Monday, 24th March 2008
Last week, I had supper with a couple of brothers, who used to be leaders among the youth in my church. They happen to have added me as friends on Facebook, and that was how I discovered the similar journey they had gone through last year.
Seems like they were given an ultimatum by our previous youth pastor about subscribing to grace messages, so they decided to leave the flock.
Now that that particular pastor has moved on to another church, it is also a signal for these brothers to be restored back into fellowship.
I can see how powerfully the Holy Spirit is moving in these last days. Specifically in my church, the grace gospel is being caught on by not only those in the English congregation, but also among the Chinese congregation and the youth as well. In fact, the church has embarked on inductive bible study, and the first book that was selected was Paul's epistle to the Galatians. In that book, the contrast between Law and Grace cannot have been made any clearer.
Do continue to keep my church and her pastors in prayer.
10 comments:
Grace gospel caught on I suspect is because people treat it as 'Cheap Grace' - I want more and more blessings, without any inconvenience and discomfort done to myself. A familiar consumerism-like attitude.
A Real Grace Gospel corrects our natural value system, eg. The last shall be the first, the greatest shall me the least, do unto others as you want other to do to you....etc. Instead of hoarding grace, we become the channel of grace giver. So a litmus test to a grace gospel is...do you simply consume grace, or does it correct your value system, and turn you into a person with godly characters that glories God when no one sees you ?
you are of course, entitled to your own opinion.
but there are 19,000 who gather at Suntec each week, and the hundreds of thousands all around the world who have caught the message.
may the Holy Spirit reveal more of Christ to you, dear brother or sister.
Dear anonymous
i'm not ashame to say I embrace the grace gospel with the desire to be blessed. (and blessed abundantly!) Because in & of myself, i'm not capable of providing 24/7 protection for my kids & the family i love dearly, health for their bodies & souls, provisions for them in every aspects, the humility to serve others around me & the courage to share the gospel openly with the ppl i meet..
I can only receive it/do so by faith.
If u hv a better way thru ur doctrine, please share them with me :)
In His grace,
17,000 people in Suntec are hungry for grace messages, and mamy more from other churches as well. But how many are willing to hear that when we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, we need to give up what is inside them (such as me-first, my rights, having things done in my ways...etc). Jesus is grace giver, but He is also our Teacher and Master, who transforms us through the power of Holy Sprit. If a preacher only projects Jesus as a grace giver, then the listeners will behave obediently as grace receivers/consumers (effortless), seeking the gifts without the Giver. When a preacher projects Jesus as Teacher/Master, then the message will be less popular, because it means we need efforts to be His disciples, such as practicing self denial, and picking up the cross of Jesus daily. Grace is certainly effortless because it is freely given, but without daily efforts striving to be His disciple, it is also cheap and shallow. -tct
First and foremost, it is 19,000 not 17,000 :-)
Secondly, we limit God when we think that we need to earn His love and His blessings.
All our righteous deeds are but filthy rags.
Mary sat at His feet while Martha busied herself in the kitchen. Yet it was Mary that pleased our Lord.
The woman at the well drew from Him and the irony was that Jesus was refreshed.
We therefore need a paradigm shift in the way we view our God. Do not be ashamed or paiseh to take from Him because that is what pleases Him.
Contrary to what you say, we cheapen and make light of grace when we limit God and see Him the way we see other humans. While humans get drained when we draw from them, the reverse is true about our great and infinite God.
Dear bro/sis anonymous
U might be right that not all 17,000 who worships at the church in Suntec "are willing to hear that when we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, we need to give up what is inside them (such as me-first, my rights, having things done in my ways...etc)" but can u say the same for the cohorts in your church?
Phil 1:6 tells us "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;".
God is always, continuing, working in every one of us alike til the day of Jesus Christ. Once we've put our faith & trust in Him, He starts working in us, teaching us. And although ppl like me take more of God's effort because i try too hard sometimes with my own efforts, He never gives up on me. (Praise Jesus for that!)
Each of our walk with God is unique to Him. Including yours.
