Twists & Turns

Just as I thought things were almost settled, there are further twists and turns. The Lord prepared me for this as I was reading Romans 8,21ff for Saturday's convocation sermon - "More than conquerors". Truly one can do all things through Christ. Nothing could unsettle one whose mind is fixed on Thee, Lord.

O Books, Whither your Home?

Deciding where to send my books has been the greatest challenge. My home destination is not the ideal addressee neither is my current location. Thus, I sent a box full of my most precious books to my son in New Zealand in the hope that he will make use of some of them, maybe not now but in years to come. A man is only as good as his tools. A quick glance of the pastor's library will tell me whether the pastor will go far in the ministry of the Word. He must know words in order to articulate the Word. No wonder Paul was chosen to write half the New Testament because he was learned than most. No wonder he was called to be the apostle to the nations because the nations were multilingual like Paul and Paul was an expert in Greek, the lingua franca of the day.

Final Reckoning

It is the finale. In the next 36 hours I have to decide what to bring with me and what goes into the recycle bin. I am sorting out my papers for the 10th time. Already gave all my notes to one former student but I still have stacks of photocopied articles. Most will be thrown out just like salt that has lost its saltiness. Perhaps I will ship my last three boxes of books or maybe I will give them away. This is the third and final time I am bringing things back with me to Sabah. One lesson I have learned through moving houses in the past months is that moving is hard and that's why very few choose to move. Perhaps a spiritual analogy why very few truly follow Christ because it involves going and moving.

Cutting Ties & Burning Bridges

I may leave one place to another which in a sense is cutting ties and burning bridges. But in another sense one thing I do not do is to cut ties with friends or burn bridges with churches and institutions. My return to Kota Kinabalu is largely facilitated by friends who remember my ministry with a degree of fondness and these ties will be renewed by the will of the Lord. The bond that ties brothers together is love and when there is love ties are not broken but remain strong. Bridges that are not burnt could be traversed again, bridges of friendship and comradeship. A lot of these ties are made and strengthened over a cup of coffee in fellowship and mutual encouragement in the work of the Lord.

Hope against Hope

Abraham and David are among my favourite fathers in the Old Testament. Abraham went forth without knowing where he was going. The destination was not told him until he was on the way. Just before I left Sabah on Wednesday, my future was still totally in the dark. I proceeded to cancel my credit card and close my bank accounts except one for no man can escape the tax man and until next year I will still need to pay taxes for income earned this year. This time we bought return tickets to Sabah. But all these without knowing what my future holds for me.

Sleepless in Singapore

I spent a sleepless night. I thought I escaped from the heat of the battle by returning to Singapore but alas when I received news from home I did not know what to make of it. I tossed and turned, seeking the Lord per chance He will speak in His gentle voice but when I got up I was nowhere near resolving what was going through my mind whole night. So I prayed to Lord, have mercy on your church. You are the King. Let your decree concerning Your servant stand. This morning I read half of Hosea. Yesterday before the news came, I read half of Esther.

2nd Phase of Sabbatical Ends

My 6 weeks in Sabah have been times of refreshing and times of hearing and speaking the Word of God. I had preached 4 times, twice in Ranau and twice in Kota Kinabalu. It achieved its desired effect that more and more people know that I am back in Sabah. Last night out of the blue, we were invited to a dinner by a former church member. They were some of my strongest supporters when I was pastor, and it saddens me that some of my closest friends had moved to another church. We talked for 2 hours on many things but it was mutually edifying. I have learned not to count the chickens before they hatched. Nothing is sure until it is sure.

The Last Sermon

I preached for 65 minutes, the longest sermon in 7 years. The text given to me was 1 Kings 17-19. Elijah and Jezebel and their conflict. I also spoke about the prophetic ministry in the New Testament from 1 Cor 12, 14 and Eph 2,20; 3,5; 4,7-16. The songs were mostly new to me but the song leader was one I worked with during my time as pastor. He is a wonderful song leader. I felt strong in the Lord as I had prepared for 10 days. Early Sunday at 4am I was already up. The Word was not easily contained as I spoke even as the oracles of God. I went on so long because I could see the church was ready for it. One visitor told me she understood little of what I said because it was in Malay. How did I learn to speak Malay? Well I told her I was Malay educated and proud to speak the national language well. I asked her whether she found the worship meaningful. She said Malay was a romantic language and the worship was touching. I couldn't agree more.

Sunshine & Leadership

For the first time in 9 days I was greeted with sunshine this morning. Leaders are bringers of light as king David says when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light (2 Sam 23,3).

Feast of Ingathering & Israel

One of the prophetic signs of sukkot is the ingathering of the nations and then salvation will reach Israel even as Paul the apostle said that when the number of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel shall be saved (Rom 11,26). The appointed time is now. Gentiles from every nation are being gathered in and when this gathering is complete, God will turn to save His elect, the people of Israel. Evangelism should be hastened and preaching the Gospel should be given priority as we hasten the coming of the day of God.

Prophecy & Feast of Tabernacles

For Christians, the only major Feast that is left unfulfilled is sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus Christ the Lamb of God has been sacrificed on Passover and the Holy Spirit has been poured out on Pentecost, leaving Tabernacles as the prophetic Feast looking forward to the end-time. In Lev 23, a total of 7 Feasts are enumerated beginning with the Sabbath day. The 7th month lists 3 Feasts, Rosh Hashanah, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles which is the climax of the festal year. It is called the Feast of ingathering as crops and grapes and olives are gathered in the barns in late Autumn in preparation for the next year of planting and sowing. Hence, the prayer for rain, the early rain for the crops to grow and the latter rain for the crops to mature and ripen. We are into a season of the latter rain as the first Pentecost was the early rain while the end- times will see a double portion of the latter rain so that crops mature quicker and the harvest is large beyond measure. Speaking of rain, it has been raining 7 days non-stop in KK, a sign of the latter rain which the church will experience that will impact the world greater that the charismatic renewal of the 1960s and 70s.