"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'' -Matthew 15:8-9
"Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
And then will I declare to them, I never knew you;depart from me, you evildoers." -Matthew 7:21
So, the True Worship means strictly do as what our Lord Jesus Christ has said, instructed, ordered, and demonstrated to us in the Bible. No any modification to The Book is permitted, i.e. no any addition, reduction, and/or change should be made by any one of Jesus' followers, no matter who he is. Amen!
Jesus said to Peter:"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my (Jesus') church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." -Matthew 16:18
Paul said:"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son." -Acts 20:28
So, the Church of Jesus is the Church of God, and Jesus' Church belongs to Him other than anybody in so many churches on earth. Jesus owns His Church.
"... as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." -Ephesians 5:23
"because we are members of his body." -Ephesians 5:30
Then the truth of "Oneness" can be clearly understood, i.e. only One God, One Lord,One Holy Spirit, One Church, and One Jesus' Body.
"And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd." -John 10:16
It is hard for human being, but nothing can not be done by God, the Holy Spirit.
Truely, now it is hard for us the Gentile Christian to convince a Jew to believe in that Christ Jesus is the messiah prophesied in the old testament which the Jew believe in only. Otherwise, before year 2000 Jesus Christ would not be crucified to death on the cross by the jew. However according to the Bible when the time comes, the Israelites will be waken up and turned around to Jesus Christ and be saved for those who believe Jesus.
Please read saint Paul's statement in the Bible: "For it is my desire, brothers, that this secret may be clear to you, so that you may not have pride in your knowledge,that Israel has been made hard in part, till all the Gentiles have come in; And so all Israel will get salvation: as it is said in the holy Writings, There will come out of Zion the One who makes free; by him wrongdoing will be taken away from Jacob: And this is my agreement with them, when I will take away their sins.As far as the good news is in question, they are cut off from God on account of you, but as far as the selection is in question, they are loved on account of the fathers.Because God's selection and his mercies may not be changed. For as you, in time past, were not under the rule of God, but now have got mercy through their turning away, So in the same way these have gone against the orders of God, so that by the mercy given to you they may now get mercy. For God has let them all go against his orders, so that he might have mercy on them all." -Romans 12:25-32
So the only thing we can do now is to be a good and true friend to our Jewish friends, and share the love you have received from and experienced in Jesus Christ with them. Amen! God bless all!
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.ho Will Enter." Jesus said. -Matthew 7:21
Therefore as a Christian, we must be prudent to self and constantly review and check up if what we have thought, spoken, done and planned daily are strictly in line with the Will of our God in heaven. If not, correct ourself and turn around immediately to follow what the Jesus Christ had told us and wanted us to do in the Book.
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
Part 1 While Apol'los was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
And he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' And they said, 'No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.'
And he said, 'Into what then were you baptized?' They said, 'Into John's baptism.'
And Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.
'On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them;and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
There were about twelve of them in all.
-Acts19:1-7
*Also refer to Acts chapter 1 -19.
Part 2 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? “ - 1 Corinthians 6:19
“There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son.” - 1 John 5:8-9
“In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13-14
Today, I would like to share with you all one of the verses I like the most, as below:
Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. -Zechariah 4:6
You are sincerely invited to have a peaceful and thoughtful visit to the following site and enjoy the reading and make yourself understanding what is the true meaning of "I am The Way, The Truth and The life" Jesus said (John14:6).
"A week ago (late November), I discussed about feminism in theology with Preacher Hsieh in the church. A week later I was informed that I was a patient with terminal cancer." What a shock it was for Deacon L. S. Huang to hear of such news! He said, "While I was in the hospital, Brother Tsai from Jing Mei Church asked me, 'Have we considered serious illness in our plan for our lives?' Although this was a frank question, this also expressed the immeasurableness of God's power and plan."
