Come oh ye faithful!

Let's face it, blogging is so 2005. Facebook is so popular today they even get their own movie. So I'm shifting to a newer platform, a testament to show that I can move along with time by creating a page to write all I want, when I want at nobody's expense.

How many times do we have to visit a blog we like just to know that there is no update. When you do that 100 times, it kinda gets old and we start to be fed up. Fret not with liking a facebook page, when there's an update, you'll be automatically notified via your newsfeed. Hassle free for you, pressure free for me, I no longer have to force myself to update 4 times a week just to maintain readership, and you don't have to waste your time by visiting again and again just to check for updates. This is the new black.

So like my page if you'd want to get some updates from me and perhaps a little reading pleasure to fill in your time.



Cheers,
Andrew Ho,
A new label, the same great taste!

My Not So Good Testimony

This is not a sermon. This is a testimony. It is my testimony. My name is Andrew Ho. I'm one of the few youths in Malaysia that is truly young, cute, virgin and have a genuine passion for Christ with the knowledge of how to differentiate between law and grace. The old covenant and the new covenant. I admit by the grace of God, I've already surpassed what many church elders, deacons and pastors had known when they were 21. Of course when I say that you would think that I am arrogant, ignorant and stupid. To tell you the truth, you're right. I am indeed arrogant, ignorant and stupid. Why else would I need Christ if I am perfect in every way?


Pehaps you are more familiar with being normal. Doing things the way the world does, even Christians make a set of rules for themselves. When I was 13, my brother was admited to the hospital awaiting an operation. On Sunday, the youth group decided to pray for him who was then in hospital. Everyone took turn to pray. The first one prayed for good doctors, the second prayed for good nurses, the third prayed for smooth operation, I prayed for healing. And when I opened my eyes after the prayer, I could see a few smiling faces. They probably thought I was cute for making such a prayer. One day when their children is dying, they would perhaps rethink my cuteness and see what kind of prayer would they prefer praying. I am not joking, people do die in this world. Whether you read my blog or not.


So I continued my life and I grew up in church. I've been through counselling for sharing "strange doctrines", I've been criticised. I have been apointed leader and have been stripped off as a leader. After all those years, I wont want to elaborate on the details. I only knew two things, I was right and they lost it all. I sometimes pity what I've done to my pastor. I grew up an angry person because of ONE bad counselling session at 13 years old. I was terribly wrong. But I learnt to forgive him after a short while, 7 years. I did somehow appreciate what this poor youth church had taught me. I came out well trained, much more than any random youth in other churches. I was stupid. And even more tired when I turnt 18 I did not attend any churches for 18 months.


As a young boy, I did not know better. I was tired of going to church, and I was tired when the church tried to suck the life out of me. They always wanted more from me, to serve, to do this and to do that. They took all the fridays, saturdays and sundays of my youth. I was yet to understand the concept of "serving out of overflow" then. It was all complaining and reluctance. But I did it. So don't brag about being zealous of God in front of me. We had all been zealous. That doesn't makes any of us special.


So I had my story and you had yours. Perhaps your story is even better and more colourful. But if there is one thing that's really important above that. It would be how Jesus had sticked around for us over all those years. It would be nomatter how stupid or how smart I was, nomatter how hard or how easy the days were. Jesus was there. People really do come and go. But He doesn't, He moved in for good the day you open your heart to Him. And He wouldn't leave, ever.


Eventually I went back to church. And I came back with a little dream which has been in my heart for many years. I came back to serve, which field? If I would say I want to "do" the LCD projector, many churches would welcome me. But I am only interested just as I am gifted in two fields in church ministry. NO.1 washing the toilets, NO.2 preaching the word. If this is not the right time, I would start from washing the toilets. I have lots of patience. And perhaps someday in the 10 year anniversary of this post, I would be able to stand on a stage and tell you what all these time are for.

Refuge

Super Short Talk: This week we have a guest speaker. The reasons I am not doing it myself is, I don't collect offering here and I have finals next week. Nevertheless, enjoy what I copy and paste from the Internet.

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nahum 1:7

Where do you go in your day of trouble? What stronghold provides your comfort? Is it the crumbling and shifting sand of the world, seeking entertainment to distract you from pain or distress? Do you find solace in food, feeding your sorrow? There are many things that call to us in the day of trouble but only one that provides true safety and comfort.

The Lord has promised himself as a stronghold in the day of trouble. Unlike the fortresses offered by the world, his walls cannot be torn down. His defenses are not made of air. His arm is mighty to save and the Lord has bent his arm for the good of his children.

When the world comes calling, offering its wares for comfort and safety, it does not care about those who seek it out. Satan has no interest in the people of this world. His only interest is tearing down the work of God. We are just a means to an end. But God loves his people. He extends himself to us freely and graciously. And he tells us that he knows us. All those who find their rest in him are known by him. He knows your life. He knows your trouble. He knows your sorrow. He knows what stronghold is needed in your life today. He knows you, and he has given himself for you.

Rest, Christian, in the mighty, gracious, generous arms of God. He is our shelter and strength, our stronghold in the day of trouble.

Happy Easter! No service, everybody gets a holiday.

My Redeemer Liveth

I have continually spoken to you concerning Christ crucified who is the great hope of the guilty. But we will be wise to remember that our Lord has risen from the dead and lives eternally.


We are not asked to trust in a dead Jesus but in one who, though He died for our sins, has risen again for our justification. You may go to Jesus at once as to a living present friend. He is not a mere memory but a continually existent Person who will hear your prayers and answer them.


