My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 9)

Conclusion Chapter

'Raising a hand never got anyone into the kingdom of God. Saying the sinner’s prayer doesn’t automatically change anyone’s heart. The only way to be saved is through faith in Christ alone, and no preacher can manufacture that.'

But in our zeal to win people, we do anything we can to get people up and out of their chairs. Then we end up with “evangelistic statistics,” which usually aren’t very accurate or helpful.

Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow, R.C. Sproul

This conclusion chapter is where I have trouble accepting a point that Dr. R.C. Sproul has raised.
This is what he said:

"So I always assume that there are people in worship services who are unconverted, who have never really come to Christ. For that reason, in my sermons I often direct my comments specifically to unconverted people, admonishing, warning, exhorting, and so on, calling them to faith in Jesus Christ. However, I never use the term invitation because I think it is utterly unbiblical. I don’t see where God invites people to come to Christ. Rather, God commands people to come. When you get an invitation to an event, you usually can decline it with impunity. But you can’t decline the call of the gospel with impunity. If you decline that call, you seal your eternal damnation."

Although man is totally helpless and depraved when it comes to eternal salvation, how would they know that God's salvation is available to them if they are not invited? Yes, although I agree with Dr. R.C. Sproul that in our zeal to get converts, we end up having a lot of evangelistic statistics which are not very accurate, but isn't it in the Bible also that the invitation for people to come to God is opened to all?

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV)

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 8)

Stewardship

'Giving should be an act of worship.'

'The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). God is the author of all things, the Creator of all things, and the owner of all things. Whatever God makes, He owns. What we own, we own as stewards who have been given gifts from God Himself. God has the ultimate ownership of all of our “possessions.” He has loaned these things to us and expects us to manage them in a way that will honor and glorify Him.'

'The word that is translated “stewardship” in the Bible is the Greek word oikonomia, from which we get our word economy. It is two distinct words joined together to create a new word: oikos, which comes from the Greek word for house, and nomos, the Greek word for law. The word that is translated “stewardship” literally means “house law” or “house rule.” '

'If we spend our money on one thing, we cannot spend them on something else. (Therefore we need to be good stewards on how we spend every penny)'

'It seems, however, that very few Christians believe the tithe still applies. A poll of people claiming to be evangelical Christians indicated that only 4 percent of them tithe. A similar poll indicated that the average percentage of income evangelical Christians give to God’s work is less than 2.5 percent. If the tithe principle is still in effect and the polls are accurate, then 96 percent of professing evangelical Christians are systematically robbing God.'

'He (God) understood market economics, wherein the marketplace establishes the “value” of goods and services. He knew that, left to themselves, people value doctors, business entrepreneurs, and even entertainers more highly than ministers or educators.'

'However, a minister who is being underpaid can hardly help but conclude that people do not appreciate his work. Because I work with so many pastors, I know that many of them experience a profound sense of discouragement because they feel that people do not appreciate
their labor." '

Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow, R.C. Sproul

Again, as in the case of service, the motive behind is very important. If a believer tithes out of a personal decision or conviction,that is good.

This tithing issue has to be handled in a balanced manner and should not be handled in a simplistic manner. Tithing becomes a problem when it is forced upon, or coerced upon.

Tithing should also not be seen as a form of "Christian stock investment", by using the promise of financial blessings as a form of returns for the "investment" they have put in. Pay the tithe, and God will give you more money in return. Refuse to tithe, and God will punish you.

This is not hard at all for the very rich ones. To a very rich man, 10% is simply a paltry sum. It may also give him a false sense of assurance that they are obeying God and that God is now under the obligation to bless them back in abundance!

How about the very poor? How about those who really can't give at all where they are really struggling to make ends need, where they are living from paycheck to paycheck? For someone where every penny counts? Does that mean that this person is living under the curse of God? Shall we squeeze out that 10% from him too?

