The Coming Economic Flood (Chinese Version ) 经济洪灾的到来 Chapter 1 第一章

第一章
第一个异象

只等真理的圣灵来了,他要引导你们明白(注:原文作“进入”)一切的真理,因为他不是凭自己说的,乃是把他所听见的都说出来,并要把将来的事告诉你们。
约16:13
2001年9月3日

我正在新加坡国际机场要前往美国纽约市出席季度例常全球销售会议。我当时是受雇于新视野电子企业(Nu Horizons Electronics Corp.),是一家在美国科技版上市的公司,是全球性的电子配件代理商(公司在2010年被Arrow Electronics Inc. 收购)1,我是远东子公司的首席执行员。从新加坡经中东迪拜飞往美国纽约的纽沃(Newark Airport)机场共花24小时的飞行时间。往常我都是带销售主任一同出席,但这次我却把亚洲子公司所有的经理都带去出席会议,因为那是一个非常好的财政年,所以我要奖赏他们的功劳。

其实这远东子公司是总公司与我个人一同合资的。我早在1993年就成立了一间公司来代表东南亚电子配件厂商。当1997年亚洲金融风暴来袭时,我需要从美国厂商中找寻新的生意伙伴。我当时与新视野电子企业及她的子公司NIC Components Corp.及在亚洲的Titan LogisticsInc.合作而获取了一份业务订单。在1999年,因着在亚洲的业务有实质发展,我就向总公司提出合资建议,同年合资子公司就此成立了。

在9月4日至7日我们在总公司有季度的销售会议。与往常一样,当几天从早到晚的会议之后,来到周末我们就会到曼哈顿松懈身心。

这实在是那么的美妙的欢乐时光;那些第一次到纽约的人就会有机会游览曼哈顿、自由女神像,与及自然历史博物馆。到了晚上,我们就会在最好的餐馆享用晚餐,借着就是到百老汇看演出。

2001年9月7日

9月7日下午,我们入住与世界贸易中心比邻的酒店。牛排晚餐之后,我们到百老汇看演出,接着就到爵士酒吧消遣一整夜。到了深夜才回到酒店。
2001年9月8日

早餐过后,我们各自分散。负责台湾市场的经理约了她在曼哈顿工作的要好朋友,其他人选择逛街去。在我们酒店的对面街就有一间厂商直销店正在促销上一季节的雨果波士(Hugo Boss)的外套。

我也跟着大伙去购物。下午我们来到了世界贸易中心地面层的咖啡座,其他人后来也到来。当时与我同在一起的经理有:新加坡市场经理、亚洲销售主任、我另外一间公司的销售经理、与及负责台湾市场的女经理。负责香港与中国的两位经理已回国。

当天早上我已经有所预感将会有恐怖袭击这个城市,所以当我们在咖啡座聊天的时候,我就向他们透露了这个不详的预感。我告诉他们不要上了望层去,万一哪里发生恐怖袭击。

我的这些经理们难以接受我说的事情,他们也不知道在1993年世界贸易中心曾发生过炸弹袭击。根据一些的报道,该次的袭击原先是针对联合国大厦的,但因着哪里的戒备森严。我也讲述了美国动作影片“和平之子”的情节(“Peacemaker”starring George Cooney and Nicole Kidman)。故事讲述一位南斯拉夫人认定联合国必须负起该国战争的全责而向她采取报复,因为他的妻儿都在战争罹难。男主角仿冒波斯尼亚外交官一员成功的将一颗细小的核子弹走私进美国。

当我越是叙述恐怖袭击,我的经理们也开始感到不安。我甚至建议采取可能的对应措施,如若是见到一辆卡车高速的行驶过前面的街道,我们就立即跑到附近的21世纪大厦。又或者躲藏在坚固的建筑结构中或是跑到空旷之处以避过倒下的建筑物。在当时我有强烈的预感世界贸易中心将会倒下。

