Basic Lesson #1: Lifestyle of Repentance (Part 2)

One common obstacle to repentance is condemnation, the fact that we feel lousy at not being "good enough". One of the comforting things that I want to share is that repentance is not all about turning away from evil and turning to good. (If you can understand this, this lesson would not have been in vain.) Most of the time, repentance is about turning away from what is acceptable to what is God's most perfect way, turning away from what is good to what is better. (Sidenote: the repentance that involves moral issues is often easy enough to understand and to recognise. So I'll talk about it later.) In other words, sometimes it's got nothing to do with you being good enough or not. It's got to do with being willing to learn. And some of us, understandably, may feel bad at having to learn. Can I reassure you that there's no shame in learning? :) None of us, myself included, ever knew whatever we knew from birth. Someone had to teach us, change our diapers, guide us in the ways of life, teach us even the language we use(!). And most of us have spent at least a good 12 years of our lives learning intensely before having some kind of stability to handle life as an individual. If this is true of earthly issues, what more of spiritual issues? If this is true so that we can live on earth a measly 70 years, what more of the spiritual education that is meant to last us until eternity? :) God is a great master teacher. You remember the best teacher you ever had? The one who wouldn't give up on you, the one who always believed in you, the one who would make complicated stuff seem simple by explaining it in such a concise way, the one who demonstrated how to throw the ball, saw the wood, and even took you by the hands when you really really could not even start? Our God has all these attributes and more. He will never despise your learning, i.e. your repenting. Just repent, i.e. be willing to change your mind and heart.

What about moral issues? As Romans 8:1-2 says, "Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death." Now this is the solution to all feelings of condemnation! Firstly, it means we are truly and bluely not under condemnation (despite whatever our feelings may tell us). :) Believe His word! Secondly, there finally is a solution to our lifelong problem with sin and addiction. Take note of what the Word of God says: "Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death". You see, if all we had was "we are not under condemnation", we'll just ignore our feelings of guilt. But I trust you identify with me when I say "you can't run from it forever". Right? Somehow, or the other, our sense of fallenness catches up with us, and it can be very demoralising. Point 2 here is very very useful. What will set us free from the power of sin? The Spirit of life. Did you realise that "the law of sin" here is referring to the power that sin has over our lives, not an actual law? So what's the law of the Spirit of life? Not another set of principles and rules to follow follow follow, but the power and control of the Holy Spirit over our lives. In other words, in the same way that sin and death used to control us and dictate our lives to the extent that we treat it as a given fact of life, the Holy Spirit is able to control us and dictate our lives in a way that is completely counter-cultural and counter-worldly. And in the same way that sin 'naturally' exerts power over our lives, without us having to psych ourselves to do sin, the Holy Spirit, as God himself, will exert his power over our lives, setting us miraculously free, if we will let him do so. Holiness will not be a psych-ing thing anymore. It will stem supernaturally, from the Holy Ghost.

Some people say, "That hasn't happened for me!" Time for point 3: notice the words "has set me free"? That's the kind of certainty the Word of God promises us about our victory. It's not whether it will happen. But that it will surely happen. It's so certain that the best way to express it is to use the past tense. For as surely as Jesus has died for us and has cleansed us with his blood, so is it equally as certain that he has set us free, and that in specific, unpredictable moments in our life, we will see the realisation of this holiness which he has already provided for us.

In short form, take heart! God is at work in your life. Nothing you can do, but if you trust Him, he will make a miracle of your life. And you will see it!

Basic Lesson #1: Lifestyle of Repentance

Before going into today's topic, this title in itself demands a question: what exactly is repentance? And why is it so crucial to our daily lives? (And for those of us reading this, I bet there are other statements in our minds as we read this: "this is oh-so-sunday-school"; "I've been a Christian for umpteen years and yes I know all about repentance"; "repentance is saying sorry to God LOR".)

So I guess I should start by stating what repentance is not: Repentance is not saying sorry to God; repentance is not turning away from sin; repentance is not beating your chest and wearing sackcloth to 'prove' to God you have truly "repented". Repentance has all these things within it--but repentance is a lot more than all these things. It's not that the above statements are wrong: it's just that they understate the case by too much.

