith!
Pastor Kong, thank you so much for this article :)
It’s a wonderful article!!
I would like to comment on this post.
Firstly, I would like to briefly introduce myself. I am an ordinary member in the church. Currently I am studying PhD. in chemistry. I hold Genesis account as the true historical account. In other words, I subscribe to the idea that life does not arise by chance. God created life in this world. Many scientists reject the concept of evolution. Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, for instance, authored books like Refuting Evolution and Refuting Evolution 2. Since God in the beginning created life on earth out of nothing, it is very easy for God the Father to raise Lord Jesus from the dead.
Thanks and regards,
YF
@Terrence Lee
Pursue the encounters first, then you shall get deeper understanding from the Holy Spirit. You shall then ontain wisdom that is necessary to see ‘3D’ from the ‘2D’ bible.
You are suffering from ‘battle’ stress. Cool off first. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth so we can hear better than we could speak. Its not only for stereophonic effects, but that the sounds would be in 3-D (spatial effects). We don’t have 2 mouths and 1 ear, I hope; that will surely spell trouble.
People are convicted by the Holy Spirit, not hard core crtical theological debates.
@MyNameIsAhuat: thanks for the prescription, Dr Huat. Though I don’t think you did a correct diagnosis :-)
@YF: but scientists who believe in creationism are in the minority. In fact, they are considered a fringe group. Many prominent scientists who happen to be Christian have no problems believing in evolution. One of them is Francis Collins, which I’m sure you would know since you seem to be an aspiring scientist yourself :)
Here’s a link for your reading pleasure: http://biologos.org/blog/why-must-the-church-come-to-accept-evolution/
Hi terencelee,
I have a friend who is colour-blind and given the fact that he is not being able to pick up red colour, he kept on insisting that rainbow is only made up of 6 colours instead of 7 (which includes the colour red). I can see that you are a highly intellectual person so please advise what is the best way to explain to him the truth that rainbow is actually made up of 7 colours without hurting his ego. I understand that he is not at fault cos red is never the colour that he was ever exposed to since young. As a result, he fashioned his world of truth based on his “real” life experience.
Greatly Appreciate!!
siryarius, maybe you should ask an optometrist instead :-)
@Terrence Lee
Its alright , I err and you err. We are all not that mighty. As long as we recognise that we can err, and seek God for clarity in our thinking and hear what He has to say to our hearts.
That will be the beginning of humility, which is necessary before we could get an audiance in the presense of the Mighty One.
God will not entertained a hardened heart neighter a stiff neck.
@AhHuat: Great reminder. Let us all be humble before God. A great philosopher Socrates once said: “One thing only I know, and that is I know nothing.”
@Terrence Lee
Ya, agreed – We know NOTHING. Let us humble ourselves, on bended knees, saying Lord, please help me. Teach me and forgive me. (…no one is looking. but God.s eyes only).
Let us not lean on our own understanding, but in all things the Spirit of God shall reveal.
@ terencelee,
Ha ha… Sacrates also said, “The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”
Although I agree we do not know all things, we can have assurance in the fundamentals/foundations of our Christian faith that have passed the test of thousands of years. As the Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian Christians in Eph 4:13 that we must “all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”. It is true that we are growing in that knowledge but the starting point for our faith is believing in the Son of God, who was crucified, died, was buried and rose on the third day. If you read my earlier blog, this truth is quite clear.
On another note, for those who are getting personal with Terence, let’s walk in love and stick to the subject matter and just speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15) and be respectful of each other.
Phyl
@Terence Lee:
Indeed, there are many Christian scientists who accept evolution… and this makes me sad, actually…
Anyway,
I have read the blog.
“Waltke cautions, if the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult…some odd group that is not really interacting with the world. And rightly so, because we are not using our gifts and trusting God’s Providence that brought us to this point of our awareness.”
I am happy to announce…
There is no single data for evolution =D
(And, there can never be since evolution really violates physical laws of thermodynamics)
It makes more sense to believe that there is God who created life on earth and in turn resurrect Lord Jesus.
Thanks and regards :)
YF
@Terence Lee:
May I comment on some part of your post? :)
“I would like to argue that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not necessarily central to Christianity.”
I am afraid Apostle Paul disagrees with you. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, he clearly mentions that the resurrection of Lord Jesus is essential and central to Christianity.
“It is also possible to be a Christian and not believe that the Bible is inerrant.”
Actually, all Christians have to believe that the Bible is inerrant. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Apostle Paul stresses the whole books in the Holy Bible are given by inspiration of God. Since God is perfect, His inspiration is also perfect. This implies that the Holy Bible is perfect and without error. Also, if the Bible were errant, how could it be profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness?
“But looking on the other side of the coin, we must consider the fact that the gospels were in fact written by human authors, and therefore subject to error. Bible scholars argue the gospels were first transmitted orally before being written down in words. There is always a possibility that error could be introduced this way”
Indeed, there is possibility. However, does the Bible really contain error? This question has been answered in many theological websites (I put some recommended websites below)
“scholars will generally agree that Jesus Christ did in fact walk the earth, although they would dispute whether he really was God”
Indeed, many people doubt if Lord Jesus is really God. However, the Scripture clearly points out that Lord Jesus is God the Son (John 1:1, Heb 1:8). In other words, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all one in three and three in one. This doctrine is known as Trinity.
“It seems that at this point of time, whether you believe Jesus resurrected is dependent on your belief in miracles”
The creation of life on earth in Genesis is a miracle by itself since there is no way life can arise from non-living entity (I am more than happy to argue about this in terms of chemistry).
“What about the tombs of Moses, Abraham, or Paul the Apostle?”
Unfortunately, I am not an expert when it comes to archeological sites. But at least, the tomb of Abraham can be found at Hebron (Bibleplaces website has the photo of Abraham’s tomb)
“Once again, there is no certainty that God exists.”
Yes, there is :) The orderliness of the universe testifies that God exists. The universe does not arise by chance. Physicists like John Hartnett authored a book titled Dismantling the Big Bang. Dr. Jonathan Sarfati argues, in his book By Design, that the intelligent Designer can’t just be any “god”. The Creator is none other than the God of the Bible.
“Many Christians, at this point of time, will assert that God is known through experience”
I personally have heard Christians saying about “feeling” or “experience”. Actually, we know God not only from experience: the whole creation points out the existence of the Creator. And, this Creator chooses to reveal Himself to mankind through the Holy Bible. We can then know God through the Holy Bible.
“You can have fundamentalist conservative believers who believe that the Bible should be read literally, that God made the earth in exactly six days, that there was a literal Great Flood. On the other hand, you can have liberal Christians who doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who believe in evolution, and did not think the Great Flood is a historical event.”
Well, I maybe a fundamentalist myself =D As for the liberal Christians, there is one point to I suggest for them to ponder: If the Bible can’t be trusted when it comes to Global Flood and six-days creation, how can we trust the Bible when it comes to morality? (since it would mean the Bible told us a lie in the very first book.)
“It is the practice of Christ-like love towards our neighbours that should take a prominent seat in the church. Christ may be historical or he may be metaphorical, my contention is that it doesn’t really matter”
It is not so… If the Bible were errant when it comes to Christ’ resurrection from the dead, why not the Bible were errant too when it comes to Christ’s birth, life, ministry and death? Why not the Bible were errant too when it comes to The Great Commission and The Great Commandment? Who knows Lord Jesus did not preach the Great Commission and the Great Commandment but Matthew somehow added them? Once we consider one part of the Bible to be errant, we can hardly stop considering other parts of the Bible to be errant too…
In conclusion, while living a Christ-like life is a must for every Christian, the inerrancy of the Bible gives us the basis why we should live like Christ.
There is a good website I really recommend you: “Creation.com”.
Under “Q&A”, there is “FAQs”. There are good posts about the Bible accuracy, existence of God and Jesus Christ.
Last not least, Happy Easter!! =D
Thanks and regards,
YF
Hi, PASTOR KONG , i am happy what i am, that i was the serve HIM,a backup singer & usher , what can i do , Is GOD He wan to just obey, Well be peace of mine , The grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, Our Father in Heaven had send the one and only SON , and HE who die of each of us WOW , how great was HE, to all my bro & sister friend & unbeliever , it is written said IF we humble ourselves before HIM as we seek We shall find , In the end… who need who more , we can’t do things by ourselves , we need each other , as we must love one another ( maybe we still have the pride in our heart ) well , it ok i have that too , in the pass , but GOD love the sinner my friends , If we surrender to HIM days by days , he is there for US caz , HE had been waiting for each of us , all of us , ” That The Love Of God is ,,, some said this ,some said that , some do this ,some do that ,and some rule this, and some rule that , BUT GOD say do not judge , For I The LORD who is coming . ( WHO IS SPEAKING IN OUR HEART , ASK ASK ASK ,, OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN ^ JEREMIAH 33:3 )
2 Timothy 4:2 (New King James Version)
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
Certainly I believe that we are called to be relevant as Christians, not ignorant and sequestered in times past, like how the Church was adamant about the planets and the sun revolving around the Earth, (prior to the Copernican revolution)
I believe that Pastor Kong wants us all to be educated as believers, ready to give a defence of our faith, not just having blind faith, but having understood and researched, YET be able to make that leap of faith.
The Christian lifestyle is one that is built and founded upon faith, there will always be arguments which point out the lack of empirical evidence for the existence of God, but it is faith that enables us to cross from the realm of unbelief to belief. Our faith as a believing Christian is founded upon the understanding that God IS and not that God may be, could be.
To reinforce the point from 1 Corinthian 15 that many have raised:
(stronger emphasis from the MSG version)
12-15Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
Our faith in the Bible isn’t a buffet spread that is a matter of pick and choose. We are to have the full counsel of God’s word, holding fast to its veracity. This too, for me, is a matter of faith as a basic doctrine and tenet that we hold.
In the 21st century, our faith is not meant to be so far removed and unrecognizable, like a haphazard Mcdonalds special order that wants the fillet-o-fish without the tartar sauce (or maybe the fish itself). It is a faith in the resurrected Christ, not just the historical, factual Christ or any assembled bricolage.
Christ isn’t just a good teacher- He’s our Lord and Saviour.
We are converted as Christians because of the reality of God’s love for us as demonstrated in the central act of Christ’s death for our sins and His resurrection. Facts, figures and knowledge should serve to bolster our love and appreciation for Christ- not become a paralyzing point of fixation.
Happy Easter everyone!
Looking forward to Pastor Kong’s message and the victorious celebration of a resurrected Christ :)
Hi Terence,
I was quite surprised of what you mentioned: “I would like to argue that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not necessarily central to Christianity.”
Contrary to your belief or reasoning, the death and resurrection is not only central, or the “foundation”, but it is the Only reason for the Christian faith.
The bible from Genesis till Revelation leads to and takes reference to Christ’s death and resurrection. IF the resurrection did not take place, then the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation would be a complete lie. All 6,000 years of history and events that occured before and after Christ, will all be a figment of our imaginations.
We obviously know that is not true, even by studying history in the most humanistic way, you will find evidence of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Its time to think about what you’re saying.
Thank you Pastor for sharing this important post with us during this Passion Week.
Thanks for demonstrating, through such puissant arguments and analysis, the core doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, which is the basis of our faith, preaching and hope. (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)
When we are born again through believing in Jesus, we can pray trusting in the fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again and then the Holy Spirit of resurrection will enter into our lives, into our hearts and makes our dead spirits alive. Not only did Jesus rise again two thousand years ago but also our spirits are resurrected today and we begin to call Jesus as our Savior.
Galatians 4:6 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”” The Spirit of the Son, the resurrected Jesus, enters into us. If Jesus died and failed in resurrection, there would be no Spirit of Jesus. Since He rose again and ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of Father God, He could send the Spirit to us to make our dead spirits alive so that we can recognize the Lord and call God our Abba Father. The Spirit of the resurrected Jesus makes us understand that there is heaven so that we can cherish hope and dreams for heaven on this earth.
In Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah initiated Jesus’ teaching to His disciples concerning what sort of Messiah He was and what this would require of Him. This was new for them. They could scarcely believe that Jesus would suffer, die and be raised up on the third day!
This was a very different Messianic picture than that of the son of David, ruling and reigning from the throne in Jerusalem. The entire population was familiar with that idea. Many wanted to use force to secure a kingly position for Jesus and then authoritatively march toward Jerusalem to expel the Romans. People still remembered how the Maccabees had cast out foreign oppressors and temporarily restored Jewish independence. Maybe this could recur. After all, Jesus fulfilled all the supernatural claims the Scriptures attributed to the Messiah.
But to die in Jerusalem—that was something new. Of course, various prophets had died in Jerusalem, but they had never claimed to be the Messiah. And Jesus added that He would rise from the dead! (Matthew 16:21)
The disciples heard what Jesus said, yet they did not comprehend. They listened to His claim, but did not understand. After His resurrection they remembered He had said He would rise again, but at the moment this truth was as clear as fog. Only the face of Jesus witnessed that it was true. Fully submitted to God’s will, Jesus turned toward Jerusalem to prepare Himself for what was to come.