The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:30-31)


The glory which surrounds the ascended Lord should breathe hope into every believer's breast. Jesus is no ordinary Person. He is "a Savior and a great one".


It is a blessing for us that as sin lives and the flesh lives and the devil lives, so Jesus lives. It is also a blessing that whatever strength these may have to ruin us, Jesus has still greater power to save us.


So come and commit your cause and your case to those once pierced hands which are now glorified with power and honour. No case which was left with this great Advocate ever failed.

Short Quotes

We trust in Jesus for what we cannot do ourselves. If it were in our own power, why would we need to look to Him? It is ours to believe, it is the Lord's to perform.


He who could go so far as to die on the cross for us can give us all things necessary for our eternal safety.


It is certain that no man who believes in Jesus will ever find that the Holy Spirit refuses to work in him. In fact, his believing is the proof that the Spirit is already at work in his heart.


God works in providence, but men do not, therefore, sit still.


If you will not believe till you can understand all mysteries, you will never be saved at all. No man would refuse to enter a lifeboat because he did not know the specific gravity of bodies. Neither would a starving man decline to eat until he understood the whole process of nutrition.


If you allow self-invented difficulties to keep you from accepting pardon through your Lord and Saviour, you will perish in condemnation which will be richly deserved.


Do not commit spiritual suicide through passion for discussing metaphysical subtleties. Yes, you will need to wikipedia that.

The Increase of Faith

How can we increase our faith? This is a very earnest question to many. They say they want to believe but cannot. A great deal of nonsense is said about this subject. Let us be strictly practical in our dealing with it. Common sense is as much needed in Christianity as anywhere else. "What am I to do in order to believe?" One who asked the best way to do a certain simple act replied that the best way to do it was to do it at once. We waste time in discussing methods when the action is simple. The shortest way to believe is to believe. If the Holy Spirit makes you candid, you will believe as soon as the truth is set before you. You will believe because it is true. The Gospel command is clear, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31)


I pity, I pity indeed the churches in Malaysia for they lack a preacher that could make things a little bit simpler for stupid people like me to learn and believe. Whenever we talk about the matters of faith, it is always lengthy and complicated with all sorts of formula and methods and do's and don't's. I remember once, when I was in my early teenagehood, I broke up and cried in a church camp and I said to the Lord "Father I don't know how to believe, I don't know the lengthy formulas, I don't know the right method to have faith in you, I just know that you are my Father and you love me...".


Of course, that was when I was younger and obviously less wiser. Today, you quote a wrong scripture in front of me, you will not be spared. I've said it once I'll say it again, even the world in all it's sinfulness fail to come close in challenging my great talent that is to "talk sh*t",what makes you all half past six christians think that you have a chance in challenging me. Well, having said that, obviously there are still some issues in me that needed repentance. But we'll save that for the future. Today I want to talk about the increase of faith. For those of you Christian that cannot take jokes, don't read my blog, go masturbate instead.


But still, if you have difficulty (in believing and having faith), take it before God in prayer. Tell God the Father exactly what it is that puzzles you, and beg Him by His Holy Spirit to solve the question. We're human, sometimes we have doubts when we faces challenges in life. It is not easy, it is many times difficult for me too. But just because my problems are big doesn't mean that God is defeated. The Lord is willing to make Himself known, but do you wish to know more of Him? Or would you prefer waiting for someday and for some angels to drop off a million dollar by your bedside and everything would be good? Many people have already have a million dollar, but not all of them are happy and not all of them saved.


Furthermore, if faith seems difficult, it is possible that God the Holy Spirit will enable you to believe if you listen often and well to what you are commanded to believe. We believe many things because we have heard them so often. Do you not find in everday life if you hear a thing fifty times a day you come to believe it? Some men have come to believe very unlikely statements by this process. Therefore, I can easily understands why the Holy Spirit blesses this method of hearing the truth and uses it to work faith concerning what is to believed. It is written, "Faith cometh by hearing" (Romans 10:17) Therefore, hear often. Do not be distracted hearing or reading what is designed to stagger you.


If that should seem to be poor advice, I would add next, consider the testimony of others. The Samaritans believed because of what the woman told them concerning Jesus. Many of our beliefs arise out of the testimony of others. I believe that I will die. I have never died, but a great number of people had. Therefore I believe that I will also die. The experience of many convinces me of that fact.


Listen then to those who tell you how they were saved, how they were pardoned, how they were changed in character. How they are blessed. If you will look into the matter, you'll find someone just like yourself has been saved. If you have been a theif, you will find a thief rejoiced to wash away his sin in the fountain of Christ's blood. If you have been unchaste (most of you wouldn't know the meaning of this word, in simple language, if you are fu*ked up), you will find men and women who have fallen in that way have been cleansed and changed.


Some of you great sinners of our time have trouble believing in Jesus because of the great guilt of which you have inflicted upon yourself. This is absolutely an understandable and exusable situation. Because not many people are as holy as me ahh bullshit la But gentlemen, please bear in mind that Christ has not come for righteouss people, He has come to make sinners righteouss. So there is absolutely hope for you pathetic sinners! And of course that includes me! You did not come to Jesus's presence uninvited. He invited you to Him. You are not one of the losers who crashed into a party without an invitation. No, you are invited and you have the authority. Because Jesus said "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)


Think about who Jesus is and what He has done. This is about His goodness, this is about His gift that is given so freely to you. Salvation is gratis. Blessings from God is gratis. It is free for you but it came with a price. A price that Jesus had paid for with His blood. So waste no more time in coming to Him, waste no more time in believing in Him and submiting your worries to Him. He is the one that holds the solution to our challenges. But of course, with all that I am and all that I've said, there will still be those who refuse to believe. Self-pride prevents one from believing. He who thinks that he himself is too great refuse to listen. It's okay, I don't sweat for them, in due time we'll see. And that's for today.

