The harvest truly is plentous

The Great Commandment

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Been attending the Blueprint course for the past few weeks and it has been a huge blessing to me in many ways. Though it is simple, yet it's the simplicity that speaks to me. It's the Word of God made easy to understand that I'm able to absorb the deep truths in the Bible.

Just last Saturday, one thought stuck me from the course.

The Great Commission is really the supreme fulfillment of the Great Commandment. We obey it because we love God and love man.

The moment we lose our fire for evangelism, we have lost the reason for our existence. Often times, the first sign of a declining church is when the passion for souls decline. Often the first sign of a declining Christian is when the passion for souls decline.

I have lost that fire. I have lost that passion. My heart have been hardened to the cries of all the people around me.

I was so encouraged when someone dear to me shared something with me.

These few days have been really busy but good. Yesterday, I went to street e and was paired up with Marcus. I've just known him for a short time but it was such a blessing to see his faith and watch him witness to complete strangers and it really encouraged me. I dunno, I've been to street e heaps of times before but somehow yesterday was different and I was really touched by it. It just amazes me, seeing his ability to interact with so many people who are complete strangers from such different backgrounds and I guess that gave me more courage and just made me rethink evangelism and has encouraged me in a huge way.

I don't know if you remember that night. I didn't think about it until I read that entry and it all came back to me. That was the night that I first got to know you properly and we went to Long John Silver for dinner (well, I was the only one eating cos you already had dinner) and when I was paired up with you I was thinking "oh no" cos I hardly knew you at all and didn't know how it would turn out. But I thank God for the way things did. That night you spoke to a man (I think he was Filipino) and you shared with him Acts 8, about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. I still remember that night clearly. I was so encouraged by you and your passion for souls, your courage and your love for souls.

I guess I just wanted to remind you of that to encourage you. God has given you a gift Marcus, of being able to speak to anyone and even large groups of people and not everyone has that gift. He's used you in mighty ways for His glory before and He can do it again. He wants to use you, if you just let Him.

If I can be used by God in the past, I can be used by Him again. I want to be winning souls once again. I want to have a passion and fire for the lost around me. I want to be able to share the good news with those around me. I don't want to be ashamed of the gospel.

Use me once again...

I'll end with this story.

The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil.

I was always perplexed by Psalm 126 until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and stops it. The year's food, of course, must all be grown in those four months. People grow sorghum or milo in small fields.

October and November...these are beautiful months. The granaries are full -- the harvest has come. People sing and dance. They eat two meals a day. The sorghum is ground between two stones to make flour and then a mush with the consistency of yesterday's Cream of Wheat. The sticky mush is eaten hot; they roll it into little balls between their fingers, drop it into a bit of sauce and then pop it into their mouths. The meal lies heavy on their stomachs so they can sleep.
December comes, and the granaries start to recede. Many families omit the morning meal.

Certainly by January not one family in fifty is still eating two meals a day.

By February, the evening meal diminishes.

The meal shrinks even more during March and children succumb to sickness. You don't stay well on half a meal a day.

April is the month that haunts my memory. In it you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Most of the days are passed with only an evening cup of gruel.

Then, inevitably, it happens. A six-or seven-year-old boy comes running to his father one day with sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We've got grain!" he shouts. "Son, you know we haven't had grain for weeks." "Yes, we have!" the boy insists. "Out in the hut where we keep the goats -- there's a leather sack hanging up on the wall -- I reached up and put my hand down in there -- Daddy, there's grain in there! Give it to Mommy so she can make flour, and tonight our tummies can sleep!"

The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's next year's seed grain. It's the only thing between us and starvation. We're waiting for the rains, and then we must use it." The rains finally arrive in May, and when they do the young boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and with tears streaming down his face, he takes the precious seed and throws it away. He scatters it in the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the harvest (Italics added).

