Theology & Life

The Only Begotten God–Is Jesus eternally begotten by God the Father?

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

The Significance of this question

This is an incredibly important and significant question that must be answered biblically. This is not just for academic scholarship. I think all pastors need to know this, and all Christians should too. Many evangelical Christians often just gloss over this whole ‘begotten’ thing of Jesus. As long as we know that Jesus is the Son of God, it doesn’t matter anymore. That applies for pastors too. I beg to differ here. It’s not enough just to know that Jesus is the Son of God, but the real question is Jesus equal with God, and in fact God? If Jesus is not eternally begotten, and only at some point he is begotten into being, then he is a creature, a creation of God, like man, as if a super good clean and righteous man. That’s what liberal theologians believe and want you to believe.  In that case, the entire Christianity will collapse. The redemption of sins of mankind has just been trashed, because no creature can redeem the sins of fellow creatures. We must have a God-Man to save us, to redeem us.

Augustine’s Trinity Concept

I was so intrigued with this question that in my Christology Class, I determined to write a paper entitled “Is Jesus the Son of God equal with God the Father?” I am pretty satisfied with that paper, especially I quoted from Augustine who wrote a groundbreaking statement:

Augustine expounds on the eternal generation based on John 5:26 “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” That is not human life, but rather  God’s life, immutable and dependent on nothing outside God (Tract 19.8, 149).”[1]

The Father has life in himself. No creature has that, all life in humans is given by God, at the time of creation for Adam & Eve, and for us, at the time of conception in our mothers’ wombs. That’s an incredible concept. Life is in himself!  And Jesus is granted to have life in himself too! That’s what it means ‘begotten’. In English language, begotten is an old language, like father begets son, means biologically, father and mother’s sexual union produces a pregnancy and eventual a baby, and that’s begetting. But for God in the Trinitarian, begetting means God grants that life in himself. You see mother and father begets a child, but ultimately that life comes from God of creation. God created that life in the mother’s womb. But for Trinity, the mystery is the word ‘grant’ –bottom line, Jesus life was not ‘given’ by the Father, and definitely not created by the Father, but God merely grants that Jesus has life in himself.

The Son and the Father do not only possess life, but life in himself  that was given by none. That granting of life in himself to the Son is what Augustine calls ‘begetting’ or ‘eternal generation’. (Tract 19.13, 152). Augustine calls it “has been given (grant) ” is roughly equivalent to “begotten”. [2] 

I love the way Augustine made it communicable the meaning of ‘begotten’—that’s what it means Jesus was begotten.

When was Jesus begotten?

I enjoyed Dr. Charles Lee Irons’ article https://credomag.com/article/the-only-begotten-god/ in Credo Magazine recently.[3]

I am particularly blessed when he dealt with the “Today I have begotten you” issue with Jesus as the Son to God the Father, and yet we know from Nicaean  Jesus is eternally begotten. There seems to be a contradiction. However, he quoted Romans 1:3-4 that saved the day for me.

Romans 1:3-4 (ESV) 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus was “declared” to be the Son of God by the Spirit by his resurrection from the dead. He was always the Son of God, but officially, it was declared at his resurrection. So we can apply that to “begotten”. ‘Today I have begotten’ refers to the day of resurrection, like it was announced, declared, but he was always begotten.

Conclusion

This is only a beginning of the journey to understand more about the Trinitarian God. Jesus is God equal with the Father.

[1] Keith E Johnson, What Would Augustine Say to Evangelicals Who Reject the Eternal Generation of the Son? SBJT 16.2 (2012): 26

[2] Ibid., 29

[3] Charles Lee Irons- The Only Begotten GodEternal Generation in the Nicene Creed, Credo Magazine

My Sheep Hear My Voice

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John 16: 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Word Commentary states the content of v 13 concisely: “Jesus brings the truth, and makes it present through his coming into the world; the Spirit-opens up this truth and creates the entrance into it for the believers”.[1]

The truth is given by Jesus, but it’s the Holy Spirit who opens up this truth, so we can understand not only with our minds, but with our hearts. And then the Spirit creates an entrance into the believers lives or hearts. The intersection between the Spirit and the Word, or the intersection of theology and experience. Charismatics are big and rich in experience, but somehow lacks the depth of the Word, while the Reformed the other way around on the realm of spiritual gifts. You see how important doctrine is in our Christian life?

That’s the dynamic relationship between the Holy Spirit and the truth or the Bible we have now in relationship to Jesus. I believe there is no disagreement on this between Reformed and Charismatics. However, there is a difference between them in that the Reformed interpretation is really opening up the truth or the Word of God into our hearts, while charismatics will have that as well as the hearing the voice of the Spirit, and prophetic. The opening up of the word of God to believers by the Spirit, is what is called Rhema, the quickened word of God, per charismatics. So that is common for both. However, charismatics also attribute to this verse also based on:

 John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. That’s a really important line from Jesus. We hear Jesus’ voice as His sheep, and He knows us, and we follow him. The thing is, how can you follow the shepherd, if you don’t hear his voice? I am looking at this literal model, not just from the bible. But in real life, real sheep has to hear the shepherd calling them, before they act. That’s the truth. Sheep don’t respond to voices that are different from their master or shepherd. They hear the voice they recognize and respond, walking towards him. That’s the real life, also spiritually. We recognize the voice of the Lord in our lives. So I believe there is room for actual ‘hearing’ voice from the Lord, and that will be a prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 16: 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

This is a clear incidence of the Holy Spirit speaking to Paul in a vision. This is a major direction of the Lord to Paul in his global church planting preaching the gospel and the Kingdom of God. It’s not like a petty stuff we think in our lives expecting God to talk to us. We need to have deep reverence to God in our attitude.

Romans 8 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Amen, be led by the Spirit.

[1] WBC62 Vol Gospel of John

The Lord Watches Over You

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PSALM 121
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

The Lord watches over you. So true. Because God is awesome, he’s so faithful, his steadfast love goes beyond the clouds. Psalm 108 :4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

What does it look like?

