CRUISEMATIC

Today, at our bi-annual Minister's retreat, I Iearned a new word: Cruisematic. Pastor Kelvin from Singapore stated that in the past ten years, church in Singapore has stagnated even though there exist mega churches. Pastor Kelvin then mentioned that there are different kinds of churches in Singapore. Citing for example the charismatic churches, he then mentioned the "Cruisematic" churches. This phrase is something new to me and it amuses me. We all understood what he meant: Christians cruising from one church to another. Keeping this though in mind, here's a little make believe story to illustrate my thoughts today.

It was after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus disciples, being so thrilled and amazed at the miracle, asked for another miracle. Responding, Jesus told his disciples to each pick up a stone and poof ... He turned it into bread. The next day, the disciples asked again and the Lord told them to look for a stone. Peter being Peter, picked up a rock instead. Next, Jesus instructed them to throw away the stone. Disappointed, Peter protested. Jesus then asked Peter, " Who were you carrying the rock for? “

What about you? Who are you carrying the rock for? Why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you a Cruisematic Christian? Was it for Jesus' sake or for your own sake?

Let me state today the main thing of being a church. It's the Great Commission. Stephen Covey said, "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing". Today the devil is helping pastors keeping Christians busy running inside the church. If Jesus has His way, He will be keeping His people busy running outside the church. When asked about the vision of Vineyard church, whether in years past, now or the future years to come, my response will still be the same, and that is the Great Commission. That's the main thing. Today churches may have lost sight of the main thing. Today, it's about worship, prayer, preacher, buildings, leadership, branding and programs to keep church busy. I'm not saying these are wrong. Some of it are necessary tools. What I am saying is in whatever we do, IF we do not have the harvest fields in mind, then all we do is done in vain. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Who are you carrying the rock for? Are we all too busy running inside the church when we are supposed to be running outside the church? We are a pentecostal church. We are born again, spirit filled and spirit empowered for the harvest fields. Who are we carrying the rock for?

All Things Possible?

Are all things truly possible to them that believe? In Mark 9 a man brought his mute and demon possessed son to Jesus for healing. The disciples of Jesus couldn't do anything earlier, tried as they did. Just before Jesus delivered the boy from the clutches of the devil and bondage, the man asked, "But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us". Jesus replied just prior to healing, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes". So I ask again. Are all things truly possible to them that believe?

Preachers have been preaching hard across mass meetings that all things are possible to them that believe. We have had rallies here in Kuala Lumpur with big banners promising healing to all who would believe. In India, a famous man of God did the same, only to stirred the anger of the people when the preacher couldn't heal and raise a dead man brought on stage. He had to be escorted out of the rally and head home for his country. It is easy to preach and say things in big rallies and there will always be results of miracles and healings but if we are at all honest, the percentage of healing in relation to the proportion of crowds that attended the meetings is hardly anything to brag about.

If all things are truly possible to them that believe, can I believe that I can stop ageing and not grow old rest of my life? If I believe, can I literally command into existence something that is not? We can talked about this till the cow come home. Preachers can justify all they want as to why some are healed and others are not. But let tell you what I think the Scripture meant when we quote "all things are possible to them that believe".  In a nutshell ...

THINGS THAT ARE POSSIBLE WITH MAN ARE POSSIBLE TO THEM THAT CAN BELIEVE (Mk. 9:23)

THINGS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE WITH MAN ARE POSSIBLE ONLY WITH GOD (Matt. 19:26)

Chew on this a bit. God bless.

SPEAKING ABOUT JEALOUSY.

Take a morning devotion with me. Or anytime of the day, read Matthew 20:1-16. It's about a parable of the workers in the vineyard as told by Jesus himself. Different sets of workers were hired at different times of the day but all ended up with the same wage. In this parable, the ones that were hired first were upset with the wage while the ones hired last were over joy because of the generosity of the owner. There are many lessons you can draw from this passage but today, we want to look at it as is, not as how we want to see it.

We are familiar with this phrase: "the last shall be the first and the first shall be the last". When God chose to bless the nations of the world, he chose Israel. In God's divine plan, Israel hardened her heart towards God and the blessings of the gospel therefore flowed to the Gentiles (non Jews). When the "full numbers of the gentiles" has come, God will then turn the ungodliness of Israel away from Him and the entire nation of Israel will be saved. Until that happens, Israel will continue to be trampled upon by the gentiles until God decides when the "times of the Gentile" shall be fulfilled. In the meantime, Paul in Romans 11 exhort the church to provoke the Jews to jealousy so that some of them shall be saved.

In the parable, the owner's generosity provoked the first batch of workers to jealousy. They were not able to see the generosity of the owner nor the joy of the latter workers. All they could see was unfairness and disappointment. They had forgotten the agreement they had with the owner. Was the owner at fault? Of course not. I wonder if the earlier workers will ever work with the owner again. The parable didn't say. Would you? In like manner Jesus was telling His listeners that He had chosen to bless Israel and now He too will bless the Gentiles. Israel has rejected Jesus as Saviour and now His generosity towards the Gentiles will provoke them to jealousy, seeing how the Gentiles are now blessed. My point?

We who have experienced the generosity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ should provoke the unsaved to jealousy. It's our privilege to show the world the generosity of our God. When they see the transforming work of God in our lives and the generosity we emulate of our Lord Jesus, they too would want to be a partaker of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. We cannot provoke the world into jealousy by our theology. The only way is by the way we live our lives and conduct ourselves as followers of Jesus. We are the living Bible of God. Are people jealous of the fruits we bear? Can they see the goodness and generosity of God trough our lives?  If not, perhaps we are not the living epistles that we are to be (Read 2 Cor. 3:2-3). If people are not jealous of the God we believe in and serve, then something is amiss. We need to do some serious soul searching. I mean, what good is salt if it has lost its saltiness? 

There is a huge difference between being a Christian and a follower of Jesus. One is a religion and the other a living, walking Bible. When Jesus said to go into the world and preach the gospel to all the world, he didn't mean theology. He meant the latter. He filled you with His joy and blessings so that you can provoke the world into jealousy. Jesus said a good tree bears froth good fruits. I pray that all of us here at Vineyard will be able to bear fruits that will provoke others into wanting to partake of the generosity of the God in whom we believe and serve. What good is a fruit tree if it does not bear fruits? 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As i have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34).

FAITH