Matters Concerning National Security (Sorry, had to. I used to want to be an FBI agent)

"And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" - Matthew 18:3, NIV

Hello.

Matthew 18:3 speaks of the faith of a child, and with every passing season I've begun to realise some of the reasons why God revealed himself to me when I was, in many ways, too young to understand the complex Christian doctrines, and too young to question things that we tend to question as we grow older, more cynical, and more jaded.

My walk with Jesus began when I was around 7 years old. My mom accepted Christ when she was 17, at a youth camp back in Ipoh, but backslid for many years due to a personal tragedy. Owing to this, my brother and I never went to Sunday School. Instead, a devout Buddhist aunt of mine took me to the Buddhist version of Sunday School, which I didn't enjoy very much as they made me chant in Mandarin, which was beyond my linguistic capabilities, and eat vegetables. I always knew God was real–don't ask me how–I just did and was confused when my aunt told me to recite certain mantras when I was scared. (I used to suffer from nightmares). Once, I asked my dad if god was deaf, since I had to repeat my prayers many times in order for him to hear me.

One day I saw a carving of Jesus on the cross outside a Catholic church and asked my mom what that man was doing up there. She told me his name was Jesus, and he died for me. "That's nice of him. Can we bring him down?" I then went around telling people that a nice man named Jesus died for us and that we should each give him a big hug when we meet him in heaven. I accepted Christ about two to three years after that, right after a prayer about whichever god who was real to make my mom stop crying was answered when I went downstairs after praying that in my room. Coincidentally, another aunt shared the Gospel to me then. I took that as a sign from the nice man Jesus and said, "Okay," without any idea of what I was getting myself into.

However, I spent the next few years not going to church, as we couldn't find one that we could see ourselves committing to, and gave up after a few tries. Finally, when I was 14, while I was waiting for lunch to be served, I happened to see a picture of a church in the newspaper and told my mom that I wanted to try out church again. FGA was our next try. It literally took one of the pastors to grasp me by the hand and haul me up to L3 to get me to go to YC, but it happened.

Looking back, I'm so immensely grateful that God has been there for me all along. His timing really is perfect and painful situations were eased by His presence and His strength when I really couldn't go on alone. Despite no earth shaking miracles taking place in my life (yet), I've watched Him help me overcome my inferiority complex and crippling shyness, heal broken friendships, keep me from falling in with the wrong crowd, and grow my courage and help me with my studies.

Even with Jesus, life is hard and there are many more prayers waiting to be answered, but I know that when my strength fails, my God will come and take over and that it is when times are hardest, that we gain more insight on how infinitely big, strong, and good our Father is. There are no coincidences in God's book, nor will there ever be.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28, NIV


- Jun Cheng

Sunday Sermon Recap

"An Intimate Relationship With Christ" - Pastor Dorai

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

As Christians, we are part of the vine, we are already connected with Christ, and we do not need to do anything more to be connected because we already are. When we are connected we exist as one because we are in the vine. Jesus says in John 15:26 that we are intimately connected through the Holy Spirit.

We can have an intimate relationship with Jesus through:

The Word

We read the word not because we want to connect but because we are already connected.

Praying the Promises of God
Pray the promises of God into our lives.

Obedience
As we obey, we continue to remain intimate with Him. Obedience is key.

Love
Because He loves us, we also love Him and because we are connected to the vine, we have the same nature of love.

Friendship
We are no longer servants but we are friends.

When we remain in Jesus, the results of our intimate relationship with Christ is our fruits. And when we continue to remain in Him we will bear lasting fruits. The fruits that we bear are fruits of Christlikeness, because the branch–that is us–carries the nature of the vine which is Jesus.

In our journey of building an intimate relationship with God, we need to avoid grieving the Holy Spirit, sin, neglect, departure and disobedience. For it is God’s glory that we may bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be Jesus’ disciples.

Jesus Fulfilling the Law

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17)

The standard of the law of God is infinitely high and lofty: "be holy, be loving, beperfect." This is because the law reflects the very character of God. In light of this, we may wonder if there is any way that the law can be fulfilled. How could the righteous demands of the law ever be met in our lives? The answer to this vital question is contained in the truth that Jesus came "to fulfill" the law.

