|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Dec)
As the sun begins to set in the horizon, it draws a veil over the day and also a close of yet another era in the lives of every human creation.
The splendor of glory tinges the clouds that surround the sun as it descends, is a reminiscence of how much efforts we have put together towards building the church in unity for Christ..
When the
apostle Paul started writing his letter to the believers in Ephesus, he highlighted God’s plan was to bring all His creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as the head (Ephesians 1:10). The
apostle proceeded to appeal to God’s people to fulfill the meaning of His great plan for the unity of mankind through oneness with Jesus Christ, while remembering that we who are many, are all joined to each other
as different parts of one Body (Romans 12:5).
However it is regrettable that over the years, the church of this century has not been as united or closely-knitted as the believers of the early church.
Where have we gone wrong? What are the distinctive features of the early church that we can rediscover?
The early believers were always conscious that God was working in and through them in all
circumstances.
When the unity with God is absent, disunity spreads itself within human relationships. Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesians 4:13: “we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God”.
The life among the early believers was closely-knitted. In Acts 2:44-45, we are told that “all the early believers continued together in close fellowship and shared the belongings with one
another.
They would sell their property and possessions and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed” Empowered by the Holy Spirit, self-centredness gives way to other-centredness and “look out for one another’s interest, not just for their own” – Philippians 2:4.
Another distinctive feature of the early church was their practice of persevering and believing prayers, Their prayers were not limited to times of emergency only but they prayed regularly together for
the joy of developing their relationship with their loving heavenly Father.
“They all joined together in prayer to God” – Acts 4:24. What is most remarkable was that the first church was born in a prayer meeting.
Yet another significant feature of the early Christians
was when they gathered together in the breaking of bread, which we now call the Lord’s Supper.
Just as they would celebrate their oneness in Christ over their meal table, at the same time they remembered the cause of that oneness in their Lord’s death on Calvary. “Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf” – 11 Corinthians 10:17.
As we forge ahead to build the church in unity for Christ, let us relive the distinctive features of the early Christians.
Only then can we echo the words of the psalmist: “How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony!” – Psalm 133:1
In His Service,
MG
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Nov)
I believe we faced this question many times in different situation like in our job, business, exams, with friends, family members, marriage, children or
church? In many occasions, the thought of running away is ever present.
We see it in the news where people becomes fugitives due to corruption; fathers or mothers separating from each other leaving the
children idle, lost and confused as though they were the causes of the problems; children running away from home, students committing suicide due to study and peer pressure and the list goes on.
Perhaps
you are also feeling like this now and you ponder…..why am I feeling like this? What is the solution and when will this end? Many questions and no answers can be very frustrating and trying. It is very similar to
the times of the Moses where he was asked by the Lord to lead the Israelites out of Egypt; Joshua and the conquering of the land of Canaan; David when he was sought by Saul who wanted him dead; Deborah the
prophetess and judge who was faced with a very charged up Canaanites or Job whose life was filled with one calamity after another and it never seem to stop.
Many give up when they start walking by sight
and not by faith, when they see to odds are coming stronger. It is natural to use whatever strength, wisdom and advises we can get to try to overcome such situations. That is where we start compromising with the
truth of God’s Word and……feel like giving up.
God’s is the same yesterday, today and forever – Heb 13:8. So are His promises, faithfulness, mercy, love, protection, deliverance, blessings and He asked
us to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or be terrified of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you – Deut 3:16”.
His truth and character is still the
same. He still calls us to obey and trust him, stay focused on Him even though we don’t understand it. Yes, it is difficult but remember, we are all in God’s hands and He is our loving heavenly Father who created us
in His image. We are God’s children and He loves us very much and knows us in detail even to the number of our hairs. He knows us more than we do.
Pro 3:5 & 6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean in your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight”.
God has never given up on you, so don’t give up on Him.
God has also never given up on others, so don’t give up on others as well.
God has reached someone, and that someone has taken the efforts to reach us.
So let us respond to reaching others also.
His Service,
AQ
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Oct)
Where there is love, there is unity; therefore, it follows that from “love” we should be able to find “unity” and from thereon build the church. Sounds
simple and logical but make no mistake, the meaning of “love” in this present time can mean having a liking or indulgence in something, affection or endearment for others or even to the extremes of lust and/or
idolatry and the list goes on.
