And I was thinking, why the passages on the churches of Ephesus and Pergammum, in particular?
Think it's because our pastors may have seen that our church is in danger of going the way of the church in Ephesus - the part about losing our first love, the passion for Jesus is so dreadfully relevant to a LOT of us I think. And also the ever-present danger of false teachings that stumbled the church in Pergammum. How many of us actually study the Bible?
I bumped into Jiahui at 3 am on the Night Rider on Saturday night, after playing LAN games with Jonathan. So we chatted, and I asked her, "You tired?" She nodded and smiled, saying:
"A bit."WHOA. I was gobsmacked. :) And very inspired by her heart for God. =)
"Oh I see... what time do you have to wake up tomorrow?"
"7 am."
"Whoa! That's early! How come?"
"Oh, because I want to spend quiet time with God."
Devotion to God's Word. To really make it part of my life. The hidden manna, the spiritual food for my soul. So I've repented before God for my lack of passion for Him. To renew my first love for Jesus. To knuckle down and study the Bible with all my heart.
To go back and do the things that I first did. Since 1 Sep 2005. When I had turned back to the Lord, rending my heart, and begging Him to speak to me and teach me once again. Even to the point of prostrating before Him, weeping and crying to Him to restore again to me the joy of His salvation.
And I remember... when I was in my most broken state... I experienced the depths of God's grace so deeply like never before. I was so surprised, but yeah, I really treasure the darkest moments of my life. Because it was when the Light of the world shone the most beautifully and brightly in my darkness.
Sigh. I miss God so much. I want to go back on my knees, crawling to Him again and grabbing and kissing His beautiful feet. And I know He will receive me, stooping down to help me back up again. Truly, He's the Worthy One, the Holy One, the Wonderful One. And no one else can ever take His place.
Deep sigh. O Jesus! here I come...
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
1 comment:
Bro,
Think this is a bit late but I'll still post my comment anyway. You ask the right question when you mentioned in your entry:
"And I was thinking, why the passages on the churches of Ephesus and Pergammum, in particular?"
I think that it would help the members in the church well to understand why certain passages are being chosen to speak to us at certain times by the pastors.
Instead of answering this question yourself, it would be best of course if it can be directly answered by Pastor Simon Eng himself. By giving us the reason why this particular sermon and how it relates to us currently within Hope church, we are provided with the context to make sense of what are the challengers we are facing and how we can all rise up as a church to meet the challengers. Also we can have a deeper appreciation to the sermon and being rallied together as a church for a specific direction.
Unfortunately, you and the rest of the people hearing from the sermon can only guess for themselves the reason for the message.
Frankly speaking, we can always preach until the cow comes home on loving God being the essence of our problems. It is like prescibing "panadol" to all kinds of "illness" or "problems experienced within church". Basically the statement is this: If the church is not doing well, it is because it is sinning or not loving God enough. However I hope that we can also learn to diagnose and understand exactly what are the root issues in order to better grow and move on together as a church.
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