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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (July)
Just last week the Ampang Cell Group was continuing the study on Revelations and doing chapters 8 and 9.
In one of the questions it asked, “What is your own response to the truth that God will not complete the story of redemption until He has heard the prayers of the whole church?”. And one of the members said, “Isn’t the church already one and praying in unity?” - a poignant question. But truth be told, the church is far from being united. Look at the many denominations we have today. Add to that the fact that even within their own denominations, many Christians can’t get along. In Congregations all across the world, people are bickering, quarreling and backbiting. It seems impossible for church folk to learn how to live together in unity. But the Bible makes it clear that the church is called to UNITY. Look at what Acts 4:32 says about the early church: All the believers were one in heart and mind.
A favorite Psalm of my grandmother is Psalm 133. She understands this all too well as she comes from a family of 13 brothers and sisters and growing up, I’m sure they have their fair share of quibbles and
sibling rivalries. Therefore, the verse, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) was very precious to her.
The Psalmist gives us two pictures of what unity in God’s
eyes truly is. Firstly, it is like the precious oil of anointment. The oil is usually mixed with a blend of different spices. The oil is often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. And it is only He that can blend
all our different personalities together. The second picture is that of the dew of Mt Hermon. The dew of Mt Hermon comes only after a still, quiet night. Tranquility is needed for this dew to form. Unity descends
like Dew as a gift from God. Our part is to ask and receive this gift. But too often we think we can somehow make it happen by our own human efforts.
But let’s remember that we can’t do it on our own. We
cannot force unity. We cannot create unity. So what can we do? We can PRAY for unity!
Pray first that God will work in our hearts. Then pray that He will work in the hearts of others to bring about the kind
of supernatural unity that will show the world the LOVE of God.
In order to enjoy the good and pleasant unity that God offers, every one of us needs to be covered, even drenched with the OIL of God’s Spirit.
Then the Unity of the Spirit can fall on our church like DEW from Heaven. When we have a united church, we will see growth via a love for God, a love each other, and a love for the lost. Then God will
complete his story of redemption.
In His Service,
AKC
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (June)
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” wrote Isaiah in the book of Isaiah 53:6. The above verse was meant to be part of the
prophecy of the coming Messiah that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ fulfilled. It is interesting to note, as this verse shows, that the people of God during the time of Isaiah around 700BC and that of Jesus in
30AD shared one thing in common, they were a people in distress due to their lack of unity.
When the Bible talks about unity it is not confined to a common bond between one believer in God with another, but
rather a wider understanding of unity that includes both the vertical (with God) and horizontal (with men/women) relationships. Jesus gives us a definition of that all encompassing unity in His prayer for all
believers in John 17:20-26. If the Trinity is united as one, shouldn’t the Church be united as one as well?
The answer is “Yes”, Christ commands that we be united and rightly so because without unity the
Church is unable to function and fulfill its purpose as God planned. An example of a church in distress due to disunity is the church that Paul wrote a couple of letters to in the Bible that is 1 & 2
Corinthians. The church at Corinth was a divided church and its leaders were too busy arguing over issues with each other rather than check the spiritual decline of the church. It is from these letters that
Paul gives an essential ingredient that is capable to bring unity back to the ailing church at Corinth and that is “Love” as found in 1 Corinthians 13. Even Peter, the apostle that Paul rebuked at the council
of Jerusalem (Gal 2:11) who amazingly kept his pride at check, also agrees that “Love” covers over a multitude of sins especially with regard to the horizontal relationships (1 Peter 4:8). From who did Paul and
Peter learned this essential ingredient to unity from? Did they not learn it from Christ when He told His disciples to “Love” one another in John 13:35?
Christ identifies who are His disciples and who are
not by stating very clearly that believers who practice “Love for one another” are His disciples. This would mean that those who harbor bitterness and create disunity in the church have no place in the kingdom of
God (Gal 5:19). So if you deem yourself a believer of Christ and are unable to display “Love” to members of the church then you need to repent and invite Christ to transform our lives and remove that erroneous
attitude. Unity comes when we “Love” one another. There is simply no other way as indicated in the Bible.
Personally, if I was given the opportunity to write a book of what I think would solve the problems of
humanity whether it concerns wars, corruption, troubled marriages, work related issues and the lot, that book would be titled “It’s All About Love”. And the source of my inspiration would be the Bible. Why? Because
I can find no other book that shows and gives a clear and unadulterated description of what the word “Love” really means. After all, the Bible IS all about love. May the love and oneness of the Godhead
invoke our hearts to love and strive for unity in the church.
