Hear

God

 Speaks

Brother James Lee

Resurrection of Jesus

Rev  Allan Thong

2 Apr 2006     Guard your heart 

In modern times and age, 70% of the world population is angry about something or against someone. People get agitated with traffic jams and upset with poor and slow service in restaurants and they revealed with their countenance. How do we vent the anger ~ Is it like James Ronny,  a ferocious boxer who view his opponent as a way to vent his anger against his past deserted father.

Another story in Africa  is of a village downstream along a river experiencing diarrhea and even deaths.  This is due to the contamination from a pig caucus further upstream at the source of the river. If the source is polluted, it will defiled the pure living water from the fountain of life. So do not allow the enemy to come and pollute your well  and river of living water. We need to guard our heart for out of it are the issues of life. Guard the source, and if it is polluted by hatred, bitterness, ill-feeling and un-forgiveness, we need to deal with it and remove them. Otherwise, they can lead to discouragement, low self esteem, indulgence and even abuse.

What is buried  will come out. A real story of experts trying to dispose of toxic wastes in sealed steel containers  buried under the ground only to discover that over time, the toxic manage to seep through the corroded steel. The toxic surfaced and caused pollution  and even cancer deaths of people around  Love Canal- Niagara Falls. It is therefore important to not just bury the unforgiveness, hatred, disappointment, anger and other  unresolved past issues. They may also be situations that you have been cheated, ill-treated or mistreated, hurt or taken advantage of. We may need to back-track and trace back to re-discover what are the obstructions and cause of the current problems and deal with the source.

Life is reality  and God never run short of love, is never exhausted of His grace and His glory is constantly fresh and new. So GUARD YOUR HEART, for we are liberated by His grace, intoxicated by His glory, captivated by His love. Let His light shine inside our heart – for out of the spiritual eclipse and darkness, His light will shine.

Proverbs 4:23

²³        Above all else, guard your heart,

    for it is the wellspring of life.

Ephesians 3:17

¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Romans 5:5

⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

2^nd Corinthians 4:6

⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^£ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Colossians 3:16

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

9 Apr 2006    Dream Killers 

Brother James Lee shared on the dream killers - indiscretions that can destroy your dreams- what are these dream killers ? Temptation, Bitterness, Assimilation and Revenge.

Joseph was a “dreamer” so let us  look at the life of Joseph from Genesis Chap 39-50.  In Genesis 39:6-7, we see the temptation of an “indecent sexual proposal” from his master Potiphar’s wife, a “desperate housewife”. Joseph did not succumb. In Genesis 39:8He was not concerned about sinning against his master but his God. In life, the same person that tempt you is the same person who will “execute” you.

Bitterness is yet another unknown dream killer which can wreak havoc in our lives as they quietly depressed us. In Genesis 39:19-23, Joseph was wrongly accused and imprisoned, and if Joseph were to focus on the injustices, it can  lead to anger and resentment. Instead he chose to focus on God’s giving  and keeping himself occupied not on what others do to him but what God can do through him..

From the prison,  Joseph was elevated to Prime Minister- highest position. Through this promotion, Pharaoh hope to change his mindset and culture. Promotion can lead to cultural transformation. There are 2 situations which could destroy our lives- we may compromise to  be like them and to live like them so that they can benefit~ leading to cultural and spiritual assimilation.

In the business world , it is the same , we are often presented with similar situations.  A real story of a developer in Kota Kintabaru standing firm and  not succumbing to the authorities’ demands (corruption) on power plant development  finally receiving favourable contract terms  for power supply.

We also see spiritual assimilation in Joseph’s case. Joseph’s prize bride was a “surprise” as Pharaoh intended to use the bride,  who grew up in ways of Egyptian God,  being the daughter of  Egyptian high priest to change him. In biblical history, woman has been used as “weapon” to change man,  like Samson and  Solomon who also fell.

With success and new position , it was also easy for Joseph to take revenge. Joseph, however, did not abuse his  worldly position  by taking revenge for all the injustices that he suffered. Likewise, if God promotes us we can be forgiving and forgetting.

In  order to prepare ourselves to realise our dreams, we need to keep the feel of God. We need to recognise  that God is the big boss and our earthly master is the small boss. Feel of God and Fear of God comes together.