But what does that look like? When the Lord watches over you, it’s not just for protection, but also for sanctification, meaning changes in our life to be more godly and more like Christ.

When a person goes through hardship, he or she is driven to seek the Lord, and through those times, especially if the person responds to take a fast and prayer, the Lord notices that, there is a serenity that dawns upon the person, speaking from experience. But it’s more than that, because as we cry out to the Lord, humbling ourselves, with prayer and fasting, because we know there is no way out, I sense my ego begins to evaporate. When ego evaporates, I find a very different personal mood, in a much humbler posture. That’s why monastic experience is very precious, for us to get away and just focus on meditating psalms and scriptures, and prayers and worship. It’s a refreshing spiritual experience, and I have done it a few times. It’s a wonderful posture to be with in front of God. Psalm says God is with those who are contrite in heart. Psalm 57:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Those who are self-confident, arrogant or apathetic, full of themselves will be lied low, but those who are humble will be lifted up. Matt 23 12 “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The thing is God is doing something beautiful when we go through hard times, or being disciplined. I see that as a one stone two birds thing. One is we are , of course crying out, for God’s help, like David always does in Psalms, and the other one is actually through the process, it brings transformation to our hearts. We get less agitated, more calm, and more at the mercy of our God. This is when we focus on God’s mercy, goodness, compassion and sovereignty in humility like prayer and fasting. Just like in Israel when they sinned against God, and God judged them by letting them be defeated, they would put on sackcloth and ashes on their heads in mourning and crying to God. It is exactly the same. The beautiful thing is “The Lord watches over us”. How beautiful and comforting when you know that the Lord watches over you in your ups and downs. The worst thing is God is apathetic, doesn’t care our going up or down. You don’t want that. The most important thing is you know the Lord our God loves us and watches over us, though on the outside he seems to be quiet. And that’s because , I think, he is holy, and glorious, and cannot be understood by human fleshly understanding and perception, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal his heart to us. That’s why we can’t feel him half of the time or more, honestly, because our God is divine and transcendent, and we are mere mortals saved by the absolute grace of God, his mercy, one hundred percent, nothing that we have done.

So no matter how long it takes, there will be a turning point, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. God will not leave us by our own, but will always be with us as a shepherd watches over his sheep. The trouble is our perception of him, just because we don’t perceive his presence with us, doesn’t mean he is not watching over us by His Spirit. He always is. The Spirit of God lives in us now. We can even grieve his Spirit when we sin. Let alone his watching over us. Our perception of him will be much sharpened by our prayer and fasting and humbling ourselves on a regular basis. That coupled with daily meditation of God’s word is a touch down. God loves his people come to him and cry out to him, and commune with him. He is absolutely relational, not legalistic.

Most often than not, God can’t change our hearts at certain specifics, even though we may even be meditating God’s word daily, the only way for him to do that is through times of trials and that forces us to seek him. He’s got our attention, when we have no way to turn. But the scary thing is when we are so insensitive to him, when he is calling us to set aside time to seek him, it takes an aggravated situation to get our attention. That shows how frail we are, so attuned to the world today, our laziness, lack of motivation, and business, are all stumbling blocks to what God wants to do in us.

And more than that, we are called to continually seek the Lord. Not just once, not just a day or two, but through our life span. Seek the Lord and his strnegth! His strnegth! Glory in him, worship him!

Psalm 105

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

Give thanks to God, call upon the Lord! Make his deeds known! Sing to him, glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek him and his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works he’s done! I love all these!

God is a rewarder of those who seek him

Hebrews 11: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

You must have a sense of the divine goodness to seek God. God rewards us who seek him. Calvin rightly writes, “…no one will be in a suitable state of heart to seek God except a sense of the divine goodness be deeply felt, so as to look for salvation from him.” 1

Do you sense deeply the divine goodness? You see, Calvin is right, you can’t be casual about this. It’s either you feel deeply about God’s goodness, or you feel partially which will not sustain. Calvin writes beautifully on the fact that if you don’t have a deep sense of God’s goodness, you would not be in a state of heart condition to find him. God loves us to seek him, and this word ‘seek him’ is found all over psalms and the Bible.

Hebrews 6 says that without faith its impossible to seek him. We must seek him because we believe He is good, He is the source all goodness we can find in this life, real goodness. Not as an opinion, but real deep belief and conviction. Many people do believe God is the source of goodness as well, but they don’t turn to him, to seek him. And they got nothing!

Lastly, be very sure to know that it’s not our works of merits that we deserve God’s watching over us for good, but its God’s grace and goodness thats activated by our faith that will find God.

Seek him, and you will find him. Shalom, Amen.

[1] Calvin, J., & Owen, J. (2010). Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews (p. 271). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Setiap Orang Memerlukan Wira

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Ada kalanya, kita semua memerlukan seorang pahlawan, terutama ketika kita berada dalam masalah. Kadang-kadang, dunia tidak begitu cerah, dan masa-masa sukar yang mencabar berlaku seperti di dalam Alkitab.

Semasa saya membaca Mazmur 107, saya melihat seorang pahlawan super. Seseorang membawa tahanan dari kegelapan dan bayangan kematian, dan memutuskan ikatan mereka. Dia kemudian menghancurkan pintu gangsa dan memotong dua batang besi untuk menyelamatkan mereka yang dipenjarakan. Saya terharu dalam hati, dan saya ingin tahu siapa itu. Ini seperti filem superhero seperti pemukul, manusia labah-labah atau sesuatu, dan kita semua mahu menonton filem seperti itu. Dalam semua filem, selalu ada penjahat, dan pahlawan untuk menyelamatkan kita.

