The Chinese often thought that Christianity is a foreign western religion. I hope to show how terribly wrong we are. Our ancient forebears knew this One and Only True God all along but over the centuries, we have forgotten about this One and Only God, the Creator of this universe.
Our written language, customs and Chinese philosophies recorded this knowledge.
The Chinese often thought that Christianity is a foreign western religion. I hope to show how terribly wrong we are. Our ancient forebears knew this One and Only True God all along but over the centuries, we have forgotten about this One and Only God, the Creator of this universe.
Our written language, customs and Chinese philosophies recorded this knowledge.
Luke 21:1-4 NASB
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
This passage clearly reminds us that our offering is only meaningful to God out of a genuine love for Him and not with any other selfish or covetous motive. In Matt 6:1-4, Jesus our Lord already told us that if our giving is to draw and gain recognition from others, our giving will not be acceptable to God. Jesus specifically said that the poor widow gave more than all of the rich that day. Obviously He was not referring literally to the physical absolute amount of money given. Jesus, in His omniscience, even knew the 2 copper coins were all she had to live on.
Jesus is watching intently on our motives for giving our offering today as well. Let’s be sure on this first fact that Jesus our Lord uses a different criterion to weigh our giving – on our hearts and on not our gifts – unlike the tangible criterion the world uses.
Similarly, Jesus weighs on our repentance and not on our works, or on the circumcision of our hearts and not physical circumcision pertaining to our response to the gospel.
What the poor widow put into the treasury was considered more than all the rich Jews put. So let’s be sure that it is not the physical amount Jesus weigh on but the right motive or attitude in giving. The poor widow gave out of poverty while the rich Jews gave out of surplus – contrasting extremes which our Lord always loved to use to illustrate His teachings. The only qualm I can see about the rich giving out of surplus in this incident is probably a nonchalant performance of duty and not an act of devotion, unlike the poor widow. Then consider this : how contemptible it will be if the rich actually give with a covetous heart that God will reward him or her with even more when he or she is already very well off !
Let’s look at the first fallacy.
Jesus would be wrong to commend that the poor widow gave more if this false teaching of the growth formula (growth of multiple fold to what one gives) is to be believed because the poor widow would gain the least among all who gave that day. The real motivation behind such call to sow miracle seed is to raise as much funds as possible for the church and this objective can only be achieved by stoking the greed in the members to give more in physical amount and be rewarded in kind by God. Pittance giving will be considered a nuisance to the fund raising exercise.
On the second fallacy, this false teaching promises deliverance from poverty for sacrificial giving to the church. If it is true, the poor widow should not remain poor all this while till Jesus saw her. If she was giving for the first time, it would be a first time jackpot hit and Jesus was not really omniscient to know. Definitely not the first time because she was a Jew and not young since she was a widow. And if she had been giving with such commendable attitude all this while, then why was she still poor ? Do you follow ?
When the rich gave, the gifts would not hurt them a bit for it would be a pittance of their surplus. But when the poor widow gave, she probably had to go hungry that day for that was all she had to live on. Hallelujah ! The poor widow was really wise to see that storing treasure in Heaven, and not on earth, would last. Her physical hunger was nothing compared to her hunger for God. That was an excellent act of devotion to God. Besides she had survived all this while on little showing she had no lack by the grace of God though she was poor.
Let’s emulate the poor widow in giving out of love for God instead of covetous motive.
It has been a tremendous blessing by the grace of God to serve fellow pastors in Indonesia and Philippines through the Body of Christ Fellowship and National Auxiliary Chaplaincy of Philippines respectively all these years.
I have noticed that many are already serving in prison ministry and it has been my desire to help them to have a formal bible study program in the prison they serve and to seek financial support for them as well.
By the grace of God, Crossroad Bible Institute (CBI) USA has approved us to start the prison ministry with their blessing in Indonesia and Philippines. CBI USA has a very comprehensive bible study program. (http://www.cbi.fm)
Without hesitation, we intend to start the program in one prison in Karimun and another in Surabaya, Indonesia in April 2016.
***Latest Update (28 Sept 2016) : Due to sudden certain development, JC’s Manifesto Ministries will not be cooperating with CBI USA on rolling out the prison ministry.***
Prison in Madura
I believe in God’s grace. He had appeared and told us this : “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26).