Consider how comprehensive was Jesus' fulfillment of the law. He fulfilled the law in Hislife, becoming our example. As Jesus lived, He showed us what life would look like if one could always, in every way, live up to the heavenly standards of God. Jesus' testimony was"I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29).

Further, He fulfilled the law in His death, becoming our substitutionary sacrifice. The law included a penalty for violation, and that penalty was death. "The soul who sins shalldie…For the wages of sin is death" (Ezekiel 18:4 and Romans 6:23). Jesus lovingly died in our place to pay that penalty which we owed. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Additionally, He wants to fulfill the law now in our daily experience, by being our life:"Christ who is our life" (Colossians 3:4). The Lord Jesus wants to live in and through the lives of His disciples, as we daily put our faith in Him. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God"(Galatians 2:20).

Yes, Jesus fulfills the law comprehensively!

The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

God wants us to know His grace. He wants us to learn about it, and then experience it at work in our lives. Grace has rightly been described as "unmerited favor." The acronym, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense" catches more of its majesty. Grace is God freely providing for us (as we trust in the work of His Son) all that we will ever need, all that we will ever yearn for, all that He has commanded us to walk in and become-realities that we could never produce on our own, could never earn, and could never deserve. Grace offers what every human desperately needs, but what God alone can provide.

This grace is found only in a person, the Lord Jesus. It is the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus, it is accessible only through an ongoing personal relationship with Him.

Grace was made available to us by Jesus' willingness to take our spiritual bankruptcyupon Himself, that we might partake of His spiritual richness. Before coming to earth below, Jesus enjoyed heavenly riches above ("that though He was rich"). He knew the infinitely rich fellowship of the Father and the Spirit. He received the rich worship of angelic beings. He enjoyed the limitless rights and privileges of deity.

Then, for our benefit, Jesus voluntarily became poor ("for your sakes He became poor"). He humbled Himself to walk as a man among sinful humanity. He who was adored above became despised below. He who shined forth in glorious divinity in heaven was clothed in humble humanity on earth. He who created all things was slain by those He created. He who existed in eternity past died in time. He who was holy took our sin upon Himself.

Through these workings of His grace, all who believed in Him would become spiritually rich ("that you through His poverty might become rich"). Now, we whose "righteousnesses were as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) have become "the righteousness of God in Him"(2 Corinthians 5:21). We "who once were not a people…are now the people of God" (1 Peter 2:10). Now, we have been "blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

More on Walking with Jesus the Way We Received Him

As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have beentaught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)

The manner in which we received the Lord is the very same manner in which we are to walk in Him. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We received Him by grace, we must walk by grace. We were born again by the Spirit, we must walk by the Spirit. Furthermore, when we first received Christ, He was our only hope. Now, we are to walk with Him the same way.

It is good to recall how Jesus was the focus at the beginning of our walk with Him. When we received Him and His forgiveness, we knew He had to provide all that was needed for our salvation. We agreed with the word of God that there was no other hope than Jesus."Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Fatherexcept through Me'… Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12). We knew that we could supply nothing ourselves. We were spiritually dead, having no righteousness at all: "dead in trespasses and sins…all our righteousnesses are likefilthy rags" (Ephesians 2:1 and Isaiah 64:6). We had entered the blessed condition of being convicted of our own spiritual bankruptcy. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Jesus was our comprehensive focus, our only hope.

This is how we are to walk in Him today. We need the Lord Jesus as much now for living the Christian life as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again into it. For growth and victory and fruitfulness, He is the one upon whom we must focus. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him andestablished in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."We need to be rooted in Him, reaching out by faith to Him for nutrition and strength, even as the roots of a tree reach into the soil. We need to be built up in Him, having our lives developed by His work in us. We need to be established in the faith, allowing Him to stabilize us through the study of His word. This will lead us to overflowing appreciation and gratitude that "Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11). Truly, we need the Lord Jesus as much now for living the Christian life as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again into it.