Relationship with God
It's been over a week since I returned from London. One of the few things which I searched for after touched down was chilli sauce. No chilli sauce in London. Makes the food taste so much better. Nevertheless, it was a good 1-month trip to Shell Centre. Plenty of learning and resolved a lot of project issues. Some of the things I will miss London for are the tiramisu (it is so good, so pardon me if I say it is bloody good) in the cafe outside my office, the Phantom of the Opera and the beer selection at Belgo's in Leicester Square.
On one of the Sundays in London, I attended Christ Church in Aldgate East. Michael Ross-Watson was the speaker, and spoke on Zechariah 7. What captures me the most was his message about relationship with God in Zechariah 7:4-7 :
4Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me : 5"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Kerusale and its surrounding towns were at rest and properous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settle?' "
Christianity is not just another religion. It is not hollow rituals and traditions, neither is it a charismatic speaker behind the pulpit with powerful influencing skills. Pastor Michael shared with us an episode of one of his earlier days preaching. He was at a church one cold winter evening. He was waiting outside a closed church door after waiting for 20 minutes pass the original service start time. As he was about ready to leave, he thought he might just knock on the door just for a final sanity check. To his surprise there were 2 elderly people in this church who enquired whether he was the preacher. The church inside was of magnificent architecture (as with many other old churches in England). Since there were only 3 of them, Michael suggested that they have a fellowship instead. However, they insisted that they must have a service. Quite oddly, they followed the each and every ritual step for singing hyms, collecting offering, taking the communion etc, even though there were just the 3 of them!
Of course it is laughable to many of us when he shared the story. But the underlying truth remains that in many areas of church life, hollow yet pompous rituals and traditions are being pursued. Also alternately, the opposite end of the spectrum also holds true. In the more charismatic setting, upbeat music and preachers with rich verbal charisma are another form of danger that is taking centre-strage, thus eroding the focus on Christ.
Matt Redman spoke about a beautiful story of restoration of his relationship with Christ when he wrote The Heart of Worship :I'll bring you more than a song,For a song in itself it's not what You have requiredYou search much deeper within, Though the way things appear,You're looking into my heart,I'm coming back to the heart of worship,It's all about You Jesus,I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it,When it's all about You Jesus.
Christianity is not just another religion. It is about God's love for us when He sent His only Son to save us. It is about savouring the father heart of God. It is acknowledging His sacrifice for us. It is about worshipping Him from the depths of our heart. It is about loving His people around us. It is about being in His loving Presence forever and ever. That is the essence of Christianity.
How to Defeat Temptation - sermon by Nicky Gumbel
I must apologize again for not writing. What I'll do is to share sermons from the churches during my stay here in London, and inject my thoughts into some of the key points of the sermons. Below is a sermon by Nicky Gumbel of Holy Trinity Brompton on how to defeat temptation, expounding heavily on Ephesians 6:10-17 :
Ephesians 2:1-3 says that temptation comes from the world, the flesh and the devil. It is described as a triple alliance force that exist around us, within us and above us. As Christians, till the day of the Lord, we are inevitably exposed to temptations. Nicky Gumbel made a cute comment that if someone says that he/she does not struggle with temptations, it's either he/she is not a Chrisitian, or not human! Temptation creeps in very subtly, and if left unaddressed, then sin will eventually rear its ugly head. It starts subtly with a foothold, and develeps into a stronghold. "...do not give the devil a foothold..."(Ephesians 4:27). To win the battle of temptation, we as children of God need to take responsiblity ("...be strong..." v.10) and take action ("...put on...take your stand...stand your ground...stand firm..."(v. 10-13)).
Nicky proceeds to share with us the 6 good habits from verses14-17 :
1) Focus on Jesus "...with the belt of truth buckled round your waist..." (v.14)Do not focus on the devil It's amazing how we as Christians unconciously do that. I've heard of people who can blame traffic jams as the attack of the devil. It's absolutely ludicrous. Doesn't it ever occur that it's just simply bad traffic for the day? That has undoubtly shift the focus to the devil, conciously or not. One solution that I could think of is to blast Shout to the Lord on your car stereo and enjoy. That way, Jesus is glorified.Do not focus on yourselfNeedless to say, to many extend we are self-centred creatures. At one end of the scale, we are easily inflated by self-pride and self-righteousness through our successes, and the other end, we are vulnerable to self-pity through our failures. Both ways, we are focusing on ourselves. So, moving towards a Chris-centred life, render thanks and praise unto God for all our successes; surrender and have faith in the midst of our failures. All in all, worship God with our lives.
2) Keep short accounts "...with the breastplate of righteousness in place..." (v.14)Make your peace with God, and others. Personally, I believe that the quality of your life is the quality of your vertical relationship with God and your horizontal relationship with others. That is what the Cross is all about.
3) Get actively involved "...with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." (v.15)Nicky shared on how churches should be more reaching more outwardly to the world. Too often, many churches are too caught up with internally either with redtapes, office politics or traditions that it prevents effective outreaching to the harvest field. Personally, I have another thought when Nicky shared this point with me. Thoughts of my last writing "What good is a spark if nothing catches fire" comes ringing back. Too often people who appear to be fervent by their style of worshipping shrivel into a lame "I'll pray about it" excuse when approached to contribute to the body of Christ. I agree completely with Pastor Dennis Balan's during the prayer meeting ahead of the launch of Saturday evening service, that there is no such thing as "I'll pray about it". It's a responsibility for every Christian to be part of the body of Christ.
4) Trust God in difficult situations "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (v.16)Nicky pointed out that we are most vulnerable when we are hungry, angry, lonely and tired. How true it is.
5) Win the battle in the mind "Take the helment of savation..." (v.17)At times, we may struggle with our own salvation. Bishop B.F Wescott, Regius Proferssor of Divinity at Cambridge offers the 3 tenses of salvation that might help us come to grips with our salvation with Christ :We have been set free from the penalty of sin through the blood of the LambWe are being set free from the power of sin through our daily walk with GodWe will be set free from the presence of sin when Jesus returns.
6) Soak yourself with the Word of God "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (v.17)Read it, mark it, learn it, inwardly digest it. 4 simple, yet effective phrases offered by Nicky. I personally recommend the book "Unlocking the Bible Omnibus" by David Pawson. It is an excellent Bible commentary with very comprehensive insights.