"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us complete in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen?" ;)
Blessings,
Hi Angie...I am pretty sure our congregation are hungry to hear compelete grace messages, if they find half-baked messages palatable, they would have gone to Suntec for nourishment.... :)
Hi
I'm sorry if i wasn't clear previously. What I had meant to say is not all christians who attends church are like you who seek His kingdom and His righteousness, with the attitude to give up what is inside you (such as the me-first, my rights, having things done in my ways mentality) be it in your church or mine.
That's where God's transformation takes place in everyone of us isn't it? Of course when one has a teachable Spirit, things are easier. But that doesn't mean if one doesn't have, God stops working in us. He still does. All the time. It's His faithfulness not ours. It's really not about us and our behaviour modification.
In NCC we adopt a 'We serve because we are loved" mentality. We first learn about how much we are loved before we can serve. I think in doing so, the result is more lasting. Cos we do it out of a love and appreciation of Jesus' finished work on the cross for us.
To say 'grace gospel caught on I suspect is because people treat it as 'cheap grace' is an utter insult to the Perfecter and a sorry to use this word - shallow understanding of God's grace. :p
Remember Jesus said "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" (which i'm guilty of this count often)
Having said that, I do see where your concerns stem from. But let us not fear and let God do His job ok? Jesus did not redeem us so that we can take on His job of transforming/changing others. ;)
Blessings to you!
Thank you Angie. As the bible says...the reason we Love is because He FIRST loves us. As I took the Holy Communion elements at my church yesterday’s morning, I felt what Agape Love is about - His body and blood. And then I began to understand deeply what David meant when he said in Psalm 23...the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not WANT. Agape Love is enough, I shall not want (job promotion, raises, bonuses..etc). The more grace (WANT?) we ask of God, he more He is pleased ? Or, the more we love and trust in His son (the true grace), the more he is pleased ? Lastly… For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through LOVE. Gal 5:16
Very interesting read, and I discovered that you are the very anonymous "debating" about "cheap grace" and yet again, you remain conveniently anonymous ...
Sis Angie is right, she alone cannot represent the 17000 or 19000 and claim that all are, like you, seeking His righteousness & kingdom. In fact, many are indeed (perhaps even myself) too weak in the flesh to carry the cross! But thank God Jesus said it that His yoke is wholesome & His burden light and easy to be borne!
Yet, I can read that you have conveniently represent your whole cohort (unless it's really small in numbers and easily accountable) that """I am pretty sure our congregation are hungry to hear compelete grace messages, if they find half-baked messages palatable, they would have gone to Suntec for nourishment.... :)"""
What makes you so sure none had left your church because they continue to live in defeats and stress as they attempt to carry the cross with their will power and "works" and preachings of 7 steps & 9 steps!
I spent 8 years in a church, served as one of the youth leaders, was a cell group leader, and serve in numerous projects, many fund raising projects, but at the end of these 8 years, me & my family stopped attending church altogether. We backslided. We believed God exists, and we are still saved, but attending church or not no longer makes any difference. We cannot remember anything that was preached! Not a single sermons that I could recall! Later I discovered that I was no alone. Many of my kakis who served have also left the church, some to other churches, some are like me, till today are absolutely not interested in going back to church! So sad! We were so sincere in our seeking and serving but we were so defeated!
My family abstained from church for 2 years, all my sundays were happy days shopping and having fun in the park, but deep inside we longed for Him.
My good bro from my old church passed me a NCC CD. I was very skeptical and left it on my table for 6 months. Out of boredom while mopping the floor, I decided to play the CD. The sermon touched the core of my heart, and for the first time in 10 years, me & my wife agreed that this was what we have been searching for. Now for the last 7 years our sundays are spent happily in church, embraced in the love of our Lord Jesus. We used to be late for church, but now we were willing to queue for hours to attend church. Now I listen to recorded sermons daily, read the bible effortlessly, always aware of His presence & unconditional love for me.
My family has been radically transformed by what you have defined as "cheap grace".
My family has been greatly blessed through NCC. The grace that I know is not cheap, it cost my Jesus.
Have you been transformed by His grace or you boast of your efforts to be His disciples, such as practicing self denial, and picking up the cross of Jesus daily?
If that is the case, your righteousness did not come from Jesus, it came from your flesh. Self-righteousness stinks!
Shalom Shalom,
William
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