A Way Of Escape

A Way Of Escape

Psalm 23:5
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

The table is set. The bread and wine are there, and Jesus says to you, “Come, My child, partake.” But you tell Him, “Lord, I am unworthy!” You are afraid to come to the Lord’s table perhaps because you have been taught that if you partake in your “unworthy” state, you will come under God’s fiery judgment.

My friend, Jesus has washed you whiter than snow and qualified you with His own blood, so you are as worthy as worthy can be! The most humble thing you can do now is to acknowledge His perfect sacrifice and accept His invitation with gladness.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul tells the church how to partake of the Lord’s Supper so that they will not drink judgment to themselves. The word “judgment” in verses 29 and 34 is krima in the original Greek text. It refers to a divine sentence. And in the context of this passage, the divine sentence refers to sickness.

But when was this divine sentence of sickness passed? It was passed when Adam sinned. (Genesis 3:19) When he sinned, death entered the world (Genesis 2:17), and man would grow old and weak, fall sick and die.

So it is not that God is passing sentences of sickness on people today. How can that be when Jesus said, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) God is not in the business of condemning but saving. And the Greek word for “saved”, sozo, also means to preserve, heal and make whole.

God does not want you to suffer the divine sentence of sickness that is already in the world, so He has given you a way of escape, paid for by the blood of His Son. He wants you to be healthy and whole, without the diseases of the world, and He has made this possible for you through the Holy Communion.

So don’t be robbed of this tremendous blessing any longer because of erroneous teachings that have put fear in your heart. Come boldly to the Lord’s table today and receive afresh His health, strength, wholeness and life!

God Makes All Things Work Together For Good

God Makes All Things Work Together For Good

Romans 8:28
28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

In this verse, “all things” is literally all things — the good, the bad and the ugly! Now, it does not mean that all things are from God. Some things, such as accidents, sicknesses, broken relationships and divorces are not from Him. They are from the devil or just part of the fallen world that we live in. But what this verse does tell us is that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. That is our inheritance as God’s beloved children.

Do the people of the world have this inheritance? No. When bad things happen to them, they are what they are — bad things. But when bad things happen to the children of God, it does not end there. God can make those bad things work together for good. In other words, the devil may throw lemons at you, but God can take those lemons and make refreshing lemonade for you!

For example, if you have been retrenched, believe that God, who makes all things work together for good, has a better job for you. Indeed, we have received testimonies from church members who have ended up with better jobs and higher salaries after they were retrenched.

It is important you remember that God is not behind anything bad or ugly. But when those things happen, know that He can make all things work together for good. And don’t let anyone tell you that all things will work together for good only if you love God and are called according to His purpose. These two things are not conditions but descriptions of believers. Believers are those who love God because they know that God first loved them. (1 John 4:19) And they are called according to His purpose for they have been born again and belong to Him.

My friend, because you have been born again, all things in your life will work together for good. This is your inheritance as a beloved child of God!

God Abundantly Supplies All Your Needs

God Abundantly Supplies All Your Needs

Philippians 4:19
19And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

According to this verse, you are rich. You are not trying to be rich. It does not matter how much you are earning or how much you have in your bank account. You are rich because as your need arises, God’s supply will be there for you.

This was the case for a church member who worked as a consultant. For months, he could not secure any major deals. But while attending one of our church camps held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he received a word on financial prosperity. After the camp, he extended his stay in Kuala Lumpur and bumped into an old friend who gave him a big project that paid a huge sum! He needed a major breakthrough and God abundantly supplied his need.

In the Bible, there is an account of a couple who had a big need on their wedding day. They had run out of wine. Now, you would expect wedding couples to know how many guests to expect on their big day and to plan accordingly. But perhaps this couple did not have the money to buy enough wine. Whatever the reason was, Jesus saved them from embarrassment and shame. He saved the day when He supplied their need by miraculously turning six pots of water into top-quality wine. (John 2:1–10) Our Lord Jesus abundantly supplied the need of that couple.

Beloved, whatever needs you have, God wants you to know that His supply will be there for you. You have His Word for it. He promises that He will supply all your needs, not just some. And He will supply all your needs according to and not out of His riches. This means that He lines up from A to Z all His riches for your supply! All His riches are yours!

My friend, rejoice that you are rich “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. This is far greater and more dependable than the temporal riches that you might have from any earthly source!

Your Sins Will Not Be Screened In Heaven

Your Sins Will Not Be Screened In Heaven

Hebrews 10:17
17then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

When I was a young Christian growing up in Singapore, I read a little tract entitled This Was Your Life. In that tract, it said that when you get to heaven, God will replay your entire life, including all your sins, on a huge video screen for all the angels and other saints to watch!