So, my personal view is that, while the 10% should serve as a guide, it should never be used to inflict guilt upon someone that if they are giving less than 10% or not giving tithes at all, they are living under the abundance of God. The blessings of God are much more than just financial gains - it includes good health, good family support, the ability to laugh, etc.

Tithing should also not be viewed as a litmus test for discipleship. This is especially so if the very rich who gives a lot to the church is made to head the church council board, to be made an elder, etc, etc.

Fearless Town Hall Video Part 1

The Fearless Town Hall videos are posted as a four-part series.

Today we are declaring war on fear. This video town hall is the first weapon in our arsenal. We hope the discussion in the Fearless Town Hall will equip you to stand strong when fears arise.

Join the Army of Courage at www.MaxLucado.com/TownHall

Kindness

Today in the church's bible study, we were looking at the fruit of Kindness in our series of the Fruit of the Spirit. We looked at the example of King David showing kindness to Mephiboseth (2 Samuel 9), a descendant of Saul and Jonathan. This story is certainly remarkable, given the fact that Saul had always wanted to get rid of David. David had every reason to get rid of the last descendant of his enemy Saul but he did not. He honored the covenant of friendship he made with Jonathan. In what ways can we show kindness to our Mephiboseth?

Nyin was sharing about the hard time she had during her housemanship time in hospitals. House officers (HOs) being intimidated and "bullied" by medical officers and specialists are the norms rather than exceptions in many hospitals here. But I told the medical students in that bible study that we don't have to behave like that.

They don't have to behave like the way they had been treated before as if to take revenge once they are "promoted" from house officers to medical officers (someone in the grouop said "HO" means "Hamba orang", whereas "MO" means "menyuruh orang"). We, as Christians, can break that chain in our own little ways. Yes, HOs are fresh graduate and they should be taught properly with discipline. But there are many ways to achieve that objective without having to "dehumanizing" them to some degree or another - being shouted around, being made the scapegoat, being asked to do unrelated tasks like buying lunch for MOs, even being taken advantage of even by senior nurses to complete certain tasks, in short, "taking the role of the bottom of the food chain"). We need to remember the fact that HOs are there to learn too.

But the last question of "Think of the people who have been especially kind to you. In what ways have we benefited from their kindness?" strikes me. In line with the topic conversation of being housemen in hospitals, I remembered of the first few days of me working as a house officer. I was being greeted, shown the way and orientated by a Malay lady senior HOs (out-going HO in her 3rd posting; to be promoted to be MO). She happened to be my senior in Universiti Sains Malaysia too during undergraduate days. It was significant - because being new and alone, just starting work can indeed be frightening. It goes to show that a little act of kindness goes a long way and it goes beyond any cultural or racial barrier. The question is - are we willing to show that extra act of kindness? Let's start with ourselves.

Color Your Life

This message given by Dr. Loh Kim Cheng during the USM KK Christian Fellowship meeting on the importance of inter-racial integrity indeed is a timely reminder to many of us including myself of the blessedness we enjoy being Malaysians and living in Malaysia.

Besides of the relatively fewer disaster threats (tsunami, earthquakes, etc) as compared to surrounding neighboring countries, we are rich in diversity of cultures. Kim Cheng then proceeded to talk about the concept of 1Malaysia by Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Razak. The concept is good especially with the eight values contained in it but the idealism behind it is not something new or different from the semangat muhibah. Malaysians have been thriving to achieve inter-racial harmony ever since Merdeka in 1957.





But we must let this concept remain a rhetoric, or a mere buzzword popularized by the media when a leader comes in power, but fading off when the leader stepped down. We must not let this remain superficial. Kim Cheng asked the students to evaluate: on the scale of 1 - 10, where to we stand, in reality, in our effort to promote inter-racial relationship? 0 being none at all, 10 being perfectly achieved the objective. And if it is 0, or very low score, aren't we worried? Shouldn't we be concerned? If it is "O.K", how do we define O.K.? Is it the "can talk, can study together, can eat together, as long as we don't step each other's tails?" Is 1Malaysia a good concept only as you remain in your territory, me in my territory, don't step each other's tails? These are essentially the challenging questions Kim Cheng threw to the students right at the first part of the session.