I Can Do Nothing!

Stop wondering, there is nothing there

Many times as Christian we feel that we have to do something in order to make us different from the world. Perhaps we wanted to be a little bit "holier" than others just to show that we are more "special". Yet in many attempts, we have failed more than we actually succeed. The thought of doing so is right, I don't doubt that people who are trying to be a better person is doing a good thing. But the way they wanted to achieve this "holier than thou status" is very wrong. We had a feeling of doing something, yet there is so little strength in us and so little that we can do.


The work of the Lord is perfect. It begins where we are and asks nothing of us for its completion. When the good Samaritan saw the traveler lying wounded and half dead, he did not tell him to rise and come to him, ride the donkey and go to the inn to heal. No, he "came where he was" (Luke 10:33) and helped him.


If you had earlier read my accounts we have seen that God justifies the ungodly and that He justifies them through faith in the precious blood of Jesus. We now have to see the condition these ungodly ones are in when Jesus work on their salvation. Many people, even Christians are not only troubled about their sin but about their moral weakness. They have no strength with which to escape from the mire which they have fallen, nor to keep out of it in the days to come. They not only lament over what they have done, but over what they cannot do. They feel powerless, helpless and spiritually lifeless. "Christian" is just a DOG TAG they wear.


"When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6) The one thing that the poor strengthless sinner has to fix his mind on is the divine assurance that "in due time Christ died for the ungodly". Believe this and all inability will disappear. You need not, therefore, despair. That which is necessary to salvation is not continuous thought and toil and effort but a simple reliance upon Jesus.


Maybe you have heard these words 100 times, and yet you have never before perceived their meaning. Jesus did not die for our righteousness, but He died for our sins. He did not come to save us because we were worth saving, but because we were utterly worthless, ruined and undone. He did not come to earth out reasons that was in us, but solely and only because of reasons which He took from the depths of His own love. SO THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!


Repentance will not make you see Christ, but to see Christ will give you repentance. You may not make a Christ out of your repentance, but you must look for repentance in Christ. The Holy Spirit, by turning us to Christ, turns us from sin. Look away then from your own repenting, your own sins, to the Lord Jesus. Do not focus on your sickness for it does not help, focus on the remedy.


Which is why I never focus on sin, by all means I don't condone sin. I strongly condemn them. I don't even enjoy people smoking in front of me. Although smoking is more of a bad habit then actual sinning. I would tell my peers and my friends that I don't want them to smoke in front of me when we're hanging out. They are embarrassing me and I don't like to inhale their smoke. The very VIRTUE (not so much) of me is that I never see anyone higher than myself. It doesn't matter how rich or poor or how many business degrees you have. None is righteous. There is nothing in us that is worthy of thought. But there is everything in Christ.


Nevertheless there is a possibility that you have been trying to believe too much. Do not aim at great things. Be satisfied to have faith that can hold in its hand this one truth. "While we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly." If you will trust your soul to Jesus who died for the ungodly, even though you cannot believe all things or move mountains or do any other wonderful works, yet you are saved. But of course, there are teachings concerning "the increase of faith" but that I would share next week.


Now, if I may I would only pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to come thus far by faith in the Lord Jesus, and it will be well!

Why Are We Saved By Faith

Why is faith selected as the channel of salvation? No doubt this inquiry is often made. "By grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) is assuredly the doctrine of Holy Scripture and the ordinace of God, but why is it so? Why is faith selected rather than hope or love or patience?


It becomes us to be modest in answering such a question. God's way are not always to be understood; nor are we allowed to presumptuously question them. Humbly we would reply that, as far as we can tell, faith has been selected as the channel of grace because faith is naturally adapted to be used as the receiver. Suppose that I am to give a poor man some money. I put into his hand. Why? Well, it would hardly be fitting to put it into his ear or lay it on his foot. The hand seems made on purpose to be a receiver. It is the hand of the man, and there is fitness in receiving grace by its means.


Faith is again selected because it gives all the glory to God. It is of faith that it might be by grace, and it is of grace that there might be no boasting, for God cannot endure pride. Paul says, "Not of work, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:9) Now, faith exclude all boasting. The hand which receives charity does not say, "I am to be thanked for accepting the gift."


Years ago a boat was upset above Niagra Falls. Two men were being carried down the current when persons on the shore managed to float a rope out to them. Both seized it. One of them held onto it and was safely drawn to the bank. But the other, seeing a great log come floating by, unwisely let go of the rope and clung to the log for it was bigger and apparently better to cling to. The log with the man on it went right over the vast abyss because nothing connected the log and the shore. The size of the log was of no benefit to him who grasped it, it needed connection to the shore to produce safety.


So God selects faith as the channel of salvation because it is a sure method linking man with God. When man confides in God, there is a point of Union between them, and that union guarantees blessing. Faith saves us because it makes us cling to God and therefore connects us to Him.


Certainly faith does for us what nothing else can do. It gives us joy and peace and causes us to enter into rest. A silly servant who is told to open a door, puts his shoulder against it and pushes with all his might to no avail. Another came with a key and easily unlock it. Will you not use that key? The Lord commands you to believe in His dear Son. Therefore you may do so, and in doing so you will live. Is this not the promise of the Gospel, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" ? (Mark 16:16)

How May Faith Be Illustrated

Sometimes people will come and ask to us "what is faith like?" And that indeed is a difficult question to answer for I've heard few preachers explain that. For two reasons, firstly, I've not heard enough preachers preaching, secondly, I think many of them are stupid, which is also why I didn't hear a lot of them preaching, so in short, I think they are stupid. Especially those in Malaysia. And that including myself for none of my work here is really original.