Discovery and Diagnosis Deacon Huang has been hospitalized because of problems in the digestive system since June 2000. He went to the hospital again on 5th December to be diagnosed. After the doctor finished conducting ultrasonography, he looked serious and told Deacon Huang, "You have four tumors in your liver and they are not small. This is urgent. You must be hospitalized immediately." After Deacon Huang finished doing some work at school on that day, Brother Tai drove him and his family to the hospital to have him hospitalized. He was diagnosed for ten consecutive days. He had blood test first, and the result showed that he had cancer. As if this shocking result was not a bad enough news, the doctor suspected that this was not a simple case of liver cancer. Could it have traveled to other organs? The doctor performed stool examination and it confirmed that the cancer cells have traveled to other organs. The doctor conducted colonography and revealed that it was colon cancer that has traveled to the liver! The tumors were too big, so they were classified as terminal cancer (4th stage cancer). This cruel "judgment" had no place for mercy! "My wife could no longer bear it, and greatly ached in her heart. My mother and the children also found this shocking news unbearable." Deacon Huang calmly described how his family felt. His second son En Lin went through every photograph album when he was back home, looking back at the memories with his father, and wept bitterly. The patient suffered the greatest. Deacon Huang had to bear his physical suffering, and at the same time rebuild the faith of his family. He told his son, "You must encourage your mother so she can face it with courage, or it would be of no help for my illness." The three children seemed to have grown mature in one night. They rushed to the hospital to take care of their father, and comforted their mother. The deacon's wife knew that it was a tragedy she had to bear, and being Deacon Huang's other half, she had to fight this illness with him. Having room for weeping was already a luxury. "I thank God for the grace He bestowed upon my wife, my mother, my children and my younger brother's family. My family was full of faith and prayed earnestly, regaining strength in the Lord," Deacon Huang said. His family accepted this fact with one heart, and showed no fear in the ten days of diagnosis. Their eating, sleeping, and daily lives showed no sign of declination. After being diagnosed, the doctor decided to do the operation on 18th December in Ren Ai Hospital. Deacon Huang and his family discussed with Brother/Dr. Cheng En Yang during the time, and decided to have the operation in Ren Ai Hospital. The decision was made based on these reasons: 1) Deacon Huang's social relationship with the City Government and alderman, making the president and the vice president of the hospital concerned with his condition so he could receive good care. 2) The hospital is close to the deacon's home, making it easy for his family to care for him, and medical cost is cheaper. 3) After the deacon heard of his illness, he solidly believed that it was up to God's grace whether he lives or not, just like in the book of Psalms: "Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me." (Psalms 119:175)
Testimony of Life Before the Operation Jing Mei Church arranged for Deacon Huang to speak a sermon on 15th December (Friday night) a month beforehand. Little did they know Deacon Huang would be announced a patient with terminal cancer. Some people advised him to rest and have someone else lead the sermon, but Deacon Huang believed he could lead the sermon with his current condition, and he faced his illness with courage, testifying his life before the congregation. The topic of the sermon was "Paul's Prayer for the Church of Ephesus". There were nearly 200 believers from Jing Mei and the northern region of Taiwan, gathered here to encourage and support Deacon Huang. Deacon Huang was surprised to see so many brethren, and was touched to tears. He prayed that God may give him a peaceful heart, so that he may calmly speak this testimony of the "confession of life". The hymn before the sermon was "It Is Well with My Soul". Shortly after the hymn started, there were many brethren already weeping, but Deacon Huang held his integrity and did not shed tears. He described his war with his body, and told the congregation that the length of life is unimportant, but what is important is that all the brethren may treasure his or her body according to his or her condition, and that he would be satisfied as long as everyone works with one heart to make the church thrive. Finally, Deacon Huang said, "This sermon could be my last sermon, but could also be my first sermon with a new start. It's all to God's will." This made everyone sad in heart, and prayed earnestly for him after the sermon. After the service ended, everyone surrounded Deacon Huang and encouraged him so that his faith may increase to face his operation two days later.
From "Ren Ai" to "He Shin" Hospital On 16th December, Deacon Huang was accompanied by his wife to the hospital to prepare for his operation on the 18th. Because the 16th was Sabbath Day, he told his children and his younger brother's family to rest and keep the Sabbath. But there had been a great change in the day. It was caused by the visit from the director of the surgical department. He said, "You have terminal cancer." He told Deacon Huang that if the surgery did not succeed, the hospital was not to be blamed. When the deacon's wife heard this, she lost faith in Ren Ai Hospital. Deacon Huang's children, younger brother, and sister-in-law rushed to the hospital after service, desiring to talk with the director of the surgical department so that they would know the current situation, but the hospital's medical plan could not convince the family. The entire family discussed whether Deacon Huang should transfer to another hospital. Deacon Huang's younger brother Ding Rau finally explained, "A day ago (15th), Cheng En showed concern and rang him at 12AM, insisting that Deacon Huang should be transferred to He Shin Hospital. He tried to convince Deacon Huang and his children, but everyone was determined to stay in Ren Ai." Ren Ai Hospital was unable to make out a sound plan for colon cancer that has traveled to the liver the night before the surgery. Deacon Huang remembered his friend who was a doctor in the Department of Heath. His friend told him a very important concept, that a sound plan was more important than the surgery itself. After everyone prayed together, they decided to transfer Deacon Huang to He Shin Hospital. When Deacon Huang looked back on this event, he said gratefully, "This change is really God's guidance. Just as when we were in a dilemma, God guided our way."