Because of His obedience and resurrection, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) He stays with us today as He was with us yesterday and we will be with Him in heaven eternally.
melvin,
you said to me: “Its time to think about what you’re saying.”
I don’t mean this in an offensive way, but I think you should heed your own advice too.
Happy easter!
Thanks Terence. That is true for everyone as well. :) cheers.
YF,
“There is no single data for evolution.”
I thoroughly disagree with you on this statement. The entire field of genetics is based on the theory of evolution. Abundant fossil data is available to prove that species do evolve. Even the reason why your wisdom tooth grows can be explained by evolution.
Regarding your comment on the 2nd law of thermodynamics, I disagree with you. Correct me if i’m wrong, but doesn’t the second law of thermodynamics stipulate that energy in a confined system is limited, and as a result, over time the net result is that the system as a while will degrade from complexity to simplicity?
But the problem here is that the earth cannot be considered a “closed system”, simply because energy is provided by the sun. Only the universe can be theorised as a close system.
This renders your objection to evolution via the second law of thermodynamics useless. Here’s a url that tells you more: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/thermo/probability.html
I suspect that you are holding on to beliefs such as creationism and six-day creation (and a lot of Christians don’t hold that view anyway) because you can’t get away from an overly literalistic interpretation of scripture.
I’d suggest you give the website I recommended you a deeper read. I’m not asking you to stop at the article I gave you. Here’s another article for you to chew on: http://biologos.org/blog/the-firmament-of-genesis-1-is-solid-but-thats-not-the-point/
“There is no single data for evolution.”
I thoroughly disagree with you on this statement. The entire field of genetics is based on the theory of evolution. Abundant fossil data is available to prove that species do evolve. Even the reason why your wisdom tooth grows can be explained by evolution.
Regarding your comment on the 2nd law of thermodynamics, I disagree with you.
Correct me if i’m wrong, but doesn’t the second law of thermodynamics stipulate that energy in a confined system is limited, and as a result, over time the net result is that the system as a while will degrade from complexity to simplicity?
But the problem here is that the earth cannot be considered a “closed system”, simply because energy is provided by the sun. Only the universe can be theorised as a close system.
This renders your objection to evolution via the second law of thermodynamics useless. Here’s a url that tells you more: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/thermo/probability.html
I suspect that you are holding on to beliefs such as creationism and six-day creation (and a lot of Christians don’t hold that view anyway) because you can’t get away from an overly literalistic interpretation of scripture.
I’d suggest you give the website I recommended you a deeper read. I’m not asking you to stop at the article I gave you.
YF, here’s another link for you to chew on: Here’s another article for you to chew on: http://biologos.org/blog/the-firmament-of-genesis-1-is-solid-but-thats-not-the-point/
Dear Pastor,
Thank you for sharing with us the basis of our faith again here. Your sharing strengthens our faith, build us up as Christians and also equip us with an answer to those who are unbelieving.
Appreciate greatly what God is building in you and through you. May all that you do prosper and be in health always.
With love,
Michael
Dear Brothers and Sisters in CHC, as much as I don’t like the article Terence Lee posted on the subject as you, I beseech you to let Terence have some peace and quiet with God and give him some space to let him reflect and discover his communion with Jesus.
Hey Bro Terence, I may not like what you wrote but I still love you. For my sake would you let it go, please. I pray for you that Jesus shall become so real in your life that one day I may read and enjoy the stuff you put up. Let it go, have peace and put all this behind and go seek Jesus together – the real McCoy.
@AhHuat: Funny you’re saying this. I doubt many of them “dislike” what I wrote as much as you did, but I want you to know that I’m always reflecting and discovering more about my communion with God, just that I have my own way of doing it, which of course is done in a way that people might not like.
I know you don’t like what I read. But I’m not writing to please you really. There are people who like what I write, and there are people who don’t. Just like chocolate ice-cream versus vanilla ice-cream.
I know it’s hard to convince you of this, but ever since I started questioning my beliefs, I am in fact “letting go and letting God”. Maybe you’ll see round my view someday, but maybe not.
Let us respect each other not just as Christians, because that’s just merely a label anyway. Let’s respect each other as fellow truth-seekers who go about the task in different ways.
Terence Lee,
I must say I’m amazed by the number of posts you have contributed to the blog. How do you ever find that much time to do so?!?
We would love to invite you for our easter service. Open your heart to receive, avoid reasoning with human understanding. There are many things that cannot be explained even by logic. Interestingly, I came to believe in God when I studied Biology in school.
How is it that our nerve cells that coordinates our thoughts and actions are in fact.. channels for potassium and sodium ions? How is it that all blood vessels have valves that ensure blood flows only in uni-direction? The very fact that the woman’s womb can bring forth a baby is itself a miracle. The human body is made up of hydrocarbons, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. How is it that we cannot produce a human body using these chemicals on our own?How can we explain all these logically? Even science itself has no concrete explanation.
I simply cannot believe we burst into being because little amoeba-like cells evolved over trillions of years. There definitely has to be a greater being out there, a Creator.
I am just a simple 17 year old boy. The universe is so vast and the fact that we can live on Earth with so many technologies and the world is progressing and advancing so fast, show me one simple thing, this cannot be done by we humans alone. My mind is simple and I don’t think too much and I only believe that there is one true and mightiest God that created everything in the universe, that is our God Lord Father !
To ■terencelee on April 2nd, 2010 8:42 pm
OK Terence, you have your way. Goodbye.
Terrence,
I really have to say, I sort of enjoyed your arguments, critical thinking n posts – can you bring your arguments to your blog and let us read from there?
Think it’s more centralized and really, it helps us know you better – your train of thoughts, your logic, etc…
lifeisbeautiful,
I guess when you’re passionate about certain things, you make time for them ;-)
God and evolution are not mutually exclusive ideas. Evolution is a Method, God is a Being.
And I do attend CHC by the way.
Ronald, i already have.
Terence,
Yes, i just found out you attend CHC after reading through the entire thread!
Well, I can see you’re honest about how you feel, and reason things rationally. From the way you write, I know you are an intelligent person. And you have served for 7 years? That’s wonderful, thanks for your hard work!
Don’t mean to microanalyse, but it does feel like you are not too pleased about something in church. Whatever or whoever may have offended you… I do hope you will be able to work things out. Don’t keep things to yourself. Share your thoughts and how you feel with someone who can give you wise counsel, face-to-face though. Sharing your thoughts on this blog will not get the answers/relief you seek… isn’t it so?
Put your mind at rest. Think positively and enjoy life as it is. Would be interesting to see you in person. Care to share what ministry you are in?
Have a good rest, don’t stay up too late.
With Love
CHC ppl,
I attended the service today, and felt rather emotional seeing how pst had to clarify about the Suntec NDA. We went through similar times when Sun launched her singing career. We were in the papers so often at that time, and were under much scrutiny and criticism from within and without. Somehow it feels different this time.
I was hoping we could do something for pst kong.. how can we encourage him? Any ideas? Drop me an email at demurist@hotmail.com.
Thanks!
Dear All,
I came across a good article on Easter, thought of sharing with the readers …
=================================================
Investigating Easter
By Lee Strobel
author
I saw plenty of dead bodies as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, but I’ve never seen anyone come back to life. That was the stuff of mythology and legend. After all, we live in a scientific age. Belief in a resurrection was simply untenable.
At least, that’s what I thought until I checked the facts for myself. Using my legal training, I investigated the most audacious claim of history: that Jesus of Nazareth returned from the dead and thus authenticated his claim to being the Son of God.
After nearly two years of research, I found my atheism cracking. Here’s some of what I discovered:
First, there’s overwhelming evidence Jesus was executed. In addition to multiple, early, independent confirmation in the New Testament documents (which, incidentally, I gave no special treatment), there are also five sources outside the Bible. Even atheist historian Gerd Lüdemann called Jesus’ death by crucifixion “indisputable.”
Second, we have resurrection accounts that date back so early they can’t be legendary – because legends take time to develop. A.N. Sherwin-White, the great classical historian from Oxford, said the passage of two generations was not even enough time for legend to grow up in the ancient world and wipe out a solid core of historical truth.
Yet we have a creed of the early church, recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, that confirms Jesus died, was buried, rose and appeared to named eyewitnesses, including skeptics. Scholars from a wide range of theological belief have dated this creed to within a few years of Jesus’ death – and therefore its underlying beliefs go back even further. It’s like a historical news flash!
Concluded eminent scholar James D. G. Dunne: “This tradition, we can be entirely confident, was formulated as tradition within months of Jesus’ death.” It would be unprecedented for a legend to develop that fast and wipe out a solid core of historical truth.
Third, there’s the empty tomb, which is implicit in the early creed and reported in the earliest Gospel.
Scholar William Lane Craig points out that the site of Jesus’ tomb was known to Christians and non-Christians alike. If it weren’t empty, it would have been impossible for a movement founded on the resurrection to have exploded into existence in the same city where Jesus had been publicly executed and buried just a few weeks earlier.
Moreover, the empty tomb was implicitly admitted in the early claim that the disciples had stolen the body. Why would Jesus’ opponents manufacture such a cover story unless they were trying to explain away the inconvenient truth that the tomb was empty?
Nobody had a motive for stealing the body, especially the disciples. They wouldn’t have knowingly and willingly allowed themselves to be tortured to death for a lie.
Finally, scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have enumerated nine sources reporting the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples:
• Paul confirms Jesus appeared to him, and then Paul met with the apostles and they agreed their teaching about the resurrection was the same as his.
• The early creed confirms the disciples (plus 500 others!) encountered the risen Jesus; indeed, many scholars believe two eyewitnesses cited in the creed, Peter and James, were the ones who gave the creed to Paul.
• Peter declared to a crowd in Jerusalem just weeks after Jesus’ execution that “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.” Three thousand people agreed and the church was born.
• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John independently confirm his post-resurrection appearances. These first-century, eyewitness-rooted Gospels have regained respect in recent years. Scholar Craig Evans, who has lectured at Oxford and Cambridge, said that “there’s every reason to conclude the Gospels have fairly and accurately reported the essential elements” of Jesus’ resurrection.
• Early church leaders Clement and Polycarp were taught by the apostles. Clement said the apostles had “complete certainty” about the resurrection; Polycarp repeatedly confirmed the resurrection.
So convinced were the disciples that they were willing to die for their conviction that Jesus had risen — not because they had faith in it, but because they were in the unique position to know for sure that it was true.
Even atheist Lüdemann conceded: “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”
He would claim these were hallucinations or visions, yet I don’t find that credible. Hallucinations occur in our brains, like dreams. People can’t share hallucinations, yet Jesus appeared to groups three different times.
Were these visions by grieving disciples? This wouldn’t explain the conversion of Saul, an opponent of Christians, or James, a skeptic. Neither was primed for a vision, yet each died proclaiming Jesus had appeared to him. Besides, if these were visions, the body would still have been entombed.
My books analyze objections that many skeptics, including myself, have raised. None, in my view, overcome the affirmative evidence. So I reached the verdict that the resurrection really happened – and that’s why I’m celebrating my 29th Easter as a follower of Jesus.
Lee Strobel, author of the bestselling “Case” series has created the new resources “The Case for the Resurrection” and “The Case for Christ Study Bible.”
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/04/investigating_easter.html
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God bless & Happy Easter!
TKH
As I was watching CHC’s invigorating drama “Life-book” yesterday, another thought relating to a verse in Matthew 16 came into my mind. The question is whether it is God’s thought or man’s idea?
Matthew 16:22-23
Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.
Peter immediately reacted when Jesus spoke about the cross and His death in Jerusalem. He quickly reasoned that if Jesus died, so, too, would he, a disciple of Jesus. This was clearly not the future Peter envisioned. He piously began to assure that the grace of God would prevent this. But this attempt to defend his own life was a misuse of grace.
Grace is not a soft pillow on which to sleep, and there is no life with God without death. In fact, it was grace that made it necessary for Jesus to die on the cross. Without His death, grace would never have been available to us. Grace is too often pitted against faith.
Some people misunderstand teaching on faith and assume it is some desperate attempt to muster belief. In such case people make a claim to grace and pit it against faith.
The Word of God never does this. We are saved by grace through faith! We cannot divide those things that belong together, and we cannot use carnal arguments to defend our egos.
Peter feared death, and he clothed this fear in religious lingo, which actually became a temptation for Jesus.
Jesus saw through this and addressed, not Peter, but the one who tempted through Peter. No matter how theologically correct human thoughts without revelation appear to be, they are not from above; they are from below.
This was embarrassing for Peter. Shortly before, he had accurately spoken God’s thoughts when he confessed Jesus as the Messiah.(Matthew 16:6) Faith opens up for revelation. Fear and selfishness open up for human thoughts that, despite the religious apparel, are from Satan.
So let’s us humble ourselves before God, and ask for His protection on our thought life so that it is His Spirit, not our carnal nature, that is the source of our thoughts. We shall all have the mind of Christ.
Jesus is the resurrection and His resurrection enters into us and into our mind to make us alive so that it becomes our resurrection and life. Since Jesus resurrects our dead spirits, our spirits will live even in our death and still live more in our life.