我们过去都不携带照相机出来,但这一次我的女经理携带了一架。我想大概她是要与她的要好朋友留影而携带照相机。我的另一位建议我们以世界贸易中心为背景而拍照做个纪念万一它真的有一天倒塌了下来。他躺下帮我们拍了以整座世界贸易中心为背景的照片。

当晚我们出席了美国东岸销售经理的喜宴,餐厅地点位于岸边的一座大厦第四层,正好面向世界贸易中心。我当时因着预感将要发生恐怖袭击而感到紧张;当我站在露台面向着世界贸易中心一边品尝着鸡尾酒时,我看见了一幅异象:一架载着弹药的飞机撞向世界贸易中心!我当时就知道了将不会是装着弹药的大卡车而是飞机!
2001年9月9日

喜宴之后我即刻回到酒店,因为我对所见到的异象深感到不安。我祷告。我失眠。凌晨三点,我致电我的秘书为我们所有人确定回国的机票。那是新加坡时间下午三点钟。

我安排了酒店服务员叫醒各人。我们用完早餐就即刻前往机场。这么短时间通知就把各人送回国实在不是很好受的。我相信我的经理们肯定想在曼哈顿多留一两天。

我们抵达新加坡已是9月10日的深夜。
2001年9月11日

我早上九点钟踏入了办公室,我的办公室员工给了我一个惊喜,因为他们为我办了一个生日会,那天是我的生日。晚上我和妻子在家附近的咖啡座。大约是在晚上十点钟或是十一点钟,我接到妈妈打来的电话问我是否还在纽约?她通知了我电视突发新闻,我当时无法听明白她想告诉我的事情。当我们回到家扭开电视机收看美国CNN新闻频道,我目睹了惊人的新闻事件!神要告诉我什么?

接近三千人丧命于这次的恐怖袭击!

若我们没有回家而还在美国曼哈顿,当世界贸易中心遭受袭击当时我们应该不会在那里。首先,我们在早上九点钟用早餐,若我们要到世界贸易中心购物,最早也要等到下午的时间。若有空闲,我们大概会在上午的时间前往博物馆参观。第二,我们已经决定不会上到世界贸易中心的了望层。

这样,神到底要告诉我什么?

早期是工程出身的我,曾经天天都离不开统计学及或然率。我们设计实验的过程,然后根据实验收集到的数据得出最大或然率的结果来制定应用系统。我知道我所见的异象与实际发生的事件难以相信是纯属巧合,尤其是考虑到以下非常独特的事件同时发生:我刚在前几天看见这异象;我刚在前几天身处事发地点;我在异象中准确的看见飞机被利用来袭击世界贸易中心(而非联合国大厦),这是未曾有过前例!并且是发生在我的生日。这些事件若是纯属巧合的话,那可能性是的多么微乎极微。

我很肯定神是在给我一个信息。

在接下来的几天,我从报章中阅读了几位新加坡人在那里的亲身经历。任何的亲身经历都具备了新闻价值。我也有种冲动想向报馆分享我所见的异象,我的经理们都可以为我的陈述作证。我当时还在为着所发生的事感到困扰。有好几个问题盘旋在我的脑海中,以致我放弃了向报馆透露:我要达到什么目的?我是否向人夸耀具备的特殊恩赐?藉着见证分享来发展神的国度不是我当时的考虑,虽然我肯定神已经给了我一个信息。

自从我在七十年代受洗,我一直以来都是个主日基督徒。我有非常体面的执行主管的装扮;我在事业上的成就令人羡慕;我赚到非常可观的金钱。在当时新加坡的社会,我是每一位母亲的梦想。我就读最好的中学、最好的工艺学院、最后以电子工程的荣誉学位毕业自本地顶尖大学。我谢绝了荣誉奖学金。才步入企业短短的十五年,我已经是企业界中的成功人士!