In His Service,
YF
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (May)
Every morning when we pick up the papers, we read about natural calamities, conflict among nations, civil unrests, murders and stories of frauds and corruptions.
To Christians, we know that these are signs of end times (Mark 13:5-8) but to those unbelievers it is just another of those bad days.
If we are to closely scrutinize the root causes of such behemoth problems
the world over, with the exception of natural calamities such as earthquakes, we will find that greed is usually the culprit. Human beings are by nature, pursuers. The unsettling truth is that more is never enough!
Our conventional wisdom tells us, “A man’s reach should always exceed his grasp.” In lay man’s term, human beings are enslaved by wants and expectations that cannot be satisfied.
That was why the apostle Paul calls us to consider his equation for contentment: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Timothy 6: 6-8).
It is good to remind one another as believers of what our Lord Jesus Christ taught us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”(Matthew 6:19-21)
At this point, many will agree that it is easier said than done that we remain steadfast against the temptation of corruption. Sadly, this is the stark truth with human kind. (Mark 14:38) says: “Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Prayers! That was the weapon that Daniel in the Old Testament used whenever he was at a crossroad of threats (Daniel
6:10). Daniel had a disciplined prayer life praying to God for wisdom and guidance. Though many of us may be pressured by our job, family life or social obligations, we should not let these pressures or obstacles
cut into our prayer time. The power of prayer should not be underestimated (James 5:16-18) “…..The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it
would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in
all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Remember the words of a wise old saint, “You never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you’ve got.”
In His Service,
PW
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Apr)
Easter is the central event in the life of the Church. There is nothing more important to a Christian then the sacrificial death and bodily resurrection of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God! Without these historical events, the Christian faith is worthless. As the Apostle Paul tells us, ". . .if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your
faith."(1 Corinthians 15:14)
The resurrection of Christ from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea is something far more than an isolated event of the ancient past that has no significance or meaning for
today. Far from being a mere historical event removed from us by more than two thousand years, the resurrection of Christ is a present reality in the light of which we must live and act today.
1. The resurrection of Christ explained the meaning of his death on the cross.
We read that following his resurrection, “he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures”
(Luke 24:45). From the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, it was revealed that Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross had been in the plan of God from the very beginning. His death was the supreme
demonstration of the determination of God to redeem His people from sin by love (Romans 5:8), by substitution (1 Peter 3:18) and by suffering (1 Peter 2:23-24). The resurrection revealed the greatest price paid for
our redemption – sacrificial death.
2.
The resurrection of Christ gave the disciples a companion for the road of life. Jesus did not arise from the dead merely to give us a new doctrine, although believing in his resurrection is at the very heart of our faith. He arose from the dead to assure his disciples that he had not forsaken them and that he would continue to be with them in a very real and wonderful sense through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18). We are in need of something more than intellectual, political, or financial power if we are to do God’s work effectively in this world today. Through the Holy Spirit, we have access to the spiritual power that Jesus declared would be available through faith in him and cooperation with the Holy Spirit. We can praise God for the availability of this divine energy for those who are obedient.
Christ Jesus is risen from the dead. He is present here today. He is able to save you from sin’s penalty, which is death. He is able to save you from sin’s power and give you victory. He is able to bring the
spirit of God’s holiness and happiness into your heart and life. It is my hope that all of us will continue to celebrate the victory that is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, for indeed we know
our Redeemer lives !
In His Service,
WK
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Mar)
Ah! Chinese New Year is done and over with! Not that I did not enjoy the fair share of fattening up with cookies and the scrumptious reunion dinner spread, and the
Ang Pow collection (thank God my cousins got married so the tally looks nicer this year!). But Chinese New Year brings out the best and the worst in people. The rowdy-ness and queue-cutting at the coupon/free-gift
redemption counter in Carrefour speaks for itself (Vulgarities were exchanged over a mere 5 minute wait for a bottle of lemon 100plus!). Back home, there is the fair share of disputes over how things should be
cleaned, cleared, cooked, arranged, kept, placed ... you name it!)