Our body is just like clothes. Even if we are naked without clothes, we still exist. We can wear another clothes. Our body is the clothes. We can remove it anytime we want, but we do not disappear and our spirits remain. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in us, whom we have from God, and we are not our own. (1 Corinthians 6:19) We will live even though we die. In this way, Jesus’ resurrection gives us wonderful, spiritual resurrection to us.
We Christians who have the spirit of resurrection can experience the work of God in our lives through the linkway of heaven connecting us to God. We are never left alone, but there is always a connectivity of resurrection between God and us no matter whether we sit or stand, sleep or awake, come or go.
The Helper, the Holy Spirit, will teach us all things, and bring to our remembrance all things that Jesus has said to us. (John 14:26) God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through His resurrection, Jesus can be with us all the time.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Dear Pastor,
What a great post! I believe this post can give a clear evidence that Jesus is alive! May God bless Pastor & CHC.
Regards,
David
Dear Rev Kong,
I always love your blog and they are so full of wisdom.
Keeping you and family, CHC and all the pastors in prayer everyday.
All Please Note: Jesus was cruxified, died and on the third was resurrected. And now glorified, sitting on the right hand of God the Father. That is the backbone of every true Christian faith! Anyone who does not believe and cannot proclaim this is NOT a CHRISTIAN, period. No BUTs, IFs or otherwise.
Hallelujah! Amen.
I am inclined to be simplistic in my approach in this matter.
I believe in Jehovah God
In God there is no falsehood
I believe that the Bible is the Word of God
The Bible was written by people who are inspired by the Spirit of God
As such, in His Word, there is no fallacy/ grounds for debate
I believe that the varous translations from the original manuscripts were carried out by men and women of sincere faith
The translations of the Word from the original manuscripts were carefully and conscientiously done to avoid misrepresentation/ misunderstanding.
Cross referencing the many versions of the Bible and the original manuscripts would not show any deviation of the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Quoting Einstein:
there is no darkness, only absence of light
there is no cold, only absence of heat
there is no doubt, only absence of faith
and the way i see it, there will be no faith, unless one is first willing to believe.
I believe the Word have a verse which i would paraphrase as such: It is good if you see Jesus and believe, but we have been given a chance to do greater, to have not seen Jesus, yet believe.
The way i see it
God does not owe me any proof that He exists.
I, however, owe Him my existence.
Men, by virtue of the fall, operates best with parameters, paradigms and segmentation of incomprehensible wholes into manageable portions.
God, however, by the magnitude of His splendour, cannot be contained within the largest frame that the greatest human mind can imagine.
Whatever man cannot explain, he will rationalize.
Whatever he fails to rationalize, he will reject.
And that is the same way by which men have created computer.
I agree that it is fine to question.
I do that all the time.
And as i get answers, so do i also hope to answer others when they do ask questions.
However, if you ask me to show you Christ and prove his Resurrection and i get the strange notion that ‘you will only believe if you personally saw that He live, die by crucifixion and rose again’… i would rather you save your breath and mine… and use those breaths to collectively pray for time travel to be made possible.
And as the validity of the ‘Christian accounts” were called into question, was the atheists’ notions being presented as though it was the author’s personal conviction? To my knowledge, throughout history, there were already many who seek to prove or disprove Christ and His claim of being the Son of God. None of them is conclusive.
That tells me that if they cannot prove [since evidence being potentially 'fresher' than it is now], any attempt by me to prove of disprove the existence of Christ via study of the proponents, opponents of the 2 camps, through whatever components they may exercise or utilize… it is just a regurgitation of mental exertion of fallible humans based on documents or worse, assumptions… i think i would rather go eat a banana and choose to believe what i would.
saves time, saves energy.
Many of our friends and relatives were moved by the scenes in the Easter drama, particularly when Jesus was forced to carry His own cross and walked in the public before He was nailed onto it. The powerful visual and sound effects have made many hearts throbbing.
But more importantly, this scene reminds us that when we want to follow Him, to become His disciple, we must be prepared to take up our cross daily with Him. This is what Jesus said immediately after He has predicted His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21-23).
Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
As Jesus walked toward Jerusalem He started speaking about the cross. The cross was a tool of execution. It represented death. To take up one’s cross is to die to self. This does not suggest that we are worthless. We are very valuable yet the way to become all God wants us to be is through the cross. The cross is the means, not the goal.
Luke 9:23 reminds us to daily take up our cross. It is not a one-time event. The carnal nature of every believer, every disciple, provides countless opportunities for selfishness to surface.
Victory over selfishness is through the cross, and it requires that we deny, reject and die from those impulses that protect, confirm and exalt our selfish nature.
The world’s attitude is that the one who grabs will have, and the one who keeps his life will maintain it. In the world, life is a continuous battle between the different egos; it is a selfish struggle to ensure that no rights are denied from us.
In the kingdom of God, we reap when we sow, that is, when we are willing to let go and to let God.
Abraham was to receive the Promised Land but Lot eagerly took the best part of the land. Although Abraham did not fight for his part, God awarded him everything anyhow.
Lot, on the other hand, lost everything. The person who tries to keep his own life will lose it.
Some Christians are often offended when someone else is awarded a position, special attention or glory which they assumed would be their own.
But if we are dead to the need for glory and power, and we do not need to always be in the center and in control, we will receive everything God wants us to have. We always win when we are willing to deny ourselves.
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that many new friends and relatives who have accepted Christ during the Easter service will experience the resurrected life, love and power of God. They will also be encouraged to know that CHC members have in total pledged S$22,867,099.10 for the building fund in this season. This is significantly above the S$17.3 million target set. Abba Father, give us more breakthroughs in the next few months when the actual amount will be collected. We pray that it will meet if not exceed the pledges. God is faithful and merciful and He shall bring forth fruitfulness to every member who is ready to carry his cross. Dear Lord, do not allow anything to be more valuable to me than You. Help me to follow You according to Your conditions and directions, not my own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The LIFEBOOK was PERFECT man! awesome drama! my first Easter in CHC! :)
@Terence Lee:
May I comment on your post again? =)
“The common argument that the tomb of Jesus cannot be found does not stand up to scrutiny.”
I am not an expert in this field. But at least, some people suggest that the tomb of Jesus Christ can be found at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem.
“Having taken all of the above into account, Christianity is therefore not the rock-hard faith that we would like it to be. If we question hard enough, we realise that much of what we think is true is indeed open to rebuttalIf we question hard enough.”
Yet, theologians have refuted these rebuttals. The website I recommended previously (“creation.com”) has a collection of refutation to these rebuttals.
“but scientists who believe in creationism are in the minority. In fact, they are considered a fringe group. Many prominent scientists who happen to be Christian have no problems believing in evolution. One of them is Francis Collins, which I’m sure you would know since you seem to be an aspiring scientist yourself :)”
Oh, please let me clarify my statement. “Many” here means “quite a number”, not “majority”. I apologize for the ambiguity.
Hmm, surprisingly, my supervisor is not a Christian but he rejects evolution. One of Dr. Jonathan Sarfati’s lecturers is not a creationist himself but he rejects evolution.
“Abundant fossil data is available to prove that species do evolve.”
Well, on the contrary…
Abundant fossil data does not show any evidence that species evolves.
That’s why until now “missing link” in the fossil cannot be found. And, they will never be found because they never exist in the first place. Species does not evolve. God created life on earth.
In addition, fossil is the evidence of Global Flood during Noah’s time (for the sake of this blog, I may not touch the technical details. But, I will address the technical details of other parts of your post).
“I thoroughly disagree with you on this statement. The entire field of genetics is based on the theory of evolution.”
The explanation is quite technical. But, please allow me to explain this (since it touches the core of Christianity).
Hmm, we should define the meaning of evolution here:
a.) Change from bacteria to bacteria or virus to virus
b.) Change from bacteria to bacteriologist or virus to virologist
I am not against the first definition. However, I am against the second definition.
The first definition is usually called mutation. It is scientific and observable.
The second definition is non-observable and non-scientific as there is no evidence to it.
The key differences:
a.) The first definition: there is no additional information in the genome (in fact, most of the time, it is loss of information in the genome)
b.) The second definition: there is additional information in the genome.
a.) The first definition does not violate second law of thermodynamics.
b.) The second definition violates second law of thermodynamics (how can ordered structure-especially in terms of stereochemistry-such as DNA and enzyme arise from a pool of blind chemicals?)
“Correct me if i’m wrong, but doesn’t the second law of thermodynamics stipulate that energy in a confined system is limited, and as a result, over time the net result is that the system as a while will degrade from complexity to simplicity?
But the problem here is that the earth cannot be considered a “closed system”, simply because energy is provided by the sun. Only the universe can be theorised as a close system.”
Well, it looks like I have to explain the technical details again…
Evolution violates second law of thermodynamics because it states that there is orderliness (the structure of cell is enormously complicated!!) coming out from disorderliness (mixture of blind chemicals) in the presence of disorder energy (sun, wind, moon, rain, lightning).
If you have a friend who is a scientist, you can ask him/her this question:
—– I dissolve 20 amino acids in a very big beaker glass with huge amount of water. I then apply random heat, random ionic strength, add random salts, stir the magnetic bar at random speed. I also add clay, stones, sands . . I then expose it under the sun, wind, moon, rain and lightning.
I leave the entire mixture for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.
Can I see highly structured enzyme-with the right sequence and stereochemistry- at the end? (assuming the water does not evaporate and the electricity is on all the time)
Yes, this question is can kill any concept of evolution.
“Even the reason why your wisdom tooth grows can be explained by evolution.”
Unfortunately, I am not an expert in this field. However, the website creation.com I provided has the link to answer wisdom tooth. One can type “wisdom tooth” at the search option there.
“I suspect that you are holding on to beliefs such as creationism and six-day creation (and a lot of Christians don’t hold that view anyway) because you can’t get away from an overly literalistic interpretation of scripture.”
Yes, I am a young-earth-creationist myself =D
I also would like to ask a few questions for you:
You mentioned: “As such, we often tend to presume that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a given fact, and central to Christianity, as McDowell would like to claim. This, however, is not necessarily true.
Again, it is central as the Apostle Paul has pointed (1 Cor 15)
1.) In your opinion, is the Bible errant when it comes to the account of Lord Jesus’ resurrection?
2.) Do you think Jesus ever preached the Great Commission?
Please remember the sequence: Lord Jesus arose from the dead. While ascending to heaven, He gave the Great Commission to us.
3.) If Jesus had not arisen from the dead, this would have made His claim (“I will arise again”) a mistake and Him a liar. Would you follow a good moral teaching from a liar?
4.) You mentioned, “whether you believe Jesus resurrected is dependent on your belief in miracles, and whether it is possible”.
May I know your personal view of miracle? Can miracle happen? This is an important question because the Holy Bible is filled with story of miracle from Genesis to Revelation. For instance, not only resurrection, but also Lord Jesus’ birth is a miracle (Virginal Conception). By the way, miracle is not against science (the explanation is a bit technical, however)
I would like to stress again two very essential points:
1.) God exists. He created life on earth and raised Lord Jesus from the dead.
2.) The Holy Bible is inerrant. All accounts written in it are accurate and supported by a huge number of evidences.
Thanks and regards,
YF ^_^
Dear YF,
May I say that I really do enjoy reading your comments.
It’s like a clear breath of fresh air amdist (well I will not go there).
The studies that you present as well as the research that goes along with it speaks volumes of your commitment to learning and seeking the truth.
This is obviously more important than simply proclaiming some newfangled ideas which sounds seductive and could possibly be espoused by some others, but remains fundamentally untenable or would require a gargantuan leap of logic when brought to scrutiny.
For instance, I, for one, feel that that the ability for adaptation in organisms cannot be confused with the theory of evolution.
We see adaption everywhere but the theory of evolution is more than that.
It cannot be made valid just by providing premises for adaption.
Anyway, technical stuff aside, just to share a simple thought on an Easter evening.
there is no God.
all of life is accidental!
no designer ordered earth in its orbit.
no engineer fashioned the heart to beat.
no architect styled nature in its harmony.
no conductor taught birds to sing in symphony.
no biologist grew seeds into flowers.
no man gave life through love of lovers.
have you seen the stars above twinkle?
have you heard a baby’s laughter?
have you tasted earth’s bounty’s flavour?
have you smelled after-rain aroma?
have you felt indignant anger?
all of life displays His splendour!
there is no God?
I rest my case.
Hi Terencelee,
Have read your comments and was quite glad that you are exploring and finding out.
Spending the time to find out is important and in the end, you must be convinced on your own terms. Just remember to keep and maintain an open mind for additional inputs.
On a personal note, I had spent 8 years of my life, questioning on Christianity, on the doctorines, on the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible. Honestly, during all those times, I have never gotten a satisfactory answer. What really changed was that one day I decided that I’m sick of all the searching and questioning and even though when I wasn’t a Christian at that time, I “prayed” (Actually, it was more a challenge) to God that if He does indeed exist, I asked God to prove to me.