看来基督并没有叫我放弃一切来跟从祂。

这异象成了我的转戾点。我知道在特殊的时刻看见特殊的异象不可能是巧合。圣灵每一天在我里面的催逼使我无法继续在企业中生存。

在2002年底,我毅然辞职并把一切股份售卖给母公司。我开始寻求神并诚心的研读神的话。我早就知道无知的财主的故事,但却未发现自己也成了无知的财主2。我虽然在过去也曾捐献给贫穷人及慈善机构,但我脑海中一直都满了如何为自己的建更大的仓房来堆积我可观的收成,且告诉自己好好的安逸并沉溺在享乐中。

2003年至2005年期间我花许多时间默想神的话并祷告。圣灵透过祂的话语让我看见自己过去如何虚度了生命。我没有遵守主的吩咐去分享福音、叫瞎子得看见、叫被掳的得释放、并且叫被压制的得自由。3我就好象那五个愚昧的童女没有预备好迎接新郎的到来。4我自以为是主的门徒,然而许多东西较神的国度更加的占据了我的心,就如:我的家庭、自己、及我的拥有。5

我很年轻就结婚了,但我的第一个男孩是在婚后第七年(1994)才来到。因着神的恩典,我后来分别在2003及2004又添了两个孩子。他们是神垂听祷告奇迹般的结果。我妻子罹患了子宫内膜异位,她的妇科医生建议她再次怀孕已确保完全得医治。我妻子之前已把子宫里的囊肿切除,但它又再次长回。她当时的年龄已38岁,怀孕的面对的危险性比较高,然而,这位基督徒医生是极富盛名的医生,她建议我们采用试管受精的方式。

我不是很愿意的情形下同意了试管受精的方式,虽然我心想不会成功的。我告诉她神会垂听我的祷告,若神愿意,就无需试管受精这方式。(我不是反对神可以透过试管受精来使不孕的夫妻获得孩子,我乃是觉得这不适合我们的情况,我们把这事交托给神。)我们进行了两回卵细胞浆内单精子显微受精的步骤但都不成功。我和大儿子一起恳切的为我的妻子的得医治祷告,而神真的医治了她就是当她再次的自然受孕。感谢赞美神!

虽然我妻子的健康问题及多两位孩子的到来占据了我的关注,但神垂听祷告的福坚定了我对神的信心,也得着了我生命的委身于祂。

我所看见的异象对我产生非常大的震撼,使我认真的考虑生命的意义。圣灵感动在我内心使我察觉到自己还没有重生。我还没有一个新的心和新的灵使我舍己、背起十字架来跟从主,作我生命的主。6 放下企业的人生及物质上的丰富是在基督里新生命的起点。接下来殷勤研读圣经及圣灵的引导帮助我真正的找到在基督里的道路、真理与生命。

我继续求神向我启示异象的信息而恳切的祷告。当我在2005年第二次看见异象的时候才对异象的信息有了眉目。

The Coming Economic Flood (Chinese Version ) 经济洪灾的到来 Preface Page 序言

All thanks be to God for availing a brother to translate this given book message into Chinese.  Over the next few weeks,  I will be posting the translated version here in installments as soon as I receive the translated installments.

献给

这本书首先要献给我挚爱的救主耶稣基督,因祂把我从引致毁灭的道路中拯救进入在祂里面的生命中。愿一切的尊荣都归于祂直到永远!

