The Cage

omg, what have i gotten myself into. =) Hair for Hope's tomorrow at Suntec City Fountain of Wealth... well, at least SembCorp's sponsoring S$1000 to the Children's Cancer Foundation for every shaven head on the list for a total of 15k. Apparently there'd be a photographer from SembCorp and stuff. heh. wassup~.

Alex Ho's leaving for Sydney again later on. Hmm will miss him. =) Thankfully he's still have some sense in him, the last time I checked heehee.. way to go bro! And he looks so much older now.

Lots of things I don't understand. Best to just leave it to God. =) Thanks.

B.S, 20 July '06

Hey guys, been thoroughly blessed by this sermon. Pastor went through the lives of the 3 patriachs before the law and showed us how we win both ways, both when we fail and when we rest in God's favour! Just like the woman with the issue of blood, we see Jesus' grace and Jesus sees our faith!

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Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Pastor qualifies that we are dead to sin! Once we were sinners, occasionally performing righteous acts. Now we're the righteous, and even when we occasionally fall, we are still righteous! Of course that gives you a heart for God, and not a licence to sin, for those true believers of the gospel, those who have been truly touched by the grace of God. Right believing --> Right living.
Paul presents living in sin as an impossibility! for the believer.

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Romans 5
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded (increased), grace abounded much more (super-abounded!), 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

the words in bold are the real meanings of the words in the Greek, with these true meanings being lost in the English translation. Take heart folks! For where sin increases, grace will super abound! Grace will overtake and defeat the sin in your lives and lead to true repentance.

A truth the pastor shared: Noah ('rest') found grace in the eyes of the Lord in Genesis. Rest: you're in an undeserving state, and grace will be found which is undeserved. This is the 'positive condition' if you would, to receiving the grace of God. By resting.
Likewise, the other state of 'undeservedness' if you would, would be when you fail! Even in this 'negative condition' of undeservedness, you can expect to receive grace from God. In fact more than ever, it's the best time to thank God for the grace you need to overcome that problem in your life!

Law was given by Moses, while grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Grace is personal!

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Titus 2
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

Well, and upon receiving grace, grace will TEACH you to walk in the ways of the Lord. Grace is a teacher like no other. and the fruits you bear will be love joy peace and self-control.

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Romans 4
13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Scripture says, if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise of no effect! Only 2 in the gospels did Jesus say to be of GREAT FAITH!: the centurion and the syrophoenician woman whose daughter was demon-possessed. The common denominator? They were BOTH GENTILES! =) no impressions/restrictions imposed on them by the jewish law--the reason why they could receive their blessings. Indeed it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be SURE to ALL THE SEED (i.e. us).

Pastor then went on to illustrate his points using the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriachs living before the law was given thus under complete grace.

Abraham
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Gen 12
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Read the story of Abraham and how he reacted in Genesis 12. Undeserving? =) Definitely. But God remembered His promise to Abraham in verses 2,3.

2"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

the following verses in the next chapter?

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Gen 13
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

wow! God is faithful to His promise! Abraham received the grace of God in his most undeserving moment. The time when he disacknowledged his wife to protect himself!

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Gen 20 (Amplified)
10And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you see [in us] that [justified] you in doing such a thing as this?

11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely there is no reverence or fear of God at all in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife.

And Abraham does it again. But instead of incurring the wrath of God, the favour of God falls upon Abraham:

14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and restored to him Sarah his wife.

15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; dwell wherever it pleases you.

16And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given this brother of yours a thousand pieces of silver; see, it is to compensate you [for all that has occurred] and to vindicate your honor before all who are with you; before all men you are cleared and compensated.

17So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female slaves, and they bore children,

18For the Lord had closed fast the wombs of all in Abimelech's household because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Abimelech gives Abraham sheep, oxen, male, female servants and much more! He also restores Abraham's wife. And guess what, even in Abraham's undeserving state, God answered Abraham's prayer to Him for the healing of Abimelech, his wife and his female slaves! In your most undeserving state, it is the time for you to thank God for His grace! and you will become more than a conqueror.

The following chapter:

Gen 21
1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Abraham's failure did not stop God's promise for him.

Isaac
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Gen 26
1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

God will never leave you nor forsake you bros and sistas! And just like Abraham, Isaac failed:

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’|”
10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.

Sounds familiar? =) Isaac was afraid, like Abraham, even though God told him that He'd be with him! Underserving, yet God blessed him so much that the Phillistines were provoked to jealousy! and by the law of first mention, our blessings upon our lives will provoke others to jealousy so that they see how great our God is!

Jacob
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Jacob deceived his father Isaac and stole his brother Esau's blessing! Yet God did not punish Jacob but showed His goodness to Jacob, the one promised the blessing. Jacob was definitely in a most undeserving state yet God's so good! God honours His promise to only bless and bless us!

Gen 28
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Let's live the life of pure grace, and be more than conquerors. Be the head and not the tail. Be blessed in the coming in and the going out.

Be blessed folks!

*ok...phew, that took a while*

BS was awesome. =) spoke to me. Indeed, we win both ways, even in failing. thank You!
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There is a peace
There is a rest
That settles here in Your presence
When Your face is very near Your love erases every fear

It's the power of Your presence
It's the strength of Your hand in mine
It's the glory of Your greatness
That has the power to change my life...

jose +10

Agnus Dei

Lord, I just thank You, for being here with me forever. Even when no one is around.

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Holy, holy are you lord God almighty
Worthy is the lamb
Worthy is the lamb
You are holy, holy are you lord God almighty
Worthy is the lamb
Worthy is the lamb
Amen

Psalm 138

1 I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
6 Though the LORD is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

B.S. 6th July Pastor Joshua

Hebrews 6
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

God swore by Himself for our benefit! To assure us once and for all, that he will SURELY bless and multiply. Wow.. The promises of God are as sure as who goes behind the veil, in the Holy of Holies.

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is the anchor of my soul. And you know what? The anchor holds me, not me to the anchor. Wa God's so gracious my friend. =) He provides even the faith you need to believe. And Jesus has become the High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, a priesthood that only blesses and blesses! Just as Melchizedek presented bread and wine to Abraham after his victory, Jesus presents bread and wine, tokens of his body and blood to us cos we are victorious! =)
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John 16 (Amplified Bible)
33I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
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1 Corinthians 10
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
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Daniel 3
14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

For even in trials and tribulations, God provides the way out! There He is in the midst of us!
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Isa 43
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
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Thank You.

why... so weird?

haven't posted anything in a while. I'd say, Bible Study was awesome! =) and praise God, really... I really have nothing to fear. Nothing. For I am risen with Him, and His life is in me. A life of sure victory.

=) On another note, i've been meeting lotsa people. Just so glad to see all of them again. =)