When I see the indigent poor brothers impossibly live in peace and joy and with no lack, I know this is His amazing grace. I am overwhelmed and humbled.
When I see hardened criminals and hard-core drug offenders impossibly transform their lives for Christ, I know this is His amazing grace. I am overwhelmed and humbled.
When I see bereaved brothers impossibly help others with the pain and giving them hope in the coming glory, I know this is His amazing grace. I am overwhelmed and humbled.
When I see greatly persecuted brothers impossibly living in hope and eagerly awaiting the return of our Savior and Lord, I know this is His amazing grace. I am overwhelmed and humbled.
But when grace is reduced to wishing for all possessions, all convenience in life, all well-being in life and indulging only in receiving rather than in giving, it is surely not grace from the Great I AM but a lie from the prince of this world (John 12:30-31).
For that is the lie told to Jesus our Lord and us by the prince of this world :
“All the kingdoms of the world and their splendor I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matt 4:8-10).
(1 John 2:15-16 NLT. 15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.)
In Section IIE paragraph 5, The Cape Town Commitment mentioned this :
5. Walk in simplicity, rejecting the idolatry of greed
The widespread preaching and teaching of ‘prosperity gospel’ around the world raises significant concerns. We define prosperity gospel as the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the ‘sowing of seeds’ through financial or material gifts. Prosperity teaching is a phenomenon that cuts across many denominations in all continents.
We affirm the miraculous grace and power of God, and we welcome the growth of churches and ministries that lead people to exercise expectant faith in the living God and his supernatural power. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. However, we deny that God’s miraculous power can be treated as automatic, or at the disposal of human techniques, or manipulated by human words, actions, gifts, objects, or rituals.
We affirm that there is a biblical vision of human prospering, and that the Bible includes material welfare (both health and wealth) within its teaching about the blessing of God. However, we deny as unbiblical the teaching that spiritual welfare can be measured in terms of material welfare, or that wealth is always a sign of God’s blessing. The Bible shows that wealth can often be obtained by oppression, deceit or corruption. We also deny that poverty, illness or early death are always a sign of God’s curse, or evidence of lack of faith, or the result of human curses, since the Bible rejects such simplistic explanations.
We accept that it is good to exalt the power and victory of God. But we believe that the teachings of many who vigorously promote the prosperity gospel seriously distort the Bible; that their practices and lifestyle are often unethical and un-Christlike; that they commonly replace genuine evangelism with miracle-seeking, and replace the call to repentance with the call to give money to the preacher’s organization. We grieve that the impact of this teaching on many Churches is pastorally damaging and spiritually unhealthy. We gladly and strongly affirm every initiative in Christ’s name that seeks to bring healing to the sick, or lasting deliverance from poverty and suffering. The prosperity gospel offers no lasting solution to poverty, and can deflect people from the true message and means of eternal salvation. For these reasons it can be soberly described as a false gospel. We therefore reject the excesses of prosperity teaching as incompatible with balanced biblical Christianity.
https://www.lausanne.org/content/ctc/ctcommitment#p2-5
Though the distorted grace message seems to be the main tenet of the hyper grace doctrine, the actual main message of claiming of wealth and health blessings through sowing of seed by giving generously to the church really enthrall the followers.
Allow me to show the fallacy of this sowing of the miracle seed.
Luke 21:1-4 NASB
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
This passage clearly reminds us that our offering is only meaningful to God out of a genuine love for Him and not with any other selfish or covetous motive. In Matt 6:1-4, Jesus our Lord already told us that if our giving is to draw and gain recognition from others, our giving will not be acceptable to God. Jesus specifically said that the poor widow gave more than all of the rich that day. Obviously He was not referring literally to the physical absolute amount of money given. Jesus, in His omniscience, even knew the 2 copper coins were all she had to live on.
Jesus is watching intently on our motives for giving our offering today as well. Let’s be sure on this first fact that Jesus our Lord uses a different criterion to weigh our giving – on our hearts and on not our gifts – unlike the tangible criterion the world uses.
Similarly, Jesus weighs on our repentance and not on our works, or on the circumcision of our hearts and not physical circumcision pertaining to our response to the gospel.
