A heart that is soft before God

The Lord says,

"In times of trouble and trials, do not allow your heart to be hardened. For I am still your God, and I am still the same yesterday, today, and forever. I will know how to work all things together for your good, even in ways you cannot understand yet. Hang on to Me, and look to Me, for I will know how to deliver you from even the deepest of troubles."

Indeed, in this time of troubles and trials, do not allow your heart to be hardened. Keep looking to the Lord, and keep hanging on to Him! Though chaos, recession, virus, and disease may happen, the Lord wants to encourage you, people of God, that in a time like this, as the world gets darker and darker, the glory of the Lord will also shine brighter and brighter through you! (Isaiah 60:1-3)

So, no matter what happens around you, this is your time to receive a fresh anointing, and you will 'arise and shine'! Hallelujah! In fact, many of you are going to experience the greater glory of the Lord like never before!

But what is the key here?

Do not allow your heart to be hardened! In other words, no matter what happens in this world, and no matter what question you may have at the moment, for example, "Why does this happen to me?", or "Why does the Lord allow this to happen?", never allow your heart to be hardened! There is a reason why the Lord allows certain things to happen. In the end, the 'jigsaw puzzle' is going to be solved. Take heart, because the Lord will work all things together for your good.

From the Scripture, you can see there is a huge contrast between Pharaoh and King David. Pharaoh's heart was hardened further when the Lord dealt with him, whereas David's heart was softened when the Lord dealt with him!

For Pharaoh, the Lord used Moses and Aaron to tell him to 'let the people of Israel go'. But Pharaoh refused. Instead, his heart was hardened even more! (see Exodus 7:3, Exodus 7:14, Exodus 9:35) So, what does the word 'harden' mean here? In Hebrew, it is 'qashah', meaning 'to be tough, to be sore, to be stiff, to be fierce, to react negatively, to be defensive'. And the more the Lord told him to 'let the people of Israel go', the more his heart was hardened. It's clear here that Pharaoh refused to acknowledge the words of the Lord, and not until the tenth plague (when his firstborn died) that he gave in. You know what? Pharaoh stood to lose so much more in the end. Not only he lost his firstborn, he lost his entire mighty army (and chariots) who got drowned in the Red Sea!

In contrast, let's look at David now. Here, the Lord used a prophet named Nathan to deal with him, or rather, rebuke him for his sins. Prior to that, David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and he even cunningly had Bathsheba's husband (Uriah) killed! That's when the Lord spoke to prophet Nathan to rebuke David (2 Samuel 12:1-12). Yes, a sin is a sin, and it's wrong of David to do such thing! But when Nathan came to rebuke him, David didn't 'qashah', or react negatively! I mean, he could have done so! After all, he's king! Instead of hardening his heart, David said, "I have sinned against the Lord..." (2 Samuel 12:13). Though he did suffer the consequence (the firstborn that he had with Bathsheba died), the next son born to him and Bathsheba was none other than Solomon! And Solomon means 'peace'! Another name for Solomon is 'Jedidiah', meaning 'beloved of God' or 'friend of God'! What a beautiful name!

See the contrast above? People of God, choose to be like David, a man after God's heart! David was a man whose heart is soft before the Lord! Yes, he may be imperfect in many ways (the same it is with anyone of us), but the 'shining light' is he was willing to allow the Lord to deal with him! This is what touches the Lord's heart the most! David didn't look back ever since, and he went on to become arguably the greatest king ever in Israel!

And herein lies the key to moving forward with greater anointing! Are you going to be like Pharaoh when the Lord deals with you? Or are you going to be like David when the Lord deals with you? People of God, choose to be like a David, not a Pharaoh! And you'll be sure to see greater days and greater glory of the Lord ahead of you. Amen!

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You and I are 'church'! Being 'church' wherever we are!

It is time to rethink what 'church' really is. What are the essentials? And what are the non-essentials?

And of course, what exactly is 'church'?

What does the Bible say about 'church'?

Have we in the modern days gone astray from what God has originally intended His church to be?

Is church about "going to a church building" like people going to watch theater, concert, or 'live' performance during weekends?

Is church about "going to a church building" to be entertained and being served, and then we pay money for it?

And say, if the 'live' performance isn't good enough, then 'churchgoers' would go and look for another 'live' performance elsewhere in another place (church building)? 

Let's go to the New Testament now.

For the record, the word 'church' (or 'churches') was mentioned about 115 times in the King James Version, and interestingly, all these 115 times point towards 'church' being a 'people', rather than a building, an area, a land, an exclusive clubhouse, or a man-made organization!

In Greek, the word 'church' is 'ekklesia'. The word 'ek' means 'of/from'. The word 'klesia' comes from the word 'kaleo', which means 'a call'. So, 'ekklesia' simply means 'a gathering of the called ones (i.e. God's people)'. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says as believers, we are 'a people', called out from the darkness into God's marvelous light!

In short, as believers, and as a 'people of God', you and I are 'church'!

I've also checked and read all 115 mentions of the words 'church' or 'churches' in the Bible, and I found out nowhere in these 115 times did anyone (whether Paul, Luke, John, and of course, Peter) spoke of 'church' as a building, an area, a land, an exclusive clubhouse, or a man-made organization! Everyone in the early church referred to 'church' as 'a people'!

