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

WHAT BOAT AM I?

What do you know about boats? Were you ever fascinated with boats? Have you ever been on a boat? Whether you have or have never been on a boat, I am quite certain as a child, you would have folded paper boats and probably sailed them in the" longkangs" like I did. For the more fortunate ones, you would have probably owned a toy boat at least. For the love of it, I was caught stealing from my mom back in primary school just so I could own a boat and be the captain of my own boat. But alas, I was caught and I never did become a captain. What happened? My sister told on me. That was the one and only time I stole anything! The whacking did me a whole lot of good. Hahahaha!

There are all kinds of boats for all kinds of purposes. If you were to be a boat, what kind will it be? A sail boat? A sampan? Fishing boat? Speed boat? Or perhaps a cruise liner? And what will you do with your boat? In the Bible, Peter was a fisherman and I guess he owned a boat. Jesus borrowed from him once. His was a fishing boat and its purpose was to fish commercially. But after Peter had an encounter with Jesus, he left his boat and decided to be a fisher of men instead, working alongside Jesus. My point?

You and I, we have been saved by the grace of God. We were once lost in the sea of humanity, sailing around aimlessly until one day we met a "rescue boat" . The captain of that boat was Jesus. Today, we no longer sail around without purpose. If you and I were to be a boat today, we are indeed a rescue boat. It'll be fun to be a speed boat, or a cruise liner but this Jesus, He changed it all! Cos' out in the sea of humanity, there are lost souls yet to be found. Many are calling for help. Many are drowning. Can you too hear Jesus' call to be fishers of men? Can you or will you too, like Peter, turn your fishing boat into a rescue boat? The job is tough. The seas will be rough. But people need the Lord.

If I can be a boat, what kind of boat will I be? I would love to be a speed boat, but Lord, make me a rescue boat. In Jesus name, amen.

TO WHICH DOES YOUR LOYALTY LIES?

People follow people for two reasons. It is either the cause (mission) or the person (leader). If it is for the cause then they will follow the leader as long as the leader still carries on the cause. But when the mission ceases or fails, then the following ceases. However, when followers follow a person because they believe in that person, then even if the mission ceases, they will still be loyal and follow the leader. Which of the two has the better influence?

In Christendom, we have the church and we have Jesus. I have a question for you. Which are you following today? The answer may seem obvious but give this a thought. Which are you following today? To help clarify things a bit more, to which does your loyalty lie? This is not a trick question. It is however, a soul searching question. Too often I see Christians abandoning one church for another for whatever reason. The thinking is: "as long as I stay loyal to God, church does not really matter".  Well ... the way I see it, it matters to Jesus.

I think it matters that Christians love church because THEY LOVE JESUS as compared to people love Jesus because THEY LOVE CHURCH. Spot the difference? You see, when you love Jesus because of who He is, you will love His church and you will be loyal to both. But if your love for Jesus is because of your love for His church, then your loyalty will not lie with Jesus. You will keep chasing after the cause (church) not the person. My point?

Jesus, being universally supreme, is my sufficiency. Jesus is more than enough for me. I do not need to replace His supremacy and sufficiency with add ons. Christ and Christ alone is more than enough for me. I can and I will grow where I am planted. The reason I love my church? It's simply because I love my Jesus. I am a follower of Christ. In Him lies my loyalty.

His Sheep am I

You and I, we are Jesus' sheep. Not only do we belong to Him, we are followers of Jesus. He is our Shepherd. Sheep follow shepherd. Sheep recognizes the voice of the shepherd and the shepherd knows his sheep. Sheep feel safe around the shepherd and is provided for and looked after by the shepherd.

John 10:11

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep"

John 10:14

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me"

Now, wolves on the other hand are enemies of sheep. Wolves devour sheep. Wolves don't follow shepherd. Wolves follow an alpha. They are always on a hunt for their insatiable appetite. They love the smell and taste of blood. They prey on the weak and the injured. They travel and hunt in a pack and their game is to separate the prey from the flock in order to make the kill. Shepherds either chase of kill the wolves.

Matthew 7:15

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves".

False prophets and teacher may not be obviously noticeable to us. You can only tell by their spirit and their fruits. Jesus said you know a tree by its fruits. This is where discerning comes into play. If you walk sincerely and consistently with God, you will be able to discern what is and what is not of God. Today, false prophets may not come into the church as the church is guarded by the local "shepherd". They do however, appear in social media. There are all kinds of teachings via YouTube and websites hosted by these independent, self proclaimed prophets, teachers and mnistries. They are accountable to no one. Their interest in not the harvest fields, but the church (Christians). They come with revelations and prophecies. They are on the prowl. They are what Bible calls angels of lights.

Matthew 7:15-2015 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

You've been warned!

YOU GOT MY BACK?

Every time we have a conversation with someone, we do so facing each other. We don't see the back of that person. When we carry a child, likewise the child sees the front side of us but not the back. When I am preaching on stage, we all see each other's fronts, not the backs because we are facing each other. The only time we see the back of a person is when that person is walking away from us or sitting in front of us. Do you know if you look closely, the back of a person can indicate that person's composure?

A lot of people want to put up a front in front of others, especially parents when it comes to their children. They don't want to show their weaknesses or their burdens. They try to put up a front because they want to encourage their kids and assure them that all is good. But their backs may tell a different story.  Slumped shoulders perhaps indicate a burden they are carrying? A hunched back posture may tell you that they are tired and weighed down and discouraged. We always notice the front. Try looking at the back once in awhile. It'll be nice once in awhile to know that someone's got our backs.

I know God's got my back :)