But as stupid as I can possibly be, I would try to copycat Charles Spurgeon's works and illustrate faith so that you can imagine or see it in a different perspective, perhaps a clearer one. For those who are familiar with Spurgeon's work, trust me, it is less suffering when you hear it from me then from he himself. If you like, you may also call me the 2nd Spurgeon. I like the idea of being a preaching prodigy.


Faith is like the eye that looks. The eye brings into the mind that which is far away. We can bring the sun and the far-off stars into the mind by a glance of the eye. So by trust we bring the Lord Jesus near to us. And though He is far away in heaven, He enters into our heart.


Faith is the mouth which feeds on Christ. Before food can nourish us it must be received into us. This eating and drinking is a simple matter. We willingly receive food into our mouths, and then we allow it to pass down into our body where it is taken and absorbed. Is it so hard? Paul says in Romans 10:8 "The word is nigh thee, even in they mouth."


Faith is seen when one man relies on another because of a knowledge of the superiority of the other. This is a higher faith, the faith which knows the reason for its dependence and acts on it. A blind man trust his guide because he knows that his friend can see. If the poor man is born blind, he does not know what sight is, but he knows that there is such a thing as sight and that it is possessed by his friend. Therefore, he believes him. "We walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29)


God never betrays confidence. When you believe him, you put a responsibility on Him, and He will complete it. In our daily lives also we have people counting on us, people believing and entrusting us. The children believes in their father for good, friends trusting each other for help. I am not afraid that I will have no food for tomorrow, or my education will ceased its funding
because I believe and I know so what my family can provide.


If only you know so what your Father in Heaven can do and provide unto you, you wouldn't have to spend this day in your worries. Therefore it is my honour to reveal to this world and impart upon them an understanding of what our Father in heaven can do. And I do not do so in pride, I do so in humility, I do so in goodwill. I do so everyday because I too believe and have faith in the Lord of grace.


Do I struggle? Many times I do for my lack of understanding, but these struggles cannot be compared to what Jesus had done on the cross. These struggles cannot deny the history that Jesus had come, and had died, and had risen.


Every child who goes to school has to exert faith while learning. His teachers teaches him geography and instructs him as to the form of the earth and the existence of great cities and empires. The child himself does not know these things are true, except that he believes his teachers and books put into his hands. That is what you will have to do with Christ if you are to be saved. You must simply know because He tells you, believe because He assures you it is so.


Almost all that you and I know has come to us by faith. A scientific discovery has been made, and we are sure of it. On what grounds do we believe in? On the authority of certain well-known men of learning whose reputations are established. We have never made or seen their experiments, but we believe their witness. You must do the same with regard to Jesus. Because He teaches you certain truths, you are to be His disciples and believe His words. Because He has performed certain acts, you are to be His client and trust yourself with Him.


Another and a higher form of faith is that faith which grows out of love. Why does a child trust his father? The reason why the child trust his father is because he loves him. Blessed and happy are they who have a sweet faith in Jesus, intertwined with deep affection with Him, for this is a restful confidence. These lovers of Jesus are enthralled with His character and delighted with His mission. They are carried away by the loving-kindness that He has manifested. Therefore, they cannot help trusting Him beacause they so much admire, revere, and love Him.


The way of loving trust in the Saviour is illustrated by a lady who is the wife of the most emiment physician of the day. She is seized with a dangerous illness and is smitten down by its power. Yet, she is wonderfully calm and quiet because her husband has made this disease his special study and has healed thousands who were similarly afflicted. She is not in the least troubled, for she feels perfectly safe in the hands of one so dear to her and in whom skill and love are blended in the highest form. Her faith is reasonable and natural, her husband from every point of view deserves it from her.


This is the kind of faith which the happiest of believers exercise toward Christ.


Faith is the root of obedience, and this may be clearly seen in the affairs of life. When a captain trusts a pilot to steer his vessel into port, he manages the vessel according to his direction, When a gym trainer ask the trainee not to masturbate for the season when he is body building, the trainee doesn't masturbate. Because 6 packs comes with a price. Behold the wonder! He gives us directions as to the way of salvation, we follow those directions and are saved. DO NOT BE WEAK.


A notable form of faith rises out of assured knowlesge. This comes by growth in grace and is the faith which believes Christ because it knows Him and trusts Christ because it has proven Him to be infallible faithful. This matured faith does not ask for signs and tokens but bravely believes.


A mariner sails across the seas for days, weeks and months. He never sees sail or shore. Yet he sails on without fear until one morning he finds himself approaching land. How has he found his way in the trackless deep? He has trusted in his compass, his nautical almanac, his glass and the stars.


Spiritually, it is a blessed thing to altogether leave the shores of sight and feeling and to say good-bye to inward feeling, cheering providences, signs, tokens, and so forth. It is glorious to be far out on the ocean of divine love, believing in God and steering straight for heaven by the direction of the Word of God.


Therefore I am always cool. You don't see me following the ways of men. You don't see me being influenced by simpletons. I walk my way and those who have an above average mind affirm it wise to follow me. You don't see me being annoyed when others judge me, you don't see me retaliate when others speak against me. I know so I can crush and condemn every tongue that rises against me. It is tried and proven. But I don't fight. For I rest with joyous confidence in my Saviour. Not on what other people have to say about me or you. This is the illustration of faith. And I pray you will grasp it.