我也要把这本书献给我的妻子安妮及我的三个孩子阿尔万、阿蕾娜及亚设,他们是我的爱与喜乐,当我们需要一同过简朴的生活时,他们都一直支持着我。我也要将这本书献给我亲爱的朋友,他们以各种的方式鼓励并支持我的事工,特别是陈金伟、杨格里、张彭顺、吴彼得及已故万保罗文生。
目录

序言
1 第一个异象
2 产痛的开始
3 第二个异象
4 基督的宣告
5 全球金融体系的崩溃
6 洞见
7 预备

注释
关于作者

序言

弟兄们哪,可见你们蒙召的,按著肉体有智慧的不多,有能力的不多,有尊贵的也不多。 神却拣选了世上愚拙的,叫有智慧的羞愧;又拣选了世上软弱的,叫那强壮的羞愧。 神也拣选了世上卑贱的,被人厌恶的,以及那无有的,为要废掉那有的, 使一切有血气的,在 神面前一个也不能自夸。 (林前1:36-29)

经历了十年全时间的事奉,我发觉到“敬虔”的意义竟然被属灵的骗徒扭曲为财务上的获利、名望、及权势。如雨后竹笋般冒起的假师傅为了私利而窜改了福音正是主耶稣所说的产痛的预兆的起点。几乎每一天都传出神迹奇事的报道。先知性的事工也茂盛了起来,针对一般或个别信徒发预言。

在这样的一个背景下,我有两个考虑因素在我书写我所领受的异象及神在好一些日子以前赐给我的信息时感到踌躇。第一、这些事看起来是那么的不可思议,第二、我不是在传统主流体系下培养出来的基督工人,因此我所发表的应该不容易被接受。我可不想被视为另一个属灵骗子要利用我的事工来捞取巨富。靠主的恩典,这些年来事工的经费及在亚洲一带的宣教旅费都全是借着主内的爱心奉献及个人过去的储蓄。若我有所夸口的,我情愿夸自己的软弱。

神不断的提醒我,若我不把信息分享出来,我的双手将沾满了血。无论我的信息是否太过奇异?又是否会被接受?都不应该是我所应当关心的。我因此愿意顺服神的心意,近年来神也很奇妙的带领我到区域性的牧者聚会中分享信息。也因此感觉到应该把信息写下来,这远比在聚会中一、两个小时的分享来得仔细。

神透过祂的话来鼓励我。祂提醒我重要的不是我是否有能力去办这事?乃是要忠心。不是我的资格,也不是这事的大小。神故意拣选世上看为愚拙的,这样无人可以在祂面前自夸;祂故意拣选软弱的,叫哪些自以为强壮的蒙羞。1

在我阅读了一些有类似的异象与洞见的美国牧者的著作,如约拿单坎的“预警”(The Harbinger)及约翰哈吉的“四个血月”(Four Blood Moons),使我深受鼓舞来分享自己类似的信息来显明神的启示临到东方的信徒如同临到西方的信徒。

我要分享的信息是神将要临到的审判。

我祷告这本书能帮助我们看到神的审判是神临到我们的怜悯,叫世人回应祂的怜悯而悔改。人类已罪大滔天,都心骄气傲,粮食饱足,大享安逸,并没有扶助困苦和穷乏人的手2
。这些是所多玛的罪根如今更是在全世界滋生开来,我们可以看到同性恋、违法及残暴的事在各地越来越猖獗。神大可以放弃我们,任凭我们自我中心、堕落、随心所欲,以致永远的沉沦;又或者祂采取怜悯的方式,就是借着迫近的审判来警告我们悔改3。我们应该谦卑、祷告,寻求祂的面,转离我们的恶行4。我们应该恳切的向祂求智慧来为迫近的审判做好准备。

挪亚从神领受了预警而起了敬畏的心,就准备了方舟叫一家人得救,然而其他的人却继续的吃喝玩乐5。我们如今就好象活在挪亚的时代6。若我们也像挪亚一样的做好准备,就算所谓的审判不见到来,我们也不会有所亏损;但若是审判真的到来而我们却完全没有做好准备,我们就会身心都承受极大的苦难,我们就会经历审判所带来的灾祸:哀痛、饥荒及死丧7。