In short, the word “love” has been so loosely used that its original meaning, value and essence is almost lost, hence in the context of our Church’s Theme; we must
remember its definition as: -
1) selfless Christian brotherly love
2) the love of God for man - Agape love!
Perhaps, it is appropriate to suggest that our Church’s Theme be read “Building the
Church in unity for the love of Christ” instead. It is true that God made each and every one of us unique, blessing us with different spiritual gifts and it is through these special gifts that we are to utilize in
building the church for Him. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of
them in all men” (1 Corin.12:4-6). Never mind about the differences in gifts, what God has endowed us with is for the common good of all His children (1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 11). Be mindful, we are One in Unity,
Faith, Hope and God, bounded by the blood and love of Christ. It is through this kind of Christ like love for one another that we are tasked to build our church, not through our own way or other ways but God’s way
through love. After all, the greatest of all commandments are: -
1)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
2) Love your neighbour as yourself, (Mark 12:30-31) in that order.
During our recent Church Family Camp in Penang, we had the honor and privilege of our beloved
brother-in-Christ, Lian Mung Yee, clarifying the word “unity” to us. Many believers in churches nowadays are rather confused between “unity” and “uniformity”.
Unity is equated as complete harmony or
unison, whereas, uniformity simply means standardization or sameness. When we consider and subscribe to unity in its biblical sense, the task of building the church through it is clearly half won. We are not saying
that there will be no disagreement among the leaders in church when serving the Lord, but because of the complete harmony and love for one another and, more importantly for the Lord, we learn to agree to disagree
with genuine tolerance, patience and love. Ephesians 5: 21 say “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. Submitting to another person is an often misunderstood concept. It does not mean becoming a
doormat. Christ – at whose name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10) – submitted his will to the Father; and we honour Christ by following his example.
As mentioned “uniformity” simply means standardization or sameness and because the similarity ends there, we do not see the wholesome interaction of love for one another. To the contrary, we often find factions or
divisions among the church members. Gossips are wide spread and dissent is ever present, posing a stumbling block in building the church.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but
only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Beware of gossipers!
In conclusion, our roadmap to “Building the church in unity for Christ” encompass among others;
1) Encouraging one another in faith as faith is the ability to see the unseen
2) Give thanks for all things in life
3) Be positive and persevere with sufferings, trials and persecutions
4) Use God’s guidance and wisdom in seeking to resolve disputes or conflicts in church
5) Do not expect perfection from others because we ourselves are not perfect
6) Agape love and unity are indispensible components in church building
7) Christianity is corporate for all believers are a body in Christ
8) When one part of the body suffers or rejoices, the whole body experiences it
In His Service,
PW
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Sep)
The bi-annual GHKL Family Camp was held from 28th to 30th August 2009 in Penang Island. We praise God as the responses were very good as an overwhelming
number of members joined us – 82 in all, from less than 8 month old to more than 80 year old! This was a record for us as the largest camp so far, travelled up north for about 5 hours in 2 chartered buses.
Even though it rained occasionally en-route and on the island, there was no damper in our hearts. Besides the comfortable stay at Copthorne Orchid Hotel in Tanjung Bungah and being spoilt for food on the island,
we were truly blessed to have with us our guest speaker, Elder Mr. Lian Mung Yee from Petra Gospel Centre who delivered the messages themed “We Are One In Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
From the
snack-sharing served by our on-board stewardess (guess who) and the touching “Fireproof” movie (thank you Johnny for sharing your birthday gift DVD) on the bus, there was no boredom all along the journey. Perhaps
the only challenge was the test of our bladder limit before a stop is necessary.
Upon arrival at the hotel, everyone has a pleasant surprise to receive a gift bag containing the limited edition of camp
T-shirt embroidered with our church logo and camp handbook. Every moment in the 3 days had something special revealed by God to each person. We experienced 3 days where brick-walls were broken down, gender didn’t
matter, neither age, neither status. The worship sessions were special as we learned new songs, accompanied by new rhythms too. The Talent Nite was a eye-dropping discovery – never before we see everyone responded
with great enthusiasm and fun in bring out nothing but the best from everyone, from creative costume design, in-prompt-to one liner that brought the hall down, to the very heart of the message from the sketches. You
may want to know who “won” the beauty pageant !