Dalam kisah ini, dalam Mazmur 107, para tahanan adalah orang seperti kita. Sama ada orang Kristian terikat dalam perjuangan dosa, atau menghadapi kesulitan penyakit, atau anak-anak dalam pemberontakan atau dalam situasi kehidupan yang mencabar, atau kesulitan kewangan, tidak kira apa itu, kita memerlukan pemotongan batang dan beberapa pintu gangsa yang hancur dalam beberapa bentuk dan bentuk ke tahap yang berbeza untuk mengeluarkan kita dari masalah! Itulah yang sebenarnya dijelaskan dalam buku Mazmur 107, seperti di bawah ini.

Superhero itu adalah Tuhan. Mazmur 107
10 Ada yang duduk dalam kegelapan dan dalam bayangan kematian,
tahanan dalam penderitaan dan besi,
11 kerana mereka telah memberontak terhadap firman Tuhan,
dan menolak nasihat Yang Mahatinggi.
12 Maka dia menundukkan hati mereka dengan kerja keras;
mereka jatuh, tanpa ada yang dapat menolong.
13 Kemudian mereka berseru kepada Tuhan dalam kesusahan mereka,
dan Dia menyelamatkan mereka dari kesusahan mereka.
14 Dia membawa mereka keluar dari kegelapan dan bayangan kematian,
dan memutuskan ikatan mereka.
15 Biarlah mereka berterima kasih kepada Tuhan atas kasihnya yang gigih,
kerana pekerjaannya yang luar biasa kepada anak-anak manusia!
16 Kerana dia memecahkan pintu gangsa
dan memotong dua batang besi.

Tindakan menantang yang kuat yang menggambarkan Tuhan menerobos untuk menyelamatkan kita ketika kita berseru kepadanya untuk meminta pertolongan, paling tidak dramatis. Ia benar-benar salah satu pahlawan super, yang hebat, berani, berani, menentang kewibawaan, dan penuh kuasa. Sungguh mengagumkan bagaimana Roh Kudus mengilhami Pemazmur untuk menggambarkan Tuhan sedemikian rupa sehingga menyelamatkan kita dari masalah kita.

Ini memberitahu kita bahawa menyelamatkan kita bukanlah perkara yang mudah. Berapa ramai daripada anda yang tahu bahawa perkara sedih yang sukar dalam hidup anda memerlukan lebih daripada usaha manusia? Kita memerlukan keajaiban dari Tuhan. Sebilangan dari kita telah berdoa selama bertahun-tahun dan tidak melihat perubahan sama sekali, ada yang melihat beberapa peningkatan, ada yang melihat doa mereka dijawab. Kami semua berada dalam kapal yang berbeza. Jadi kenapa? Jadi di mana superhero kita?

Tuhan adalah wira kita.

Itulah deria kata yang menenangkan. Tetapi Dia tidak berada di bawah jadwal apa pun, benar-benar berdaulat, dan ingatlah kita benar-benar berada di bawah rahmat dan rahmat Tuhan kita yang perkasa. Artikel ini membincangkan tentang kedalaman, jangkauan yang akan Tuhan lakukan, menyerang ruang kita, menyerang status quo, suasana politik, untuk mencapai tujuan dan kehendaknya. Tidak ada yang akan dapat menghalangnya. Tidak ada organisasi atau pengaruh politik yang dapat menghentikannya. Alkitab menggunakan pintu gangsa, batang, untuk dihancurkan olehnya untuk menggambarkan kekuatan mendalam yang dia miliki, jika dia mahu. Kita tahu bahawa Tuhan dapat melakukan apa sahaja di dunia, tetapi ini adalah kes tertentu yang menunjukkan kekuatannya untuk mengurungkan kekuatan kegelapan. Ini akan memerlukan demonstrasi kekuatan Tuhan yang maha kuasa untuk membebaskan banyak orang di dunia, namun demonstrasi itu hanyalah spektrum kecil dari apa yang Dia dapat lakukan. Pada dasarnya apa yang dijelaskan tidak ada yang dibandingkan dengan apa yang dapat dilakukannya.

Pertimbangkan penyeberangan Laut Merah oleh 3 juta orang Yahudi. Tuhan mengambil Mesir dengan ribut.

Keluaran 14: 4 “Dan aku akan mengeraskan hati Firaun, dan dia akan mengejar mereka. Tetapi aku akan memperoleh kemuliaan bagi diriku sendiri melalui Firaun dan seluruh tenteranya, dan orang Mesir akan mengetahui bahawa Akulah TUHAN. ” Oleh itu orang Israel melakukan ini.

Lihat berapa banyak Tuhan yang berkuasa? Dia mengaturnya dan mengeraskan hati Firaun, sehingga Mesir akan mengejar Israel menyeberangi Laut Merah, dan kemudian ini terjadi:

Keluaran 14: 10 Ketika Firaun mendekat, orang Israel mendongak, dan ada orang Mesir, mengejar mereka. Mereka ketakutan dan berseru kepada Tuhan. 11 Mereka berkata kepada Musa, “Adakah kerana tidak ada kubur di Mesir yang membawa kamu ke padang pasir untuk mati?

Anda tahu sebelum kita melihat kemuliaan Tuhan dalam menghancurkan besi besi, dan membebaskan tawanan, biasanya ada masa ujian, dan bagi Israel inilah yang terjadi. Mereka melihat Firaun dengan kuda dan kereta kuda berjalan mengejar mereka menuju Laut Merah, mereka ketakutan dan berseru kepada Tuhan. Mereka bahkan mengatakan hal-hal buruk, dengan menyindir Musa tentang kematian yang lebih baik di Mesir. Anda melihat bagaimana perkara-perkara jelek dapat keluar dari mulut kita ketika kita berada dalam tekanan dan tekanan, semoga orang Kristian hari ini akan melakukan yang lebih baik, kerana kita dibentuk oleh Firman Tuhan, sementara mereka tidak pada waktu itu, walaupun mereka telah melihat yang paling besar keajaiban di bumi dan sejarah!