The Surgery Deacon Huang was transferred to He Shin Hospital and was diagnosed there. By the help of Brother Cheng En, Deacon Huang was diagnosed by colon cancer specialist Doctor Liu, and liver tumor specialist Doctor Yang. Doctor Yang thought the liver problem was very troublesome, but they could come up with a sound medical plan, and inspect together, mainly targeting the liver tumors. They wanted to install a pump to aid future therapy, but pumps were expensive, so if it was to be installed, it must be worth installing. The diagnosis was done in three parts: 1) Bone and X-ray analysis to see if the cancer cells have traveled to the bones and lungs. 2) Blood test to see if the cancer cells have diffused to the blood. 3) Liver function inspection to see if the liver's detoxicating performance is up to standard. If these three diagnoses passed the test, the pump would be worthy of installation. Deacon Huang and his family gathered at the hospital and prayed at 7AM on 22nd December. At 7:30AM Deacon Huang was put on a wheelchair and was pushed to the surgical room by his first-born son. When Deacon Huang was undergoing the surgery that would determine his life or death, he was not alone. His younger brother Ding Rau, his sons En Yu, En Lin, and En Wei, his nephew Bo Guei, and Brother Chin were waiting for him with silent prayer. The deacon's wife was praying earnestly in a resting room in the house of her relative beside the hospital. Many brethren from Jing Mei Church fasted and prayed in the chapel with Deacon Huang's mother, some asking for leave from work for this. At around 11:30AM, the colon tumor was removed and Doctor Cheng En took the tumor out for Deacon Huang's family members to see. He reported that the surgery was going smoothly. The next part of the surgery was removing liver tumors. They have done a deep and thorough review of the liver, and this review included the tumors themselves, to determine whether the cancer has spread to the peritoneum or lymph. When Doctor Yang came out to meet everyone two hours later, everyone was nervous, afraid to hear that the liver could not be operated on. Doctor Yang reported that there were not only four tumors, but six tumors. The largest tumor was 6.5cm in diameter, placed between two arteries, and did not touch the main artery. The cancer did not spread to the peritoneum, but has spread to the lymph. Thank God that the conclusion was that the liver could be operated on. Everyone sighed in relief. During the surgery, Brother Cheng En's parents paid three visits, one in the morning, one at noon, and one at night all in one day. Their care touched Deacon Huang's family members. The Executive Committee of Jin Mei Church also came at around 4PM and showed concern for the deacon. The surgery ended three hours late of its appointed time. The deacon's wife and his sister-in-law did not dare to speak of their anxiety. Instead, they prayed earnestly to endure through this time of anxiety and concern. At 7PM, the children called and reported to them, "The surgery ended smoothly. Dad is in recovery room." After hearing this, they thanked God and rushed to the waiting room for Deacon Huang to regain consciousness. At 8PM, a nurse came and told them the patient had regained consciousness and has been transferred to intensive care unit, so the family members could visit him. The relatives moved in to see him. Although he could not talk, he could see who came and visited. The relatives were comforted to feel his strong grip and see his face showing healthy tone. Deacon Huang's younger brother and second son stayed with him that night. The rest went home to sleep to restore energy for the second day. The surgery lasted 11 hours. A vertical cut was made from the chest to abdomen, being 30cm long. Another horizontal cut was made to install the pumping system, being 10cm long.
From the Surgery to being Discharged Deacon Huang was moved to the ward In the next morning (23rd December). The surgeons came and visited him four days later and he looked fine. They told him, "You have to go through six stages before the surgery can be regarded as successful. Stage one is that we have to ensure that cancer has not spread to the bones and lungs. Stage two, to ensure cancer has not spread to the blood. Stage three, that your liver's detoxifying function is normal (meaning that there is still redundancy in the liver system that can be removed). Stage five, to see whether the tumor has reached the main artery. Stage six, that you do not have icterus or blain with 55% of your liver removed. In other words, your surgery has been successful!" After Deacon Huang heard this, he deeply felt God's abidance and protection, and thought, "Even though I faced great tribulation, God still spared my life to this moment." Though the critical period has passed under God's care, Deacon Huang still walked through the valley of the shadow of death many times during recovery stage with much suffering. He only mentioned one or two brief moments: After dusk on 1st January, Deacon Huang felt discomfort. His stomach swelled with pain, and had sudden fever and chill. He contracted his body to occupy small space. Whether sitting, standing, or lying down could not do him any good. When his stomachache was to the point he could not bear, he remembered Job's word in his time of tribulation, "What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?" Then he thought that this was not right. If he did not face tribulation, how would he know what joy was? So he endured until 1:30AM, and his youngest son En Wei told him, "Have sleep." He stood beside him, and went to sleep after he prayed for him. Unexpectedly, after one minute, Deacon Huang felt something rushing out from within him. He sat up at once (it usually takes a few steps to sit up) and vomited a great volume of things. He felt comfortable after vomit. He said, "This sort of suffering was like having a trip to