Though it was extremely challenging to travel during times when H1N1 is taking its toll, we thank God and Praise Him that the only thing that came out
from the First Aid kit were 2 plasters !
Looking back, all of us have a wonderful time to slow down from the hustle and bustle and to strengthen relationships – with God, with our immediate family and
with the other believers who attended. Thank you all who have remembered us all in your prayer while we were away. Let’s look forward to the next camp in 2 years time with hope that even more members will join us.
In His Service,
YC
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (July)
“Oxymoron” - I like the word itself and all the oxymoron phrases. An oxymoron is a word or phrase that contradicts itself. Here are some samples of
oxymoronic words/phrases: Jumbo shrimp; Freezer burn; White chocolate; Plastic silverware; professional wrestling. Here’s another one: Boring Worship
When we ask people, especially young people why they
don’t go to church, they often reply that church is just too boring. While I recognize that sometimes a church service can seem dull, especially to a non-Christian, I want to suggest that true worship is anything
but boring. The very essence of what worship is does not allow us to be bored. When we come before the majestic God of the universe, who has created everything and has done amazing things in our lives, we can’t help
but break out into adoration.
Another key component to building the church in unity for Christ is Worship.
Our worship should always incorporate two elements: rejoicing and reverence. And, perhaps
most importantly, worship must lead to a response. If we don’t respond, we risk becoming hardened before Him.
Psalm 96 acts as a guide to whom and how we should worship: Who should be worshipped? The
Lord God. He is mentioned by name or by pronoun in every stanza.
How should we worship? With music; with proclamation; by giving Him glory; by bringing an offering; by coming into His courts; by living
holy lives; and by witnessing for Him.
Why should we worship? Because God has saved us; because of His greatness and His fearsomeness; because of His power; because of His splendor, majesty, strength,
and beauty; and because God is righteous and true and He is coming to judge.
Where are we to worship? We are to worship the Lord among the nations; in His sanctuary, and in His courts.
When are we to worship? We are to sing and proclaim His salvation day after day.
When we worship we are expected to : i. Exalt His Name; ii. Extend His Kingdom; iii. Express His Greatness; iv.
Expect He is Coming.
When we do all these things every time we come to worship, how then can we say it is boring? I can think of one more oxymoron this morning -
a “Bored Believer”. If you truly understand what being a believer is all about, it will be impossible to be bored. If we are exalting, extending, expressing, and expecting, we will be fired up and will experience the joy of what it means to partner with God in His kingdom work.
So, stop sitting. Start singing, sowing and serving. you will never be bored again.
In His Service,
AKC
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (June)
Have you ever built on peoples’ advice only to find it back fire? Have you trusted someone, and later found that what you shared in confidence is not
a secret now? The Bible also has a similar event that happened when King Rehoboam, who succeeded his father King Solomon, choose to reject the advice of the ‘old men’ who was King Solomon’s counsel. Instead, he
listened to ‘young men’ who grew up with him. In 2 Chronicles 10:8, the King James translation uses old and young to distinguish the fact that the older men had more experience and depth than the younger. There is a
well known Chinese proverb that the elderly likes to remind the youths that says, “I have eaten more salt that you have eaten rice” (in direct translation).
The Generation Y has much to learn from the
older counsel although they have the knowledge of modern day technological advantage over them. These days, the Gen Y is influenced by peer pressure and succumbed to follow, otherwise they will be left out alone and
rejected. Thus was King Rehoboam reaction, where he gave in to the advices of his peers to increase the load of the people in Israel. As a result of this, the people revolted and Rehoboam fled from Jerusalem.
In our life, perhaps we too may have succumbed to many peer pressures that resulted in wrong decisions or soured relationships that have left us with a feeling of regret. Time will not turn back to correct
the mistakes. Only God can heal the hurt and pain. In fact, during such time, it seems like the darkest time of life where you felt alone, helpless and you say, “You promised me Lord that if I followed you, you will
walk with me always. But I have noticed that the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why? When I needed you most, you were not there for me? The Lord replied, “The
times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you.” Like Moses in his early days, after murdering an Egyptian, regretted his actions and lived in the desert for forty years. God
healed and restored him.