Notice

Chinese New Year no service, pastor is lazy, have to eat a lot of food, watch a lot of movies and court a lot of girls. Come again next week. ^^

What is Faith

There are many descriptions of faith, but almost all the definitions I have heard have made me understand it less than I did before I saw them. We may explain faith till nobody understands it and I hope I will not be guilty of that fault. Faith is the simplest of all things, and perhaps because of its simplicity it is more difficult to explain.


So what is faith? It is made up of three things, knowledge, belief and trust. Knowledge comes first. "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10:14). I want to be informed of a fact before I can possibly believe it. "Faith cometh by hearing" (Romans 10:17). We must first hear so that we know what is to be believed. A measure of knowledge is essential to faith, hence the importance of acquiring knowledge. "Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:3).


Therefore we must know the gospel. Know what the good news is and how it talks of free forgiveness, of change of heart, of adoption into the family of God and of countless other blessings. Know Christ Jesus especially the Son of God, the Savior of men, united to us by his human nature and yet one with God. And thus He was able to act as a Mediator between God and man.


The mind goes on to believe that these things are true. The soul believes that God is and He hear the cries of sincere hearts. The soul believes that the Gospel is from God, and that justification by faith is the grand truth which God has revealed in these last days more clearly than before. Then the heart believes that Jesus is verily and in truth our God and Saviour, the Redeemer of men. All this is accepted as sure truth, not to be questioned. I pray that you may at once come to this. Firmly believe that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7)


So far you have made an advance toward faith, only one more ingredient is needed, trust. Commit yourself to the merciful God, rest your hope on the gracious gospel. Trust your soul on the dying and living Saviour, wash away your sins in the atoning blood, accept His perfect righteousness and all will be well. Trust is the lifeblood of faith, there is no saving faith without it. You cannot say you have faith in a person yet you don't trust him. It's like saying "I am eating but I am not swallowing." Trust can be illustrated as leaning upon something, when you trust in Jesus, you lean upon Him, you rest in Him. Commit yourself to Him, that done, you have exercised faith.


Faith is not a blind thing, for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing, for faith believe in facts of which it is sure. It is not unpractical, dreamy thing, for faith trust and stakes its destiny on the truth of revelation. That is one way of describing what faith is.


May this explanation be of some service! I trust it may be used by the Spirit of God to direct you into immediate peace. "Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36). Trust, and be at rest.


My fear is that you will rest content with understanding what is to be done and yet never do it. The poorest real faith actually at work is better than the best ideal of it left in the region of speculation. The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus at once. Never mind distinctions and definitions. A hungry man eats though he does not understand the composition of his food, the anatomy of his mouth or the process of his digestion. He knows that he lives because he eats. Another far more clever person understands thoroughly the science of nutrition, but if he does not eat he will die with all his knowledge.


There are no doubt, many at this hour in hell who understood the doctrine of faith but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out, though he may never have been able to intelligently define his faith. Oh, receive the Lord Jesus into your soul and you will live forever! "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36)

By Grace Through Faith

Superstar talk: Catch Joseph Prince's New Book. He's the real preacher, not like me, the ciplak one.

Many people struggles with the issue of faith, which is a non-issue to begin with. I blame the poor teachings throughout churches in Malaysia and the simple-minded Christians who attend them. What is a Christian if he goes to church week in and week out yet not seek His word to understand for the betterment of himself. As King Solomon put it, knowledge is good but wisdom is much better! Seek therefore wisdom and adore her for she shall give you long life and prosperity.


I want to momentarily stray from the text so that I may ask you to observe the fountainhead of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved" (Ephesians 2:8). Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified and saved. It is not because of anything in them or that ever can be in them that they are saved. It is because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy and grace of God. God is full of love, for "God is love" (1 John 4:8) God is full of goodness the very name "God" is short for "good".


I am very sure some of us have similar experience too. I too from day to day forgive those who sins against me for I am good. There is absolutely no other reason. Not one.


Remember this (the grace of God) that you may not fall into error by fixing your mind so much on faith which is the channel of salvation that you forget the grace which is the fountain and source of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. We are saved through faith but salvation is by grace.


Faith must be true and sound. It must lead right up to God and come right down to ourselves so that it may become serviceable channel of mercy to our soul. Still, I remind you again that faith is only the channel or conductor, not the fountainhead. We must not look to it so much that we exalt it above the divine source of all blessing which lies in the grace of God. Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of it as if it were the independent source of our salvation. Our life is found in "looking unto Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2), not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us. Yet the power is not in the faith but in the God in whom faith relies.


See then that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. The Lord's salvation can come to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed. Great messages can be sent along slender wires. The peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of threadlike faith which seems unable to sustain its own weight.


Therefore, think more of Him to whom you look than faith itself, you must look away even from your own looking and see nothing but Jesus and the grace of God revealed in Him.


Having said that, and having you understand it. I am now able to share with you regarding "what is faith", "how may faith be illustrated" and "why are we saved by faith". But that I will discuss in my next series of teachings. See you then.

Deliverance From Sinning

The heart is so hard, the will is so obstinate, the passions are so furious, the thoughts are so volatile, the imagination is so ungovernable, the desires are so wild, the google is so convenient. I would like to say a word or two to those who understand the method of justification by faith but who have a hard time refraining from sin. We can never be happy, restful or spiritually healthy until we become holy. We must get rid of sin, but how can we? Which reminds me of a quote from "Desperate Housewives", the father were saying to the mother about their son "He's 16 years old, take away his penis he'll still try to have sex".


