Yup, here's Dr John Massey delivering the message :)
Shu Shu leading "whose line izzit anyway?" Hilarious game... we hadda awesome time =)
Friday, March 27, 2009
"Does God EXIST?" Outreach 14 Mar 2009
Yup, here's Dr John Massey delivering the message :)Shu Shu leading "whose line izzit anyway?" Hilarious game... we hadda awesome time =)
1 March BCBA Bulletin - Pastoral Desk - C L
Hearing God’s Voice, Knowing God’s Will
Time and again, this topic of God’s voice/ God’s will have been surfacing in my life. Last year, at the IDMC conference, Rev Edmund Chan talks about doing what’s most ‘efficacious’. But what’s most efficacious actually begins with knowing what exactly God’s will is. So in other words, doing what’s efficacious means doing God’s will no matter how silly that is in the natural. Problem is, discerning God’s will might well be one of the hardest things to determine depending on the complexity of the circumstance.
Also last year, Gordon T. Smith, former dean of Regent College, (His published works include Listening to God in Times of Choice (IVP, 1997), Courage and Calling (IVP, 1999), The Voice of Jesus (IVP, 2003) ) was invited to Singapore Bible College to deliver a series of lectures. He believes that every Christian should be able to answer two questions. First, what do you think Jesus is saying to you at this point in your life, in the context of the challenges and opportunities you are facing? Second, what indicators give you some measure of confidence that it is indeed Jesus speaking to you rather than someone or something else? So I had the privilege of discussing Gordon Smith’s lecture notes with our two STEP intern, Leroy and Wei-long just two weeks ago. And going through the various pointers and guidelines that Gordon Smith gave in discerning God’s will was really helpful at least for myself in thinking through my own process of decision making. But alas, at the end of the day, we recognised that there are really no fixed formulas or foolproof methods in determining God’s will. I guess discerning God’s will is more of an art as oppose to an exact science.
Just last week, in one of our BATS CCG meeting, we were going through Nehemiah Unit 2 and we were discussing about how Nehemiah “prayed in line with God’s word”; requesting for God to grant him favour with the Persian king to grant him permission to embark on a wall-building project. One question that was raised was how does Nehemiah know that God had indeed called him for the job? Or that the timing for the job is now? Did God spoke to him audibly or did God impressed thoughts into his hearts during his time of fasting and prayer? Or did he act in faith (not knowing whether it is really God’s will) due to the burden that he had for the safety of his people? Since Nehemiah didn’t really specify, we won’t really know HOW he came to know God’s will (yet we do know that what he did was indeed in line with God’s word and will). Contrast this with the experience Paul had in Acts 16:6-10.
6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
At this point, for Paul to preach the gospel to Asia or Bithynia would be in line with God’s word but not in line with God’s will. Here, we know very clearly HOW Paul knew God’s will (as to where he should preach the gospel) which is through a combination of “the Holy Spirit/ the Spirit of Jesus” and a vision of “a man of Macedonia”. Do you see it now? This is precisely why knowing God’s will is so super tough. Most of the time, the average Christian is not cracking his brains figuring out whether he should choose between what’s good and what’s evil; what’s moral and what’s immoral. But our battle in times of choice is between what’s good and what’s best. As Gordon Smith aptly puts it: “good is the enemy of best” which is why at times, in discerning God’s specific will, looking to the word is (let me say this very reverently) not very helpful. The word would have us know that we ought to give to the poor but doesn’t say which charity to give to. The word would have us know that we ought to preach the gospel but doesn’t say to which people group to preach to first (as in Paul’s case). So what then shall we say to all these? Again, as I have stated, earlier, no fixed formulas, no foolproof method. Discerning God’s will is an art that is founded upon our relationship with God and just as with any relationship, it may take some time, some trials, some errors (on our part of course) before we can confidently recognise that still small voice.
Time and again, this topic of God’s voice/ God’s will have been surfacing in my life. Last year, at the IDMC conference, Rev Edmund Chan talks about doing what’s most ‘efficacious’. But what’s most efficacious actually begins with knowing what exactly God’s will is. So in other words, doing what’s efficacious means doing God’s will no matter how silly that is in the natural. Problem is, discerning God’s will might well be one of the hardest things to determine depending on the complexity of the circumstance.
Also last year, Gordon T. Smith, former dean of Regent College, (His published works include Listening to God in Times of Choice (IVP, 1997), Courage and Calling (IVP, 1999), The Voice of Jesus (IVP, 2003) ) was invited to Singapore Bible College to deliver a series of lectures. He believes that every Christian should be able to answer two questions. First, what do you think Jesus is saying to you at this point in your life, in the context of the challenges and opportunities you are facing? Second, what indicators give you some measure of confidence that it is indeed Jesus speaking to you rather than someone or something else? So I had the privilege of discussing Gordon Smith’s lecture notes with our two STEP intern, Leroy and Wei-long just two weeks ago. And going through the various pointers and guidelines that Gordon Smith gave in discerning God’s will was really helpful at least for myself in thinking through my own process of decision making. But alas, at the end of the day, we recognised that there are really no fixed formulas or foolproof methods in determining God’s will. I guess discerning God’s will is more of an art as oppose to an exact science.
Just last week, in one of our BATS CCG meeting, we were going through Nehemiah Unit 2 and we were discussing about how Nehemiah “prayed in line with God’s word”; requesting for God to grant him favour with the Persian king to grant him permission to embark on a wall-building project. One question that was raised was how does Nehemiah know that God had indeed called him for the job? Or that the timing for the job is now? Did God spoke to him audibly or did God impressed thoughts into his hearts during his time of fasting and prayer? Or did he act in faith (not knowing whether it is really God’s will) due to the burden that he had for the safety of his people? Since Nehemiah didn’t really specify, we won’t really know HOW he came to know God’s will (yet we do know that what he did was indeed in line with God’s word and will). Contrast this with the experience Paul had in Acts 16:6-10.
6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
At this point, for Paul to preach the gospel to Asia or Bithynia would be in line with God’s word but not in line with God’s will. Here, we know very clearly HOW Paul knew God’s will (as to where he should preach the gospel) which is through a combination of “the Holy Spirit/ the Spirit of Jesus” and a vision of “a man of Macedonia”. Do you see it now? This is precisely why knowing God’s will is so super tough. Most of the time, the average Christian is not cracking his brains figuring out whether he should choose between what’s good and what’s evil; what’s moral and what’s immoral. But our battle in times of choice is between what’s good and what’s best. As Gordon Smith aptly puts it: “good is the enemy of best” which is why at times, in discerning God’s specific will, looking to the word is (let me say this very reverently) not very helpful. The word would have us know that we ought to give to the poor but doesn’t say which charity to give to. The word would have us know that we ought to preach the gospel but doesn’t say to which people group to preach to first (as in Paul’s case). So what then shall we say to all these? Again, as I have stated, earlier, no fixed formulas, no foolproof method. Discerning God’s will is an art that is founded upon our relationship with God and just as with any relationship, it may take some time, some trials, some errors (on our part of course) before we can confidently recognise that still small voice.
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