以下的段落摘自奥利根信心报告(OregonFaithReport.com),文中记录了基督徒的高自杀率说明了在情感上做好准备来面对失业及其他困难的急迫性。

根据约翰侯金大学(John Hopkins Universary)的哈维布仁纳博士(Dr. Harvey Brenner),失业率每增加一个百分比(针对美国而言)自杀的人数也跟着增加一千二百个人数。其中发现基督徒并未幸免。信仰承受力(ReligiousTolerance.org)的报告指出,在不同宗教群体中,基督徒—虽然他们的立场反对自杀—的自杀率是最高。

“这是不幸但却是可以理解的”帕拉索事工的执行主任劳拉巴克如此说明“许多人虽然一生大部分时间参与教会,但当经济萧条带来失业或经济上的亏损时,他们的信心还是因此被打倒了。”8

 

 

 

Examine Ourselves Before Taking The Lord’s Supper

Mark 14:16-25
16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Just before the disciples took the Last Supper with their Lord, Jesus said one of them would betray Him. Instead of suspecting another of this act, the disciples asked the Lord one after another whether the betrayer was himself ! The disciples were distressed and they were not even sure of themselves. What happened after the Last Supper ? One betrayed the Lord and another denied Him.  How unpredictably deceitful are our hearts !

Here we clearly notice the conviction of sin by our Lord Jesus and the self examination that followed before partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Besides partaking the Lord’s Supper in unity and proclaiming His death till He comes, it is so important to examine ourselves of our infirmities and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.

Stop falling for this false teaching of hyper grace teachers not to examine ourselves and confess our sins at the Lord’s Supper.

The Beatitudes

Blessed Are The Meek For They Shall Inherit The Earth. Matt 5:5.

“…It was the meek and lowly Jesus who with an upraised whip of cords expelled the mercenary traders from His Father’s house. Nor is meekness mere good-naturedness which will take anything from anybody. Essentially it is that attitude of mind which does not insist on its own rights and is always ready to waive its privileges in the interests of others…” – J Oswald Sanders.

The world thinks of the meek as one who does not count for much but Jesus our Lord said he will inherit the earth. This is a steely character who is willing to yield to others when the principle of God’s laws is not at stake. Such a person may claim nothing in his own right but he truly inherit the new earth that is coming. He is wise to claim nothing that is perishable to inherit that which is imperishable. The meek Moses chose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking forward to the reward – the new heaven and earth.

Blessed Are They That Mourn, For They Shall Be Comforted.  Matt 5:4.

“It is not the sorrow itself that is a blessed thing, but rather the comfort which God ministers to the sorrowing. There can be no comfort where there is no grief…The happiness of the Gospel message is that it alone professedly deals with the common lot of sorrow, and gives the oil of joy for mourning. This is its initial undertaking : its final guarantee is “no sorrow; nor crying.” – J Oswald Sanders

Because we are living in the overlapping times of the Kingdom of God is already here and the coming Kingdom of God in glory, we still live in tension in the present fallen earth while waiting for the new heaven and earth.

While we mourn our helplessness, our spiritual poverty and our lukewarm-ness and our distance from God due to sin through contrition all the time, we have joy and peace at the same time due to the comfort God has given us through Christ Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah ! Praise the Lord !
Rom 7: 12-25.

God Alone Is Worthy

Psalms 8

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

God alone is worthy of worship for His works are so majestic without peer.

Consider the infinite micro universe with atoms and molecules expanding all the way to the infinite macro universe of galaxies of stars with His laws setting in motion everything we can see. Consider the beauty and wonder in His creation of organisms, plants, insects and animals with His laws guiding all to depend on each other in harmony. Consider the delicate eco-system working in perfect order for all life to survive. How majestic are His works !

God alone is worthy of worship for He is holy without peer.

Consider how we look at pests in our environment which we are ever so ready to annihilate and we can perhaps understand a little of His absolute abhorrence of our sin. Consider how abhorrent we are – not even a speck of dust as compared to the whole universe – and yet we believe we can be like god. We are nothing but pests destroying the sanctity of His holy and beautiful created world.

