First Week in August

My son and his wife had left Sabah to return to New Zealand. They were back in Kota Kinabalu for three weeks. And the first week of August is about to be concluded. It's been amazing week, but the struggles of church life remain. In the elders' meeting, I told them that with the pastor gone for one week (last week I preached in another SIB church) and I did not attend the rehearsal, it was reported to me that the music was way too loud.

Planning for August

After a hectic month of July, I think I will have a busier August. Starting tonight sharing and leading Friday’s prayer meeting. Then on Sunday preaching in another SIB church nearby and this is the third SIB church beside my own congregation that I preach within the month. It is unusual for a church pastor to go out so often but beginning next Sunday I shall be preaching three consecutive weeks in my own place until the end of August when I shall travel into one of farthest interior churches there is in Sabah.

Confronting a Brother

Why relationships fray or be broken down altogether? Often times, outwardly people remain nice, but their hearts are filled with hatred, ready to backstab one's friends or foes at any given time. A few days ago I confronted a brother who did me great wrong. The incident of his transgression took place about 3 months ago. Over 30 minutes we talked and I tried to convince me what he did was uncalled for, unjust and shameful (though not in those strong words).

July is the Month

I am nearing surpassing 10,000 readers of my blog third month in a row. I have preached from East to West of Sabah from Sandakan to Tuaran and my own congregation in the north-east of Kota Kinabalu. July has been the month of many blessings. My son and his wife came back home from NZ unexpectedly and we have them for 3 weeks before they return to Auckland next Monday. My youngest brother also dropped by in KK and we had dinner and off he went to Australia his permanent home if he is not travelling to UK and Singapore.

"David has Slain his Ten Thousands"

I was explaining to a church member about the meaning of the young women's praise of King Saul and David which gave rise to the former's jealousy of the latter. King Saul was a hero to God's people especially in his first ten years or so, but during his latte years he fell away from the Lord and the Lord raised up a shepherd boy to replace the king. Even in his early years in Saul's service, David proved to be heroic, not just for killing the giant Goliath but winning many battles against the Philistines. But the Israelite maidens' song of praise for David got to Saul's nerve. David slain his ten thousands while Saul had only 1,000 to his name. Thus, the cause of jealousy as we often see played out in real life.

60 + 1

A month ago I conducted my 27th or 28th End-Time Seminar. There were a lot of numbers. The triple series of sevens. The first two sevens could be divided to 6+1 as there are actually only 6 seal-event with the 7th a structuring device introducing the 7 trumpets which in themselves only 6 trumpet-event as the 7th trumpet announces the arrival of the Lord’s kingdom and introduces the 7 last bowls of judgments. I have reflected on my 60 years of this earthly life and in one day it will be 60+1. I have been back to Sabah from Singapore for more than 11 years now. 7 plus years in active ministry while 3 years plus 8 months in waiting for the next call or appointment.

Visionary Leadership

Tomorrow, God willing, I shall be leading a group of 15 members of the church to visit another church in a nearby District. It will be a culmination of almost 6 months of prayers, sharing the vision and confirming the visit, picking the team, rehearsals and the like. I shared the vision in the Leaders' Retreat that sometime this year we will connect with a nearby church in another District (within an hour's drive) and we hope to establish a sister church relationship. A week after sharing the vision in late January 2025, barely two months since I started my role as pastor, I met this church leader at a fast food restaurant near my house and after an exchange of greetings, he invited me and my church members to visit.

Three Times in a Week

It is not often I spoke three times within a week. I spoke at the Cell Group for about 30 minutes, then one whole hour on Saturday evening with about 10 Worship leaders of our church and yesterday I preached for 39 minutes on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, coming from preaching twice the week before in Sandakan. All three messages made a certain impact on the hearers and the best was the message I spoke to about 20 leaders gathered in our fellowship hall on the 2nd floor. I spoke about worship leaders leading the congregation to drink from the one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13).

A Dream

Last night I shared from Isaiah 55:1-7 in our cell group. This is one of the more regular cell groups in different homes near our church in Penampang. My wife and I arrived at the house 20 minutes early and I conversed with the father and mother of the house. The lady of the house seemed to know about my Sandakan ministry at Elopura as it was broadcast live over Facebook. After my sharing as I shared a couple of prayer items, about our next Sunday visit to Tuaran and other activities. Suddenly a former female pastor who is in her 60s, shared a dream. She is a faithful member of the church and followed almost all church events including the last seminar on the End-Times.

Preaching Twice within 14 hours

It was a weekend ministry in Sandakan, the town of my birth. It started off with an early flight as before 10am I already landed in Sandakan after a 40 min flight. I had no idea what my hosts had planned for me in terms of accommodation. As they had bought my tickets to reach there early I thought I was going to stay in the church house. But they took me to morning tea without telling me that lunch would follow straight after that at 11.15am. I ate plenty both times and checked into the hotel at 1pm and rested from 2.30pm to 4pm.

From 60s to 70s

I am truly in my 60s, though not many would believe it, especially those who see me in action. Tomorrow I am flying off to a city in the East Coast of Sabah and it was more than 3 months since I flew for ministry. I thought in my 60s, I would probably fly more often than drive, as driving on Sabah roads could be treacherous to say the least. When I was in my 30s when I left my HQ post as Treasurer-General I thought to myself that if only 10 Districts invite me to preach, that would be fine as I travelled to 28 districts in 3 years when I was 31-34 years old.