by Admin | Feb 24, 2018 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip. (John 1:46)
Nathanael’s response indicated that Nazareth did not enjoy a good reputation in Galilee. Perhaps Nathanael, who came from Bethsaida, looked down on Nazareth as a rival village, either poorer or morally worse than his own. The historical background of Nazareth was it was an insignificant small village and it did not enjoy a good reputation since the Roman occupation.
So, it was not surprising that Nathanael’s response was indifference when he blatted with the words of “Can anything good come from there?” But what was interesting was Philip’s response. Instead of trying to explain further which he apparently could not since he was also a new follower of Jesus or enter into an argument with Nathanael. He invited Nathanael to “Come and see for himself”.
Similarly Jesus Himself invited those who inquired about Him to “COME AND SEE” – John 1:39, “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
There is yet another such invitation recorded in the Bible where the Samaritan woman told her people to come and see. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29).
There are important lessons we can learn. Too often we are quick to pass critical judgement on people who turn down the Gospel we so passionately shared. Especially when they are from a different cultural background, social status and educational level. We want instant result from our effort. We fail to recognise that people are indifferent to the Saviour only because they do not know Him yet. Jesus is to them nothing but a name.
So, how can we like Philip invite Nathanael to “come and see for himself?”
May I suggest the following:
First, we can read and share from the Bible what it says about our Lord Jesus. This is inviting others to come and examine for themselves who Jesus is and what Jesus said about Himself and the Kingdom of God. About repentance and believing in Him for eternal life. Did you notice Philip’s invitation was “Come” and not “Go”? So, it is important we should come alongside them to spend time exploring what the Bible teaches us.
The second thing we could do is to share our personal testimony when the opportunity arises. Our friends want to hear the events or the progression that contributes to shaping our conviction in believing Jesus.
Finally, we can pray together with them and for them to know and believe in Jesus. There is only so much that a man’s effort can accomplish for the Cross but it is the encounter of Jesus and the Spirit that will prove most persuasive.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 24&25 February 2018)
by Admin | Dec 16, 2017 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
I had the privilege to attend a celebration with another people group from a different cultural background recently. The celebration was very special and extremely meaningful. It was a reminder for them, and also for us, on the cost of following Jesus. Three people shared their testimonies. All three spoke about their fears, anxiety and shame brought upon their families, and the very real consequences of being disowned by their parents when they decided to follow Jesus. These were just some of the many obstacles faced by them. However, they also shared with the congregation their joy of discovering Jesus, the peace they had, the assurance of salvation and their desire to faithfully follow Jesus.
I particularly like to share one testimony given by a lady. She started by sharing her background as a very religious person. In fact, she was made to be a young leader in her former faith. She often organized and led spiritual camps as well as prayer and reflection sessions for the youths and teens.
She came to know Christ while pursuing her PhD overseas. During this period, she frequently conversed with her godmother. In one rare instance, her godmother told her to read the Bible. As a researcher she was trained not to be biased, and in her quest to discover the truth, she started to ask lots of questions right from Adam’s original sin, the nature of sin, the concept of sacrifice, about Jesus being God, salvation, laws, grace and much more. In her intense discourse, she started to peel off her former faith gradually — the laws, rituals, sins, treatment/status of women and it became clear it did not make sense to her anymore. She was convinced that Jesus was the only true God but she could not bring herself to accept Jesus because it would mean hurting her parents. In her struggle she turned to her godmother once again and was instead asked to read Acts 9. The title of the chapter was “Saul’s Conversion”, and in verse 4b Jesus asked Saul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” She felt Jesus was asking her, “Why are you denying me?” Right away she knew she can no longer deny Jesus anymore. Shortly, her godmother led her through a prayer. As she uttered the last word of the prayer, she felt her entire burden has been lifted. For the first time, she felt free. The presence of the Holy Spirit warmed her heart and gave the peace she deeply yearned. She accepted Jesus into her life and her heart beats for Jesus now.
The above testimony seemed too impossible that someone like her who was so devout to her former faith could believe and receive Jesus into her life. Mark 10:27 says, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
So, let us not be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who …believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17).
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 16&17 December 2017)
by Admin | Sep 3, 2016 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
I have been thinking for a while what is holy living? I believe it is the pursuit of God. The thirst for God and we will not be satisfied until we have drunk deeply at the fountain of living water…. the desire for God above all.
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself; and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and centre of their being, their spirit.” It was no wonder the Psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).
Too often we are ever so contented with just knowing the principles of the doctrines of Christ and we are satisfied with the fundamentals of faith. So much so we may feel that nothing is unusual in our personal lives. We are contented with the doctrine of being saved but lacked the hunger or thirst after Christ. God has to be experienced and to be tasted. No amount of Bible reading will help us to grow deeper in our relationship with Him if we do not exercise our intellectual understanding of what we read with the response in deed and life applications. Are we willing to risk losing everything and trust God even when we face adversity? Can we believe that His marvellous plan is to prosper us and not to harm us even in the midst of facing misfortune, persecution and oppression? We can never experience God when we cannot trust Him in the first place even when trusting Him is going against the grain… when all worldly logic points in one direction but yet we choose to go the other way in obedience to God. No fear of consequences and its final outcome. Just trust in Him alone.
In the story of Abraham and Isaac we know very well that God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son. It is a dramatic picture of the surrendered life. Abraham was old and the child was the delight and idol of his heart. He offered Isaac his son as God had directed him to do and then trusted God. This was Abraham’s trial by fire. Dreadful and excruciatingly painful it must have been but Abraham did not fail for he was willing to trust all in God.
