Author: Al Ngu, MDiv

The Lord Jesus is Coming Back

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William Kavanaugh argues that consumerism is the death of Christian eschatology, because it allows for no rupture with the status quo, no inbreaking kingdom of God, but only endless superficial novelty. It is the endless repeating cycle of consumption that never grows old, never grows up, and never comes in the end (Chris Watkin).

Now this is cutting edge by Kavanaugh. He’s saying that consumer causes the death of Christian eschatology. Why? Because it allows the status quo to remain status quo in our society. With no rupture. What does it mean rupture? In other words. Status quo remains status quo. There is no change, no breakthrough. It always is the same old, same old.  Same vicious cycle.

What has materialism or consumerism got a grip on? On us!  So strong as it is in the material world today that Kingdom of God cannot break in. There is not a chance and no hope. For breaking in or rupturing. They’re status quo. Because the only chance of doing that is through the Kingdom of God. But in this, materialism blinds the eyes of the people with superficial novelty. That novelty deludes people with worldly pleasures, comfort and enjoyment, so much so that people have completely lost sight of the eschatology, or the return of Christ.

When the Kingdom of God will be fully established, judgment will be held against all those who rejected and mocked Christ. But that sense of that Kingdom of God coming or the end time, judgment, or return of Christ does not seem to emerge in our imagination, because we’re so bound up with consumerism. Consumerism continues to have a grip upon our minds, our imagination. Consumerism can also equate to materialism. Materialistic worldview continues to hammer on our Christians’ rightful worldview of eschatology. Christians have been served a great harm because of materialism and consumerism. Put simply, money blinds the eyes of the Christian believers. That’s why the love of money truly is the root of all evil, said Jesus.

All of us need money to survive to live a life of decent comfort. Not even asking for incredible richness and cruising for vacation etcetera. But we’re really just saying living a life on par with the community. However, the continual bombardment of TV and movie series, etcetera on our minds would have it effect on us and take a toll on on our Christian worldview. Christian eschatology.

Now if our eschatology worldview is damaged we are in deep trouble because Christians begin to live for the present. If we begin to do that, we begin to be very short sighted. And our ship will run aground. We would have no sense of the coming back of Christ our Lord. And we have no sense of urgency, we have no sense of living for the future. Even though we know the certainty of what’s going to happen in the end time, future, we do not reflect that lifestyle simply because we are so bogged down by consumerism and materialism. As it is in said, it’s been ruptured on Kingdom of God. Eschatology has been ruptured. However. The consumerism stays in status quo and there’s no rupture.

That’s why it’s incredibly important that we do our weekly worship in a congregation setting to connect with God and with. One another, so that we continue to dwell in the presence of God. And in touch with humanity who loves Jesus. Together.

The important thing and tricky thing is to  maintain a balance between consumerism being thrifty. And now don’t cast all eyes on the worldly pleasures that much that we lose sight of the homecoming of Christ. Jesus is coming back and surely he’s coming back. And soon. And very soon. The exact timing of which we were not known. But we do know he’s coming back and therefore we must get ready. Like the five virgin foolish women and the five wise virgin women. It’s the foolish virgin women who didn’t bother to fill there cups with oil and when the bridegroom finally showed up, they didn’t have the oil to be ready to meet with the groom.  But the wise virgin women were ready to meet the groom.

We have to choose to be vigilant of the oncoming end time events. The Lord is coming back. Amen.

The God of Personalness- What does that mean to us?

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Al Ngu    February 4, 2023

The Trinitarian God is the bedrock for understanding the ultimate reality in our culture and lives. So what does that mean exactly? Our God is personal, absolute and relational (Chris Watkin). These are the three foundational attributes of our God. That becomes the bedrock for our culture and lives. The fact that the universe was created by God, and because God is personal, therefore the universe has to take on the personality of its creator who is personal. And because the creator God is personal, therefore the universe inherits their personalness. Because humans were created in the image of God.

Now because God’s personalness is irreducible and fundamental in the universe, therefore all people have personalness and dignity that cannot be taken away. We have this dignity not because of our intelligence or ability, but because our God is personal and full of grace.

Now this is truly phenomenal because we do live in a personal universe. We don’t live in an impersonal universe where everything is, like scientific cause and effect, transactional, etcetera. It’s almost like inhuman or inhumane, you can almost even go to a robotic sense of the word to describe this world if the personalness of God is taken away. Therefore, how can anybody live in a universe without the personalness of God? Is it’s like our neighbor comes here, who has known us for a long time, we act like we don’t know one another. How? How you do it, and very formal kind of thing, that completely is so unnatural and unbecoming.