Similarly in the church, in all events or activities, whether yearly ones (choir), monthly ones (FCG), weekly ones (Worship, CGs) we can
expect excitement over the preparation and also the downside of it – the disputes and difference of opinions. But let not such things break us but bring us closer to each other. Everyone has different opinions over
how things ought to be done, but let’s not forget God’s opinion matters the most. Though God’s Word does not tell us whether peanut cookies taste better with roasted or fried peanuts or whether He prefers our
worship to Him to be with or without musical accompaniments, most likely the focus is not to have one winner and one loser in any situation, but more of the materialization of His Command in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 …
“Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protect, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
If this verse can be a guide to our actions in our preparation for the various events for this year, we
can expect a win-win-win situation (yes, cos God also wins!).
So, as we gear up for various ministries this year, remember that everyone is entitled to an opinion and disputes and differences are bound to
crop up, but the real winner is the one who’s following the above command to a T! God Bless.
In His Service,
YC
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Feb)
We are already in the second month of the new year and with the lunar new year just round the corner. This is the second year since we have
embarked on the church theme of “Building the Church In Unity for Christ”. We read about the important elements required to build up the church. But why do we build up the church? One of the reasons is because we
are family. Paul reminds us that we are bonded together through Christ. We partake of the same loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17). If we look at the example of the early church, it shows us what it means to belong to a
community, a family of God’s people. And what does FAMILY mean?
Focusing on Christ and His Word
- They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
Affirming each other as we grow in grace
- Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. (Acts 2:46)
Magnifying God through lives of worship
- Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. (Acts 2:47)
Imagining the nations won for Christ
- And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)
Loving people
- Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2:45)
Yoked together in love
- All the believers were together and had everything in common. (Acts 2:44)
We are all in this together and we need to support one another. As singer/song writer Michael Card wrote:
There is a joy in the journey, There’s a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life, And freedom for those who obey
And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind
To all who've been born in the Spirit, And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time, And weary of struggling with sin
Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost
There is a joy in the journey, There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life, And freedom for those who obey
And freedom for those who obey...
Wishing you all a blessed Lunar New Year and joy in your journey.
In His Service,
AKC
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BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Jan)
Today, as we enter another era while unveiling a new chapter in our lives, it is only appropriate for us to pause for a moment to marvel over the beauty of God’s
creation around us: from the tropical rainforest to the swampy mangroves, from the soaring eagle to the tree-climbing squirrel and from the blue expanse of heaven to a tiny drop of dew on our window sill.
It is this same God who has also sculptured each of us individually and uniquely for the building of the Church in unity for Christ. What are the important elements required to build a united Church?
The Christians in Antioch was a church that cared for the welfare of others.
When a severe famine was predicted for Jerusalem and for the entire Roman world, the Antioch church decided to provide practical help for the fellow Christians in Judea, each according to his ability・(Acts 11:29). The decision to help the Christians was not only important but practical to the need of the believers. Those helpful Christians would have been only showing idealism rather than realism had they only sent messages of sympathy and comfort to the needy. They believed that if one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness・(1 Corinthians 12:26).
This same church in Antioch had a distinct sense of worth and respect for every person. They believed that in every man and woman, God has created a reservoir of possibilities and potentials,
given the right circumstances and training. As Christians, we are given the infinite possibilities because we come in contact with Christ, the great Stimulus of the universe. As the apostle Paul affirmed in 2
Corinthians 4:7 ・We, like common clay pots have this spiritual treasure, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us・
The next important element for us to consider
in building a united Church is that Christ must be central. When there are disagreements in view and action amongst Christians, it is imperative for such situations to be dealt with grace, dignity and without
any partiality.
In Acts 15:39-41, we are told that the church in Antioch displayed a commendable attitude when there was a sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul. It did not allow the dispute to cause a rift in the church even though the two great missionary leaders ultimately sailed off in separate directions but with a single objective to strengthen the churches. The church at Antioch knew not only how to act but also to react. The moral lesson for us today is that when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Master and gather around Him only, we will invariably find our common unity as a family of God’s people. Then, only then will we be able to transcend all of our personal differences and crossing all boundaries of self-centeredness.
Perhaps a new set of circumstances and fresh experiences await for each of us in the year that lies ahead.
Along this same pathway we travel with our fellow Christians, we may encounter difficulties and disappointments with each other, perhaps even a great deal of pain. But let us constantly keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and make Him our main focus of attention, then whatever happens, the Spirit of the Lord will help us like eagles to soar above the winds of adversity and raising us to the heights to achieve our objective of 釘uilding the Church in Unity for Christ・
In His Service,
MG
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