God will make a way, when there seems to be no way;
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me;
He will be my guide, hold me closely by His side;
With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.
Pray….ask for God’s forgiveness if you have cause hurt to others;
Pray….ask for God’s comfort when others hurt you.
In His Service,
AQ
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Apr)
Jesus spoke seven things from the cross.
But the first thing He said before any of those was, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” His first words were words seeking divine forgiveness for the world’s most wretched sinners. Jesus prayed for the crowds, the soldiers, the leaders and all of the people that were witnessing the crucifixion. But let us flash back further when Jesus pray at the Garden of Gethsemane moments before he was arrested.
Recorded in John 17:20-21 "… I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us
so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Jesus prays for oneness. This oneness has to do with convincing the world that Jesus is God.
It has to do with convincing the world that the gospel is true, that Jesus is the Savior, that He can transform lives. And this is an oneness and unity of holiness here. The Father and the Son are one in holy perfection.
When Jesus is praying that we may be one, I believe He is praying that we might have a oneness in holy love, or we might have oneness for love of a holiness, and where you have people all loving
holiness you will have amazing unity, because if we all are tuned in to holiness, we will all experience the unity of that holiness.
Jesus wants us to confront an unholy world, an ungodly world, a
disconnected shattered, broken, ruined world with a vision of holy loving oneness. He wants people to look at us and say, "Jesus Christ must be a saving God, Jesus Christ must be a Savior, Jesus Christ
must have come to deliver from sin because look at the holiness of those people." That's the point
But the sad part is that when unbelievers look at the church, they don't necessarily see unity,
and they certainly don't see holy unity. I was reading an article in a magazine about a woman who has been ordained to be the new pastor of the homosexual church in Los Angeles. That's what the world
sees.
The world sees Christianity as this strange and bizarre mixture of the holy and the unholy of the real and the phony. What Jesus was praying was that the Father would make one people, and He did that and does that through the baptism of the Holy Spirit where we're all baptized into the one body, and that that holy oneness would be made manifest by holy living and holy loving in the church.
The church is never going to achieve oneness by worshipping the same style, prayer the same way, organizing various ministries the same approach, etc.
There are too many human variables around the world. But that's really not the issue. There is a much more penetrating and profound issue that transcends all of those variables and that is the issue of purity and righteousness and virtue and godliness and holiness that ties us together. It's a unity and commitment to holiness out of which springs holy love. That's what Jesus is praying for us.
When we envision building the church in unity for Christ, let us also envision building up the church in purity of love for Christ.
In His Service,
QWK
|
|
Building the Church in Unity for Christ (March)
In John 2:20, the Apostle John recorded that the Jews took 46 years to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. This temple was a huge and magnificent temple that even
the disciples of Jesus admired it (Mark 13:1). During the time of Jesus, it was the pride of the Jewish nation yet Jesus had little regard for it. His words “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three
days” in John 2:19 reflects the disdain that Christ has on the things that men build and take pride of. In 70AD, this magnificent Temple of Jerusalem was reduced to rubble by the Romans. What the Jews took years to
build, the Romans destroyed it in one day.
The church of Christ is not built with bricks and mortar that men can destroy but with the Spirit of God that lasts forever. The church that Christ built has lasted
for almost 2,000 years and it still stands today. It is a fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy that His church will last forever and that the wiles of Satan cannot overcome it (Matt 16:18). If that is the promise of
Jesus so why then that hundreds of churches today have ceased to exist? What caused their demise?
There are many possible reasons to answer the above question and it is beyond this humble newsletter to
address them. But one of the possible reasons that can cause a struggling church to decline is it’s inability to bridge the gap that separates one generation of Christians with the other. Often times there are
contention between the younger and senior generation as to the type of approach that the church is to adopt in order to be conducive for church growth. Such contentions need to be addressed in an open and
constructive way but with the Unity of the Church always in mind (Eph 4:3).