I could believe that Jesus would forgive sin, but then my trouble is that I sin again and that I feel such awful tendencies to evil within me. As surely as a stone flung into the air soon comes down again to the ground, so do I, though I am sent up heaven by earnest preaching, return again to my insensible state. After all I am only human.


Salvation would be a sadly incomplete promise if it did not deal with this part of our ruined state. We want to be purified as well as pardoned. Justification without sanctification would not be salvation at all. It would be like calling a leper clean but leave him to die. It doesn't make sense.


Remember that the Lord Jesus came to take away sin in 3 ways. He came to remove the penalty of sin, the power of sin and last, the presence of sin. At once you may reach the second part - the power of sin may immediately be broken - and so you will be on the road to the third - the removal of the presence of sin. We "know that He was manifested to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5)


If however you are troubled about the power of sin and about the tendencies of your nature, as you well may be, here is a promise for you. Have faith in it, for it stands in that covenant of grace which is ordered and sure in all things. God, who cannot lie, has said in Ezekiel 36:26, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh."


You see, it is all "I will" and "I will." "I will give" and "I will take away". It mentions nothing about you.


The Lord knows very well that you cannot change your own heart and cannot cleanse your own nature. But, He also knows that He can do both. Hear this and be astonished, He can create you a second time, He can cause you to be born again. This is a miracle of grace but the Holy Spirit will perform it.


It would be good if I can stand under the Niagara falls and order the water to start flowing upstream. Nothing but the power of God could achieve that marvel. That would be equivalent to reversing the nature. But all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26). He can reverse the direction of your desires and the current of your life. Instead of going downward from God, He can make you go upward to Him.


A cat is a clean animal, it washes herself with it's tongue and paws. A pig on the other hand prefers to wallow in mud. Go teach a pig to clean itself and you'll have little success. It is a useless task. You may by force wash the swine, but it quickly runs to the mud again. The only way in which you can get a pig to clean itself is to transform it into a cat.


So it is with an ungodly man, you cannot force him to do what a renewed man does most willingly. You may teach him to set a good example, but he cannot learn the art of holiness because he does not want to. His nature leads him another way. When the Lord makes a new man of him, then all things bear a different mark.


It is not you that work but He who works in you. It is Him who gives you a new heart. If you yield yourself up to His divine working, the Lord will alter your nature. He will subdue the old nature and breathe new life into you. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will take the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.


Will you be perfectly holy? No, never will you be while on this fallen earth. But can change happen to you? Can it lead you at the right way, on the right path to a better life? Yes it can. Wherever the grace of God has appeared to a man, it has trained him to deny "ungodliness and worldly lust," and "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12). It will do the same for you. What is the benefit of living a good life then? I don't know, ask those who had died of Aids through freesex. Ask them who rages war and kill, and steal and destroy humanity. I don't know, ask that son of a bitch who lied to you, who back stabbed you and made your life miserable. Ask your wife who committed adultery on you. I don't know but it seems to me that sin destroys more than it does to building lives. And it is neither my will nor God's to see your life ruined.


"I cannot make this change," say someone. Who said you could? The Scripture which we have quoted does not speak of what man will do, but of what God will do. It is God's promise, and it is for Him to fulfill His own commitments. Trust in Him to fulfill His Word to you, and it will be done.


"But how is it to be done?" What business is that of yours? Must the Lord explain His methods before you will believe in Him? The Lord's working in this matter is a great mystery. Oh, that you would believe it! Oh that you would do the gracious Lord justice to believe that he can and will do this for you, great miracle though it will be. Oh, that you will believe that God cannot lie! Oh that you would trust Him for a new heart and a right spirit, for He can give them to you! May the Lord give you faith in His promise, faith in His Son, faith in the Holy Spirit, and faith in Him. To Him be praise and honour and glory forever and ever! Amen.

The Just and The Justifier

This week will be the last of mine to talk about justification. If you are not convinced that the just shall live by faith, and only through faith can one be justified, I cannot help you. If you have followed me in my previous letters, including this one you should see a clear picture of how God has design a method to save and redeem us. This is the last piece of the puzzle of which I shall arrange in such an order that it may enlighten you in no other way than I intended to - impressively


We have seen the ungodly justified, now we come a step further to enquire, how can a just God justify guilty men? We shall find our answer in the words of Paul in Romans 3:21-25.


"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past...."


If you had earlier lived a life without sin, and that your thoughts are as noble as that of God, you will still go to hell. I know this is a bad way to put it, for if you studied the book of Romans (Romans 5:14-17), it is plainly stated that we fell by the first Adam and this not of ourselves. It was Adam who sinned first and that we the descendants of him are all cursed as a result. For this you might think it is unfair. And the truth is really so, but only in this unfairness could I possibly explain how can a just God justify guilty men.


For it is such that we fell by the first Adam, it became possible for us to be recovered by a second representative. We are saved by Him who has undertaken to be the covenant Head of His people in order to be their second Adam. You see that before we had actually sinned, we had already fallen by our first father's sin. Therefore it became possible at the point of law for us to rise by a second Head and Representative. The fall of Adam left a loophole of escape, another Adam can undo the ruin made by the first. And that second Adam, is He who we call Christ.


It was because the Son of God, supremely glorious in His matchless person, undertook the vindication of the Law by bearing the sentence due to us. He did so that God is able to pass by our sin. The Law of God was more vindicated by the death of Christ than it would have been had all sinners been sent to hell. For the Son of God to suffer for sin was a more glorious establishment of the government of God than for the whole race to suffer.


Behold the wonder, Jesus has borne the death penalty on our behalf! There he hang on the cross, this is the greatest sight you'll ever see.