How should we as Christians respond to this issue of inter-racial harmony? How should we set an example for people to follow? Bear in mind that racial issues existed even within the four walls of church buildings! How sad....

Kim Cheng then invited us to look at John 4: 1 - 42; a familiar story of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the Jacob's well. (Today, Jacob's well is believed to be located at this place - click here and here to see the pictures of Jacob's well)

To travel from the territory of Judea to Galilee as mentioned in John 4:3, it means passing through the central territory of Samaria. Although it is the shortest route linking these two places, most Jews would avoid traveling by that road. They regarded any contact with the Samaritans as defiling themselves. By the time of Jesus a strong rivalry and hatred between Jews and Samaritans prevailed.


To understand the story better, a little background introduction is necessary:

After the northern kingdom fell into the hands of the Assyrians, many Jews were deported to Assyria, and as part of the tactics employed by the Assyrian government to prevent revolt, foreigners were brought in to settle in the land (see 2Kings 17:24). This essentially is a "divide-and-rule" policy where spreading out the captives across Assyria helped to prevent them from re-uniting. However, as a result of these foreigners repopulating Israel, the intermarriage between these foreigners and the remaining Jews resulted in a mixed race called Samaritans.

Most Jews therefore did everything they could to avoid traveling through Samaria even by means of traveling by a longer route (doesn't that ring a bell? Sometimes we would rather take longer "route" rather than confronting the problem we are trying to avoid because of our pride).

Kim Cheng highlighted the phrase "had to" in verse 3: Now he had to go through Samaria.
(Joh 4:4 NIV). It is very interesting to note that although Jesus had a choice to go through another longer route, yet He did not avoid. Jesus, being the Savior of all mankind, did not avoid the problems he knew he had to face.

For Jesus to meet up with the Samaritan woman, Jesus had to break three social barriers of the day because of the fact that the Samaritan woman was:
1. a woman
2. a woman with compromised living
3. a Samaritan

No respectable Jewish man would talk to a woman under such circumstances. But Jesus did.

Do we face up the issues affecting our inter-racial problems? Do we stop playing the blame game and take the first step to "have to" mend the situation? Rather than waiting for opportunity to come for us to promote inter-racial harmony, why don't we take the first step, to step out of our comfort zone and step down from our lofty position to reach out to those in needs, regardless of their race?

Another phrase Kim Cheng highlighted is the phrase "Will you give me a drink?". "Will you give me a drink?" is a cry of the thirsty. We need to open our eyes to see the needs (including physical needs) around us.

Kim Cheng ended the session with the thought that not all hope is lost; there are already people, pockets of people here and there who are making a change, regardless of their race or religions. People who are showing us the way, lighting up the hope. One such person as highlighted by Kim Cheng is Marina Mahathir. Yes, indeed, Musings with Marina Mahathir is one of my favorite readings too. Click here.

In response to her message, three thoughts came to my mind:

1. Maybe some of us has been hurt before by racially slanted remarks (intentionally or unintentionally, publicly or personally) and that has remained rooted with us, making us bitter towards certain race/races. If we have people in our group with this problem, you need to gently get them to forgive. Unforgiveness can eat up our souls, making us more and more bitter.

2. On the other extreme, because of these kinds of remarks that we have received, some of us are making generalisation. Meaning, for example, just because Guy A from Race C is behaving in this way (e.g. male chauvinistic), then all guys from Race C are male chauvinists. For this group of people, we should get them to repent for making such generalization.

3. Or maybe we ourselves have uttered words or phrases with racial discriminatory intonation. We need to repent...the question is: Do we want to see change? We need to be bold to ask each other deep questions.

Influenza A(H1N1) Pandemic – How Should We Respond?