One of the ways to bridge the generation gap is to formulate a ministry that encompasses all generations, that is the Family Care
Group ministry otherwise known as FCG. The FCG consists of two fellowships running concurrently that is the Youth Fellowship which consist of the children of the families in the church and the Adult Fellowship which
consist of the parents and married couples. Uniting these two fellowships helps to create a better understanding between the younger and senior generation. It also helps to build a bond that the church we serve does
not belong to the young or old but to everyone. In John chapter 17, Jesus prayed for the unity of all believers. Families that are united help to build a church that is united for Christ.
 |
In His Service
JW
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Feb)
It seems like only not too long ago that I penned an article during the lunar New Year and now it is upon us again. The strains of drums and cymbals and the
many auspicious sayings could be heard all over. The restaurants are all full to the brim. The all important reunion dinner is a must for the Chinese. Family is important. And so it is also with our Heavenly Father.
One of the key components to building the church is Fellowship. It gives us a sense of belonging. In Ephesians 2:19, it says that we belong to God’s household, His family. The early Christians lived as
a family.
They devoted themselves to fellowship (Acts 2:42). Fellowship is more that our monthly tea after church service although that contributes to the real meaning of fellowship. Christian
fellowship is two-dimensional, and it has to be vertical before it can be horizontal. We must have a relationship to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ before we can know the reality of fellowship with each
other. Paul wrote here in Ephesians 2:20 that the very cornerstone, the very reason we can even call this a family is because of Jesus. He is the foundation; Jesus is the very glue that holds this unique and diverse
family together.
What does it require of you as a family member? We each have responsibility to…
1.Be hospitable to one another - 1 Peter 4:9 - being more than nice.
2.Have a care for one another - 1 Corinthians 12:26 - not lip service - but selfless service
3.Pray for one another - James 5:16 - not ignore one another
4.Restore one another - James 5:19-20 - not destroy each other
5.Teach and admonish one another - Corinthians 3:16 – teach where you can, correct where you must.
6.Serve one another in love - Galatians 5:13 - giving of yourself to one another.
If we are serious about being part of God’s family and in fellowship, then we should start living out these
responsibilities…. And look forward to a reunion dinner with Christ.
Have A BLESSED LUNAR NEW YEAR!
In His Service,
AKC
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Jan)
As the sun slipped up from beneath the distant horizon, it heralded the dawn of another era with assuring and lasting promises from the LORD (Psa 89:28), fresh
challenges for human kind and the proclaiming of a new theme for our church: “Building the Church in Unity for Christ” (Eph 2:20-21).
This church theme invokes the imperative need to use our
different gifts (Rom 12:6), time and resources to preserve the unity of the Body (Eph 4:3a).
We are to develop a mindset which pervades that God is using each of us as co-builders, regardless of our gender, age and social background, for the furtherance of His eternal Kingdom. Our heavenly Father who uniquely hand-crafted us with special talents and abilities, longs for us to unfold according to His perfect plan. In serving, we will undoubtedly experience more personal growth and greater impact than we will ever dream – all because “God is using us as His divine instruments”. Such a perspective leaves us breathless with increasing anticipation and excitement. How can we be sure to increase the degree of our service according to the right understanding? God desires to give us living water for service – so that we do not feel “tapped out” but instead to help us feel “pumped up”. In other words, Gods fills us with an irresistible sense of accomplishment when we serve with diligence which will ultimately create a sense of fulfillment within us.
In helping us to delve objectively into the ways in which we can contribute to the strengthening of the body of Christ, we will explore the following questions:
“What should a believer’s attitude be towards service?” “What are the spiritual gifts?” and last but not least, “How can we help the church to work in harmony for the benefit of all?”
In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, we are called to emulate Christ in humility; in the unity of soul and mind; in being other-centered and
in filling ourselves with kindness and compassion for others (Phil 2:1-4). What are some of the tangible ways of doing so? We are to be always humble, gentle and patient by showing love and tolerance
(Eph 4:2) and not to criticize one another (Jam 4:11).
The Holy Spirit has given us as believers’ unique spiritual gifts that are to be used to accomplish God’s purpose (1 Cor 12:4-6).
We can feel a part of His grand design when these gifts are used in the manner God has intended and He will reward each of us according to the work we have done (1 Cor 3:8b) and He will commend us: “Well done, you good and faithful servant!” (Matt 25:21).
In Eph 4:13, we all are called to come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God and to become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature, as we
work in tandem for the interest of all believers.
Finally, let us therefore inter-twine with one another in soul and mind as we build the church in unity for Christ’s glory.
In His Service,
MG
|
|