Keluaran 14 21 Kemudian Musa mengulurkan tangannya ke atas laut, dan sepanjang malam itu TUHAN mengembalikan laut dengan angin timur yang kuat dan mengubahnya menjadi tanah kering. Perairan terbelah, 22 dan orang Israel melalui laut di tanah kering, dengan tembok air di sebelah kanan dan di sebelah kiri mereka.

Anda tahu itulah sebabnya saya lebih bersemangat untuk melayani Tuhan ini, Tuhan yang hidup, lebih daripada menjadi CEO syarikat korporat besar, bukan seperti yang saya ada, tetapi hanya untuk membandingkan dengan mereka, saya sangat berpuas hati dalam menulis walaupun artikel ini untuk menasihati dan memberi semangat kepada umat Tuhan! Projek buku saya akan datang untuk kemuliaan Tuhan, dan untuk mencapai sesuatu untuk selama-lamanya! Tidak hanya bergantung pada duit besar dan bahan keselesaan, kehidupan yang tidak bertahan sama sekali dan membawa kegembiraan dan kepuasan dan kepuasan yang sangat sementara.

Tuhan tidak dilakukan dengan setiap kita. Bagaimana dan kapan dia akan memecahkan tongkat besi dan menghancurkan pintu gangsa untuk membebaskan kita, selalunya dari diri kita sendiri, atau dari beberapa kekuatan pencerobohan lain yang telah menyerang hidup kita atau keluarga, saya tidak tahu. Yang saya tahu adalah saya percaya kepada-Nya, dan kita semua harus percaya kepada-Nya dan menaruh semua harapan kita kepadanya dan menunggu Tuhan.

Amin.

Everyone Needs a Hero

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There are times, every one of us needs a hero, especially when we are in trouble. Sometimes, the world is not so rosy, and hard times challenging times happen like in the bible.

When I read Psalm 107, I saw a superhero. Someone brought prisoners out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. He then shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron to rescue them imprisoned prisoners. I am moved in my heart, and I want to know who that is. This is like a superhero movie like the bat man, spider man or something, and we all wanted to watch such movies. In all the movies, there is always a villain, and a hero to rescue us.

In this story, in Psalm 107, the prisoners are people like us. Whether Christians bound in sin struggle, or facing sickness hardship, or children in rebellion or in challenging life situation, or financial hardship, no matter what it is, we need some bar cutting and some bronze door shattering in some form and shape to differing degree to get us out of trouble! That’s what actually described in the book of Psalm 107,as below.

That superhero is God. Psalm 107
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

The powerful defiant action described God broke through to save us as we cry out to him for help, is dramatic to say the least. It is truly one of a superheros, one that’s mighty, brave, courageous, defiant of authority, and full of power. It’s amazing how the Holy Spirit inspired the Psalmist to describe God in such manner in saving us from our trouble.

It speaks to us that saving us is no easy matter. How many of you know that the difficult sad thing in your life needs more than a human endeavor? We need a miracle from God. Some of us have been praying for years and have seen no change in whatsoever, some have seen some improvements, some have seen their prayers answered. We are all in different boats. So why? So where is our superhero?

God is our superhero.

That’s the comforting sense of the word. But He is not under any schedule, completely sovereign, and remember we are totally under the grace and mercy of our mighty God. This article talks about the depth, the reach that God will do, invade our space, invade the status quo, the political atmosphere, to achieve his purpose and will. No one will be able to stop him. No organization or political clout will be able to stop him. Bible uses doors of bronze, bars, to be shattered by him to illustrate the immerse strength he has, if he wants to. We know that God can do anything in the world, but this is a specific case of showing his power to undo the power of darkness. It will take the demonstration of God’s almighty power to deliver many people in the world, and yet that demonstration is just a miniature spectrum of what He can do. Essentially what’s described is nothing compared to what he can do.

Consider the crossing of the Red Sea by 3 million Jews. God took Egypt by storm.

Exodus 14: 4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.

See how much God is in control? He set it up and hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so Egypt will pursue Israel crossing the Red Sea, and then this happened:

Exodus 14: 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?

You know before we see the glory of God in shattering iron bars, and setting captives free, there is usually a time of testing, and for Israel this was it. They saw Pharaoh with the horses and chariots marching after them towards Red Sea, they were terrified and cried out to God. They even said ugly things, sarcastically scorning Moses about the better dying in Egypt. You see how ugly things can spew out of our mouths when we are under pressure and stress, hopefully Christians today will do better, because we are shaped by the Word of God, while they were not at that time, though they have seen the greatest miracles on earth and history!

Exodus 14 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

You know that’s why I am more excited to serve this God, the living God, more than being a CEO of a big corporate company, not that I have been, but the mere thought of comparison with them, I am so satisfied in writing even this article to exhort and encourage the people of God! My book project is coming next for the glory of God, and to achieve something for eternity! Not just hanging on to big bucks and comfort material, life that doesn’t last at all and brings a very transient joy and satisfaction and gratification.

God is not done with each of us. How and when he will break iron bars and shatter bronze doors to set us free, often from our own selves, or from some other invasion forces that have invaded our lives or family, I don’t know. All I know is I trust in Him, and we all should trust in Him and put all our hope ion him and wait upon the Lord.

Amen.

Search for eternal life should never be hindered by anything including loved ones

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

I was talking to my mum who is a committed Christian and goes to a Methodist Church in Kuching. She was telling me about an incident that struck me.

Someone tried to persuade her younger sister who doesn’t believe in Christ to put her faith in Christ, but her reply is that her diseased husband is a Buddhist or sort, fearing that she will be separated with her husband in the next life, she opted to stay away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Part of the reason, I believe, is she doesn’t know that the God of the universe who created her, and incarnated into this world as Jesus, loves her more than her deceased husband did. And Jesus is offering an eternal life offer, that no husbands or wives can offer to his or her spouse. This story haunts and hinders many people with the Taoist, Buddhist or other faith background from opening up to Christ, a truly sad story, because this decision could ruin you for life.