Some people agree when I say the above, but let me say something even more controversial. Repentance is not just about the moral life. It's not just about what's right, and what's wrong. Repentance extends to the whole of our being and the whole of our Christian existence.

So this is a good time for me to answer the question: what exactly is repentance?

Repentance is a change of mind and of heart. Why is this change necessary? Because of the Fall--when sin entered the world, it separated us from God, instilled in us habits and behaviours far removed from God, and enslaved us into thinking, feeling, and behaving its way. Now 'sin' is more than just a moral term. It is the entire pollution that results from being separated from God. Besides the moral side, sin also involves the corrupt world system that is in power, the addictiveness to certain things (that society deems acceptable), the self-reliance (that we needed in order to survive in a highly imperfect world), self-centredness (the idea that *I* choose what I want for my life and my way is always correct), and our value system: what we think is important, what we deem as success and failure, what deserves more attention than other matters. It also extends to our reliance on formulas: our tendency not to relate to God as a person, or as a friend or Father, but as a supernatural being/force we can bend to our will; that somehow, if we do the correct formulas, pray the correct prayer, make the correct sacrifices and rituals, then God (has no choice but to) bless us, provide for us, anoint us, etc. It also extends to our reluctance to be in touch with the supernaturality of God. We end up preferring the human form of existence (only), fallen and as imperfect as it may be. We would rather God keep his supernaturality for himself. Even when we believe in God, we'd rather he stay as a belief, than as an intrusion into our lives. Because even an intrusion from a loving God is too much for us to take, too freaky for a mind that has been too used to not seeing the supernatural. That is the current state of humanity. We're all the same, all in need of repentance. :) Why are we like this? The Fall. The Fall, that separated us from a good, loving, supernatural, and morally upright God.

Repentance is a total change of mind and heart. It is viewing success from God's point of view. It is viewing honour and power the way he views it. It also involves moving away from fleshly methods of doing things to following the Spirit--in other words, moving from the very human formulas and a rigid kind of relation to God to a dynamic, fluid expression of Biblical principles and a constant following of the Spirit's voice. It is not just a 'different' way of doing things; it is the total opposite from what we are used to. (And of course, with all the above, comes one of the results, which is living life the way God wants us to, in contrast to worldly, evil ways of living life.) I don't know about you, but I think for most of us, the fact that we are living in this world, which operates on its own principles, makes living God's way a really difficult and quite unbelievable way to live.

Thankfully, that's not the last thing that should be said about it, otherwise that would be really terrible terrible news for all of us. In fact, repentance is a fantastic piece of good news. It can be considered THE greatest gift that God has given us (besides the obviously most important one which is His Son). And is it livable and realistic? The answer also is yes. Provided we do it the proper way.

What then is the proper way? Let me explain the one, and only formula for living the Christian life. It is to "follow the Spirit" (check out the books of Romans, Galatians, and even the Ephesians passage that begins with "not to be drunk with wine"). That's it. There is only one formula for pleasing God, one formula for understanding Christian life, and one formula for living the victorious Christian life. Follow the Spirit. Notice that I didn't say follow the Spirit's power: I said follow the Spirit. If you follow Him personally, you will get there.

Translated into today's topic, it also means this: to achieve true repentance, i.e. transformation of heart and mind into what God wants, follow the Spirit. Let me show in a practical way how this can be done.

When praying, 1) invite the Spirit of Jesus to come and speak to you, to sensitise your heart if you haven't done so already so that you can hear his voice. This step alone can take a short or long time, so be patient if you've just started. Trust me, just praying this prayer alone, to hear His voice, so that you can love Him and obey--this is a very very pleasing prayer to Him (John 10:27). 2) He will probably tell you some things that need to be changed. Some of them will be sins, some of them will be mindsets, some of them will be addictions, some of them will be attitudes towards self, world and God, and some of them will involve increasing your level of faith. If it's sin, say sorry. If it's mindsets, I've always found it useful to rebuke the mindset in the name of Jesus (sounds quite silly, because it feels like talking to yourself, ahhaha, but it works!) and to read Scripture passages that deal with the mindset. If it's addiction, too complicated to go into detail here, but get someone who specialises in deliverance to help. :) And finally, if it's a lack of faith you are repenting from, find people of faith to mix with. God will use these people to guide you how to have more and more faith.