The idea that God was making such a video of my life with the intention of screening it for everyone to watch used to make me feel awful and condemned before God. How could I ever stand boldly in His presence? And how was I going to face my loved ones and Christian friends in heaven?

I was a nervous wreck, thinking about all my sins that God was recording down, until I read this in the Bible: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:8) Hallelujah! I jumped for joy when I found out that God was not counting my sins against me, and that He has given me something called “non-imputation of sins”!

My friend, the reason that God does not impute any of our sins to us is that He has already imputed all of them to the body of His Son Jesus when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. Not only that, when God punished His Son for our sins, He caused the curse of the law to fall stroke by stroke upon Jesus’ entire body until every curse had been fully satisfied. That is why we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:13) That is why, instead of imputing sin to us, God imputes righteousness!

God wants us to know that our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. The words “no more” in the original Greek text carry a strong double-negative meaning. In other words, God is saying, “No way, by no means, will I ever remember your sins again!”

Beloved, since God says that He will remember your sins no more, why do you still remember them? Or for that matter, your spouse’s or neighbor’s sins? God does not want you to be conscious of sins because He is not. So rejoice! Come to Him boldly and expect Him to show you mercy and grace because He remembers your sins no more!

How Much More Will God Take Care Of You!

How Much More Will God Take Care Of You!

Matthew 6:26
26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Perched on a tree branch, two birds were observing passers-by rushing from one place to another. Looking at their faces, one bird asked the other, “Why is man so full of worries and cares?” The other bird answered, “Maybe they don’t have a heavenly Father like we do.”

I believe that the Lord made birds to tell us that we are of more value than many birds put together. In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” Then, in Luke 12:6, He said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?” If you do the math, you will realize that these sparrows are so cheap that you can buy four of them for two copper coins, and you get one thrown in for free!

Sparrows are common creatures in Israel. Yet, not even one of these cheap birds falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge. (Matthew 10:29) Not one of them is forgotten before Him. (Luke 12:6) So will He forget you who are of more value than all these birds put together?

Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” And if your heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, how much more will He feed you, His precious, beloved child!

“Why don’t I see the supply then?” you may ask.

The answer is worry. That is why Jesus also said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Beloved, if your heavenly Father cares for cheap, common birds, and feeds them every day, how much more will He care for you, His dear, precious child! Let your heart be at rest as you hear Him say to you, “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31)

God Knows You Intimately

God Knows You Intimately

Matthew 10:30
30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

As much as I love my wife and daughter, I have never bothered to count the number of hairs on their heads. I don’t have the time to do so and I doubt I will ever want to.

Every day, your hair drops. Yet, God knows how many hairs are left on your head. And He also knows how many are growing back! He knows because He bothers to count them again. When it comes to you, He always has time for every little thing about you.

So when Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very interested in you and has intimate knowledge about you — your body, family, finances, relationships… everything in your life!

He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial worry which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your nasty boss is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart. He hears your heart’s cry for a miracle baby.

Your heavenly Father wants you to know that as long as something concerns you, He does not overlook it, even if it is about your pet, as a church member found out. She panicked when she first discovered that her pet terrapin had gone blind. Then, remembering my messages on confessing healing for our bodies, she did the same for her pet! Three months later, the terrapin’s eyes were wide open and able to see!

God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem you are worried about and every single burden you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!

God Hears Your Prayers

God Hears Your Prayers

Romans 4:7–8
7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers.

God is not like that. He wants you to know beyond any doubt that you can always come to His throne of grace with boldness and have every confidence that you will receive His mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16) You see, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. You don’t need to do anything to make yourself more right with God.

In fact, by faith in Jesus, you have received the righteousness of God Himself! (2 Corinthians 5:21) And no matter how many mistakes you make, you will never lose that righteousness because in the first place, God gave it to you apart from your works. (Romans 4:5–6) In other words, God did not impute righteousness to you because you were good, but because you believed in Jesus.

Because of what Jesus has done for you at the cross, all your sins — past, present and future — are forgiven. God will by no means ever remember your sins or count them against you! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)

My friend, because Jesus has been punished for your sins, today, God is not counting your sins against you. This means that your sins won’t stop Him from hearing and responding to your prayers. So you can always run into His presence knowing that you can boldly stand in and enjoy His presence and His love.

When you know this truth, it is going to set you free in your relationship with God. You can talk to Him without fear or any sense of condemnation. You can practice His presence and trust that He always hears you. Should something happen at home or at work, you don’t always have to call for your church leaders — you pray and God hears you!

Beloved, you are righteous in Christ and God hears your prayers — all because of Jesus!