The more I look at the sufferings of the Son of God, the more I am sure that they must meet my case. Why did He suffer if it not take the penalty away from us? If, then, He took away by His death, it is surely taken. Those who believe in Him need not fear it. It must be that, since atonement is made, God is able to forgive without disrupting the basis of His throne. Conscience gets full answer to her tremendous question.


God will spare the sinner because He did not spare His Son. God can pass by your transgressions because He laid them upon Him. If God Himself bows before His own Law, what more can be done? There is more in the atonement by the way of merit than there is in all human sin by way of demerit.


What is it to believe in Him? It is not merely to say, "He is God and the Savior", but to trust Him wholly and entirely and take Him for all your salvation from this time forth and forever as your Lord. If you will have Jesus, He has you already. If you believe in Him, I tell you that you cannot go to hell, for then Christ's death would be in vain. A sacrifice cannot be made and then withheld from the one which it was given. If believing soul could be condemned, then why a sacrifice? If Jesus died in my stead, why should I die also?


Every believer can claim that the sacrifice was actually made for him. By faith he has laid his hands on it and made it his own, and therefore he may rest assured that he can never perish. The Lord would not receive this offering on our behalf and then condemn us to die. The Lord cannot read our pardon written in the blood of His own Son and then smite us. That would be impossible.


So now let us join hands and stand together at the foot of the cross and trust our soul once and for all to Him who shed His blood for the guilty. We will be saved by one and the same Saviour. If you perish trusting Him, I must perish too. What can I do to further prove my own confidence in the Gospel which I set before you?

It is God That Justifies!

I was 12 years old when I first came to Christ. Unlike some fortunate souls out there, no one prayed with me the sinners’ prayer. I followed my brother to church, I saw the preachers preached. Nothing really got into my mind. It wasn’t because I was too young to understand, it was because none of them were really good at what they were doing. Or at least, not to my standard. I was certain because 7 months later in the eve of a brand New Year, my brother was playing a sermon by a certain preacher. I overheard it and for the first time in my life I was actually listening to someone preaching. You’d have problem remembering what your pastor preached last week if it wasn’t good. But here I am remembering still bits of what I heard during then, that was 8 years ago.


I am not here to glorify any man but God, however in case you’re wondering who was the preacher that spoke to me. His name is on the picture above. And about my sinner’s prayer? I prayed it over on my own months later. Read the prayer from one of the sermon cassettes I was listening, they usually have it printed on the cover. Before that? Others just assumed I was Christian. I had the look. I also have the look of a rich man's son but that is irrelevant.


When I first became a Christian, I was stricken with a horrible sense of guilt which made my life miserable. No matter how hard I tried, living the so called “Christian life” was way too difficult. But I wanted to stand just in front of God. I do not want to sin like you do. I look at your life and it disgusts me sometimes I wonder why Jesus came to save you at the first place. But I have a problem, and the problem is that I am just like you. I watched the porn you watch, I spoke the language you speak, I have angered, I have lusted and I have fucked my life up just like some of you did to yours. Am I proud of it? No, not a second, I am not. But did I do it, yes, I fucked the world and in return, the world fucked me. So what happened then? Did I die and go to hell? You wished that I did at the first time I say the F word didn’t you? It is not proper for a Christian to speak foul languages, what more one that call his blog the superstarpastor. Pardon me for I had to, my humble nature had forbidden me to find other examples beside myself to demonstrate to you sin. You are too religous and I am too sinful. Which leads me to what I am going to teach today – It Is God That Justifies! It is God that make right! Not you, not your pastor, not your mother, but God.


Oh everything you’ve read until now was just the introduction. So get your cup of coffee. I could have taught this straight forward from the beginning but you will not have the revelation unless you can identify with it. Not everybody has a strong foundation to understand what I have to say. Thus it is important I give examples and share my experiences with you before I dive right into the Word of God.


If a person has greatly injured you. You can forgive him and I hope you will, but no third person can forgive him apart from you. If the wrong has done to you, the pardon must come from you. If we have sinned against God, it is in God's power to forgive, and He did just that.


Only God can justify the ungodly, and only He can do it to perfection. He casts our sins behind His back, He blots them out. He says that though they are sought after, they will not be found. With no other reason for it but His own infinite goodness, He has prepared a glorious way by which He can make scarlet sins as white as snow. Scarlet, is red. And then He says "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17)


You must understand that in the New Covenant, justice is not served to men but through Christ. In the old covenant under the law, Jesus had not come and acted as a mediator and a sacrifice for them. So when you read the bible and you see the sufferings of Job and you see God raining down fire from heaven to destroy men who had broken the law, you have to understand that during that time, during that dispensation, Jesus had not come to save. They were in the old covenant. When Moses brought the 10 commandments down from the mountain, the children of Israel made a golden calf of which they could worship. Immediately at the very first second they demanded for the law, they had broken the first one "thou shall hath no other gods beside Me", and 3000 people were strike to death on the spot. That was the old covenant. But do you also remember the day when Jesus ascended to heaven, and the Holy Spirit came to Peter and the disciples. Peter stood up and preached to crowd and at that moment, how many got saved? 3000 people. That number told us that a new dispensation has begun, we are the new covenant generation.


We are not now speaking of justice, nor of God's dealing with men according to what they deserve. If you profess to deal with God on Law terms, everlasting wrath threatens you, for that is what you deserve. Blessed be His name, He has not dealt with us according to our sins. But now He deals with us in terms of free grace and infinite compassion.