Within 2 weeks, all the question I had on the bible and its perceived inaccuracies and contradictions were resolved and answered, most of the time from people who don’t even know that they are giving me the answer that I want. And for good measure, I even had a personal vision from God. That very same weekend, I went to church and decided to become a Christian even before the sermon was preached.
What I want to say is that while it is good to search and question and dig, you must understand that the only real way to get your answer and the answer you are looking for, is to ask God yourself. No man can explain about God better than God himself. Once you have your own experience with God, then all these questions and doubts will resolve itself. Most importantly, you need to be willing to accept the answer, even if it means that you need to give up everything. You must know also that God will not answer you if you are not ready to receive and hear the answer. In short, if you ask something from God, and His answer is “No”, can you accept that answer?
Victor
Terence,
One more thing.. I’m an engineer and I love exploring and discussing about science. In fact, Discovery Channel is my favourite channel (Geek!)..
You said that “The entire field of genetics is based on the theory of evolution”. Actually, this is not really accurate. The Theory of Evolution is still, as named, a Theory because the is no actual proof of this theory. This, contrast with the Laws of Physics (like Newtons Laws) which are considered as accepted fundamentals of Physics.
For interest sake, Gravity is still considered a Theory though..;)
Genetics is not based on Evolution. If one studies what genetics says, one of the fundamental principles is that any mutation from a stable genetic structure, always leads to death and deformity.
The schools over here are one-sided. There is another Theory called the Theory of Creationism, which is a counterpart to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. These two Theories are widely held acceptable by prominent scientists of their time. Newton, Leonardo Di Vinci, all subscribe to the Theory of Creationism.
In the US, there is a recent cry of balanced teaching and a “revolution” is going on for schools to teach both the Theory of Evolution as well as Creationism. So, even now, no one can be sure exactly which one is correct, and both camps have their fair share of prominent scientist and nobel prize winners.
Charles Darwin himself stated in the conclusion of his book, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”, that he is unable to proof that this theory is correct but he believes it to be true. He also states that if his theory is true, as time goes by, there should be littered fossils being discovered that shows the remains of multiple animals which are all half-breeds and clearly show the progression of how each animal changes.
More than a 100 years have gone by now and so far, nothing. No fossils have shown any gradual change. We have a lot of artist impressions (from the minds of men), but no fossil remains that show any gradual change.
In the same light, the Theory of Creationism has not shown much evidence except for the evidence that is lacking in the Theory of Evolution. So, that’s probably why both are still Theories and none of them a Law.
I hope I have engaged you intellectually and I hope that you can discuss further with me. It has been a long time, but I think my 8 years of research still has some use…:) ha ha…
Victor
@VLF:
Hohoho, thanks a lot for the compliments =DD
Lord Jesus is alive!
Praise the LORD!!
Thanks and regards,
YF ^_^
Hi Terrence,
My apologies. Having finally read through all your posts (could only do that at home), I realise that my content on Evolution vs Creationism is something that u probably already know about.
However, there is something that I do realise that is prominent in your arguments.
A proper objective thought experiment (which is what I think you are doing here) needs to keep things in objective and not hold on to one particular notion. Einstein managed to conceive the Theory of Special Relativity through thought experiment because he kept things in objective and accepted all areas of answers.
Your arguments are one-sided and tend to favour Evolution. In essence, you failed to give Creationism a fair chance..;)
It is not true that scientists that believe in Creationism are in a minority. In fact, the numbers are roughly equal and more and more scientists are favouring Creationism instead of Evolution. This was mentioned on Discovery (did I mention that I am a fan of Discovery Channel) when they did a series during Christmas.
In any case, whether Creationism or Evolution is in the majority doesn’t mean that it is correct. There was a time on earth that most of the population believed that the earth was the center of the solar system and that the earth was flat.
Whether the Bible is accurate or not, no one can say for certain. However, there are many things in life that are not certain. In fact, nothing in life is certain. Can you be very sure that the sun will rise again tomorrow? How sure? There is no such thing is a 100% in statistics, and a 0%. There is, however, 99.9999999999…. %. What it all comes down to is a choice. A very good example is love. If you are married, then you will understand that there is no way one person can be absolutely sure that the other person loves him/her. Heck, we can’t even be sure if we love someone else! But what we do know is that we have a choice. We can choose to believe that we love this person and the other person loves us back.
Similarly, we eventually have to come down to a choice. Do we choose to believe the Bible as accurate and infallible, or do we choose to believe that the Bible is a load of crap. Christians believe that this choice, determines the difference between life and death, heaven or hell.
Many of us has chosen to believe that the Bible is absolute truth. It may very well be that our choice and faith is misplaced. But life is best with hope then without. If we are right, then we get to heaven and we win. If we are wrong, then we still have a good time on earth feeling good about ourselves, and we still win.
Of course, what helped me choose is the fact that I have encountered God for myself. So, my choice is firmly placed and unshakable. And because I have chosen, I stand by my choice regardless of the unknowns. In essence, this is faith.
So, yes… All Christians operate in faith, because we chose to believe when there is no undisputed proof to believe. I choose to believe because I encountered God 3 times. I may be hallucinating, or it might all be a coincidence. But the choice is made.
So, yes… all in all, its about choice. So during this time, you have the right to dig and find out and reason and dispute and whatever. But in the end, it will still come down to choice because you can never get absolute certainty either way. There will be no absolute certainty that the Bible is completely right and there will be no absolute certainty that the Bible is completely wrong. In fact, there are no absolute certainties that any form of historical records, whether religious or secular, that are absolutely right. So does that mean that you’re going to discount them all? So the 3 kingdoms in China didn’t really exist, that the person Zhuge Liang did not really seem invincible, and Alexander the Great is half gay, and Helen of Troy is really an ugly woman? Can we be sure? We can’t. Because we are not there.
So, now that we have established that there is nothing certain in life and that there is no certainty on anything at all in the world, and after all your thought experiments are done with, u are still left with the choice. You can’t sit on the fence for too long you know.. because sitting on the fence is painful. And you will get nowhere. So make a choice…
Smith Wigglesworth has only 1 theme. “God wants us so much that He made the criteria so very simple : Only Believe”. So, do you choose to believe, or do you choose not to?
Victor
Victor, i stand in agreement with you and am glad i made the choice years ago.. the ‘ginosko’ experience one encounters with the Lord will deepen our faith when we choose to allow the Lord to lead us(again its a choice..). I pray that everyone will have a real encounter with Him and when you have that, you know that you know that you know why you had made that choice and life is so much more worth the living because of Him… God bless….
StarFish,
AMEN.
The encounter is worth all the riches of this world.
Correction, I mean:
The encounter is worth more than all the riches of this world.
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And let’s pray in agreement for spiritual wisdom:
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.
Amen.
Now… if i managed to rumble through my old divinity books…
I will not go the extent to say whether Terence is right or wrong. The quest for the historical Jesus has been my interest back in my A level days. I happened to briefly tutored by a full-time ministry worker who was reading his masters in divinity at TCC. I remember the times where simple bible truth is expounded. Only when i was in my NS days did i really start to zoom in on dogmatics. Particularly, the study of Jesus and His offices are what caught my attention.
I will not go into dogma or historical evidences here. I think 75% of what Terrence said earlier about Jesus, is something i have heard in bible college. In the spirit of academia, there is nothing wrong with what He is saying. The study of divinity (especially that of Jesus) is not a one size fits all.
But clearly, he has done some research, and i think whatever he said would have been appropriate in a class-room, or to intellectual peers. The use of scriptures only (unfortunately) is not a good defense – and neither is the use of experiences.
Hence, whatever Terrence proposed are not really meant for general discussions, unless the other party is fully prepared. Case in example… The book of Hebrews was written by Paul, or not written by Paul? The authorship of Hebrews is one i find particularly intriguing ( and by the way, nobody knows who really wrote Hebrews). Both answers can have a debate for at least an hour. Please don’t tell me it is the Holy Spirit (duh)…
From a theological point of view, what Pastor wrote is spot-on (almost, from my point of view).
In reality, it is a crazy hunch (according to max lucardo). Either Jesus is historically accurate, or He is a fluke. Either He is King of Kings, or none of nones. Either He is God, or he is only a good teacher. Either He is Saviour for all mankind, or man don’t need Saviour. It’s your choice.
Nothing can absolutely + conclusively prove Jesus is either one of this or that. Both sides (yes, even the belief that that He is only a good teacher) requires a certain amount of belief and faith. Experiential knowledge (like spiritual encounters) counts, but experiential knowledge is far from being a conclusive evidence.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to your own choice. As for me, I believe that Jesus is both God and man, His death and resurrection is real, and He is risen from the dead. I made this choice in-spite of experiential knowledge and dogmatics. Jesus is still God, even if you were present in Jerusalem to witness Him being crucified.
Praise the Lord! Jesus is our Risen Savior!
I personally feel so blessed by the Easter Drama it was breathtaking! Pastor’s word was uplifting and faith-building!
To believe in Jesus as our Savior, from the moment we respond to Him is a step of faith. By faith we believe!
Faith is based on facts, but not limited by our own knowledge or senses.
Yes, by faith we believe. We understand from Pastor Kong’s teaching that what we all need is “Abraham faith” or heart-faith.
Abraham did not consider mere physical knowledge or natural facts. He only valued the spiritual truth of God’s Word. While you should not deny the problems and pains you may be experiencing in life, you must look beyond them to God’s promises.
Real faith says, “If God says it is so, it is so!” Although Abraham was already 100 years old and still childless, he stood on God’s promise to him. God had said, “For I have made you a father of many nations” (Romans 4:16-17 NKJV). That was more than enough for him. His faith perceived as reality what was not revealed to his physical senses.
To believe is a strong decision to trust God and His Word no matter what the circumstances may say. Abraham had already decided, “God is going to give me a son. Period!”
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief or second thoughts. He was fully convinced that God would perform as He had promised to him (Romans 4:20-21 NKJV). And while waiting for his dream to come to pass, Abraham kept on praising God by giving Him glory all the time. Eventually, the boy Isaac was born to his wife Sarah!
Decide today not to be weak in faith. Don’t hold on to the attitude that “seeing is believing.” Be a person that believes in the promises of God first, having faith that you will see them come to pass later on.
A rabbi once said the teaching on faith has given many believers a new perspective of God as the God of Covenant and as a good God who really wants to bless us here and right now. Faith teaching released many believers into daring to take the Bible’s promises for themselves, personally, here and in the present. That is wonderful and important.
But having said that, it is also really important for us to see that we cannot live solely inside this attitude of worldliness. Salvation is not just about what I can receive here and now. It is about what God has planned for all of Creation, in all eternity.
Neither is heaven that eternity that begins after my death, but everything that is taking place right now before the throne of God. For far too many, heaven is some abstract concept and has only to do with some distant future whilst my relationship with God is more about how I feel now, what the present is like, and what am I getting out of this life. This is very narrow-minded, spiritually immature and basically a truly worldly perspective of the Christian life.
So, we need to have some stability in our mindset by applying some of what the Bible says about heaven. We need to recognise and accept what Hebrews says: that we are actually aliens and pilgrims here on earth and that we have no “city with eternal foundations” here. (Hebrews 11:9-10, 13-16, 24-27 NLT). We keep on going because we keep our eyes on the One Who is invisible.
Our identity is in the heavenlies, and our whole life here on earth is in fact only a preparatory and fashioning phase prior to our life in eternity. “… live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”, 1 Peter 1:17 (NIV).
This perspective is totally different to the one the world around us has and adopting it can lead us into making radically different choices to the ones held by the secular world. Nothing is more important than being moulded into the likeness of Jesus and then going to be with Him for eternity. It is worth all the sacrifice, all the inconvenience, all the opposition we might come up against in this life!
Hi All,
I would like to clarify something if you allow me to. Someone used the scripture 2 Tim 3 :16 to quote that the entire bible is never errant.
As much as I understood that the bible is fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and breathed also out of the experiences of men (for example, the epistles are books written by Paul to correct the churches), I also learnt that when the 2 Tim 3: 16 was written, the bible wasn’t being collated and that the passage was meant to use in reference to the letters that Paul was writing.
I’m not disputing whether the bible is errant, but that quoting 2 Tim 3:16 to make such a claim is doing out of context.
Can someone help?
Hi Kelvin,
First of all, you must understand that when Paul wrote this, the bible as wel know it today didn’t exist. What Paul was referring to was the Holy Scriptures of the Jewish people.
In our context today, if we are to follow the thread of faith that Paul has, to say that the scripture is authored by God, then it stands to reason that if we believe that God controls what is considered as Holy Scripture in Paul’s time, then we should also, in the same faith, believe that God is in control of what is considered as Holy Scripture today.
I would venture to say that Paul didn’t mean his own letters are considered Holy Scripture. It is much later on when the Church Leaders closer to our time frame compiled the bible as it is today.
So, if we apply the same reasoning of faith and believe that those who compiled today’s bible were people who walked closely with God, then we must believe that God is also in control during this time when the bible is compiled.
Hence, from the same reasoning, the Bible today is then considered Holy Scripture and 2 Tim 3:16 applies.