This real story reminds me of a passage of a parable told by Jesus in the Bible, and I must share it.

The poor man and the rich man

Luke 16

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Both died, poor man went to father Abraham in heaven & rich man went to hell

22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

The rich man was being tormented in hell fire. Folks, hell is real. Just in case, if you doubt its existence, then your doubt can’t justify the justice of God, and also the righteousness of God. The fact God had to send his own only begotten Son to the cross to die to pay for the price of sins, to say that there is no hell, is an insult to the Almighty God. If there were no hell, why in the world would God send his Son to die?

Rich man cried out to Abraham for some water

24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

Rich man was in anguish, and he cried to Abraham for mercy. Remember Abraham was used in this parable by Jesus because Abraham is the common father of all Israel, he is the most prominent guy apart from Moses. The rich man thinks he has claim or relational connection or tribal connection to Abraham and hoping that he would consent to help him. This may be a warning to our Jewish friends, in Christianity, there is no distinction on Jewish or Gentiles, for all have sinned and strayed away from God, not even one. Romans 3

Romans 3 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”

Abraham rejected rich man’s call

25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Two reasons Abraham gave for refusing to help the rich man in his anguish in burning hell fire. First, he said the rich man had all the good things in life, while the poor man Lazarus had bad things; but now the rich is in anguish while the poor man is comforted. What he is saying he had all the riches in the world while alive in this world, but showed no pity sympathy to the poor, and now he is in anguish. Secondly, there is a great chasm between Abraham and the rich man, and no one can cross over. This is saying that God had put a chasm between anyone in hell, and the one in heaven, That will be the reality when we face judgement day. Folks don’t miss the only opportunity in this world to try out Jesus. You got nothing to lose. The the fact of the matter is you got nothing to lose. Are you sure you want to be with your spouse for ever if he is in hell?

Rich man begged Abraham to send the poor from death to warn his brothers

27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”

The response is too late! Not only that, Abraham said that even if someone goes from the dead to warn them, they would not be convinced. They are that hardened in heart. What a difficult time to fathom all that’s said by Jesus here. I guess God is looking for real conviction, real repentance, not some repentance because of fear of hell, but human hearts being so deceitful, will not even open to dead people’s voice. Whatever it is, this parable is told by Jesus. What Abraham is saying is that they have the prophets and Moses on earth, that will be the ultimate, that will be even better than someone from the dead. What is Moses and the prophets? That’s the book of Torah, the Old Testament. In other words, if someone rejects the Bible, the scripture, there is no chance they will convert because of someone rose form the dead to warn them. I think I can see that happening.

No marriage in heaven

Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Conclusion

There is no marriage in heaven. We all will be like angels. Think about that, who would want to consent to the wishes of the dead? The entire ancestral worship has to be debunked by modern man, and no amount of earthly intimate good loving relationship can override the word of God in his glory as revealed in the Bible by the Son of God himself, Jesus. Think hard!

Why call the Church as exiles and aliens?

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First reason is that we can’t survive well in this world if we don’t call ourselves as exiles and aliens, because everything the world stands for is against us as Christians. Though there are common grace that have been shown in humanity including non-believers, it will be impossible to truly live as a victorious Christians without such mindset. First, we are a chosen race. We are not just any race, by race, bible means a spiritual race, not the physical race. We are a chosen race, chosen by the Almighty God even before the foundations of the world. Then we are the royal priesthood, royal means the King of kings, and we are priests to him (God) in serving and following him. I cannot see we as Godly priests without being exile and alien in this world. Then we are a holy nation, that is the deal breaker in many ways. Holiness is the last thing the world wants. Liberal progressive Christians hate holiness, they love the kindness, social justice, and compassion of Christ, but they hate the holiness of Christ. Why? Because holiness will restrict and restrain them form following their lust, and their free-lancing lifestyle and yet calling themselves as Christians, as a label for their real agenda, desecrating the holiness of God. The judgment of which coming will be severe. 

Then we are a people for God’s own possession, we are Christ’s. We belong to Christ, and he owns us. Ownership is a strong word, and the world hates it. They want to belong to themselves, their own inner self liberty, be themselves. The culture of the world will not allow such ownership, and hence we are to be aliens, and exiles. (Hebrews 2:9-10) 

And because of the above, as explained, its impossible to live the holy life, the royal life, the chosen life, God owned life, Hebrews exhorted us to be aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which war against our souls. (v11). The sense of belonging is a very strong factor here, to be indulged or involved in the ways of the world. The ways of the world, wages war against our souls, a constant antithesis to everything the Bible teaches. The social media, Hollywood movies, even books that our kids or ourselves study in colleges all point at a different value system than the Word of God. How do you maintain your sexual holiness when everything they talk about is pretty much looseness, licentiousness? And you go against the culture but not indulgencing with them (1 Peter 4:4). The only way is to be an alien, we don’t belong to them. And the other one is being an exile; we don’t belong to their citizenship either. We are exiles form heaven, only here temporarily. A good mindset to have as overtime we face temptations or hardship in this world, we know that our time here is only temporary, we are pilgrims, passing by, our real home and destiny is heaven!  

On top of that the expressions of our exile and alien in this world will be to submit to authority in this world (2:13), respect our masters or employers, bosses (v18), wives submit to husbands, and husbands honor your wives (3:1-7), and finally be prepared to suffer for righteousness sake (3:12-4:19) 

My own context will be having a mindset of being different from the world pattern, not for the sake of being different, but rather for the Lord’s sake who suffered for me, and hence I am called to suffer for him if and when necessary. Tio pay the price of being a Christian living with a different mindset and values we pursue in this world, like John Piper said don’t go for retirement seashells, but go for the calling of God in this world. The only thing that will truly satisfy me (us), is to know God’s will and calling and do it with all our hearts and see that fulfilled in this world where we are merely passing by, building for an eternity. And we will rejoice as we share Christ’s sufferings now, when his glory is revealed (v13).  