Perhaps you may not be able to forgive your fellow-man had he offended you as you have offended God. But you must not measure God's corn with your bushel. His thoughts and ways are much high above yours as I'll put it, it's impossible to teach a dog advance mathematics. We being the dog. God being the teacher. Never limit God with your little wisdom.


Isn't this a splendid thing - that none but God would think of justifying the ungodly, and none but God could do it. You self-righteous idiots might not be happy for a fact that salvation comes by so easily and forgiveness so freely. Let me asked you something, did the prodigals son, whom the father freely forgives all his iniquities had carnal intercourse with prostitutes? Towards the end of the parable in Luke, you would have your answer, the key word is "harlots".


"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8.33). If God has justified a man, it is well done, it is rightly done, it is justly done, it is everlastingly done.





Special Note: No, I have never used a curse word.......... in church.

God Justifies The Ungodly

If you are a Christian, and you have always believed that your good works are all that matter and it is your key to enter heaven. You have wasted your entire Christian life believing in a myth. And obviously you have not studied the bible well. You are probably a half past six Christian who goes to church and listen to whatever your pastor say. You never check the bible for yourself, your foundation in the Word is shaky. To you my dear, a 15 minute conversation is all I need to collapse your entire Christian faith. But I have not come here to destroy, I've come here to teach, to preach and to ensure that your feet are grounded on solid rock and not sinking sand. So follow with me as I show you from the Word of God. Judge my word, check it with your bible and bring it to the test for I have come to reveal to you, nothing short of the truth and may the truth sets you free.


"To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5)


Are you surprised that there is such an expression in the Bible? I have heard men who hate the doctrines of the cross bring charge against God, that He saves wicked men and receives to Himself the sinners of sinners. The scriptures plainly states it "it is Him who justifieth the ungodly". He makes those who are unjust just. He forgives those who deserve no favor. Did you think that salvation was for the good and God's grace was for the pure and holy who are free from sin?


Perhaps you think that if you were excellent then God would reward you. Maybe you have thought that because you are not worthy, there could be no way for you to enjoy His favor. You must be somewhat surprise to read a text like this: "Him that justifieth the ungodly." I do not wonder at your surprise. For with all my familiarity with the great grace of God, I never ceased to wonder at it either.


We according to our natural reliance on good works for our salvation, are always talking about our own goodness and our own worthiness. We stubbornly believe that there must be something in us in order to win the notice of God. Now God who sees through all deceptions, knows that there is no goodness whatsoever in us. He says that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). He knows that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore the Lord Jesus did not come into the world to look after goodness and righteousness with Him, but to bestow them upon persons who have none of them. He came, not because we are just, but to make us so; HE JUSTIFIES THE UNGODLY.


Now, observe further that it must be so. The salvation of God is for those who do not deserve it and have no preparation for it. If any of you are perfectly righteous, you desire no justifying. In any case, I have no gospel to preach to the self-righteous, no, not a word. Jesus Christ Himself did not come to call the righteous, and I am not going to do what He did not do. Infinite wisdom never attempts that which is unnecessary.


To make him just who is just is no work for God. That is labor for a fool. But to make him who is unjust just, that is work for infinite love and mercy. To justify the ungodly is a miracle worthy of God, and it is.


"They who are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick" (Mark 2:17) In other words, only the sick needs a doctor. If you feel you are spiritually sick, the Physician has come into the world for you.


Pardon must be for the guilty just as forgiveness must be for the sinful. This is the reason you can be saved. Because you realize that you are a sinner. I would encourage you to believe that grace is ordained for such as you. It is true that Jesus seeks and saves that which is lost. He died and made a real atonement for real sinners. If you are undeserving, ill-deserving, hell-deserving, you are the sort of man for whom the Gospel is ordained and arranged and proclaimed. God justifies the ungodly.


The inn of mercy never closes its door on such, neither on weekdays nor on Sunday. Our Lord Jesus did not die for imaginary sins. His blood was spilled to wash out deep crimson stains which nothing else can remove. May I, therefore urge any who have no good thing about them - who feels there is nothing good in them, to firmly believe that our gracious God is able and willing to take them without any condition. He is willing to forgive them spontaneously, not because they are good but because He is good.


Come in your disorder. I mean, come to your heavenly Father in all your sin and sinfulness. Come to Jesus just as you are, leprous, filthy, naked, neither fit to live nor fit to die. Come, though you hardly dare to hope for anything but death. Come, though despair is brooding over you. Come and ask the Lord to justify another ungodly one. Why should He not? Come, for this great mercy of God is meant for such as you.


Special Note: Now if anyone of you would like to receive all that Jesus has done for you and make Him your Lord and Saviour, please say this prayer. Yes, you do not have to run into a church altar and knee before men to receive salvation. Right in this blog, this is valid. God hears you right now. If you are willing, pray this in your heart and you shall be saved.

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me and dying for me on the cross. Your precious blood washes me clean of every sin. You are my Lord, my Saviour and my God, now and forever. I believe that You have rose from the dead and that You are alive today. God, You are my Father and I am Your child because of Jesus Christ. Thank you for filling my heart with your peace and joy in Jesus' name. Amen.

I welcome you to our family. And if I have a church I would invite you to my service. But I am in KL now and I do not have a permanent platform. If you are in Kuching, I am a member of SIB GRACE. But due to my unorthodox, unconventional and groundbreaking preaching style. Everything I say here does not represent SIB Grace. You have a problem, you come to me face to face. Few people had done so and those who did are still in therapy. God bless you richly! Enjoy your salvation and this is not it! There are more to come and I can only give praise to God. Get ready to count your blessings! All glory be to God!