Hence, I believe that the whole bible, as we know it today, is God breathed.
Do note that 2 Tim 3:16 never said that the bible was completely correct, just that the bible is God breathed.
Victor
To continue, most people (Christians) believe that if we put our faith in the bible as God’s Word and that it is God breathed, then the same faith demands that we also believe that the bible is accurate and correct and cannot be wrong, since it is reasonable to believe the God, being omnipotent, cannot make a mistake (unless He decides to make mistake on purpose, which is beyond out understanding, but also means that it is not a mistake, since it was on purpose… its cyclic arguement… so, lets just stop here). And since God cannot make a mistake, it stand to reason that the bible does not contain any mistakes, since God is in control of what is in the bible.
Others (Christians) believe that the bible probably contains a majority of accuracy and few mistakes, mainly caused by the men who wrote them, since men are subjected to mistakes. It is not unreasonable, but then the idea that God is in control gets a bit hard to justify.
So, once again, its a choice. So, choose what you want to believe and feel is correct. Its your own walk with God that matters and explains things to you the most. That is why Christinity is a relationship with God and not a religion. There is no point trying to understand the Bible, getting lots of knowledge from it and not asking the Person who wrote it..:) Send your questions about the bible to God and He will answer you..:P
I personally believe that the Bible is never incorrect and is completely literal. My believe is that the bible is written for the masses and hence, taking the bible as it is is the best way to see the bible. The only exceptions are visions (like Revelations) which are penned down, and they probably have inferred meanings and are subject to interpretations. But whatever else is written (like God creating the earth and heavens in 6 days) should be taken as 6 days, and not 6 thousand days (some people say that because 1 God day is a 1000 human days from another scripture).
Hope this helps.
Victor
@imkelvin
Hohoho, yes, I am the one who quoted that verse in view to Bible’s inerrancy :)
Again, unfortunately, I am not a theologian. So, I browsed some wesbites to find the answer.
In creation.com website under the article “The Authority of Scripture”, it says:
“the Greek word for ‘Scriptures’ in v.15 is grammata, and must refer to the OT alone, as these are the only Scriptures Timothy would have known from his childhood
in v. 16, the word translated ‘Scripture’ is graphè, which would include the OT plus all the NT written by then (AD 63), i.e. all the NT except 2 Peter, Hebrews, Jude, and John’s writings. As Paul’s writings were divinely inspired, this statement would apply even to the latter books.”
Also, Ron Rhode wrote an online article “The Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of the Bible” (you can google it). It says:
“Here is the important point: By the time 2 Timothy 3:16 was written, all of the New Testament books had already been written except for 2 Peter, Hebrews, Jude, and the apostle John’s writings.
In view of this, Paul was surely including these books in the phrase “all Scripture is inspired” in 2 Timothy 3:16. And since the remaining books were later acknowledged as belonging to the canon of Scripture, we may safely say that this verse says something about all 66 books of the Bible”
Hmm, anything further than this definitely requires further study and research (which unfortunately I can’t do at the moment)
Thanks and regards,
YF ^_^
Thanks for all the replies.
I understand that the bible is collated through a selection process to include or exclude certain books by men.
The story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane differs in narrative across the various gospels especially the part about the angel in Luke 22: 43. How do we account for the discrepancy? Was one writer more inspired than the other?
I don’t think its a matter of more inspired than the other, but a matter of view.
If you get a group of 5 people, and let them see an event, most likely, you’ll get 5 different sets of descriptions. This is because everyone has different experiences and hence see things differently. But all of them are correct.
One should really not judge a teenager by its cover. Some may be some form of addicts, or have tattoos on them, BUT isn’t the Heroes in Water Margin (Chinese Legend Story) bandits of Mount Liang?
anyone agree with me? haha. just a random post.
I think we are more interested in whether a teenager is willing to come forth to prepare himself for a new life and transformation. CHC has no issue with people with tattoos or some form of addicts. God’s power will change them. They must be willing to become the disciples of Jesus first.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tong
(Acts 2:1-4)
What we know as Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, represents the birthday of the Church. It represents the beginning of something new. Its physical manifestation was the outpouring of the Spirit on the disciples, which resulted in their speaking in tongues. In a spiritual sense, the curse of the Tower of Babel was broken. In Christ all nations become one, and His gospel is for all people.
The 120 disciples who were gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem were surely unaware of the significance of that day. Their minds focused on an end rather than a beginning. Among the final questions they asked Jesus was, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
The disciples believed Jesus was about to establish His earthly throne, but He was on His way to His heavenly throne. They sought an end to this age but He was preparing them for the beginning of a new age, the Age of the Church.
These realizations were undoubtedly difficult for the disciples to grasp. But Jesus rose from the dead as promised, and so, too, would He fulfill the promise of the Spirit. They would be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The disciples had received little teaching concerning the age of the Spirit and grace. This teaching could only be given once the Spirit had fallen and the disciples had been equipped with power to witness, not only in Israel but to the ends of the earth.
Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Counselor, to lead them in all truth and teach them of things to come. The disciples prayed together for ten days, and once the Spirit fell, nothing remained the same
Let me re-type the verse from Acts 2:1-4 as some errors have occurred in prior posting:
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Yes, Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Counselor, to lead them in all truth and teach them of things to come. Let’s make reference to the Holy Scripture for greater clarity for the teenager’s sake as he may not have been baptized in the Holy Spirit:
John 16:7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.
John 15:26
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
The Holy Spirit broke loose on the streets. The tabernacle was gone, the temple was needless, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38) The Holy Spirit, the glory, now came among people everywhere.
The Father and Son poured out the Spirit. The same Spirit that had anointed the head of Jesus the high priest was now, at Pentecost, poured out over the body of Christ. The Spirit’s dwelling place was no longer only heaven or the temple but the world and the disciples. The teenager too can now receive the Holy Spirit.
The Upper Room experience was never intended exclusively for the Upper Room. The experience was to be taken to the streets, to the crowds, to the whole world.
The disciples publicly spoke in tongues with great boldness. Both Jews and Gentiles visiting Jerusalem from all continents—Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa—heard their own native languages being spoken by the disciples.
The teenager, after he is baptized in the Holy Spirit, can also speak in tongue in his communion with God. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.(1 Corinthians 14:2)
What a difference! From closed doors, closed hearts and tremendous fear for their lives, to open doors, overflowing hearts and tremendous boldness in the disciples.
This was an end-time sign. According to the apostle Peter, the birth of the Church marked the beginning of the end times. God’s involvement with a single nation was extended to include people of all nations.
The time of the Gentiles began. And the Spirit ensured that this would be a time of salvation. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”(Acts 1:8)
For the benefits of the teenager, we would like to share with him that he shall also prophesy after he has been baptized in the Holy Spirit.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.(Acts 2:18)
When Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy, the Spirit enabled him to preach with tremendous boldness. A distinctive sign of the final days was the ministry of the individual believer, that is, the general priesthood.
God’s Spirit would no longer operate solely through kings, priests and prophets but, as a result of the new covenant, all believers would prophesy and have dreams and visions.
Through the born-again experience, the Spirit of God comes and lives in us. Our body becomes God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit communicates from within our hearts.
The body can be compared to the outer courts of the temple. The soul is the holy place, and the heart, the spirit, is the Holy of Holies.
God’s Spirit, God’s glory, dwells there. Before the Spirit was given, Jesus explained that streams of living water would flow out of people’s innermost being (John 7:37-39). With the outpouring of the Spirit, streams of living water flowed forth from every believer.
God would lead His people, collectively and individually, by dwelling in them and working in and through them. This had never occurred before. The river of life, the life of the Spirit, would flow from heaven down into our hearts and then out of the whole world. It was something totally new. And wherever the stream flowed, there was restoration of life.
Remember the inner healing that you have received during the weekend service, the spirit of God has breathed life into you for restoration. All curses have been broken and all depression has been healed. You are an overcomer in the spiritual warfare.
City Harvest Church rocks ~
Prophecy speaks about the future. But it does not stop there. Prophecy is a supernatural word, inspired by the Spirit of God, spoken right into a particular situation.
A prophetic word is therefore a word given by the Holy Spirit. It can come as a word, a picture, a vision or a dream. That’s why it is so important to master the power of visualisation and to move into the fourth dimensional world as often as you can.
At times we have focused too much on how and when prophecy should be given, but this is not most important. The most important is what is said. The content, not the format, is what is important.
God created man with the capacity to think and speak using pictures. A picture speaks more than a thousand words. And a confession over a thousand times on a picture received from the Holy Spirit will strengthen the faith which is the currency of the Kingdom. The promises of God will then come to pass.
The Word of God is full of pictures, parables, visions and dreams. That’s why when you read the Bible, you have to pause and meditate on His Word, visualise the stories and relate them into the actual surrounding and conditions around you. The Word of God and His rhema then come alive powerfully!
God told Abraham, “What you see, you will have.” God asked Jeremiah, “What do you see?” When Abraham saw the stars, he believed in God. Peter saw a sheet filled with animals, and Paul saw the Lord in a vision on various occasions.
What is the message? What is the content of the prophecy? A single word from heaven can transform a person’s life forever. In times of darkness and discouragement, a word of prophecy can give new life. Darkness disappears, and light beams forth again.
God wants to speak to and lead His servants through His prophetic word. (Acts 2:18) The prophetic word can come in many ways. How it comes is not as important as from where it comes. God has given us His Word, the Scriptures, and with the Spirit’s help, He makes His Word living.
The Spirit in our inner man speaks to us and leads us according to the Word of God. The Lord wants us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He wants us to listen, to attune, to obey and to learn how to be led by the Spirit. This is our greatest asset in the modern Christian living.
The gift of prophecy is given to all people in the new covenant. Of all the gifts, we are to seek prophecy most earnestly. “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Prophecy serves a very important function. It builds up, encourages and comforts the Church. “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Corinthians 14:3-4).
The Bible is the foundation and the standard, and out of the Bible the Spirit fills our heart and mind with living words, pictures and dreams. Jesus said to the disciples, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35). Receiving and believing what God shows us results in these things becoming a reality in our lives.
One word from heaven can dispel any number of problems. Prophecy contains words of spirit and life. The vision given by the prophetic word has the power to become a reality when it is received by faith.
Prophecy is a personal greeting with a supernatural element, recognizable only by the person to whom it is given. The Lord has the ability to communicate in a highly personal manner by stating details and expressing things in a specific way.
When things that no one apart from the Lord knows about are mentioned in a prophetic word, we feel His compassion and love. Then it becomes much easier to receive and believe the prophetic word. And when the prophetic word becomes a reality, our wonder, faith and gratefulnss grow like never before.
On a lighter side, for all the teenagers who have watched the movie “The Book of Eli”, you’ll remember how the post-apocalyptic lost world went after the hope from the Word. Let’s view it through the lenses on the mount of Arts and Entertainment.
It’s not his own life that Eli guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive–and continue. Nothing–and no one–can stand in his way. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity.
Prophetically, we see chaos and pain all around us. We see people’s lives lived post apocalyptically. We see people oppressed. We recognize that it’s part of us. We are part of those people.
We need a hero to come save us. Even to sacrifice. To proclaim truth in the mess. To show a sprout of life in our personal desert. The hungry hearts of man responds to the one sacrificed, the one who offers hope, the one who transcends the apocalyptic. It’s the story of the risen Christ of God. Retold, again and again and again. If you are sensitive, you see the resurrected Jesus in every frame.
Jesus is the name. He is the book of Eli. He is the one who saves out of the Apocalypse. He is the true Neo in the Matrix. He is the one who gives His life to save others in Legend. He is the one on whom the sins of the world are laid so others may live.
Even when Apocalypse comes, you know that you know that you know, in Whom you have believed and He is well able to keep you until that day. He is the only Truth. Unless your heart is changed you too can become those who fall in the day of trouble.
When Jesus is all you have, Jesus is all you need. He is the God of More than Enough. He is the Provider, the Healer and the Victory. That theology will be proven out in every believer’s life. That is the Word of the Lord.
For every prophetic word that has reached, blessed and encouraged us, we should acknowledge and be thankful to God. The prophetic utterances bring us to a place where our faith box might be stretched. God can’t be kept in a box and so we should let Him out. We ask God to help us develop the prophetic gift He has given to us for He desires that we all should prophesy. And then we open our hearts so that we can see everything He wants to show us, for young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams.
CHC was born supernaturally and would continue to function and thrive supernaturally. If the life of the Holy Spirit does not produce supernatural results, then CHC is the same as any other social organization or secular club.
The church must not be reduced to a limited human level, cut off from its rightful, supernatural elements. These elements should be much more than those miracles you have seen in the Book of Eli.
The born-again experience, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the life of the Spirit give a whole new dimension to our lives, beyond the natural encounter. If we lack the life of the Spirit, we live a limited, carnal life. Either we develop our intellect, or we follow our own will, or we allow our emotions to steer us.
Many believers live ensnared in one of these three areas, and life becomes so limited. There is little difference between their life and that of the world. Perhaps they use different words, have different interests and friends, but there are no significant differences in absolute terms.