Trusting God with hope for better is much better than trusting God for whatever and accepting them

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I love reformed teaching. But some preachers preach on the sovereignty of God and no matter what happens to him or anyone , we should accept it even if it may be bad. I have problem with trusting God and accepting passively whatever happens because God knows better and he is sovereign. That theology puts us in a passive posture that essentially deprives us of the fighting spirit , the spirit for a better tomorrow. I know that God sends storms to our lives at the right times sometimes to shape us up and refine us, like Jonah was sent a big storm while he was in the ship. That was meant to shake him off from his self righteousness for refusing to go and preach to Ninevah who was fast perishing, because he thinks they deserve it and should perish! But not so with our compassionate God who saw it fit that Jonah should go, and finally he did after the storm.

Therefore we should not stop at the storm, and let it hit us to the bottom and accepting whatever passively. There is a fighting spirit God has put in us, just look at David who cried out to God lamenting over 100 chapters of Psalms! He put up a good fight and when he’s defeated or knocked, God always comes through for him and taught him a lesson.

Facing hard times in life should never leave us in a passive posture with the argument that God knows better. Rather we should press on for a better outcome in life by trusting fully in God and utterly thrusting ourselves totally on God. God is not just our refuge , our rock, but he is also our hope.

By believing God to use you better rather than just chilling in your unsuccessful walk or ministry with God in whatever endeavors, is a proactive trust in God and faith in his steadfast love and faithfulness. After all, which parents do not want the best for their children? Same as God! Which God doesn’t want his children the best?

Though admittedly , not all outwardly good outcome of life is actually in the will of God. But that doesn’t mean we should just sink into passivity saying he is God after all, and he knows what best. He knows what’s best, that’s true, but God wants to see what is in your heart! As long as it’s in line with Gods will, we should definitely press in. Of course some argue that we don’t know his will, therefore we just accept whatever, but no, because there is the general revealed will, there is the silent will of God we should pursue and find out! Seeking God with all our hearts is one of the most mentioned themes in Psalms! And that posture is one of actively pursuing God and his best for us and our folks, and not one of accepting whatever!

If Hannah didn’t press on pursuing God and not accepting her undesirable situation with barrenness, she wouldn’t have Samuel, and who turned out to be one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament ! She pressed on and pursued God with tears and cries from her heart, and her swearing to offer her son if any, to God!

If David didn’t continue to call out to God continually throughout the book of Psalms, there would not be Psalms! There would not be the greatest king of Israel. He completely trusted in God even though he lamented on why is God is so far from him, so quiet on him! But eventually God came through every single time! You know why? Because David is always relentlessly pursuing God! He’s known as “A man after my own heart” as God said. There is just no exception even as he was punished and disciplined by God severely when he murdered, slept with someone wife! God dealt with him, he never gave up on God because he knows God would never give up on him!!

That’s what we need to be! Let’s do it for Jesus! Run a good race!

Our children’s College Commencement Speech

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Chadwick Boseman’s Howard University 2018 Commencement Speech

Good speech indeed! My wife and I have been to our kids’ commencement in Ivy leagues, but there is nothing like this one. Coming from a Pentecostal church plants movement from Malaysia to USA, I was somewhat disappointed with the speeches of Valedictorian, Commencement speakers speeches thus far. Some of them are beyond disappointment to shock. Why can’t we have more of this God centered purpose in life Vs career speech in colleges commencement today?

Dr Chadwick Boseman, was in fact, the main actor of that blockbuster movie, Black Panthers, who just died recently at 43 sadly. I never knew him or heard of him, but I have heard of Howard College, a Black College in America. There is just something about the black population, seemingly closer to biblical views in many instances, compared to Americans in general.

The speeches I have heard thus far goes something like this, “look into yourself”, “believe in yourself”, there is nothing that you can’t do, if you work hard, and believe in it. The problem is if you follow the real you, it may be the authentic you, but the problem is the authentic you. There is nothing pretty about the real us, because we are all sinners on our own, and if we are allowed or encouraged to follow the real us, no wonder we have so many problems in our society today. The self-expression views, in the name of liberty, and freedom and passion, have completely wrecked us. There are some God ordained pre-determined passion in you, and  it will be good to let it out and grow and flourish! But that’s only a minor part of it, because that’s all wrapped up in the overall much bigger sinful me and flawed me. Look at what Paul wrote:

Roman 7; 7 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

God given purpose Vs Career Path

Most of us are drawn to our career path after graduation from college. We set our eyes on what career, salary, security, and material benefits offer. We all need that. But what Chadwick brought up beautifully is the God ordained purpose in our lives by his pre-determination, that explains the very reason of our existence in this world at this point of history. That’s what we should seek. But without God, you can never find that, let me add. If you are a Christian and graduating, you should really take heed of this. What’s God’s purpose for you in this world? We can follow our vocation, but there is really a higher dimension to our vocation, and that’s to serve God, to love God and follow him. We have many Christians who became doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, professors, businessmen and women, etc., and they are vocations to them. And many of them continue to serve God, walk with Christ and love him in local communities churches, and that’s fantastic. But to put our sight on career path only, and neglect the call of God in our lives, will make our lives, frankly put, meaningless. Unless we find that meaning and calling of God, we remain a meaningless existence in a rat race that’s simply fruitless even with a bunch of wealth and comfort. Where do we find his will and calling? Heb 1:  2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.—Put simply, without much exegesis here, we can find the will and call of God in Christ Jesus himself as expressed in the scriptures.