3) Don't nitpick. This is not the time to get all sorry for yourself about ALL your weaknesses and to go headhunting for some unconfessed sin that you haven't got out of your system. No. Stick with the Spirit's agenda. Let him decide what needs to be changed. Let him deal with the rest of your imperfections some other time. And for the benefit of those not familiar, the Spirit doesn't always have to communicate to you supernaturally. If you find yourself going through the same scenario over and over again, either always having to forgive someone, or having to deal with ostracism, or etc etc, and it keeps coming back like deja vu, then I can tell you that the Spirit's orchestrating your circumstances purposely to teach you something. And learning that lesson = repentance.

4) Be prepared to repent again. Let me explain. God is usually more concerned about the things that can't so easily be changed than all the small things. Any known sin, when known, should be confessed--but like a master builder, God really deals with core issues of the heart first, because these are the deepest cracks and the biggest stumbling blocks to your SUCCESS (i.e. spiritual maturity) in him. So there's a good reason why he didn't deal with your egocentrism, insecurity, pride, laziness, spiritual insensitivity, fear, disobedience, wilfulness, lack of self-control, lust, lack of perseverance, anger management problem, spiritual ignorance and religiosity (!) all at once, because as the list suggests, it's too much for anyone to bear. It's like being in surgery and trying to operate on the brain, heart, lungs, kidney, and legs ALL at once. You'd die halfway thru surgery! Trust the Lord, deal with the issue that he wants you to deal with, and you will be a healthier, stronger individual at the end of your 'surgery'. And you will find that these core issues usually don't clear off so fast. They usually need years and months of work to clear. So, just stay the course, be committed to repentance, and you will see fruit the moment the power of the Lord invades your life. In short, be prepared to repent, about the same sin, or about the same addiction, or about the same mental habit, again. And remember the Lord is very generous and doesn't despise your need to continually repent.

(to be continued)

The Anointing Upon and Within

P.S. What do you people think about this article? Feel free to comment :)

The Anointing Upon and Within

by Steven Brooks

We see clearly in Scripture that the Spirit of the Lord rested upon Jesus during His earthly ministry. Isaiah the prophet speaks of the seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit that would rest upon the Lord. “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2).” There are not seven Holy Spirit’s. There is only one Holy Spirit, yet He is displayed through these seven manifestations which rested upon Jesus. The Spirit of God can also rest upon the believer in order to anoint that person to function in their assigned calling. The anointing upon a person can be increased through obedience to God and time spent in the Word and prayer.

In Luke the fourth chapter we read of the time when Jesus went and preached in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was handed the scroll of Isaiah and he deliberately found and read the text of Scripture which we identify as Isaiah 61:1, and the first part of verse 2. Jesus read to the people, saying, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me.” This famous portion of Scripture was prophetically speaking of the coming Messiah. After reading those verses He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The story in Luke tells us that all the eyes of the people in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

When reading this story we can’t help but be curious as to why the people’s eyes were fixed on Him. When you study Jewish customs and traditions, you find an interesting practice that took place in Jesus’ day, and can still be observed in some synagogues today. The Jews reserve a special seat in their synagogues which is kept for the appearance of the Messiah. That special chair always remains empty and no one ever sits in it. Well, after Jesus finished speaking He sat down! He actually sat in that reserved chair and it caught all the attention of those in attendance. Jesus spoke to those in the synagogue and said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He basically told them, “That Scripture is talking about Me.” Jesus knew He was the Anointed One.

The anointing that is upon you is for service. God anoints you with His Spirit to empower you to do the work He has called you to do. For example, the Lord has placed an anointing upon my life for miracles of healing. This gift, which is a special anointing He gave to me, has taken me around the world in the work of the ministry. When that anointing comes upon me and others release their faith to receive that anointing the results are always the same miracles! I’ve seen it happen in America and all over the world with creative miracles occurring and all types of diseases healed. Just as there is an anointing upon, there is also an anointing within. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things (1 John 2:20).” “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him (1 John 2:27).”