The seed is his; he owns it. He can do anything with it he wants. The act of sowing it hurts so much that he cries. But as the African pastors say when they preach on Psalm 126, "Brother and sisters, this is God's law of the harvest. Don't expect to rejoice later on unless you have been willing to sow in tears." And I want to ask you: How much would it cost you to sow in tears? I don't mean just giving God something from your abundance, but finding a way to say, "I believe in the harvest, and therefore I will give what makes no sense. The world would call me unreasonable to do this -- but I must sow regardless, in order that I may someday celebrate with songs of joy."

Psalm 126:5-6

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Back to the future

Many people want to know what will happen in the future. People have always been curious about what the future holds. The mystery of the future is something that people are interested in and they look to many ways to find answers to the questions they are asking.

No matter which country one is from, people have a desire to know what's going to happen in the future. Wanting to predict the future is like divination. Divination is the attempt of ascertaining information by interpretation of omens or an alleged supernatural agency, either by or on behalf of a querent. Below are some methods of divination that people use.

astrology: by celestial bodies.
bibliomancy: by books (frequently, but not always, religious texts).
cartomancy: by cards.
cheiromancy/palmistry: by palms.
chronomancy:about time, lucky/unlucky days.
cybermancy: by computers.
gastromancy: by crystal ball.
feng Shui: by earthen harmony.
I Ching divination: by the I Ching; a form of bibliomancy.
numerology: by numbers.
oneiromancy: by dreams.
Ouija: board divination.
taromancy: by Tarot; a form of cartomancy.
necromancy: by the dead, or spirits/souls of the dead/recently dead

I have only included the common ones, for a more comprehensive lists of the different methods of divination, look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_divination

In the next few moments, I'm going to reveal what's going to happen in the future and it can be found in the Word of God.

Matthew 24:3-14

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Firstly, we see that one of the signs of Jesus' second coming is that there will be an emergence in false prophets, people claiming to be Jesus Christ. Today, we will examine this topic.

In today's world, there are many false prophets who are twisting the facts of the Bible and leading people to hell and condemnation. False prophets who come out and teach ungodly, unholy, wicked doctrines, confusing and destroying the lives of people.

One example is John Scotland. Some of his outrageous teachings is his claim to have experienced spiritual drunkenness of the Holy Spirit for the last 3 years non-stop. As he got up to minister in Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (3,000 people were in attendance), he staggered around the stage, told jokes, mumbled, slurred his words and then worked his way up to reading the Bible. When he tried to read the Scripture he would stop and make cackling chicken sounds. In fact, each time he tried to read the Bible, strange sounds proceeded from his mouth, which the audience loved. Scotland calls this manifestation from the Holy Spirit "a wake-up call".

Listen to what he says:

"See, some of us are saying, I can't get my head around this. You're not supposed to get your head around it, you're supposed to get your heart around it. You've got PhD "Permanent Head Damage" from listening to too many sermons. For 20 years, I've preached 3 point sermons and nobody get set free. Now I get drunk and ramble and God offends people to reveal their hearts. I was at another service and I had the bag with my bottles in it. As I staggered to the front, and went through my bag looking for my bottles, I know the spirit of God is doing something. And my natural mind is saying, get on with the sermon but the spirit of God says, carry on, go with the flow. What do you want? You want religion? You want sermons? Tickle your ears? Or do you want the foolishness? Do you want the foolishness of the holy spirit to come in? In Power. Isn't it great to shout in church. Isn't it? Its great. You know, all these years, you've been told. When you walk into church, SHHH, SHHH. You might wake god up. Ladies and gentlemen. The angels are serving wine. They are serving wine as I speak. They're bringing big barrels. The party has just BEGAAAAN. A couple of years ago, a couple who was living together, had a daughter who died of cancer at 23. 6 months before she died, they came and asked me, can I use the church hall to throw a party for my daughter? What was I to do? I said Yes. They were an ungodly family and they wanted to party, and along with the party, they wanted drink. And the lord said go along, let them drink. And they invited me to the party and it was about 1 am and the party had just begun. And the disco was playing and they had this machine that puffed out smoke and flashing lights and I sat there in the party and the place was heaving. And you know what the lord said to me? He said, John this is how you party. This is how you party. I've been to church for 20 odd years and people keep looking at their watches, wondering when the preacher was going to finish. Church were only just learning how to party. you know we were never invited to parties when we were Christians and the reason we weren't invited to parties is because we were joy killers. Yeah. Yeah. JOY KILLERS! Now we get invited all the time. Jesus said I've come to give you life. LIFE! LIFE! And that more abundantly."