These are some examples:

The book of Acts written by Luke (a physician who's very specific in his usage of words in all his writings):

(a) Acts 8:1 - great persecution arose against the church (i.e. people), and they (people) were scattered.

(b) Acts 11:26 - Barnabas and Paul assembled with the church (i.e. people), not in the church (building).

(c) Acts 16:5 - church (i.e. people) being strengthened in faith. A 'building' cannot be strengthened in faith!

(d) Acts 20:28 - church (i.e. people) purchased with Jesus' blood. A 'building' cannot be purchased this way!

So, what exactly is a 'church'?

'Church' is 'a people'!

Wherever we are, we are the 'church'! And because we are the 'church', wherever we are, we are also the 'church activities'!

In other words, being church wherever we are, and let the Lord shine through us wherever we are!

So, the conclusion is church isn't a building! Neither is church about a 'man-made event', or a 'man-made program'!

Think about it.

In these perilous and dangerous end-time, persecution can come in many ways, be it through terrorism by religious extremists, burning of church buildings, tearing down of church buildings, or even a pandemic!

But you see, the 'enemy' may be able to burn (or destroy) a 'building', or stop God's people from mass gathering, but they can never destroy the 'church'.

Why?

Because the 'church' is a 'people of God' gathered in His name! Anywhere, and everywhere! Not necessarily in a so-called "church building"!

You can see this when Saul persecuted the 'church' (Acts 8:1), they (the 'church') were scattered everywhere, and you know what? The 'church' grew all the more (Acts 8:4), wherever the people were scattered!

For the record, during the first three hundred over years of the early church, no one could own church buildings! So, how did the church meet? Church met in the house those days, and the equipping of the saints by the early apostles was done in rented halls/classrooms (Acts 19:9-10).

So let us rethink church today. Has the church in the modern days gone astray from God's original purposes for her?

Indeed, we have entered a time of shaking, and whatever can be shaken, will be shaken; both in the body of Christ, and in the world at large (Hebrews 12:25-29). Whatever that is 'man-made' will indeed be shaken, be it in the body of Christ or in the world at large.

Is the church ready for these last days? Is the church prepared for these last days? Or are we still very much like the church in Laodicea as written in Revelation 3:14-22?

I believe it isn't too late yet. This is a time for reflection and introspection. This is a time to let Him purify and sanctify us. This is a time to prepare and get ready for the One who is to come. This is a time to let go of the worldly ways (or worldly systems) that have infiltrated the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and return to the original plan that He has meant for His church to be.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

For more info about this ministry, visit https://www.triumphinchrist.today/

The sovereignty of the Lord

Isaiah 46:10 (NKJV): Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'

Isaiah 48:12-13 (NKJV): "Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand up together."

These verses above show us that the Lord is sovereign in all His ways, and He knows exactly what He is doing. Man may plan, but it is He who has full say and final say. Indeed, He sees further and farther than anyone of us can ever see.

So, what does this word 'sovereign' mean? In Oxford Dictionary, the definition of 'sovereign' is 'having complete power or the greatest power'.

In the context of the Lord's sovereignty, this word can therefore be defined as 'having complete power to govern, i.e. governing His kingdom, which is above all the kingdoms (or ways) of man in this world'.

In short, the Lord's sovereignty simply means 'He is in control', even if many in this world think He isn't.

In 1 Timothy 6:12-15 (NKJV), the apostle Paul exhorted his spiritual son Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things... that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Let's look at the same verses in English Standard Version (ESV): "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things... to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time - He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords."

See the word 'Sovereign' here? It is written as 'Potentate' in NKJV. This word is 'dunastes' in Greek, from the word 'dunamai' meaning 'be able, be possible'. In other words, the Lord is the only One who is able, and who makes all things possible when no other 'king', 'kingdom', 'lord', or 'lordship' can on earth. 

People of God, maybe you are going through a difficult time in your life at the moment, and you've been asking questions like, "Where were you Lord?", or "Why did you allow certain things to happen?" 

Admittedly, there can be times in life you just cannot understand why the Lord does what He does, or why the Lord allow something to happen. But this doesn't mean the Lord is not in control. Your part is to be patient and endure, and keep looking to Him and trusting in His wisdom. Yes, look to Him, and not to man. Because He always see further and farther than us, and He knows exactly what He is doing. Indeed, He knows how to work things out for good in your life, according to His sovereign plan and timing.

In His sovereignty and His redemption plans, Jesus had to endure humiliation, pain, betrayal, rejection, and be crucified on the cross. Seemingly a defeat in the world's physical eyes (and the devil thought he had defeated Jesus), the Lord eventually had the ultimate victory, even in the most unexpected or unimaginable ways. Darkness says, "It's impossible!" because darkness thought he has won. But the Lord is higher, greater, and smarter!

The same it is in whatever difficult situation you may be going through at the moment, and you are still waiting for that breakthrough to come. Take heart, because the Lord your God knows how to manifest it in His own time and display it at the proper time! Because He is the King of (all) kings, and the Lord of (all) lords!

Continue to submit to Him and draw near to Him (James 4:5-8). In His (perfect) time, He will make all things beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Indeed, He is still your faithful God who is at the throne. In Jesus' name. Amen!