Notice we are told where the anointing abides. “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.” The anointing is within us. This anointing teaches us concerning all things. Some have taken this scripture out of context and misuse it to imply that we do not need instructors or teachers. However, Jesus is the head of the church and He established the five ministry offices as gifts to the church. The ministry office of the teacher is one of the five offices mentioned in Ephesians the fourth chapter. So, we need teachers. To reject the biblical ministry of the teacher is to reject a precious gift from God.

The anointing within you is for guidance and protection. It teaches you what is from God and what is not. “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you (1 John 2:26).” The anointing within you protects you from deception, just as a virus software program protects your computer from malicious infections. When corrupt teaching is presented the anointing within you goes off on the inside of you like an alarm. The anointing says, “Watch out, something is not right there!” When something is wrong you have an uneasy feeling on the inside. When something is right you should have a peaceful, velvety smooth feeling on the inside.

The anointing within helps you to know all things. The more sensitive a person becomes to the anointing within, the more success they will have in making the right decisions in life. We should use our brain and utilize the best of our mental abilities. However, the anointing resides within your spirit, not within your physical brain. Yes, the anointing of God certainly affects the brain which influences us to think godly thoughts. But some decisions we have to make in life go beyond the ability of one’s brain to solve. Who to marry? Where to work? Where to go to church? What color should I paint the house? The answer to these types of questions should be measured through the anointing that resides within us.

Other questions such as, “Was that prophecy that person gave me from God, or not?” or, “How do I know if God has called me to the ministry?” The Holy Spirit will guide us through the anointing that God has placed within us. There’s no need to be in the dark when it comes to knowing God’s will and purpose. Let the anointing within you help settle the perplexing questions and choices you face. You can always trust the anointing of the Holy Spirit that abides within you to point you in the right direction.

The better developed you become to recognizing the inward anointing, the greater will be your ability to carry the glory of God. Understand that the anointing within you is what supports the potential anointing that can rest upon you. For example, some ministers have had a strong anointing upon them. This anointing initially came through God’s grace in which He bestowed spiritual gifts through His own choice. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). These spiritual gifts were received by men and women through an act of God’s grace. But some individuals have had failures, with some falling from ministry and never fully recovering. How does a tragedy like this happen?

The reason a spiritual collapse takes place is because the inward anointing comprised of biblical morals, holy character, humility, and other spiritual attributes was deficient in that person’s life. The inward anointing was not valued or developed, so such an individual could not support the weight of the anointing of God that is able to come upon a person. We see this clearly in the life of Samson. What a mighty anointing that he had that would come upon him! The nation of Israel had never seen anything like it before. But we all know the unfortunate outcome of his life. Its how we finish that’s important, not necessarily how we start out.

It is up to us to train ourselves to be diligent and instantly obedient to following the inward anointing. By doing so we will partake of the fruits of obedience which God richly brings forth. May the Lord bless you as you walk in His anointing which is upon you, and within you.

Richest Blessings,
Steven Brooks

A great message

Here's a pastor I respect a lot: one of the few people who move in the great power of God, and manage to stay stable. :) And this is a rare clip of him ministering! Enjoy!

Watch RHB here :)

Huilian's Testimony (dated 4 Aug 09): The Spirit confirms His prophetic direction

Elder's Note: Apologies to Huilian for being SO late!! Hope you've received the invitation to be an author and you can post here next time!

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Yesterday at (a certain) church, I was suddenly prompted to pass a message to a pastor. So I wrote down the message on a piece of paper, saying that he is a leader and will experience the goodness of the Lord--the Lord wants to pour forth His revelation of the word onto the pastor.

Then today, brother Tim messaged me this: "Yesterday Pastor said your note to him was exactly what another pastor prophesied to him. Praise the Lord. GB Tim."

The lesson I learnt: if the Lord has a piece of instruction that he wants to give to a person, He will definitely confirm that it is authentic through 2 or more witnesses.