This is particularly true when the believer feels that he is being unfairly treated and begins to backslide. That he was being offended by his CGL or ZS and registered the unforgiveness in his heart. The devil has his way of pusing this memory into anger and bitterness and distracts him away from church’s covering.
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. All of you should be of one mind, having compassion for one another; loving as brothers and sisters, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary giving blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit His blessing.
God wants to demonstrate His love, ower and abundant life. He calls His people back to a supernatural life. A stream of pure, holy supernatural life flowed through the first church, and miracles occurred all the time.
We can still experience these miracles and healing today with the power of God. We were touched by the testimony shared by sister Iris last night at Riverwalk. She was totally healed by the power of the Holy Spirit from stage-3 nose cancer over a period of about two years. Praise the Lord!
When the lame man at the Beautiful Gate was healed, his dancing and rejoicing in the temple advertised this key miracle resulting in healing for several thousand people. The news of his healing spread, and “a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed” (Acts 5:16).
The same power, the same signs and wonders that Jesus demonstrated, now occur through the disciples, through CHC. Let the power be manifested in the church daily and weekly. Let the chosen leaders and disciples continue to have the boldness and anointing to minister this supernatural gift and power.
The Holy Spirit will continue to provide a strong revelation for His church. CHC is a mighty institution, a victorious army and a glorious people of God. CHC must be viewed with eyes of faith rather than with a focus on human weakness and differences of opinion.
The Lord wants every believer to understand the majesty of His Church. We are grafted into CHC, the body of Christ, from the moment we receive Jesus Christ in faith, turn away from sin and become a new creation.
We do not first become a believer and then attend church. The Spirit grafts us into the vine, the body of Christ, through the born-again experience. We live out the Christian life in fellowship and close relationship with other believers. Relationship precedes ministry.
In the natural we do not choose our family. Neither do we choose our spiritual family; the Spirit leads us into a church family. We discover weaknesses in our brothers and sisters, and they uncover ours. But we all serve the same Lord, and He builds His Church.
The Church is the body of Christ. A body is composed of cells, and you are one of those cells. A cell cannot survive alone. Life stems from the various body parts that pump blood to the single cell. Jesus loves us, but we are not in the center; He is. When we worship Him, listen to Him and follow Him, we stay fit spiritually, and the Church grows.
Everything that is living grows. Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” From 120, the church grew to 3,000 and then continued to grow quickly.
When people came, there was a solid life of the believer to lead them into. The disciples ensured that faith in Jesus became faithfulness to the teaching of the apostles.
There was daily instruction for the disciples and times of fellowship that discouraged isolation, worldliness and loneliness. They regularly celebrated Communion (ie. common for all and in union), not as a ritual, but as a joyful meal in the presence of the Lord.
New disciples were taught the importance of daily prayer. In the midst of all this a supernatural flow ensured that, “many signs and wonders were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43).
If the leaders and disciples had not been prepared for this explosive growth, everything would have come to zilch. But they were prepared—they had the Holy Spirit, they were of one mind and they stood on Jesus’ words and promises.
They had daily, disciplined times of prayer; they focused on others, and they evangelized eagerly. Therefore, they were successful!
The church’s inner life flowed forth from two sources. One source was the temple, and the other was the home. There were celebrations and worship in the greater church and prayer and fellowship in the smaller, more intimate group.
God wants the same today. Some people only want small groups; they opt to live a small life. Others only want the big meeting; they abhor daily routine. We need both!
By participating in both, all our needs are met and we are equipped to go out and reach the world. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Psalm 133
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.
For our teenagers and friends who need deliverance from problem of addiction in drug and alcohol, you may want to come to services on the first weekend of June for healing.
For those who are tormented by the unclean spirits, you have to wait till the second weekend of July for cleansing by an anointed pastor of mass deliverance. There’ll be counselling and inner healing too, followed by impartation of this anointing and spiritual gift.
Connecting with God is not about religion, empty ritual, or mindless ceremony. Connecting with God is all about a relationship — walking and talking with the God who created you!
God is good! He has provided the way to connect with Him. It is a gift from Him, not based on our own works. Salvation – the way to a relationship with God – is by grace, through faith alone, not by works.
We know from Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Psalm 1:2-3
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Our fruitfulness, growth, vitality and prosperity are all dependant upon taking in the Word of God. We must get into the Word and let the Word get into us. Keep in mind, how much you read is not as important as what you do with it. Meditating on even a verse or two can radically transform your life. And get ready to receive the power of knowledge and wisdom in the coming Asia Conference from 26 to 30 May 2010.
Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
1 John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
1 John 4:15
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
John 15:7
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Romans 10:9-10 and 13
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16,22-23
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Romans 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
1 John 3:8
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you
Colossians 2:9-10,15
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
James 5:16
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
3 John 2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
1 John 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Matthew 18:19
Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Jeremiah 30:17a
For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD,
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Proverbs 4:20-22
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
For teenagers with serious problems of certain addiction and bad habits, you need to lean upon the power of God to get rid of them. Then be ready to be addicted to the Holy Spirit Who will give you new life and transformation.
But first of all, we must come to grip with the fact that we are sinners.
Even if we try to justify ourselves with thoughts like, “I’m not nearly as bad as that person,” or “I live a good, moral life,” the Bible tells us in Romans 3:10, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’”
The scripture goes on to say in Romans 3:23 “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Everyone has sinned in the eyes of God. All of us stand guilty before Him.
There is a price to pay for sin.
Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death…” In this case, eternal death is the price that we must pay for sin.
What is sin? Sin is simply this…disobedience to the will of God (I John 3:4), and since all have sinned, all are subject to the penalty of sin and an eternity in hell separated from God.
Jesus, the Son of God, paid the price for our sin.
God provided a remedy for our situation by allowing His Son to pay the penalty for us. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
What a promise! But God even elaborates in greater detail when the Bible tells us in Romans 5:8 that, “…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus did not wait for mankind to “get it together,” but He gave up His life as a sacrifice while we were separated from Him.
The remedy for sin, which is salvation, does not come through good works, but it comes only through Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Scripture also tells us in John 14:6 that, “Jesus said…’I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Salvation is God’s solution, but our decision.
No one can choose eternal life for you. You must make the choice yourself.
In Mark chapter 1, verse 15, Jesus said, “…repent, and believe the gospel.” Romans 10:9-10 says, that if you “…confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God.”
The two things that God is looking for are: 1) repentance from sin, and 2) acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior. Only we can make that decision.
When we do, God receives us into His family. The Bible tells us in 2 Cor 5:17 that “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Imagine that, the chance to start all over with a new life…eternal life!
Prayer is the way we make the connection. Our link with God is established through prayer, and prayer is simply talking with God.
It is vital to keep the lines of communication open in any relationship if it is to succeed and flourish. Prayer is the way we initiate our connection with God, and prayer is also the way we maintain our connection with God.
His invitation of eternal life is to all, so we invite you to make that connection with God now by accepting Him into your heart.
We encourage you to pray this simple prayer even if you have not come to CHC but you are thinking about it now:
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I repent of all my sins and ask You to forgive me. I confess Jesus as the Lord of my life. I believe He died on the cross and was raised from the dead that I might receive His life… now and forever.
Dear Jesus, I thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life. I invite You into my heart, and I ask you to change me from inside out. Transform me from the old bad habits. Help me, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to live life in a way that would honor You as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
Many times, discussions at an intellectual, philosophical or theological level in a forum or blog are little more than idea exchanges. But as soon as they enter into the spiritual dimension, everything changes.
God’s Kingdom consists, not of words, but of power. There is always opposition to God’s power. When God’s power is revealed, people are healed. When God’s power comes, demonic oppression yields. When God’s power breaks through, the spiritual atmosphere is changed. No wonder the religious leaders asked Peter, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7). This happens after they have seen the miracle of healing experienced by the lame man and his preaching in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Acts 4:13-14
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
Average people have great needs and many questions. When God’s power is manifested, they are willingly open to receive. It is therefore disturbing and distracting to learn that other powerful leaders stand in the way of the gospel, which is God’s power to salvation for everyone who believes. “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 4:18)
Without the gospel and the accompanying signs and wonders, people can never enjoy spiritual freedom. And to hinder this freedom is to be subject to the judgment of God. Nothing is allowed to hinder, and nothing can hinder, the preaching of Jesus.
The world is full of words. The quantity of written passages, reports and text is limitless. The media constantly pump out opinions and information. Same thing happens in blogoshere, message or bulletin boards and forums (both online and offline).
Many times it is one person’s word against another’s. People talk about their image of God and about Bible interpretation, and one theological argument is pitted against another.
From a worldly perspective, it appears to be a battle of ideologies. But it is much more than that – it is a spiritual battle. It is a battle between the Spirit of God and the spirit of this world.
Whenever God is moving, there will be opposition. The greater the manifestation of God’s glory, the greater the opposition will be. The enemy does not want people to be free, blessed, healed and restored.
In Acts 4:1-3, the enemy was manifested through the religious leaders. These were the same leaders who had tried to stop Jesus. Their efforts have been to no avail at that time, and even now this attack on the church was coming to no fruition.
God’s principle is that the greater the opposition, the greater the growth. This was true for the children of Israel in Egypt, it was true for the first church, and it is true for us at CHC today.
Persecution is never pleasant. Sometimes the cost is high. Yet the Lord is never as near as in times of strong opposition. We should not complain or run away. We should continue to offer praise and worship to the Lord and boldly witness about Jesus.
Persecution comes in many ways. Some Christians face physical abuse, torture and even martyrdom. Others are scorned and verbally abused, encountering a torture of the soul. And there are other believers who experience demonic attacks on their personalities according to apostle Paul.
There is no gain in exalting persecution or in developing a persecution complex, but neither can we deny its existence. Persecution exists, and every believer will suffer from it in one way or another. However, persecution results in victory, breakthrough, revival and the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
The devil has never been victorious because of persecution. God’s Kingdom, on the other hand, has always expanded, no matter how great the persecution. And CHC exemplifies this principle as a body of Christ in a consistent manner throughout history.
My apology. I was told there were some typo errors in my previous postings.
1. In the post of 6 May 2010, 2.59am, the second sentence of 19th paragraph should read as:
“The hungry heart of man responds to the one sacrificed, the one who offers hope, the one who transcends the apocalyptic.”
2. In the post of 7 May 2010, 7.29am,
(a) the last sentence of 5th paragraph should read as:
“The devil has his way of pushing this memory into anger and bitterness and distracts him away from church’s covering.”
(b) the first sentence of 8th paragraph should read as:
“God wants to demonstrate His love, power and abundant life. “.
3. In the post of 9 May 2010, 2.07am, the last sentence of 6th paragraph should read as:
“Same thing happens in blogosphere, message or bulletin boards and forums (both online and offline).”
I regret for any inconvenience caused. (Haha…may be I didn’t have enough sleep)
Seeing the Invisible – Eternal Life
2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (8 July 1926 – 24 August 2004) was a Swiss-born psychiatrist holding 18 PhDs. In her pioneering studies of near-death experiences, she had made reports that there was eternal life beyond death.
According to her works, people who came back to life, after being confirmed dead, said that they were not conscious of their death but just thought they were in a deep sleep. They were awakened by a loud noise, escaped from their physical body feeling as though they had come out of a long tunnel, and saw their family who were crying over their dead bodies. In their out-of-body experience, they tried to talk to the family, but the family never heard their voices. With a sudden bright light, they were brought to someone, before whom they saw scenes of their life flashing by. While viewing these scenes, they returned to their bodies.
The Bible tells us what would happen to them next. That person before whom they were standing was Jesus, and there they would be divided into two groups – the saved and the unsaved. The saved will go to heaven, and the unsaved will go to hell.
Jesus talked about the eternal dwelling, not the temporary dwelling of this world. Jesus said He would prepare an eternal dwelling for us in heaven.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
This means that He will visit each one who believes in God and take him or her to heaven.
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NIV)
The Lord has already prepared eternal life for us after death. Regardless of our sin, weakness, and unworthiness, the Lord gives us eternal life forever if we only accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
When Jesus speaks about the earthly, physical reality, it is as true and real as when He speaks about spiritual, heavenly things. Here Jesus addresses an issue that many struggle with, namely how literal we should be in interpreting the Bible.
Jesus is the Word. His Word is spirit and life. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word endures forever.
Time and time again Jesus confirms the genuineness of the Bible. He speaks about Adam and Eve as real people. He mentions Abel, Lot, Noah, David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. He speaks about Moses, Daniel and the prophets. For Jesus these people were actual, historical personalities.
Jesus refers to the flood, the ark, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as actual events, not myths or stories. If Jesus really believed in Adam and Eve, He is either correct, ignorant or a fake. If He is ignorant, He is obviously not the Son of God. If He is a fake, He is certainly no one we should follow. But if He speaks the truth, we must be willing to change and be obedient. To say we follow Him and yet deny the truth makes us hypocrites.
Jesus’ claim to speak the truth concerning two worlds, earth and heaven, is a challenge to all of us. We cannot simply eliminate those things in the Bible that we do not understand or like, although we have seen and experienced enough of good and bad things or events happening on earth. Either we humble ourselves before Jesus, or we reject Him. There is no third alternative. We must be prepared to let His Word judge us.