What the poor widow put into the treasury was considered more than all the rich Jews put. So let’s be sure that it is not the physical amount Jesus weigh on but the right motive or attitude in giving. The poor widow gave out of poverty while the rich Jews gave out of surplus – contrasting extremes which our Lord always loved to use to illustrate His teachings. The only qualm I can see about the rich giving out of surplus in this incident is probably a nonchalant performance of duty and not an act of devotion, unlike the poor widow. Then consider this : how contemptible it will be if the rich actually give with a covetous heart that God will reward him or her with even more when he or she is already very well off !
Let’s look at the first fallacy.
Jesus would be wrong to commend that the poor widow gave more if this false teaching of the growth formula (growth of multiple fold to what one gives) is to be believed because the poor widow would gain the least among all who gave that day. The real motivation behind such call to sow miracle seed is to raise as much funds as possible for the church and this objective can only be achieved by stoking the greed in the members to give more in physical amount and be rewarded in kind by God. Pittance giving will be considered a nuisance to the fund raising exercise.
On the second fallacy, this false teaching promises deliverance from poverty for sacrificial giving to the church. If it is true, the poor widow should not remain poor all this while till Jesus saw her. If she was giving for the first time, it would be a first time jackpot hit and Jesus was not really omniscient to know. Definitely not the first time because she was a Jew and not young since she was a widow. And if she had been giving with such commendable attitude all this while, then why was she still poor ? Do you follow ?
When the rich gave, the gifts would not hurt them a bit for it would be a pittance of their surplus. But when the poor widow gave, she probably had to go hungry that day for that was all she had to live on. Hallelujah ! The poor widow was really wise to see that storing treasure in Heaven, and not on earth, would last. Her physical hunger was nothing compared to her hunger for God. That was an excellent act of devotion to God. Besides she had survived all this while on little showing she had no lack by the grace of God though she was poor.
Let’s emulate the poor widow in giving out of love for God instead of covetous motive.
Rev 2:5
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Though there was not much written record on the Nicolaitans, some believed it could be a heretical sect started by Nicholas, one of the deacons of the early church. Acts 6:5. Clement of Alexandria said this about their deeds : “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” It seemed to be a form of antinomianism. (http://www.gotquestions.org/Nicolaitans.html)
The church at Pergamum actually embraced the teachings of the Nicolaitans unlike the church at Ephesus. Rev 2:15. They got no commendation but only censure. Jesus our Lord warned them that unless they repent, they would face the judgment reserved for those who taught false doctrine. Rev 2:16; 19:15.
One thing is for sure : It was an abomination for Jesus our Lord which He hated. Jesus our Lord had warned that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions and that we should not live in dissipation. But modern day hyper grace teachers continually preach that abundant life is an abundance of every good thing in life to be claimed and enjoyed. While the hyper grace teachers need not stress in the wrong premise that their teaching gives a license to sin; their teaching in the “positive” premise that a Christian is once saved always saved and that they need not worry about sin anymore even if they do commit sin is as good as permitting sin.
If Jesus our Lord would commend us for hating the works of such heresy, let no believer condemn us.
Hear what our Lord further commended on our discernment and intolerance for wicked people who taught heresy in Rev 2:2-3 :
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”
In 1998, I had a nasty fall at home. I hit my head on the hard ground and I lost consciousness. When I regained my consciousness in the ambulance, I could not remember the accident at all. My skull was deformed showing the severity of the fall.
In the weeks of recuperation, I decided to take things easy and I went to Genting Highlands for a couple of days. I had another fall going headlong probably 30 feet down. As I went down, I thought this was it. Again, I survived without any injury, not even a scratch, by the grace of God.
That shook me thinking about the vagaries of life and how far I had backslided over the years.
I went back to a local church. The very first Sunday service I attended, my car was booked for illegal parking. Later I learned that the neighbours was always upset with such illegal parking and had reported to LTA.
I decided to visit the families living in the vicinity of the church as I saw the need of the church to build up rapport with them. Relations improved so much that they did not report illegal parking anymore.
I also noticed the poor neighbourhood which I felt the church could evangelize through social service. I approached the social assistance department of MCD, Ministry of Community Development , the predecessor of MCYS for the list of needy families in the vicinity of the church.
I explained that I could match donors from church giving monthly pocket money to needy students of poor families which could not qualify for the social assistance from MCD. The supervisor was so grateful for this scheme as she felt so sad for not being able to help this particular group. And the scheme was approved readily.