We too will have our moments when we need to bring our status, ego, fear, wealth which we cling on so tightly to and the things of this world we love so much, and lay them before the Lord and surrender to Him. Are we willing to experience Him when the time comes?
Finally, at the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in a conscious awareness of His presence.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 3&4 September 2016)
by Admin | Nov 14, 2015 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
God’s primary agenda in the life of a believer is to conform the child into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. No other word sums up His character in relationship to us like the word “forgiving”. The familiar verse taken from John 3:16 quotes, “For God so love the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loves His creation so dearly that He is willing to provide a way for amendments to be made, to forgive and redeem us through His own Son.
We never look more like Christ than when we forgive. Unparalleled joy and victory come from allowing Christ to do the unyielding thing with us. For many, perhaps nothing is more difficult than forgiving another. Forgiveness is our determined and our deliberate willingness to let something go. To release it from our possession. To be willing and ready for it to no longer occupy us. Forgiveness means letting it go to God. Letting it go from our power to His.
Forgiving is the ongoing act in which we agree with God over the matter, practice the mercy He’s extended to us and surrender the situation, the repercussions and the hurtful person to Him. Too many strongholds are connected to an unwillingness in our hearts to forgive. Left untreated, un-forgiveness becomes spiritual cancer. Bitterness takes root and since the root feeds the rest of the tree, every branch of our lives and every fruit on each limb ultimately becomes poisoned. The bottom line is un-forgiveness makes us sick. Always spiritually. Often emotionally and surprisingly often, physically. As such un-forgiveness qualifies as one of the most powerfully effective forms of bondage in any believer’s life. If you may recall, Jesus taught in one of His many parables. Peter asked the Lord how many times should he forgive his brothers and sisters who sin against him and Jesus replied seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22). Now, we can understand that God’s unrelenting insistence on our forgiveness is for our own sake, not for the sake of the one who hurt us.
I would like to leave us with the end of the Lord’s Prayer as a reminder for us to take note of the consequential warning of a hardened and unforgiving heart. Where Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt 6:14-15).
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 14&15 November 2015)
by Admin | Jul 12, 2014 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
This year the Lord has opened doors for the church to undertake three short-term mission trips. I thank the Lord for answered prayers and I am excited to see many expressing interest and signing up for them.
I have also signed up for two trips this year. But shortly after I did that, I received a piece of alarming news that my mum was diagnosed with third-stage cancer. I was also feeling unwell at that time. It was a blow to my family and my travel plans. I immediately updated some brothers and sisters and asked for their prayers. I believe in the power of intercessory prayers of the righteous because God has shown to me many times that He listens and He intervenes.
In a crisis like this, I turned to God once again and cried out to Him for His mercy and healing for my mum. A series of events took place… the doctor that was recommended by a friend whom I had visited earlier, was also a specialist in the area of colon cancer. I quickly referred my mum to see him. An operation was carried out immediately in the following week to remove a part of the colon and to send it to the laboratory for testing.
Meanwhile the Lord ministered to me from my reading of His Word. Hebrews 11 exhorted me to put faith into action, by listing the lives of some men and women of great faith. Verse 1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” And verse 6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
It is natural for us to have emotions of sadness and pain when bad news hits us. In life we will all experience it at some point in time but the more important question is how we deal with it. We can choose to be fixated with the problem and be gripped by fear or we can turn to God who cares for us. Psalm 112:7-8 says, “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.” So, let us learn from the Psalmist to trust in the Lord when adversities come our way.
I was encouraged and realised that the Lord was leading my family in a faith journey to experience Him in such a manner. This led us to constantly pray asking the Lord to heal my mum. Today, we have so much to thank God for. Three days after her operation, the result from the laboratory showed no trace of cancer spreading from the removed section of the colon. It was a miracle. As such my plan for the short-term mission trips was also reinstated and I want to thank God for it.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 12&13 July 2014)
by Admin | Jul 13, 2013 | Juan Hui, • Timely Word •
While on my way to Manila for the Global Discipleship Congress (GDC), I read a special report of the “Boston Bombing” from the Times Publication.
An excerpt reads, “The fastest route back to ordinary life is paved by extraordinary kindness. To those who were witness to the horrific violence, the city of Boston opened its arms. Many runners who escaped unharmed were left wandering in the growing cold that night, no ID, no credit cards, no money or luggage, unable to return to their hotels because they were locked down in the blast zone. Boston residents emerged from their homes with sweaters and plates of food; girls on Newbury Street passed out white flowers to runners, asking them to return for next year’s race. A rabbi who’d been at the finish line offered the National Guards guarding the site some pastries and thanked them for their service. On the other side of Boylston Street, marathon organizers were giving out medals to anyone with a runner’s bib, and a nearby Starbucks was serving free coffee and doughnuts to everyone on the street. By night fall more than 6,000 people had offered places to sleep for the displaced, while the Red Cross opened shelters.”
Likewise, Jesus told a story of the “Good Samaritan” where an expert in the law asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” In reply, Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:30-37).
The GDC and PITH (Partners In The Harvest) are two conferences with the aim to ignite spiritual passion for the Great Commission. We often hear Christians talk and quote the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission.
In the gospel, we have also read that one of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:35-39).
Why did Jesus quote the second commandment as well, and not stop short after giving the first and greatest commandment? I believe Jesus intended to teach us that if we truly love God, it will manifest within us in an outward expression of loving people.
Man is made in His image with capacity to receive and give love. And it is God’s love that we have received, that knows no bounds, that will propel us to fulfil His Great Commission.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 13&14 July 2013)