John 3:12
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
It is written in the Bible that “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)
The man of the flesh looks at everything from a human viewpoint of reasoning and relies on experience. Human reasoning, senses, and experience are necessities in life. We cannot completely ignore these things. But those who depend only on them are restricted by the flesh. The man of the flesh greatly struggles and finally gives up when he reaches a dead end.
The man of flesh lives in the three-dimensional world. People in that world depend largely on their senses. They see with their eyes, hear with their ears, smell with their nose, taste with their tongue, and feel with their hands.
But there is in fact another kind of man on earth – the man of the Spirit.
The man of the Spirit has faith and belongs to the four-dimensional world, ie. the spiritual world. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you become a person of the Spirit. Romans 8:9 says “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
Spiritual people communicate with the four-dimensional world through prayer. They are fully at ease in communion with the Holy Spirit. They receive the message of the fourth dimension through the Word of God. Spiritual people bring about miracles through faith, the power of the fourth dimension.
The fourth dimension controls the third dimension. Therefore, if you belong to the fourth dimension, you are not influenced by the environment of this world, nor depressed by your circumstances. Those of you who walk with God can control your destiny. You will believe in both the earthly things and the heavenly things told by Jesus.
If you still belong to the three-dimensional world, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. The resurrected Christ is the Lord of lords and King of kings. Make Holy Spirit your close friend of highest intimacy and your senior partner of deepest understanding. You will be blessed in the name of the Lord and you can pray through the fourth-dimensional world and control your environment by faith in Christ and His Word. You can learn more about this in the coming Asia Conference. Be blessed!
Let us live our spiritual life in the fourth dimensional world. Your dreams, faith , thoughts, and confession will move the mighty hand of God for healing. Visualise with courage, speak by faith, believe in hope, and think about God Who calls things that are not as though they were.
In 2 Kings 6:8-23, the servant of Elisha was a man who only believed in a world that he could see, while Elisha could see the invisible world through faith.
Before the army of Aram invaded Israel, the king of Aram first came to Dothan to kill Elisha, who used to warn the king of Israel to prepare for what was about to happen. Likewise, we will have many Elishas of today helping CHC to prepare for what is to come as the healing centre for Asia.
When the servant got up and went out early one morning, the army of Aram had surrounded the city, and their spears and swords were shining in the sunlight. The servant felt desperate as if the whole world had tumbled down on him. It was as if he were doomed to die. If your faith is limited to what you can see like the servant of Elisha, it will be directly influenced by the changes in the visible environment.
Elisha, however, had faith that could see the invisible spiritual world. He saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around him. Elisha prayed to open the servant’s eyes and to see the spiritual world. Prayer moves the faith of the invisible world to reality.
Today, God seeks believers in CHC like Elisha. Many people are afraid because of their environment or their enemies. But Christ gives people faith, open their eyes to see the invisible world, and helps them conquer their environment and hardship so they are not controlled by them.
Are you in trouble now? Are you suffering from dark circumstances or despair like having terminal illness or uncured disease? Do not trust in the world you can see with eyes such as the medical reports you have received. The visible world is surrounded by the power of Satan, just like the army of Aram.
Look at the invisible world now. Look at the Holy Spirit and depend on Him who is with you as your Healer. He can cure those bodies with tumors which could be either benign or malignant. Then you can realise the fact that ” those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Remember on a Saturday, 6 June 2009, using a Jewish prayer shawl, Rev Mary Alice Isleib gave the congregation a vision of God placing a double portion of His anointing upon the church, likened to that of Elisha putting on Elijah’s mantle. She stressed the importance of effective, fervent prayer as it yields tremendous power. The power remains on the mantle with the anointing of healing.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18) Also, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9).
The word “gifts” is written in plural while all the other gifts of the Spirit are expressed in singular. It must be that this gift is significantly different. But then there are many different illnesses too.
When Jesus walked on earth, He healed “every sickness and every disease” (Matthew 9:35). He always had time for those who were sick. Never was a sick person being pushed aside or ignored. Never did a sick person hear that Jesus would not or could not heal him. The Spirit of God worked through Him without limitation. Jesus had the Spirit beyond measure.
We have received a double portion of God’s Spirit and through the gifts of healing, this same Spirit can move in a most wonderful way from CHC into Asia. Therefore, we are always to pray for sick people, especially those with cancer.
The Bible never once says that we should not pray for the sick. On the contrary, it says we should “heal the sick” (Matthew 10:8). We cannot control the gifts of the Spirit as it is under the sovereignty of God. But we can be open and eager to have them operating in our lives.
We should always pray for the sick whether we see a manifestation of the Spirit or not. The gifts will function if we stretch our faith and are expectant of the signs and wonders accompanying the healing and the working of the miracles.
The gifts of healing can vary. Sometimes certain diseases are immedliately healed. Somtimes it seems like some believers show improvements in better able to deal with certain diseases. It is impossible to fully explain why this diversity occurs.
The wind blows where it wills, and so it is with all who are born of the Spirit. What is important is that the Spirit wants to heal people. We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him and He can use us greatly.
Much is said about evangelization in the book of Acts. Sometimes the reference is to mass evangelization, as was occurring in Samaria, sometimes to personal evangelization, as was the case with a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians in Acts 8.
Philip knew how to deal with both, and he knew that you cannot go about in the same way in these two types of situation. Philip had to leave Samaria at the height of revival in order to share the gospel with a certain individual. An Ethiopian finance minister sat in his carriage reading, though not understanding, the book of Isaiah. “So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”” (Acts 8:30)
The Ethiopian finance minister was not narrow-minded or defensive. He was open and hungry. The Spirit knows where such people can be found.
This man sought truth in the Bible but lacked understanding. God needed someone to clarify His Word for this God seeker. There are many people around you who are open. Perhaps they do not read the Bible or Christian books, but they read your life, and they wonder how that change is possible.
The Spirit challenges you to draw near their carriage instead of hiding in your own closet. Break through fear, isolation and unwillingness in your life. Do not assume evangelization is someone else’s responsibility.
It is impossible to be a disciple of Christ and not tell others about Jesus. You will be surprised how open people are when you come with a friendly approach and a willingness to listen to their questions.
What should you say to people? Follow Philip’s example: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35). Simply tell who Jesus is and what He has done for you.
The sharing of testimony by Dr Robin Harfouche at service is an impactful demonstration of how Holy Spirit can move powerfully in the congregration to release the pain, suffering and bondage of individuals with past memories in bitterness and wrongful acts of others. People begin to receive the love of Christ and His healing with faith after knowing what God has done for her.
We must become skillful in discerning the communion of the Holy Spirit and the type of spiritual atmosphere we are in. Knowing how to move with the mood and tempo of the Holy Spirit is key whether it is for individual or mass evangelization. Moving correctly with the feel of the spiritual atmosphere is vital. If you are not sensitive to the Spirit, you can scare away people.
I thank You Lord for all the people around me who are open and longing to know You. Lead me to them, and show me what I should say to them. I pray that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with me when I share the gospel with them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
As we continue to read the book of Acts, we learn that church leaders endured persecution and Paul was even imprisoned for lengthy periods. Similarly, Peter was kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church (Acts 12:5).
Satan ruthlessly tries to rob the Lord’s servants of freedom, but he can never hinder the prayers of the saints. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” and his chains fell off his hands (Acts 12:7). Therefore, the prayers of the church and of different denominations united in one spirit are extremely important and powerful.
We can pray together with one desire to honor and glorify God. We can do it on the Global Day of Prayer. Pray at Max Pavilion (3pm) this Sunday. Then continue praying at Indoor Stadium in the evening (7pm).
There is mighty strength in corporate prayer. Anything can happen when people of the same spirit, with the same mind and the same focus unite in prayer. Jesus promised that our heavenly Father would answer any request when two or more gather to pray in His name. A church in prayer has more power than often is appreciated. A spirit of revelation ensures the right things are prayed for in the right way.
Prayer changes the spiritual atmosphere. Prayer stops the influence of darkness. Prayer causes God’s kingdom to expand, leading to church growth. Prayer breaks down opposition. Prayer opens doors and tears away chains of bondage from demonic strongman. Prayer breaks generational curse. Prayer restores boldness and health. Prayer rescues people from the jaws of hell. Prayer changes the nations for partnership in world missions. Prayer brings practical love and community services to the poor & needy. Prayer touches God’s heart with our wholeheartedness, meekness & humility. Prayer shows our gratitude for His agape love, faithfulness, mercy and grace.
As a result of prayer, angels are activated, and in the case of Peter, he was set free. In Acts 4:23-31 we read about how the disciples prayed with one accord. Unity is critical in prayer. The place of mass agreement is the place of massive power. When the disciples experienced the heaviest persecution, they did not pray for protection but for boldness to preach and for signs and wonders to take place in Jesus’ name.
Where there is prayer, God’s kingdom continually advances. Behind every successful pastor and every expansive work, there is an army of intercessors. Let’s pray up a storm of faith and stir up the inner man in us for breakthroughs and for our leaders. Never break the chain of corporate prayer 365. Revitalise it in July.
As the church continues to be maturing and growing, it must be active in evangelism and missions. Missionary work ensures a clear focus. The gospel will always be in the center, and the salvation of lost souls will always be most important. A church active in missions work receives a spirit of prayer and a spirit of giving. And when the time is ripe, the Holy Spirit raises up missionaries, sent out to bear fruit, with strong spiritual support from the home church. Giving not just resources but also knowledge, as the result of CHC acquiring knowledge in church growth is to give it away for mass revival. Seeing the baton being passed from YFGC to CHC in leading greater growth for whole Asia.
The church at Antioch was highly influential, not only through its missionary efforts, but also regionally. The church at Ephesus was similar. The power of God went out from these “hub churches” like rings on water. The gospel spread to people everywhere and resulted in church growth. Each church needs to respond to specific local needs and to form and develop according to its unique situation. Unity with other churches is possible even though they are vastly different. Each church only needs to be a giving church and be faithful to God’s calling.
Lord, I thank You for raising up an army of intercessors and prayer warriors in this church. Teach us to pray, and help us to participate actively in corporate prayer meetings, guiding us in prayer sessions of great significance at Max Pavilion and Indoor Stadium this Sunday and at Expo Hall 8 next Saturday. It is the kairos moment. Special prayers are heard and the church begins to move powerfully in the Spirit. Every believer seeks His face with great fervency. Holy Ghost touches lives of congregration and foreign delegates for transformation. Let disciples of Jesus be set on fire by the flame of the Spirit. They will move like how king Josiah moved the whole nation toward God. He motivated all the people to follow the Lord and keep His commandments with all their heart and soul (2 Kings 23:3). Impartation spreads the flame for mass revival. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Check this out http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=29977:
Did Kong Hee plagiarise?
Irreligious
University students know the seriousness of it. So do journalists, whose reputation stand on their ability to tell the truth. Even literary writers, whose job is to craft fiction, understand the need to be original.
So I was surprised to learn that large swaths of Kong Hee’s daily devotionals are lifted from other sources — without attribution. This unexpected revelation was brought to light by an anonymous blogger who devoted an entire blog called ‘Cheat Grace’ to exposing Kong Hee’s alleged plagiarism of other authors.
I’ve learnt about this blog a couple of months ago, but as it began to uncover more of Kong Hee’s allegedly plagiarised articles, I began to feel a little disturbed. Underestand that I am not talking about copyright infringement, which is an entirely different issue.
While copyright infringement is illegal under all circumstances, plagiarism is not. But plagiarism is still unethical, which is why academics, journalists, and literary writers treat it seriously. Even as a blogger, I do not want to be caught stealing passages from other writers without giving them a nod.
Plagiarism is simply a breach of integrity. Writers who plagiarise are claiming the work of others as their own. It is a form of thievery and deception.
I am disturbed, therefore, that someone would accuse Kong Hee of plagiarism. But read the blog and its allegations for yourself — which are backed up with solid documentation. The person behind the blog apparently has plenty of time and a deep well to draw motivation from.
The blogger, lets call him Cheat Grace, even muscled in the effort to pour through Kong Hee’s devotional book “Renewing Your Spiritual Life Vol 2″ — which is sold for $14 — to find that it contains the allegedly plagiarised devotionals. Cheat Grace even pointed out that Kong Hee claimed at the back of his book that he is “sharing his insights from the Bible”.
The church has been silent on the matter, perhaps because it hasn’t generated much online attention — yet. Church members seemed to have glossed over it, maybe because it is deemed an insignificant and minor offence. But let me proffer another reason: Since everyone is from the Body of Christ, Christians see no need to be uptight about such regulations. After all, if the truth is preached, does it matter where it came from?
The answer, it turns out, is yes. The problem with this reasoning is that even if the other party doesn’t mind that his article is plagiarised, the plagiariser is still presenting a false image of himself. It is taking a shortcut to create a good impression. It is still deception.