The Books and Teachings in Universities today

What we see in our commencement speeches that are so devoid of God, the calling to follow God, and the meaning of life, that it is frankly disappointing in America, the place where Christianity has made an impact and spread worldwide. One reason is we have detached so far from God in America or most western world today. Because of the intense separation of church and state, people have wrongly and abused it to the extent of separation of God and state. I agree with separation of church and state, in fact, historically, the early founding fathers of Christianity never advocated for the combination of state and church, until the Romans Catholics in the 500+ AD began to combine the power and authority of the state into the churches sadly. With that came the decline of the spirituality of the church, and the abuse of the church to the extent Europe was ruined, and Luther rose by the call of God, to challenge the pope and separated churches from the pope and started the reformation 500. It’s the most amazing awesome thing that happened in history. God was replaced by human church for a longtime in Europe, and finally God reclaimed his church with Luther and reformation.

Because of the enlightenment period, as History.com puts it: in European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented during the course of the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) as part of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment.

It’s called the Age of Reason. We love reasoning, and in fact Bible is full of reasoning in the wisdom of God. But reasoning with God out of the way, it simply declines to humanism. That’s what happened. The Enlightenment period threw God out, and replaced him with human glory, reasoning, and scientific explorations. Result is humans are enthroned and became the biggest idolatry ever seen. And today’s all our college books and professors are all written and trained in that enlightenment influence, and any wonder why we hear commencement speeches as we have? They reflect the heart core of what’s really in our education. Remember, if you get the colleges, you get the intellectual life, culture, you got the world. We must engage our campus ministry and reach out to the students world. To change the whole worldview of enlightenment in America, is going to take generations , by the grace and power of God, if anything. We have seen some of the most phenomenal intellectual thinkers in the early age for example, Augustine, who published the City of God, Confessions are some of the most brilliant thinkers and their work have influenced the whole western thinking world to today. They are our Christian giants. We need more of them in our campuses today.

Conclusion

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” — Ephesians 4:1

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Glamor Bandar & Gereja-gereja kita

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Glamor kota berakhir dengan serangan Covid19 yang menyebar banyak kelas menengah atas New York dari NYC terutama Manhattan. Kami dulu mempunyai gereja-gereja yang menuntut untuk pusat bandar, dan lain-lain, kerana Manhattan nampaknya sangat panas dengan banyak profesional muda, keluarga muda, dinamik, bertenaga, bercita-cita untuk impian kerjaya di Big Apple ini. Kepadatan penduduk di New York sangat mengejutkan. 27,000 orang setiap batu persegi! Contoh: Lebih satu pertiga daripada populasi 25 ke atas di New York City mempunyai ijazah sarjana muda atau lebih tinggi, berbanding 30 peratus di peringkat nasional. Wilayah Brooklyn dengan sendirinya akan menjadi bandar ke-4 terbesar di Amerika Syarikat; Queens juga menduduki tempat ke-4 di peringkat kebangsaan.[1]

Dengan kepadatan seperti itu, pada waktu sibuk di Manhattan, secara harfiah orang bergegas hampir ke bahu jalan, dan kereta bawah tanah hampir tidak dapat mengikuti jumlah lalu lintas. Dengan munculnya pandemi Covid 19 baru-baru ini, dengan terutamanya bandar New York antara yang paling teruk dilanda dunia, pemandangan itu menjadi buruk dan menakutkan. Bilik mayat dengan peti sejuk dibentuk hampir 6 bulan yang lalu di bahagian-bahagian tertentu di New York seperti Queens, kerana bilik mayat tidak mencukupi. Sampai di tahap itu, rumah sakit kehabisan ruang atau tempat tidur untuk merawat pesakit, kekurangan doktor dan jururawat yang berani tanpa lelah berkorban di barisan depan melawan penyakit ini dan berusaha menyelamatkan nyawa. Ini adalah saat yang sangat menegangkan yang berlangsung selama hampir setengah tahun ketika New York memuncak dengan Covid 19 lebih banyak daripada Wuhan dari China, Itali, dan lain-lain. Ia sangat mengejutkan dan benar-benar menakutkan bagaimana semua ini terjadi pada kota yang dikasihi dengan begitu cepat.

Sekarang hampir semua pejabat mempunyai kakitangan mereka yang bekerja jauh dari rumah untuk mengelakkan penularan virus selama lebih dari 6 bulan sekarang dan terus berkembang. Dengan banyaknya kelas menengah atas profesional yang tinggal di New York berpindah atau berpindah dari New York ke pinggir bandar untuk menjauhkan diri dari bandar yang sesak ini dengan penyebaran virus # 1 di dunia. Ramai yang telah berpindah ke Hudson, CT, Long Island dan ramai yang tidak kembali ke bandar New York lagi. Mula-mula mereka benar-benar mempunyai ruang dan halaman yang jauh lebih besar untuk bernafas daripada dihantam ke sebuah apartmen dengan banyak penduduk lain berkongsi lif setiap hari, melawan lalu lintas di jalan raya, dan kereta bawah tanah. Sekarang mereka mulai merasakan nafas segar yang mereka tidak pernah berpeluang, dan sekarang menjimatkan banyak dolar. Kenapa? Kerana rumah di luar sana jauh lebih murah daripada di Manhattan, Brooklyn, UWS dan lain-lain. Selain itu, mereka tidak membayar cukai bandar di New York, kerana tempat tinggal mereka tidak lebih di bandar, tetapi di pinggir bandar. Dan hakikat bahawa mereka dapat bekerja jauh dari pinggiran kota mereka, apa gunanya tinggal kembali di kawasan kesesakan mahal yang mudah dijangkiti kota virus ?? Gabenor NY Cuomo mengatakan, “Pada masa lalu kita biasa berbicara tentang orang yang meninggalkan Manhattan jika keadaan menjadi buruk, jika cukai meningkat, jika kualiti hidup merosot,” kata Cuomo dalam panggilan dengan wartawan pada hari Kamis. “Mereka pergi. Mereka pergi kerana COVID. “[2]