God alone is worthy of worship for His love without peer.

Consider how incorrigible it is for a wayward self scented creature to believe he can replace the Creator in control of his own destiny. Yet this Sovereign Creator God is willing to incarnate and propitiate Himself to reveal Himself as the Truth, the Way and the Life for His creation.

God alone is worthy of worship for His grace without peer.

Consider what do we, creatures, deserve such honor and love from our Creator ? Nothing. Absolutely nothing ! And yet He is willing to make us sons and joint heirs of His Kingdom with His only Begotten Son.

Let’s exalt His Wonderful and Holy Name for all eternity !

Law And Grace

Eph 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The Law which Paul talked about is the Halakha, the Jewish Law, of 613 prohibitions so devised so that the Mosaic Law could be legalistically complied. The Jews believed that their own effort in religiously complying with this Halakha, which Paul called Works of the law, would earn them salvation.

Paul said that he was blameless in compliance as a Pharisee. Phil 3:6. Yet he was merciless in persecuting the church and even approved of the stoning of Stephen.

The Pharisees could be blameless in complying with the 613 prohibitions outwardly but you know from Scripture that they were mean, covetous, prideful and hypocritical in their hearts.

So we see that there can be no evidence of a new heart and new spirit even when one can comply with the Halakha.  That is, we cannot earn salvation by these law-works.

By nature, we are spiritually blind and in order to see this fallacy, God must open our eyes and melt our hearts of stone into flesh – that is Grace.  By grace,  when we are born again in Christ Jesus, a new heart and new spirit will be given us and the Spirit of Jesus will also be given to move us to fulfill the law.  Ezek 36:26-27,  John 3:5-7,13-15.

Psalms 19 tells us the law of the Lord revives the soul, rejoices the heart and make wise the simple. Without understanding that the law is Good which is the blueprint of our image of God, do we really know God ?

Jesus our Lord often talked about the heart or character conforming to this blueprint rather than the silly outward compliance of rules so devised to conform to the law. As silly as those who legalistically follow rules without true circumcision of the heart so is the silly ignorant believer who rubbishes the law.

(The Law of Christ, which is to love God wholeheartedly and to love one another, will fulfill the Mosaic Law.  Rom 13:10.   So when we bear each other’s burden by loving one another,  we have fulfilled the law of Christ.  Gal 6:2.)

The righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us when we believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Savior and Lord. Phil 3:9.  Though the righteousness is imputed, the training to be Christ-like in character only just begins.

Titus 2:11-13. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Greater And Lesser Sense Of Prophecy

John 16:13. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you THE THINGS THAT ARE TO COME. ….

As far as the greater sense of prophecy is concerned, the revelation of God is complete in the Scripture. That is, no teacher can claim that the Spirit says some new truth to him that is different from what Jesus said because the Spirit will only speak what He hears from Jesus. John 16:14. Eg. Jesus said that those whom He loves, He will rebuke and discipline. Rev 3:19. So any teacher who claim a new truth from the Spirit of Jesus that He will not convict or rebuke a Christian of sin is a false teacher.

But in the lesser sense of prophecy,  it is still God’s sovereignty today to use whoever He wants to tell some future event to prepare His people. Eg Acts 11:27-30. It was noteworthy to know that the Antioch church acted on the prophecy to prepare and send relief to help the church in Judea through Paul and Barnabas. And the leaders in Jerusalem were humble to receive them.

It is important to note that Scripture exhorts us NOT to despise prophecy but to test all of them.  1 Thess 5:20.

Testimony (8)

Mark 10:27. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

It is difficult for me to share this episode of my life. But it had a very happy ending by the amazing grace of God. I am sharing this testimony in the hope of helping fellow believers who are going through such hurt in their relationship with their loved ones.

I grew up having a terrible relationship with my father. He was always quarreling with my mother over financial woes. We were impoverished because of his indolence and gambling habits. I never knew a day of peace growing up.