Another person we see is Benny Hinn.

Benny Hinn promotes himself as a Christian healing evangelist, Bible teacher, and the author of a number of best-selling inspirational Christian books. His thirty-minute TV program This Is Your Day, is among the world’s most-watched Christian programs, seen on various Christian television networks, including Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network, Revelation TV, The Christian Channel, Vision TV, INSP Networks, and The God Channel.

Benny Hinn conducts regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing events held in sports coliseums and stadiums in major cities throughout the world. His teachings are based on Word of Faith theology which espouse belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, contemporary works of the Holy Spirit and the "perpetuity of spiritual gifts" which includes activities such as 'speaking in tongues', faith healing, exorcism, and consequential financial prosperity. Particular concerns of Hinn's critics include a lack of transparency regarding his personal income derived from ministry, disputes as to substantial claims that the sick are actually healed through his ministry, and Hinn's persistant aberrant theology.

Hinn made a number of unfulfilled (religious) prophecies for the 90s, such as God will destroy America's homosexual community in 1995 or the death of Fidel Castro, election of the first female president of the USA, the East Coast of the United States will be devastated by earthquakes, etc., all before the third millennium.

I have only listed two false prophets above and there are still many more around, looking to deceive and confuse people. In a world where truth is often diluted, we need to be all the more careful to weed out what's good and what's bad. Be the judge, use God's Word as the litmus test against what people may say.

Next up, we will examine some of the false doctrines that are common today.

Word-Faith Movement (Prosperity Doctrine/Positive Confession)

HERETICAL DOCTRINES
Because of the diverse nature of the movement, the doctrines listed below are representative of those held widely or predominantly throughout the leadership of the movement.

Doctrines:
- Christians are "gods", and therefore do not need to ask "in God's will", but rather use our own divinity to speak what we want into being.
- We are lacking faith if we are not healthy and wealthy. (God intended for us to be rich and healthy).
- Men are capable of saving themselves.
- Belief in faith as a "force" capable of being used for good or evil.
- Use of faith-force to change reality or to create through visualization
- God is unable to operate within the earth realm without our help
- Use of words (negative) releases Satan's power, while words (positive) release God's power.

Manifest Sons Of God (The Manchild Company)

HERETICAL DOCTRINES
The following philosophies represent those commonly held by organizations following these theologies. The actual beliefs of any one organization may vary somewhat from the details presented below, but general theme remains the same.

- A New Form and Standard for Christianity is emerging. It will change our entire understanding of what Christianity is. In 20 years it will be entirely different. Change will be so dramatic, the Christian church as we know it will oppose it. The change will come from outside the church.
- Rapture of the "wicked" (Not of the saved!).
- God is to be revealed when he takes his throne in the temple.
- Christians cannot be deceived.
- City Churches: One church leadership per city. Other churches are to join the KCF, transfer membership to them (or associated churches in other cities), and close down their churches).
- Joel's Army/Kingdom Now/Dominion theology: the church is to conquer and subdue the earth in order to bring in the millennium.
- New Breed/manifest Son's of God: We will be perfected into our glorified bodies prior to Christ's return. This will allow us to subdue the earth.
- Christians become "gods". We have the "divine" nature.
- Christ comes into us as a "seed" and grows into a "prophet". Christ therefore comes "within us".
- Jesus was sent as a "pattern" for the corporate church (Corporate church in this context means that the church becomes Christ. Christ is not complete without us because he is the head and we are the body).
- The current church has the spirit of "Antichrist".

1 Corinthians 4

We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!

1 Corinthians 4:10

Consider the following conversations:

A: How's life?
B: Ok.

A: How's everything?
B: Good.

A: How have you been?
B: Fine.

A: Everything's ok?
B: Of course.