Keep active and keep ourselves busy. Even when he was innocent and send to the prison, Joseph was always busy and occupied. In the same spirit, young man and woman desiring to marry should not just sit down, pray and wait for the right person to come along, but do nothing.

To  keep our hope alive, we also need to exercise our gifting, in different ministries. And in some cases working overtime to catch up.

Keeping the faith is the key to revisit our lost dreams. Joseph named his son Manasseh ( meaning “forget”) to forget about his father’s household but we know that in his dream- he visualized his brothers all bowing to him. In order to fulfilled this dream – even if Joseph named his son “ forget”, God still remember, so it would be more appropriate for Joseph to change his son’s name to “ remember”. Joseph finally fulfilled his dream and  restored the relationships.

God wants us to be alert of the dream killers and constantly keep the feel of God, keeping active for God’s work, living on His hope and keeping the faith come what may,  so that we will see our relationships restored and we will find success in whatever we do.

Genesis 39:6-7- The temptation

 ⁶So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

 ⁷and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

Genesis 39:3 – Keeping the feel of God

 ³When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did

 Genesis 39:23- Keeping the feel of God

 ²³The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Genesis 42:18- Fear God

¹⁸On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:

Genesis 39:9 – Not sinning against God rather than his Master

⁹No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Genesis 39: 19-23- Keeping active with God’s favors

 ¹⁹When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. ²⁰Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²²So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

 Genesis 41:51- Joseph thought God forget

 ⁵¹Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh^£ and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

16 Apr 2006     

Resurrection of Jesus 

Rev Allan Thong ( Malaysia-Kulai ) point to the Easter message of how Jesus died, was buried and is arisen to be seen by eye witnesses. The world has to obey the power of the gospel and the power of the resurrection. We have life  because Jesus lives in us. We have the character  and nature of Jesus. People look at  our lives, and our lives must represent our master. In relation to  those lost in the darkness, we are called to be witnesses, to show care, to show concern and to love them.

The church must moves towards spiritual maturity. We must pray that God will give us an interpretation of tongues. The Holy Spirit wants to raise up the right people to do his work. We must talk to the spirit and when the spirit of God calls, you must respond.  If you are not called- do not  be a stumbling block for you are answerable to God. When the spirit of God moves, we must not grieve the spirit- we must embrace it  and sing and dance in the spirit and be part of it. Do not hold back, do not laugh at shaking hands or trembling bodies, and do not criticize. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of diversity and it moves in different ways. To strengthen our faith, it is important to fast and pray as a church- bless every member of the church- bless their heart, bless their mouth and bless their words and at the same time revoke all curses and send forth your blessings.

Through much tribulations, you will enter the kingdom of God- so our foundation must be solid to face problems. God already know our problems.  Sometimes,  we need to watch the lives of our Christian brothers and see how we can help them and take care of them- to serve rather than be served.  At the same time, we have to submit to God and submit to authority for it is this umbrella of authority which covers us.  Do not be pump-up but just let God move and touch you, change you, break you, mould you and transform you. You  do not have to go afar to see miracles- you can start with what God give to you. You have the authority to cast  out demons and you will start to see miracles in your lives. Moses said he is not eloquent but because of his humility, God catch his attention with a bush fire. Likewise, do not be too busy, busy and busy. We must spent time to feed our spiritual life so that we can impart to others ( not just hot air). We can bring friends and loved ones to support the cell groups and serve with gladness and joy.  We must pray for the pastors, and every speaker is unique. We need to direct the focus to Jesus for pastors are just vessels and His mouthpiece.   

Rev Allan Thong also relates the story of how he took care of an elderly Chinese man from a village ( facing drought)  who have Jesus in his heart.. Even in his sickness, he advised Rev  Thong to just go and preach because the word of God is important and not to worry about him. Just before being called into eternal glory due to cancer- he can see the angels coming to receive him. When he died, he not only left a sweet smile on the face but also his worldly possessions to the church. When his body was returned to the village, the rain comes and bless the village. Rev Thong has also laid hands and prayed for a terminal patient ( ask to prepare a coffin)  and as a results, having her life extended by a year.

23 Apr 2006    

30 Apr 2006    

  CLICK TO TOP