When I started my career, I contributed towards paying the mortgage of our Housing Development Board (HDB) apartment. One evening, I blew my top when I learned we might be evicted because we were in arrears of 13 months of mortgage payment. Later the HDB added the arrears due to the principal sum and recalculated our monthly mortgage payment after we had settled part of the arrears.

I just got married then. At the wedding dinner, I went on stage to thank my dad for bringing me up. I felt so hypocritical for making that speech in front of relatives, friends and colleagues.

Despite the sour relationship with my dad, I had always hoped to do well in life to support him and my mum.

I prayed often just for a stable career and improvement in our relationship. What seemed so impossible to me had become possible with God. He blessed me way beyond what I had prayed for.  All thanks and glory to Him !

I went on to do well in my career and I could pay up both the mortgage of my parents’ apartment and mine too in full.

Growing up with so much hurt, it is impossible to work on the relationship on our own effort. Many who suffered such hurt could testify to what I was going through.

I prayed often for the salvation of my parents too. I would sign up for any evangelistic dinner organized by any church to bring them along.

When my first son came after 7 years of marriage, things began to change. My wife and I would bring him often to see both his paternal and maternal grandparents over the weekend.

I really did not know when my relationship with my dad began to mend so much that I could really love him and care for him. All past hurts were not only forgiven but forgotten as well.

God is indeed faithful when we ask Him earnestly in prayer. What seemed so impossible to me had become possible with God. I am sure His Spirit has been working on my heart since as promised – when we come to Him with contrition acknowledging our helplessness and allowing Him to work on us. Praise His holy name !

It has been 11 years since my dad went to the Lord and I can still remember fondly the good times we had together.

The Works Of God Manifest In The Weak

John 9:1-3
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

It has always been God’s incomparable grace to use the weak to shame the strong to display His works.

God used a less than honorable family to head up His chosen people. Isaac loved Esau because of his appetite for Esau’s venison. Rebekah indulged in Jacob ruining him to be cunning and mean. Esau despised the spiritual. Such was the family that God used for God is patient and will finish the work He has begun.

The Messiah, God’s Beloved Son, came and born in a manger to a lowly family. Shepherds and not nobles greeted His birth. His ministry of three years, apart from the initial miracles, would be considered worse than mediocre according to worldly standards in Christendom today.

How wrong is Christendom today to look for the display of God’s works through impressive numbers, assets, glamour, pomp and concert-like worship programmes indistinguishable from pop idol worship which is surely not His will.

It pleases God to use the faithful weak and not the insolent aristocracy to display His works so that none can boast in His presence. 1 Cor 1:26-29.

The Vine And The Branches

John 15:1-17

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

The analogy of the Vine and branches is very instructive. As how the branch remains in the Vine structurally and vitally, that is how we should remain in Christ, the true Vine. Though the branch is structurally attached to the Vine, it also needs the vital sap from the Vine to produce good fruit.

For the branches not bearing fruit, the Gardener will cut them off. These branches may be structurally attached but they are not receiving the vital sap through them so they are not bearing good fruit.

Even if we are to hold on to all the words of Christ, we need to receive the vital sap from the Vine  – the sanctification by the Holy Spirit – to produce all the good fruit of the Spirit. So not only we need to abide in all the words of Christ, we must also allow His Spirit to do His sanctifying work in us.  Though we are clean (justified), we have to remain in Christ.

Those who sear their conscience by ignoring the conviction of sin by the Spirit and His sanctifying work will be like those branches who deliberately stop this vital sap from flowing into them. That is what Scripture meant by quenching the Spirit of Christ all the time to their peril.

Our Lord Jesus clearly said that these people do not really remain in His love because they do not obey His commands.

So any believer, who deliberately trivialize obeying God’s commands and quench the Spirit of Christ by ignoring His conviction of sin and sanctifying work, does not remain in His love at all.