Sunday, 9th September 2007
I have received another email from a total stranger about his spiritual awakening journey. He has allowed me to publish it in full as a means to encourage others out there who are also seeking.
This makes it the 3rd testimony, the earlier two being blogged about in
The Path Already Taken
The Aftermath Part 1
If there is anyone who has made the journey in the opposite direction, please do write and let me know so that it does not appear that this blog is biased :-)
-----Original Message-----
From: Stanley Wong
Sent: Friday, 24 August, 2007 1:05 PM
To: Malcolm Loh
Subject: "Nearly Attending NCC" - My own experience
Hi Malcolm,
My name is Stanley Wong, and I have been attending NCC since 19/10/2003. I stumbled upon your blog a few days ago when I was searching you tube for videos of Pastor Peter Youngren (who preached in NCC on 1/8/2007 and 2/8/2007) and Pastor Prince. I saw your video of giving away 25 copies of "Destined To Reign". Only someone who is overwhelmed by God's grace can open his heart and wallet to pour out more grace on others, just like the tax collector Zacchaeus after his encounter with Jesus :-).
Anyway, I started browsing your blog and read about your being removed from leadership and almost attending NCC. I am not writing to encourage you to come over to NCC but just want to share my personal experience.
Before NCC, I had been attending an AOG church for about 30 years. I attended the church's Sunday School as a little boy and graduated to the main worship service as an adult. I also got married in the church. The then senior pastor knew my whole family (my mum, brother and sisters).
I first visited NCC on 19/10/2003 because my father was very ill, and my sister's sis-in-law recommended NCC and we went hoping for a miracle cure. Sadly, my father passed away 2 weeks later. Now, I regret that I have not come to NCC earlier and learn the proper teaching on healing and divine health - my father would still be around today.
However, after the funeral, our families (my own family, my sister's family, my mum and another single sis) started attending NCC regularly. It was just a natural thing to do because we were stunned by the message being preached. The bible was explained in such a different light that it so fed our inner hunger and yet stirred up more hunger in us.
Although we have been Christians for decades, we were spiritually in coma. We were not hungry for God, just glad that we are not going to hell that's all. Going to church every sunday was a chore, a duty so we ended up always arriving late. The sermons did not nourish us, only serving to make us feel guilty that "we are not living up to God's standards". My sisters stopped attending church after graduating from sunday school, only my mum and I continued.
That morning of 19/10/2003 was the first time my sisters attended church in almost twenty years. After the service, my sister was so excited about the Word preached that she carried on a discussion with my mum about the sermon. I was actually reluctant to attend other churches (partly I was lazy and partly I thought I should be faithful to my church) but I went for my father's sake.
Now, our families look forward to sunday every week, it has become the highlight of the week. Yes, we go hours earlier to get priority queue tickets, and buy cds and dvds to listen some more at home or in my case at my stall. I was working in a bank four years ago but I am now a hawker. I have given away quite a few cds to customers who showed interest in the sermons they overheard at the stall.
Anyway, my point is that we came to NCC because of the good spiritual food served to us. Those who are hungry will naturally seek out the place where good food is served. The ones who can stand the hunger no longer will move. I have heard accusations that NCC grew to be so large by poaching Christians from other churches. To me, this does not matter at all because I came to NCC by "accident" (not poached) and stayed because I benefited from the food served. My whole family is closer knit than ever before and greatly blessed (you should know ;-) )!
After I came to NCC, I discovered that several of my former church's ex-leaders were already attending NCC regularly! One of them was an ex-honorary secretary of the church board and another was a interpretor for the senior pastor (my former church had combined English and Cantonese service). They don't hold leadership positions in NCC but are very happy here because of the good food.
About your being removed from your church leadership, I hope I can encourage you that your acceptance of it with grace will be a great testimony for the gospel of grace. Pastor Prince once preached on Issac who was mocked by Ishmael, meaning children of grace will be persecuted by children of law. So your facing difficulties in your church should be expected, don't be discouraged or bitter.
You don't need to be a church leader to influence others. Your own personal life with its great blessings and joy and energy will provoke others to "jealousy". They will seek you out and ask you for the "secret", just like Nicodemus sought Jesus for the secret of eternal life.
Some people think the gospel of grace is heresy but I have found that when the bible is preached in the light of grace that everything gels together, there is no contradiction. I have heard Pastor Peter Youngren and Pastor Aage (from Norway) preach and their sermons gel together. I recommend the website peterwade.com where there are many articles from men of God past and present on the pure unadulterated grace of God and they all gel! I have attached the article "Righteousness" by Peter Allard for your enjoyment.
God bless you richly,
Stanley
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