Introduction
The recent influenza A(H1N1) pandemic has indeed grips many Malaysian with great fear. But fear, in general, indeed can cast a very dark shadow on life; and everyone, to some degree and at some point of time, has been and can be a prisoner of fear - fear of rejection, failure, misunderstanding, uncertainty, sickness, or even death.

As children, many of us were awakened from sleep by night terrors. And as adults today, many of us still look upon life as a continuous series of nightmare because of the fear that has paralyzed our souls.

Nevertheless, in discussing such complex topic, we must not be over-simplistic. Fear, to a certain degree, is healthy. A healthy fear keeps children from playing with fire. The threats of influenza A(H1N1) suddenly opens the eyes of many people regarding the importance of maintaining a high standard of personal hygiene and observing good universal precautions in hospitals and laboratories, as well as in public places. (The details on how to keep good personal hygiene can be known through the Ministry of Health Malaysia website on H1N1; URL: http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/)

Then, there is another kind of fear called the fear of the Lord. The bible says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Pro 9:10 NIV). The fear of the Lord is a reverential awe for His power and glory as well as a proper respect for His grace and mercy and His wrath and anger. It is a total acknowledgment of all that is of God.

The unhealthy fear, on the other hand, can often be blown out of proportion in our minds, to such a degree as to enslave our personalities. How then shall we respond to this kind of unhealthy fear in general?

Psa 27:1-4 NIV
(1) Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
(2) When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
(3) Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
(4) One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

From this passage, take note that to deal with unhealthy fear:

1. Keep the main focus the Main Focus (Psalm 27:1)
The psalmist starts off the psalm by focusing on who the LORD (Yahweh) is rather than on himself. The Lord is the light, salvation and strength. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2Ti 1:7 NIV)

Trusting God is a deliberate refusal to give in to fear. It is a turning to God even in the midst of the threat and in the darkest times and trusting Him that He knows best for me. This trust comes from knowing God and knowing that He is good.

2. Know that Christians are not exempted from threats and sufferings (Psalm 27:2-3)
Psalm 27 does not say that there will be no enemies and threats just because we are trusting in the Lord. Having faith does not mean the absence of sufferings, but rather, having a calm assurance that God, through His Holy Spirit, enables us to face whatever that is troubling us, and know that no matter what happens, it can never separate us from Him and His unending love.

The one thing that underlies all unhealthy fears is the desire for avoidance. The fearful heart says: “When afraid – avoid,” That of course, is possible and should be in some cases. But in other cases, avoidance of fear and threat is a more of a delusion simply because we are living in a fallen world; and in many cases, we are just compounding the problem by blowing the matter out of proportion and turning the fear into a huge monster that blocks our vision of God.

So, how does that relate to the way we should respond to the influenza A(H1N1) scare? First, know that there is just no way we can find a place to totally avoid this threat as of now. There is also no way and no need for us to confirm all cases of flu by testing individuals one by one – it is just too expensive and unnecessarily. Each Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnostic reagent testing can be very costly, and most flu illness do not require confirmatory testing, and are mild and self-limiting. More than 90 percent of the flu will get better on their own and some with symptomatic treatment (unless you fall into one of the high risk groups as described in the Ministry of Health website http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/).

In fact, from a sentinel testing and surveillance by the Ministry of Health recently. it have shown that, today, if you have flu symptoms (and especially with a temperature of more than 38C), almost 95% chance that this is caused by the A(H1N1) virus strain.

Furthermore, we should also be aware that this pandemic is not going to go off any sooner – it is expected to be here to stay for at least a year or two before, as in the words of Dr. David Quek, the president of Malaysian Medical Association, “it burns itself out, by hopefully mutating into a more benign form, indistinguishable from the seasonal flu bugs; or because it is finally controlled to near-eradication by specific vaccines. But there is that possibility that it can also mutate by reassortment into a far more lethal form, that much feared second or third wave, which would then demolish all our efforts achieved thus far!” (for a full length reading of Dr. Quek's comments, see footnote below)

In other words, it all boils down to our own personal responsibilities. Know our facts, be well informed and updated in our knowledge, be cautious but do not be overly anxious so much so that it paralyzes us. If we are not feeling well with flu symptoms and fever, seek advice and treatment and avoid going to public places. Keep our body healthy, take good personal hygiene – proper hand washing and proper cough etiquette. Practice some form of social distancing (keeping a distance of about 1- 2 metres, especially from anyone suspected with flu or if we ourselves have flu), and be socially responsible: do not go to public places and infect others.