Sheol. I can never forget it." In the morning of 3rd January, the doctor removed two drainage tubes from Deacon Huang. One of them belongs to the liver, and has to be removed from the right half of the waist to the left half of the waist. The deacon suffered great pain nearly to tears when they were being removed. He described them as sawing the abdomen with a saw. The pain was indescribable. He said, "We often say we have to have empathy for the sufferers, but how do we experience what they experience? Therefore Paul said, 'Who is weak, and I am not weak? To the weak I became weak.' After going through the same experience, I finally understood the meaning of 'Who is strong, and I am not strong?'" There is a time for everything. Just like Ecclesiastes says, "A time to heal." Although the deacon went through much suffering, his relatives also witnessed God's grace on him. He had much progress almost on a daily basis. For example, when he first got off the bed to walk, he was like a baby just starting to walk, unable to support himself. He had to be carried to a place. When he drank water, he had to take many sips to finish 30cc of water (he usually takes three mouthfuls to finish 300cc of water). "Is not walking and drinking part of daily life? Yet it's this time when I fully experience the weakness of man, and God's grace everyday," Deacon Huang sighed with emotion. Being under God's care everyday, Deacon Huang was finally discharged safely from the hospital on 6th January.
Thought on Suffering During this suffering of the flesh, Deacon Huang deeply understood what "days of suffering" and "days of tribulation" meant. He said, "When a person has illness, feels weak, and becomes impatient with things around him, it is difficult to ask him to be joyful. He would tell you that he does not even have time to show anxiety, how could he feel joy? This is a reaction from the physical body. This only applies to one who has not tasted the grace of God, or one who lacks the ability to react to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because they always think suffering and joy are opposite of each other. They think that only without suffering will there be joy. "Yet a Christian thought should not be so narrow. When we think of God's word, Ecclesiastes says, 'In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other.' (Ecclesiastes 7:14) What it tells me is that when things go well we should feel joy. When we are in days of adversity, we should also be grateful, because both are from God. The two exist together in life. "When we face tribulation, we should not face it negatively, but actively ponder on the reason for this suffering. We should consider it from our heart. Are we under God's grace, and do not realize and complain in our heart? Or do we love only the world, and allow anxiety to overtake us? Or do we indulge in our desires, and grow distant from God? Or are we too busy, and forget that we are the Lord's disciples? There are too many reasons for tribulation. Only by experiencing tribulation for oneself can one truly examine himself from the depth of his heart." Therefore, Deacon Huang concludes that tribulation is beneficial for people, because only by going through tribulation and facing difficulties and death can one examine himself and ponder on the love of God, having his faith in God refined through hardship. Deacon Huang benefited much from his deep ponders. It was an experience he never had before. The Holy Spirit allowed him to understand that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard one's heart and one's mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7), so that one can learn to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12). God allowed him to learn Moses' wisdom: "Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us." (Psalms 90:15)
The Ending Words Deacon Huang was admitted to the hospital on 22nd December, 2000, and was discharged on 6th January, 2001. In this half month he walked through the valley of the shadow of death and experienced mental and physical pain he never had before. These challenged his limit, testing his faith, hope, and love, and gave the brethren from Jin Mei Church and from all of Taiwan (or even the world) a chance to be able to show love and pray for him. "During the month of my illness, there were people visiting me from the academic world, political world, and educational world, and there were elders, deacons, and the brethren visiting me, numbering over 200 in all. There were also inland and overseas phone calls and letters of care. I gained strength from their encouragement, particularly the comfort I received from the elders and deacons and brethren in the Lord, some even prayed with tears. These gave me great encouragement and strength, allowing me to stand up courageously and endure through all the hardship," Deacon Huang said. He mentioned everyone who visited him, and showed deep gratitude to them all. Deacon Huang is going through first-stage chemotherapy. There is much discomfort through the time of treatment, but through this experience in life, he has grown strong integrity and faith in the Lord. "I have deeply experienced that His mercy is better than life! I do not desire to live longer, but only that I may live the rest of my life with dignity, doing work for the Lord that is more meaningful, or even use my experience to talk with the believers, so that they may be edified in their faith."
He does not worry whether tomorrow is fine, or dark, but learns from a psalm of David: For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. -Psalms 62:5-6
Looking at this warrior fighting against cancer, I couldn't help but pray to God that God may let him see the children of his sons and talk with them, narrating every step of the difficulties of this old man's life and God's grace on him.
-All biblical quotes are from American Standard Version
Reviewing Our WorshipTo Lord