She gave me a list of needy families near the local church. I managed to match some 15 to 20 families with willing donors in the first 3 months.
And when we invited them to an evangelistic campfire in church for the first time, they gladly came.
Seeing this ministry was a bridge to evangelizing the neighbourhood, the church took over the ministry officially which I gladly handed over.
2 years later when the Straits Times started the same fund, I believe the local church stopped this ministry as not to duplicate the same effort.
In an earlier post on Wisdom Nuggets, I have shown going against predictably irrational behavior of the majority fueled by covetousness, one may ironically get the very results of what everyone is pursuing.
A disciple of Christ is a radical disciple. He refuses to conform to the world. Even encountering storms in life, he will continue to trust in the promises of God.
Likewise an entrepreneur is a non conformist. In his earnest pursuit of the best value or solution for a given problem, he may go against conventional wisdom of the day. He strongly believe in his cause and persevere till he proves the effectiveness of the value or solution he has discovered.
Allow me to share some personal examples.
Once I was trying to introduce a new digital read-out into a market where the German brand was the most established. Most of the technicians were trained using the German brand of digital read-out in schools or training institutes. Conventional wisdom was that nobody would change to buy another brand regardless of the price. The German digital readout was sold for $ 3500 and the cost of installing it onto the machine was separate and cost another $ 1000 for the brackets and installment labor. Buyers could only take a hire purchase loan of 90% of the cost of the digital readout and not the brackets and labor cost. I decided to offer through the largest distributor of the machines in consignment a total package price of $ 2500 including brackets and labor. That would be a saving of $ 2000 and the buyer only needed to pay deposit of 10% of the total package cost which would be $ 250 and the rest could be covered by the hire purchase loan. But for the German brand, the buyer would need to fork out $ 1350. Within 2 years, the digital readout I promoted overtook the German brand to become No 1 seller in the market.
Once, I even made semiconductor chips with my brand name ANK (Anthony And Kenny). Conventional wisdom was that factories around the world would never buy such a high tech product from unknown brand names and unheard-of manufacturers. Creative Technologies and Aztech were 2 local companies which supplied 90% of the world’s demand for telephony cards – sound card and 56k modem rolled into one. They produced 1.4 million and 0.3 million cards per month respectively. Once there was a shortage of 4 semiconductors chips and one signal relay and Creative got most of the allocation from the suppliers leaving Aztech without any allocation. I was approached and I managed to turn on a relatively unknown factory in Europe to make these components for me and labeled ANK. At that time, the whole production in China for the signal relay was only 10,000 units a month and I needed 300,000 a month. I went to turn on the factories in Ningbo to get me this volume production. I had no knowledge of the manufacturing technology but that did not deter me to work out with the Chinese factories to produce such a relay which was manufactured in Japan at that time only.
Once when I was trying to introduce a new brand of washing machines into the crowded market here. All the distributors refused to promote seeing no particular advantage against the more superior Japanese and European brands. And I could not afford any advertising budget for these distributors as well. Conventional wisdom was to sell new entry brands at extremely low cost. I went to look for a large direct retail shop bypassing the big distributors. At that time, most brands retailed for $ 600 to 700 so I positioned my brand at $ 650 instead of selling really cheap though my cost to the retail shop was $ 250. That gave the retailer a cool $ 400 profit unlike the established brands which the retailer would get only $ 50 and the promoter at the shop would only get $ 5 for each machine sold. I ensured that the shop gave $ 50 as commission to the promoter and the machine had to be sold with gifts costing another $ 150. To the consumers, they would perceive a very good deal when they saw the gifts of Philips appliances costing $ 300. The promoter was so motivated to promote my brand because she would get 10 times more commission than selling other brands. We moved so many washing machines more against one European brand who had advertised over TV at that time.
Once I took over a failed food court from Kopitiam, a local chain of food courts at Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road. I turned it around offering SGD 2 for all meals from the stalls I owned while renting cheaply to other stallholders selling less popular food items. I got a different crowd of office workers from other food courts serving mainly tourists. It was a hybrid model of owning some stalls and renting out the rest. This gave economy of scale for the self owned stalls for labor and purchasing. Such hybrid model also kept all stalls running. Soon we had the big Filipino weekend patronage.