Wearing mask? Well, unlike the previous SARS outbreak, where N95 masks were needed, for A(H1N1), the 3-ply surgical mask is adequate because it is the large droplets that is the main concern. But I am seeing another problem cropping up since the heightened awareness of using mask: the used masks are being thrown around even in hospital compounds. So, for those who are wearing masks, we should show good examples as Christians, to dispose our used masks properly because the used masks can be a potential biohazard source. In my opinion, the people who should be made compulsory to wear masks are those down with flu and fever. It is also just not possible for everyone to wear masks every waking moments of their lives. If you are out in crowded places, then probably you should wear masks; but hospitals just can't be supplying everyone with masks for their every day use. Be aware also the masks cannot be re-cycled again and again. It should be thrown away when it is wet, or about three to five hours' use. And if you wear it, you need to wear it properly to cover the nose snugly. To learn more about the proper precaution measures and on how to properly wear masks, visit the KKM website here: (http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/h1n1PreventionGuidelines.php)

3. Make a deliberate attempt to dwell continually in the presence of God (Psalm 27:4)
The Hebrew word for “dwell” in verse 4 is “yashab”, which brings the connotation of continue to settle, to return, etc. In other words, it is not a one-off event. It is a continuous deliberate effort to return into the presence of God, feasting and meditating upon His Word, allowing His Spirit's presence to fill us unceasingly. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (NIV). Where do we find perfect love? In the presence of God. Resting in His love – a love that will never let us go, not even the external calamities and our internal sin struggles. With God holding our hands, we can move into any fearful situation with a confidence that transcends all fear. When fear says: “Avoid”, faith says “Confront”.

Conclusion
In conclusion, writing on this topic reminds me the chorus of the all familiar gospel song, “Because He lives”. The lyrics speak for itself:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives

Finally, coming back to the question posed in the title of this piece: how should we, as Christians, respond? Is there any difference between how a Christian should respond to this pandemic as compared to others? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because we have a God who is our loving heavenly Father, who is bigger than all threats, and illnesses and who is still sovereignly in control and He has overcome even our final enemy - death. Yes, because we have a hope that is bigger than life. But no, because our heavenly Father does not insulate us in a giant spiritual bubble, where we can be immune from all sufferings and sicknesses. Calamities still do befall upon good Christians, sometimes even for seemingly unknowing reasons like in the case of Job.

We still have a personal responsibility like all people. We should still be vigilant to take care of our personal hygiene not just during the scare of A(H1N1) or SARS, but every moment of our lives because our lives belong to God, and we are exhorted to exercise good stewardship over the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). And our personal responsibilities should goes beyond battling A(H1N1). We often forget that there are other infectious diseases threat that are lurking and snatching lives away – dengue, tuberculosis and HIV are among the prevalent ones in Malaysia. Have we forgotten them? The question really is: have we learned our lessons well?

Disclaimer:
This article is not intended to replace, dictate or define evaluation by a qualified doctor. The views expressed do not represent that of any organization the author is associated with.

Footnotes:
In addition to the Ministry of Health's website which contain many good practical advices, Dr. David Quek, president of Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has written two excellent balanced articles on A(H1N1). Go to:

1. http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=7537

2. http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=7613

Amazing Fact - The Center of the Bible

Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?

A: Psalms 117



Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?

A: Psalms 119



Q: Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?

A: Psalms 118



Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118

Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118

Add these numbers up and you get 1188.



Q: What is the center verse in the Bible?

A: Psalms 118:8



Q: Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives?


The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word!


Psalms 118:8

'It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.'

Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)?