Weeks 51 & 52 (08) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

As the year 2008 comes to an end, it is a time for reflection. It has been a very eventful year indeed in every way. The most dramatic event was certainly the global economic crisis since 15th September, when financial giant Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. A lot of my related thoughts on End-times events have been shared in my regular fortnightly sharings in these past few months.

I truly sense and believe that we are at the threshold of a breakthrough for the Gospel in the hardest grounds of the world including Europe, where the enemy is strongest. The keys of victory shared in my last sharing are therefore very significant!

I emphasised that the most important key is HOLINESS - personal holiness and holiness in the Church. God will purge the Church of evil and wickedness before He would use her as His instrument to advance God's Kingdom and His plan of salvation any where in the world.

We have started renovating our house of 10 years since about 3 weeks ago. It is amazing how filthy the house can get in 10 years. A lot of dirt and dust showed up when the desks, wardrobes etc. are moved to make room for new paints on the walls and new floorings (see pics). The house cleansing/renovation is kind of prophetic, comparing to God cleansing His House and making it beautiful before His return!

Holiness starts with the "fear of the Lord". When we are determined to have nothing to do with evil and wickedness, and cry out to God for help, He will hear our prayers and protect us. "O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you ....... Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers......Let a righteous man strike me-- it is a kindness; let him rebuke me-- it is oil on my head.......Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers....... my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge-- do not give me over to death. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety." [Ps. 141:1-10]

There will come a time when we have to decide which God to follow - the god of the world or the God of the Bible. Ruth has set us a very good example. ".......said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her. But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." [Ruth 1:14-17 NIV] She was determined to follow the true God despite of possible loss of benefits.

Jesus did not mince words when it comes to sinful or wicked men who live in secrecy or darkness. Above all, have no fear of the devil who can only kill the body. "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known......Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell......Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." [Matt 10:26-34 NIV] Christians who would not acknowledge our Father in heaven before men watch out. Jesus will disown them before the Father!

Let us be wise and truthful in how we build God's Church. Because " by wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures......" [Prov 24:3-4 NIV] Let us warn our brothers who are sinning and rescue them before God's judgement. God will not forgive us if we pretend to be innocent. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?" [Prov 24:3-4,11-12 NIV]

Amen!

WISHING YOU AND FAMILY A WONDERFUL AND FRUITFUL NEW YEAR IN THE LORD!

Weeks 49 & 50 (08) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

I recently met up with the leaders in Hope UK in a Retreat to plan for 2009 and beyond. Based on a number of prophsies I gave in the last 3 years, I felt the Lord is preparing us for a time of fighting in the coming 7 years, a bit like the time when God commanded Joshua and the Israelites to enter and take posession of the promised land. I prayerfully received 7 keys which I believe are essential for victory. They are represented by the 7 letters of the word PRAYERS:

1) Prayers and intercessions without strife
2) Repentance (consciousness of sin)
3) Alertness in spiritual warfare
4) Yielding to God (humility)
5) Empowered in service (work hard & smart under God's anointing)
6) Reconciliation in the Body (unity in God's family)
7) Sanctification (personal holiness)

The last key is probably the most important of all, because our God is holy. God cannot bless people who do not walk in holiness. It is not going to be easy, but we must strive for it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Without God's blessings, everything we do will be in vain. "Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion." [Ps 134:1-3 NIV] May the Maker of heaven and earth bless us indeed.

When Samson was walking in holiness, God blessed him with great success against his enemy. "As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men........Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived....." [Judg 15:14-20 NIV] God even supernaturally provided him with water when he was thirsty!

God will also supernaturally protect us when we are in His plan, in the same way He protected child Jesus. "........an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod..........When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi." [Matt 2:13-18 NIV] God will deliver us one step ahead of the enemy's attack. He will do the same to the Church in the days to come!

We are living in the most exciting time of the entire history of mankind. For those who are commited to God's ultimate plan of building His Church, God will grant them success in everything they do. "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for his own ends........When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." [Prov 16:1,3-7,9,11,20,33 NIV]

Amen!

Weeks 47 & 48 (08) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

When I witness the dawn of a new era in the political and economic world, I also sense the dawn of a new era in God's Kingdom. The natural is reflecting the spiritual. Whilst the changing world prepares the way for final chapter of the kingdom of darkness on earth, something is being planned in the Heavenly Court that will match the final outcome. There is a quickening in my spirit that God is positioning the Church for the final battle.

We had a very good Hope Europe Leaders Conference last week in Berlin. There was a spirit of excitement in the air. There was a sense of great expectation that God is beginning to do a great work in this continent. I am watching eagerly God's next move.:o)

One story in the Bible came to my mind. It was Passion Week - the final week that Jesus fulfilled His mission on earth. The first thing that Jesus did after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was to cleanse the temple. I believe that will also be God's first act in the final chapter of the Church age. God will prepare His Church holy and blameless, ready for Christ's return.

The closer we move towards the End, the more we can expect the devil working extra hard to destroy our faith. We need to be extra vigilant. One way is to appreciate our gift of salvation more."When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." [Ps 126:1-6 NIV] Indeed our Lord has done great things for us. Let us treasure them and allow the nations to witness how great our God is through us!

Time and time again I see how God allowed the enemy to punish His people who did evil in His eyes. "Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years." [Judg 3:12-15,28-30 NIV] It is a time for God's people to win the battles against the enemy. Let us make sure that God is on our side by not doing evil in the eyes of God!

[Rev. 15] pictures a people who have overcome the enemy in the final battle. "......I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." [Rev 15:1-8 NIV] They fear God alone and bring Him glory, because God is holy.

One powerful weapon the devil will use to destroy Christians and their marriages is sexual immorality. The Word of God is clear. "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?.....So is he who sleeps with another man's wife.....a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away...." [Prov 6:27-35 NIV] Let us be very careful and be very afraid at the same time.

Amen!