But I’ve realised that plagiarism is quite rampant among some pastors anyway, except that their followers don’t call it plagiarism. Pastors have been known for preaching each other’s sermons as if it is their own. But while some pastors don’t see it as an issue, others do. My personal stand is that even insights preached in sermons should be credited. I do not want to receive praise for a sermon I did not craft.
There appears to be a clash of cultures. On one hand, the principle of intellectual integrity demands that the work of others must be credited. On the other hand, church leaders are lax when it comes to intellectual property. Good things, they’d say, are meant to be shared after all. Or perhaps it was never implicit that sermons must be original.
But for reasons that I’ve mentioned above, I think there should be a sea change in the culture of the church. It is a misguided form of generousity that breeds laziness in sermon preparation. The pastor is in fact killing his own creativity and creating a false impression of himself. It deprives church members of original insights. Intellectual integrity, therefore, should be a prized value in church too.
I don’t think ripping sermons is a problem if 99 percent of pastors are okay with it. Ethics and morality are after all community-based. But as above article shows, some pastors do see it as an issue. And even if every pastor in the world is okay with the practice, the context of delivering a sermon is different from authoring a piece of literary work.
Anyway, now that Cheat Grace has so painstakingly brought the truth into public space, it is time the church reveal its side of the story publicly. Since Kong Hee has published the devotional online and sold them in bookstores, this incident cannot be considered internal anymore. Does City Harvest Church believe that there is nothing wrong with such practices? If the church believes so, then declare it out loud.
But if the church acknowledges the folly of such practices, rectifications can still be made before the situation goes out of hand. My sincere hope is that this slight can be resolved quickly, and everyone can learn a lesson and move on.
I don’t want a private explanation. This time, the larger Christian community needs to know.
Did Kong Hee plagiarise?
See http://cheatgrace.blogspot.com/2010/05/man-of-god-plagiarises-his-devotion.html
When people came to the House of God, there was a solid life of the believers to lead them into. The disciples ensured that faith in Jesus became faithfulness to the teaching of the apostles. (Acts 2)
There was daily instruction for the disciples and times of fellowship that discouraged isolation, worldliness and loneliness. They regularly celebrated Communion as a joyful meal in the presence of the Lord.
New disciples were taught the importance of daily prayer. In the midst of all this a supernatural flow ensured that, “many signs and wonders were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43). Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need (Acts 2:44-45).
The sharing of daily devotionals is like sharing of the daily breads. So continuing daily with one accord in the House of God, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).
Before salvation we fled from God, ashamed, fearful and evasive. Now because of what Jesus has done on the cross, we can come boldly before the throne. We do not come arrogantly, but we come boldly. We can approach with child-like certainty. Children have respect for their fathers and are on a different level than them, yet they feel secure in the relationship, and they can joyfully and confidently spend time with their fathers.
At a workplace the staff respects the boss. However, the boss’ children boldly enter, uninvited, to ask daddy for keys, food or pocket money, unafraid of interrupting and demanding what they need. In a similar way, when we come before the throne of God, our Father puts aside whatever He is doing to respond to our requests. This is because we have been made righteous and have been awarded the same rights as sons.
God loves us. He receives us. He does not hold anythings against us. God is for us. When we come in the name of Jesus, it is as though Jesus Himself comes. We are in Him and He is in us. We are members of His body, branches of His vine. This gives us a wonderful boldness in our fellowship with God, yet we gratefully long to please Him in the rescue mission for mankind.
Jesus says “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32). Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God (1 Corinthians 2:12). In the book of Revelation, God said to John, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. (Revelation 21:6). We should give freely for what we receive freely from God, including His messages. We can share the messages and devotionals together. This is not a problem.
Time and time again, Paul returns to what Jesus had said and showed him. Visions take us beyond needs, limitations and circumstances and enable us to see something totally different. Paul is not problem-centered; he is goal-centered.
Paul is not driven by circumstance; he is led by vision. We see answers where others only see question marks. We see solutions where others only see problems. We see victory where others only see defeat. We see triumph where others only see catastrophe. We can say, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Even when he stood trial, Paul boldly proclaimed his obedience to the heavenly vision. He could have been condemned to many years in prison, yet he showed no trace of self-pity. Every circumstance became a possibility. We must a possibility thinker and a true believer of Jesus Christ. With God all things are possible.
Every attack becomes an opportunity. In every situation the Lord enabled Paul to do what he was called to do—preach the gospel. King Agrippa, before whom Paul stood to testify, thought he was a madman. But Paul did not yield; he persisted in his attempt to save King Agrippa’s soul. He wanted the king and all who heard him to be free like him, except for the chains. Except for the chains! Paul disregarded his chains. They never hindred him from obeying the heavenly vision. Paul knew that God’s Word does not bear any chains. Daily devotionals do not bear any chains too!
Apology for the typo error above: Last third sentence should read as “They never hindered him from obeying the heavenly vision.”
In our daily routine we need the Lord to accompany us on our walk through the Bible, and see the Word light up our life and nourish our soul. The daily devotions help to strengthen our faith as they give us a glimpse of all the good things that the Lord has for us. Holy Spirit wants to illuminate our mind to understand how the Word of God will comfort, strengthen and guide us.
Actually we can learn even more from Paul.
Everyone is created by God, and perhaps, in a general way, we can all therefore be called God’s “children.” But according to the Bible, God’s children are those who are saved and born again, not those merely created by God. To mix creation and redemption is to deny our need for Jesus.
There are many people who live in spiritual darkness, away from God, and God wants their eyes to be opened. This is why Jesus commanded Paul to open their eyes so they would repent. The preaching of the full gospel of Jesus opens eyes and leads to repentance.
Acts 26:17-18
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Aline, a border, passes through the world. It is the border between darkness and light, between life and death. Many refute the existence of this border, and even some Christians refuse to consider it. But the border is still there.
Some try to remove this line by arguing theologically that we are all children of God. Such people believe Christians see themselves as superior.
Christians are absolutely not superior, yet Jesus clearly spoke about the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. Paul was totally clear on this issue, which today is avoided or denied by modern theologians.
God wants all people on earth to hear that Jesus died for them. He wants every person to have the opportunity to repent. He wants to help every person to come out of darkness and into the light.
It is tragic when Christians deny that this line of separation exists, arguing instead that repentance is not necessary or that everyone is a child of God merely because he or she exists. This stance leads people astray instead of leading them into saving truth. This argument taints the light and derail the rescue mission.
http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=29977:
Did Kong Hee plagiarise?
Irreligious
University students know the seriousness of it. So do journalists, whose reputation stand on their ability to tell the truth. Even literary writers, whose job is to craft fiction, understand the need to be original.
So I was surprised to learn that large swaths of Kong Hee’s daily devotionals are lifted from other sources — without attribution. This unexpected revelation was brought to light by an anonymous blogger who devoted an entire blog called ‘Cheat Grace’ to exposing Kong Hee’s alleged plagiarism of other authors.
I’ve learnt about this blog a couple of months ago, but as it began to uncover more of Kong Hee’s allegedly plagiarised articles, I began to feel a little disturbed. Underestand that I am not talking about copyright infringement, which is an entirely different issue.
While copyright infringement is illegal under all circumstances, plagiarism is not. But plagiarism is still unethical, which is why academics, journalists, and literary writers treat it seriously. Even as a blogger, I do not want to be caught stealing passages from other writers without giving them a nod.
Plagiarism is simply a breach of integrity. Writers who plagiarise are claiming the work of others as their own. It is a form of thievery and deception.
I am disturbed, therefore, that someone would accuse Kong Hee of plagiarism. But read the blog and its allegations for yourself — which are backed up with solid documentation. The person behind the blog apparently has plenty of time and a deep well to draw motivation from.
The blogger, lets call him Cheat Grace, even muscled in the effort to pour through Kong Hee’s devotional book “Renewing Your Spiritual Life Vol 2″ — which is sold for $14 — to find that it contains the allegedly plagiarised devotionals. Cheat Grace even pointed out that Kong Hee claimed at the back of his book that he is “sharing his insights from the Bible”.
The church has been silent on the matter, perhaps because it hasn’t generated much online attention — yet. Church members seemed to have glossed over it, maybe because it is deemed an insignificant and minor offence. But let me proffer another reason: Since everyone is from the Body of Christ, Christians see no need to be uptight about such regulations. After all, if the truth is preached, does it matter where it came from?
The answer, it turns out, is yes. The problem with this reasoning is that even if the other party doesn’t mind that his article is plagiarised, the plagiariser is still presenting a false image of himself. It is taking a shortcut to create a good impression. It is still deception.
But I’ve realised that plagiarism is quite rampant among some pastors anyway, except that their followers don’t call it plagiarism. Pastors have been known for preaching each other’s sermons as if it is their own. But while some pastors don’t see it as an issue, others do. My personal stand is that even insights preached in sermons should be credited. I do not want to receive praise for a sermon I did not craft.
There appears to be a clash of cultures. On one hand, the principle of intellectual integrity demands that the work of others must be credited. On the other hand, church leaders are lax when it comes to intellectual property. Good things, they’d say, are meant to be shared after all. Or perhaps it was never implicit that sermons must be original.
But for reasons that I’ve mentioned above, I think there should be a sea change in the culture of the church. It is a misguided form of generousity that breeds laziness in sermon preparation. The pastor is in fact killing his own creativity and creating a false impression of himself. It deprives church members of original insights. Intellectual integrity, therefore, should be a prized value in church too.
I don’t think ripping sermons is a problem if 99 percent of pastors are okay with it. Ethics and morality are after all community-based. But as above article shows, some pastors do see it as an issue. And even if every pastor in the world is okay with the practice, the context of delivering a sermon is different from authoring a piece of literary work.
Anyway, now that Cheat Grace has so painstakingly brought the truth into public space, it is time the church reveal its side of the story publicly. Since Kong Hee has published the devotional online and sold them in bookstores, this incident cannot be considered internal anymore. Does City Harvest Church believe that there is nothing wrong with such practices? If the church believes so, then declare it out loud.
But if the church acknowledges the folly of such practices, rectifications can still be made before the situation goes out of hand. My sincere hope is that this slight can be resolved quickly, and everyone can learn a lesson and move on.
I don’t want a private explanation. This time, the larger Christian community needs to know.
Now so many know
http://cheatgrace.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=17
Wahhh. this megachurch pastor copied a whole article from the Leadership Bible and paste as his own Daily Devotion on his KongHee.Com website… http://www.konghee.com/www/2010/02/secure-in-yourself-2/comment-page-1/#comment-5287.. I have attached a jpeg of the article from his website here
This article is found in page 1258 of the Leadership Bble. Its a word-for-word 100% copy. Just check the photos of the leadership Bible page 1258 seen here. It is also found on Vol 1 day 61 of KH’s “Renewing your spiritual life in 90 days.” And thhen this megachurch superpastor can claim his boook, “all rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission, with the exception of brief excerpts in magazine reviews”. He can copy others’ work but others cannot copy his. Even the work he has copied from others cannot be copied by another. :))
Pls lahh megachurch superpastor, how can you do this? Having done a Doctor of Theology, I am sure any respectable college will always warn you ahout crediting work not done by you
Sometimes people will suffer due to their stubbornness. A word from God, spoken by one of His servants, is disregarded, and instead decisions are made based on human experience, favorable circumstances or majority rule. Stubbornness results in grave mistakes despite prior warning.
We see an example of how Paul’s warning was ignored: Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” (Acts 27:9-10)
He saw in the Spirit that the journey was in peril, and he shared this with the others, despite their disinterest. No one took notice of him, not yet. The officer who was responsible for the prisoners listened instead to the human experience by the captain and the sailors. The majority of the crew wanted to set sail, for they wanted to get home. The slight wind that was blowing added to the apparently favorable conditions. Yet everything was wrong.
As a prisoner, Paul, the man of God, exerted little influence. Even if he were respected and appreciated among believers, here on board a ship full of prisoners, no one paid much attention to him. But he spoke anyway.
When the storm came, everything was turned upside down. For several weeks they drifted about. The cargo was thrown overboard. The equipment was cast into the sea. The food was rationed. Everyone merely tried to survive. Eventually they lost hope of being saved. And then came the rescue. It did not come from land but from heaven. An angel came to Paul.
God had said that Paul would stand before Caesar, and He kept His word. Paul needed to preach the gospel before Caesar, and therefore, he and all those who were with him were saved. For his sake, everyone was saved!
Suddenly everyone was willing to listen to the one they previously had ignored. Why so? They now listened attentively because they understood Paul was close to God.
Paul humbly reprimanded them for not heeding sooner. Now they followed his every instruction, and everyone came safely to land, although the ship was destroyed. If they initially had listened, even the ship would have been spared.
We need to pay attention to the little voice from the Holy Spirit, to listen to Him promptly and avoid unnecessary loss. We need to listen to the teaching of our pastors and church leaders and follow their instructions carefully. Forgo our stubbornness and self reliance. We lean upon Him for warning, protection and guidance continually in our walk with the Lord.
When can pastor address all the concerns?
Quote-31 Mar 2010
The last few weeks have been quite the rollercoaster ride—ups and downs aplenty! I promise that in my next blog post, I will address all the concerns that some of you have raised recently.