Tumpukan di atas masalah adalah masalah keganasan iaitu. pembunuhan senjata api di bandar New York baru-baru ini. Dengan pergolakan perkauman George Floyd di Minnesota baru-baru ini, tunjuk perasaan mengenai kehidupan Black telah berubah menjadi ganas dan, tanpa menjelaskan secara terperinci, Polis NYPD New York telah dibatalkan dengan satu bilion dolar telah dialihkan dari anggaran di bangsal kesejahteraan sosial yang lain di Bandar. Oleh itu, rasa hormat terhadap Polisi telah jatuh ke level terendah sepanjang masa, dan polis berjuang untuk benar-benar memerangi keganasan, jenayah, dan lain-lain, kerana mereka berjuang dengan semua alasan di atas. Baru-baru ini terdapat 40-50 tembakan di bandar New York setiap hujung minggu, sesuatu yang tidak pernah didengar sebelumnya. NY Times melaporkan, “Bandar ini melampaui 400 penembakan pada separuh pertama tahun ini untuk pertama kalinya sejak 2016, dengan 528 pada akhir bulan lalu; 205 penembakan pada bulan Jun adalah yang tertinggi untuk bulan itu sejak tahun 1996, kata polis. “[3]

Ini benar-benar tidak ada otak. Jadi, apa maksudnya untuk gereja-gereja di NYC? Saya biasa mendengar berapa banyak gereja yang ingin masuk ke pusat bandar Manhattan kerana ia adalah tempat strategik pusat dengan para profesional, milenium pinggul semua jamming di sana. Glamor untuk menanam gereja di pusat bandar. Dan sekarang menoleh ke belakang, orang-orang telah pergi, dan banyak yang pergi, dan tidak kembali untuk masa depan yang dijangka sekarang.

Saya menyokong menyebarkan penduduk di luar kawasan panas kota mega untuk mengurangkan kepadatan penduduk, memberi lebih banyak ruang kepada semua dan keluarga dengan anak-anak kecil, dan memberi lebih banyak ruang untuk semua untuk gaya hidup yang kurang sihat. Apabila terdapat begitu banyak orang yang berkerumun di satu tempat panas, ini adalah tempat subur bagi penyebaran virus, dan pada masa akan datang, mungkin ada lebih banyak lagi! Oleh itu marilah kita menanam gereja di luar ‘kota mega’ ke pinggir bandar dan bandar-bandar kecil dan bandar juga. Ini akan menjadi gaya hidup yang lebih sihat untuk semua. Ingatlah bahawa bandar bukanlah tujuan kita, ia adalah kaedah. Injil bagi umat dan Kerajaan Tuhan adalah tujuannya. Sebagaimana pembandaran telah terjadi selama beberapa dekad terakhir, di seluruh dunia, kecenderungan kemungkinan besar akan berubah ke tahap yang cukup besar untuk alasan yang baik, dan institusi Injil mesti mengikutinya.

Ini juga akan mengatasi ketegangan membesarkan keluarga dengan anak-anak kecil di kota metropolis yang sesak dengan kos sara hidup yang tinggi, dengan sekolah awam yang miskin, dan sekolah swasta yang sangat mahal. Apabila keluarga yang mempunyai anak-anak berpindah ke pinggir bandar, atau pinggiran kota, keluarga dapat memiliki sekolah yang bagus dan dapat menyelesaikan banyak masalah di dalam kota.

Injil tidak harus tinggal di kota, biarkan berkembang ke pinggir bandar, kota kecil dan kota kecil, pinggiran kota dan menyebarkan kemuliaan Tuhan.

Habakuk 2 Sebab bumi akan dipenuhi
dengan pengetahuan tentang kemuliaan Tuhan
ketika air menutupi laut.

Pola Penanaman Gereja Paulus dalam perjanjian Baru

Paulus memberitakan Injil dari bandar ke bandar. Paulus berkhotbah ke kota Lystra, Ikonium, dan Antiokhia. Pola penanaman gereja Paulus dari kota ke kota, tidak tepat di satu kota besar yang besar. Kisah 14: 21-22 (ESV) 21 Ketika mereka telah memberitakan Injil ke kota itu dan telah membuat banyak murid, mereka kembali ke Lystra dan Icononi dan Antiokhia, 22 menguatkan jiwa para murid, mendorong mereka untuk terus berada di iman, dan mengatakan bahawa melalui banyak kesengsaraan kita mesti memasuki kerajaan Tuhan.

Paulus dan Timotius melalui kota-kota, menyampaikan berita Injil.
Kis 16: 3-5 (ESV) 3 Paulus ingin Timotius menemaninya… .4 Ketika mereka pergi melalui kota-kota, mereka menyerahkan kepada mereka untuk mematuhi keputusan yang telah dicapai oleh para rasul dan penatua yang berada di Yerusalem . 5 Oleh itu, gereja-gereja diperkuat dalam iman, dan jumlah mereka bertambah setiap hari.

Paulus ingin membawa Barnaba bersama-sama untuk kembali dan mengunjungi gereja-gereja di setiap kota di mana mereka memberitakan firman Tuhan. Catatan: Ini adalah firman Tuhan, bukan hanya Injil.

Kisah 15:36 (ESV) 36 Dan setelah beberapa hari Paulus berkata kepada Barnabas, “Mari kita kembali dan mengunjungi saudara-saudara di setiap kota di mana kita memberitakan firman Tuhan dan melihat bagaimana keadaan mereka.”

Pola evangelisisme penanaman gereja oleh Paulus di PB jelas dari kota ke bandar, berbanding dengan satu kota mega.

[1] https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/planning-level/nyc-population/population-facts.page#:~:text=About%201%20in%20every%2038,arrive%20in%202000%20or % 20lain.

[2] https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/new-yorks-wealth-taxpayers-return-cuomo Pembayar cukai kaya di New York mungkin tidak akan kembali, Cuomo takut

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/nyregion/murders-nyc-guns-crime.html 64 Tembakan, 10 Tewas: Lonjakan Keganasan Senjata Mengganggu NYC On-Edge