So often we are defensive about our personal life. People are constantly putting on a false front, a smile, a mask to hide the emptiness and pain in their hearts. People are afraid of showing their weakness to others and making themselves vulnerable. In a sense, we are fake, we are just pretending.

I personally believe that no one is so holy that he or she does not need God. I don't think anyone is so spiritual that he or she does not fall into sin or struggles. I don't think anyone is so strong that he or she is never weak.

From past till present, strong men have fallen. Even men of God, men of the faith have fallen, what makes us better than them? David fell to adultery and murder. Peter denied Jesus three times. Moses committed murder. Samson fell into sexual immorality.

People are tired of hypocrisy. People are disgusted by masks and false fronts. People are not looking for leaders who are high, mighty and strong. People have enough of others acting, smiling and pretending to be fine when things aren't going fine.

Our relationships are now superficial. We say hi and bye. We stick together in good times, but we are not there in tough times. We act so strong that others don't know how we feel or what we are going through.

We need to learn to be foolish, to be weak, to be vulnerable. We need humble leaders, humble servants. We need people who is willing to expose themselves, to show and share their sins and struggles with others. We need people who are willing to be fools for Christ, people who are willing to show their weak and needy side.

For myself, the musical have been a challenging time for me. There are discouraging times, times when I feel like giving up and throwing in the towel. There are times when I'm impatient and lose my cool. I'm actually weak. I'm easily discouraged.

Yet, I thank God for the people that God has brought alongside me to encourage me, people to support me. Each one of their help, though small or big, means so much to me. Their prayers, their sms, their act of service, their words of encouragement, their touch, their time, their gifts gave me the strength to continue.

As a tribe leader, I have failed in many areas. I haven't been the best tribal leader exactly and I probably have disappointed or failed some of my tribe members. I always treasure the time where we just open up and share our struggles and challenges. Those times when we see the weak side of others mean so much to me. It's at those times when you see who are your true friends, it's at those times when you see God work. Personally, God has always work when I'm weak, when I share my struggles, when I admit my weakness, when I tell others I can't do it.

Yet, I thank God for Oasis. This is been my pillar of strength and support. Each one have made an impact and difference in my life. The sms that you all sent, the times when we talked, the prayers made together, the outings, the photos, everything and everyone of you has brought joy and good memories to me.

I'll end with Oasis tribe verse:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

For God to give us rest, we need to come to Him. And coming to Him involves acknowledging our weakness and inability. It means humbling ourselves and saying that we cannot do it. It means making ourselves vulnerable. May God help us in this area.

Are you willing to be weak for Christ's sake?
Are you willing to be a fool for Christ?
Are you willing to make yourself vulnerable?
Are you willing to share your struggles with others?

May the Lord find us faithful (Part 2)

We now move on to what are the practical ways we can be faithful.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Matthew 24:45-51)

Firstly, we are to be faithful in our service.

As seen in verse 48, the master of the house placed a particular servant as ruler over his household and his duty is to give them food in due season. In due season means at the right time. I suppose that giving them food probably refers to giving the animals food. In other words, the job of the servant is to feed the animals at the right time. Hey, this is not an easy job. It's boring and routine and the servant has to do it every day and he has to ensure that he feeds them at the right time. But he's faithful in this ministry and thus when the master returns, he will be blessed.

Maybe God has placed you in a particular ministry, be faithful in that ministry. It may seem routine and boring, maybe you're getting sick and tired of it, press on, be faithful! Your reward is coming soon.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Matthew 25:14-30)

Secondly, we are to be faithful in our gifts and talents.

In the parable, the good servant invested and spend his talents and multiplied it. In the same way, we are to use our gifts and talents for God's glory. Maybe God has gifted you with the ability to run, then run for His glory. Maybe God has gifted you with the ability to plan games, then plan games for His glory. Maybe God has gifted you with the ability to play the violin, then play the violin for His glory. We need to be faithful in using the gifts and talents that God has blessed us with for His glory.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

Luke 16:10-12

Thirdly, we need to be faithful in our money.

When one is able to be faithful in the area of money, then he or she is ready to be entrusted with true riches. When one is faithful in little things, then he or she is ready for greater things.