God wants us to have a personal, relational kind of universe, communal kind of world we live in. Now nobody can challenge that because that personalness comes from God. And you can’t challenge God.

Now our God is personal and full of grace.  John 1: 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

That’s such a beautiful word, such encouraging. Things for us to listen and understand. That means when anybody is hurt or downcast, he or she can begin to reach out to God and realize that God actually hears our prayers, actually feels our pain., especially in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the second person of the Trinitarian God. Because Jesus himself suffered in this world, and was tempted in all ways, and yet without sin, therefore he completely understands us where we come from, and he empathizes with us (Heb 4:15).

So this is super, superbly important so that we don’t live in a world devoid of human touch. The fact that some scientist or philosopher in this world, proposing that human beings are really made of ashes earth and we are returning to ashes earth without any living being personalness inside us, we simply vanish when we die, that is the most dehumanizing thing one can never hear.

It is therefore so important to embrace the God of Personalness, which is most beautiful. Beautifully amplified and communicated and expressed in the person Jesus Christ. As the second person of the Trinitarian Godhead, the son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, incarnated into this world and became like one of us. Would you call that personal? There’s nothing else more personal than God who became a human on this earth. And that is the Christmas. We celebrate each year. In the in the manger a child was given birth and his name is Prince of Peace, mighty God, Hallelujah.

With that we should always respect and honor one another should never look down on anyone else. No matter what skin color or economic background or ethnic background. You don’t need to fight for racial equality, by some campaigns, as human hearts are evil and depraved and broken on the first place;  the best way to approach it is to embrace the God of personalness who created us. In his image and being personal and full of grace, we therefore will have the ability to treat one another, one another we honor with compassion and respect and love because of the one who first created us. Amen.

The Law brings us into relationship with God

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Al Ngu,  January 27, 2023

Was listening to Tim Keller, exposition of the book of Exodus, some three steps I learnt, which is very very crucial for the understanding of the gospel.

So we do have to understand that there’s no way for us to be saved if it were not by the grace of God. Israel was delivered from the bondage of slavery from Egypt first before God gave them the 10 Commandments the law. The law was not given before the Exodus deliverance. In other words, the requirement to be God’s people comes after the deliverance thru exodus. What does that mean? That means God unconditionally saved them delivered them being the descendants of Abraham by the covenant that God made with Abraham.

So it is the same way for us. We are saved by faith by the grace of God only but that grace, the faith in God will turn into good works. So it’s not blind faith and being passive after being saved. Saved by grace of God must and will automatically turn into action good works or else it’s not authentic! We are not saved by good works however, we are saved by faith in Christ by the grace of God by his grace, only in which will result in good works. Faith in Christ and hence the grace of God in Christ Alone. After Israel was delivered, God gave them law to obey so they will become God’s treasured possession and God’s people. So you see that obedience of God’s word brings us into relationship with God. Without obedience first we can’t get into relationship with God. So the law was given to us so that we can enter into a relationship with God.

So everything is very relational. God gives given us the laws to have a relationship with us. However, without the law, relationship will be meaningless, because there is no directions, laws and requirements of what that relationship looks like. Because that relationship reflects the very personality, the character, the ontology of who God is. For instance, thou shall serve the Lord your God, that you love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul. Because the Son of God himself loved us so much that he died on the cross thousands of years after Moses, to save us. He therefore loved us so much with all his heart of his mind. Would you be able to say that? Would you say that Christ loves us with all his heart and mind and soul ?

I mean to the point of surrender himself, and die and tortured and shamed on the cross? That is such a powerful understanding that the law was given to bring us into relationship with God.

So to conclude and summarize; first we are saved by the grace of God alone and grace of God by faith in him will produce good works. Second, after we got saved, we will have to look at the law of the word of God, the Bible, trying to obey the Bible by his power by his grace so that we can enter into a relationship with him. Relationship is impossible without obedience. Jesus learned obedience through sufferings as his journey to the cross. By the time he suffered, he was made perfect, and he became the source of salvation to all generations of the world today. So the book of the law, the word of God, the Bible shows us how to enter into a relationship, deeply personal, intimate relationship with God. Amen.