A few important articles which may interest you

For those of you new to the church blog:

1. Val's testimony:
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/28th-july-2009.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/statement-i-find-so-impactful-i-had-to.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/from-valerie-jayne-oon-god-answers.html

2. The Love of God
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/meditations-on-love-of-god.html

3. Funky articles to check out
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/interesting-post-by-ken-schenck.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/06/funky-url-to-check-out.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/06/check-this-out-interview-with-cnn.html

4. Testimonies of God's Miraculous Presence
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/06/reminder-of-lord-for-us-on-160609.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-heard-angels-singing.html
http://theoutreachsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/09/bi-class-on-4th-sept-09.html

5. Article with an important section on the Holy Ghost
Make yourself at home! Welcome!

Interesting Book!

Hey guys,

Just came across this book review on Ken Schenck's website...I'm more fascinated by the book than by the review (though I am hearing of this book for the first time through this review). Do check it out:

http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2009/09/book-review-sacred-pathways.html

My own testimony: God restored to me a certain kind of prophetic gift

A few months back, before all the ugly hoo-ha started, somehow God gave me the ability to confirm whether a certain instruction was from God or not. This ability involved God manifesting his power in order to say "Yes" or "No" to a specific request. Particularly, it was helpful in terms of making decisions and when needing to know if God was in a certain decision or not; it was also useful especially in an emergency where I didn't have the luxury of praying for a long long time to get an answer to a query.

But a few months ago, I 'lost' that ability. Somehow I would pray, and ask, but nothing would happen, whether Yes or No. And I found it weird that God chose to speak to me in other ways, sometimes even speaking at length about other people's lives, but in terms of my own crucial decision making, I was left all alone to "fend for myself".

Had been very uncomfortable, and so asked myself and the Lord whether anything was wrong. 4 times I was reminded of a particular incident, but brushed it off because supposedly "I was correct".

Just want to thank the Lord for revealing so clearly yesterday. Yesterday Jan asked me to seek the Lord about a particular decision she had to make. I told her I had lost this God-given ability for some time already. Pressed by the situation, I sought the Lord again, and for the fifth time the situation came to mind. I decided to give it a go and repent (partly whether to find out whether despite all my justification, I was still in the wrong). Then the power of God came upon me, and I felt myself being restored. Cannot explain it, but something was healing within me and I felt some kind of rejuvenation--and suddenly today, it was back to good use!

I still have some unanswered questions, but I've decided to let the Lord do the sorting out of those details for me so that I can learn from them. :) Glory to God!

Postscript (14 Sept 09): I quote loosely from Benny Hinn what God was trying to reveal to me about His power--"the main thing I [Hinn] learned was that God only chooses to release his power when I choose to obey. And that is absolutely pivotal. God only chooses to release his power when you step forward in obedience. What do you do with a little that He gives you? Obey, and he increases its amount. Disobey, and God makes it stop". By the way, I had come to a similar conclusion about a week before (on my own), but didn't know how to put it into words (and was not sure if I understood correctly). =) Thank God for this article. And I don't think it's an accident that I came across this article a full 8 days later in my quiet time!

BI class on 4th Sept 09

This testimony comes from my mum:

As Chris, Dan, Huilian and Ivan were praying in tongues in BI class, the door of my bedroom shook as if someone was knocking it. At first I thought Daniel was knocking, so I opened to see what was the matter. Then I realised that no one was there, but they were praying in the Spirit. I found that really really significant. God was present in that meeting.

--Auntie Angela (Dan's Mum)

Quotable quote of the day

Two quotable quotes:

1. "Faith doesn't deny facts, but faith changes facts"--As mentioned by my friend (who probably got it from somewhere too :P).

2. "Not by human strength and ability, not by human authority, power structures or manipulation, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies". (from Scripture, but quotable quote because it forever answers the question of how we can experience this powerful, fulfilling life in Christ; and it also spells out how we as a church can be a really meaningful and successful community).

A song which I find very blessed to share with all of you

Like the woman with the issue of blood
We press in, we press in
Like the blind man waiting patiently
We press in through the crowd

Chorus:
Then SUDDENLY, a touch from heaven
Jesus came and rescued me
Then SUDDENLY, a touch from heaven
Jesus came and set me free

Announcement Sept 1 2009

Hi people,

Blogger seems to have some problems, such that the format is really weird and we can't update some of the settings. We'll be posting when it recovers. In the meantime, keep close to God and have a wonderful time in His Spirit. Keep you all updated once it's ok.

Agape,
Dan