Running the race #2 W.I.P (23jul2008)

If a man dies, shall he live again?'
Job 14:14

In a world where deception and delusion have increasingly become the moral of choice(no need to look too far than the present financial crisis), one of the greatest lies ever propagated must be this, live for the present, strive and strife towards attaining what the world values, be it power, prestige, a life of comfort and use this largese to buy yourself what comes after, if that matters to you. Man want to believe that the god or gods they will worship is the right god, for it is a reflection of their own selfish perceptions.

'…these men have set up their idols in their heart…..'
Ezekiel 14:3

The civilizations of old, be it Egyptian or Chinese, spent an undue amount of time and resources preparing for the afterlife, an expectation that the present comforts and status of the present will be extended into the yond. Thankfully for that, the world gets a chance to admire the quality of antiquities of days gone by.

'…a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place, all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again'

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

Suppose the Bible speaks the truth, and it does, and dust you might still be when the Lord returns, but the bodily shell might be gone, but your very soul is very much alive and has to be accountable to the Lord on judgement day, And being in a sauna a million times over might not be your idea of a life of relaxation, unless you love mixing with the bad and the ugly, for the devil might have been a beautiful angel, but that was the past.

'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven'
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Work in progress is one term I learned in my A-levels in my first tentative introduction to the subject of Accounting. I guess, with today's need to mask pain and defer reality, the many incomprehensible accounting rules that I racked my brain to fathom, is no longer of any consequential value. In the simpler days, W.I. P refers to uncompleted work undertaken, be it property development or the manufacturing of widgets.

'And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness…..'

Ephesians 4:23-24

Believer or not, the fallen man are all work in progress. The Lord is perfecting us, to be in His likeness. To bring us back from the fallen state to His image. But many of us have chosen to do otherwise, believing in our own defintion of what is right or wrong, believing in defining the god or gods that we are most comfortable to align our selfish will to .

'Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to brids, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

….Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator……'
Romans 1:22-25

These past 6 years, the journey that I have walked with the Lord has been spent more on focussing to know Him, to let His light shine forth upon the darkness sheltering in the inner recesses of our hearts, to learn about our imperfections, to let God refine us as He put us through the crucible of purification. For anyone who truly seek the Lord our God, who is determined to come into His presence, who strives to be faithful even as his carnal nature tries to pull him back, you will today, imperfect as we all will be still, yet be a man who has grown with the Lord, a man whose life is increasingly aligned with the will of God.

Ye also , as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritiual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ'

1 Peter 2 :5

What about the world?

'When He is angry, the earth trembles….The nations cannot endure His wrath'
Jeremiah 10:10

Time and tide waits for no one, but the Lord our God has been patient. Like Nineveh, God wants to save all and much as He gives us all a free will, He will more than remind us and bring us over once we show that small inkling of desire to repent and return to Him. But the Lord has also set a conclusion beyond which, our procrastination and sinful disobedience will leave us no room for redemption. But God is good, He has also shown us what is to come and may these markers of the End of Times, a prelude to the return of His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, be a more forceful 'wake-up' call than the limpid efforts of His chosen messenger, Jonah in the days of Nineveh.

'So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them…..

..And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not'

Jonah 3:1-10

Some of you might have watched the Chinese epic, "Red Cliff" produced by John Woo. Quite an interesting story, not just because of the blood and gore, but with the masterful retelling of a key battle of a tumultous period in Chinese history. Looks like I will go pick up an English version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms not just because the the movie left us awaiting the 2nd part to be played out likely early next year, John Woo's idea of a cliffhanger, but rather, there are indeed many lessons to be learned from the battle of wits of the protagonists, whose strategies and wiles are still used in today's modern society.

Of course, I will also like to pick up the book to find out the conclusion of the expected battle at Red Cliff and how the defenders of the invasion overcame the overwhelming odds.

'Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord our God…. To make ready a people prepared for the Lord' And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'

Luke 1:16-17

Life might seem like a stage and all of us are the players, but unlike the movie, where the date of the sequel is known, none of us know when the Lord our God will return and bring to a conclusion this temporal but painful existence of man, in the fallen world. But the Lord has given us clearly, the markers to look out for as the increasingly sinful world hurtles towards its conclusion. Let me not predict the timing of our Lord's return but let me share some observations of these markers as I see it, and imperfect as these postulations might be, may the Lord our God speak to you, that you become cognizance of the very danger to your soul, that you will turn away from damnation and towards salvation, as you surely would, if only you would allow Him.

'Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimestone from heaven, and destroyed them all.'

Luke 17:28

For mortal death is not the end all, but a temporary respite from what is to come.

'Marvel not at this , for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation'

John 5:28-29

So do heed the promptings of the Lord, for all are forewarned, even as the prophesies of the Word of our Lord increasingly comes to life. Interesting postulations these might be, but at best they are from a finite man and will be flawed. What is more important is not one's view of the world, but you yourself. Will you consider coming to the presence of the Lord our God, before the present world moves into the past tense??

1. Is the much abused Earth crying out for humanity?

'There will be earthquakes in various places and there shall be famines and troubles; these are the beginnings of sorrows'

Mark 13:8

Creation groans as the birth pangs of End times intensifies. No where is this more well demonstrated than in the scale and intensity of natural disasters that the world has witnessed in recent years, be in in the Asian tsunami, Katrina in New Orleans, Sichuan earthquake, Myammar cyclone and now, the African famine. Is this the prelude to an even greater shaking? Till the next one, most would have been too caught up with the world to give these events much thought, unless it has hit one personally.

'Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forht at His feet'
Habakkuk 3:5

What about diseases and famines? SARS and bird flu might be relatively new in terms of intensity. But the old long eradicated disease of tuberculosis is simmering and could be back with a vengeance and might soon find company with that old bane of humanity, small pox, should the last remnants of that dreaded disease ever find its way out of the laboratory.

2. Are the wolves howling for the lost sheep??

No news is sometimes good news, but the world wants to hear what their selfish hearts pines for, and the niche of false prophesy and lies has increasingly gone mainstream and is doing a roaring trade. A lie becomes fact when the hearer wants to believe in it and the messenger sticks to the same message come what may. People are subscribing to the version of a 'god' who will fit into their selfish desires, be it for material blessings, words without works, secularism fused with spirituality, but in truth, a heart that is far from God.

'They say still unto them that despise Me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace, and they say unto everyone that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you'

Jeremiah 23:17

'I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied'
Jeremiah 23:21

And what about the Bible? In recent years, the world has witnessed "new discoveries" that purport to challenge the Biblical truths. Men are always looking for 'facts' or 'new thoughts' to either substantiate or disprove the Word of God. The Da Vinci Code brought myth to a new reality. Now, with the expected launch on 24th July of the Codex Sinaiticus on the web, the claimed oldest complete copy of the New Testament, there should be new grounds for controversy, as men look for comparative errors or deviations from the present text used.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God(John 1:1). Does God need the sinful and finite men, with their imperfect understanding to either justify or disprove Him? If you truly seek the Lord our God and come into His presence every moment of your life, you will know that faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen and with the deep assurance of God and the sanctification of His Spirit, you will know God.

3. What about God's chosen people?

The newspapers recently had an interesting article on the present leadership in Israel. Unlike the early days of its founding fathers, where socialism was the norm and everyone stays in a Kibbutz, irregardless of status, the Israel of the today is very much focussed on the secular world, with a significant percentage of its leadership accused of graft, corruption and sexual immorality. The pioneering spirit of selflessness, of seeking God in right living, has been increasingly replaced by selfish interests and by mammon.

'Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt….."obey My voice, and do them, according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God' Jeremiah 11:4

'Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked everyone in the imagination of their evil heart……'
Jeremiah 11:8

In the recent Lebanon conflict in July 2006, with the Hezbollah, the much vaunted Israelite military was taken down a peg or two. Its aura of invincibility was diminished somewhat and a third of Israel's populations were exposed to rocket attacks. Would the world soon witnessed a harder wake-up call should the sabre rattling by Israel and its old nemesis, Persia(now present day Iran and soon to include most of Shitte Iraq) turn into a more serious conflict? And would we soon see a chastened Israel more amenable to peace with the very oil rich but politically at risk Sunni Arab states, who might deem Israel a safer enemy than their dangerous friends, the Shiite Iranians.

4. What about us, the Gentiles??

'Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them'

Romans 1:32

Our Lord Jesus Christ used the Apostle Paul powerfully, in bringing the growth of Christianity to the then dominant power of the world, the Roman Empire. When the Roman Catholic church became a surrogate for the corrupt Emperor's machinations, the Lord again brought forth a great revival, through the Protestant movement.. Today, the home of that great revival of Christian faith, the Anglican church is going through great schism with its anointing of the likes of men who thought Sodom was a joyful place and that the cleaving of the same gender is in line with modern human values. An updated modern Christianity, refined to suit the present but still sinful world has led to men's sinful reinterpretation of the Word of God, which is the same today, yesterday and will be the same till He returns. Man is replacing God with their own idols and we are moving towards the ideals of the devil, who is androgynous and loves his own image.

Today, secularism is the new religion in Europe. And civil rights mean that the tyranny of the minority will increasingly take precedence over that of the indifferent majority. And that God has no place in the public places of society be it in the schools or at work is now a reality in many places of the world.

5. What about America??

'..when you hear of wars and rumours of war, do not be afraid. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come…..'

Mark 13:8

Down on its knees. The stage is set for the demise of the vibrancy of the old world order and the ushering of the new. With the policeman of the world increasingly incapable of performing its role, with a resurgent Russia and a confident China biting at its heels, with more nations vying to join the nuclear club, and with the increased competition for the resources of the world, conflict will be the trend going forward. The world will want to sue for peace, to cling on to their sinful desires and would be more willing to listen or pay obeisance to whoever can promise to meet these needs.

United Europe is now a reality, something that no one imagined was ever possible given the fractious and hatred filled history of Europe, the source of the two major world wars. With the tearing down of the Berlin Wall symbolizing the Iron Curtain coming down, the world is seeing the near completion of the process of a once communists controlled, but now liberalized Eastern European coming to join the EU, to fulfil this union of the brotherhood of men. The beginnings of a possible New Roman Empire?? The prelude to the appearance of the Anti-Christ? ?

Nuclear power is the privy of the French, whose independent streak has ensured that they stayed in the forefront of this once hated energy source. Interestingly, France under its new suave President has just concluded a Mediterranean club meeting, comprising of many nations(European, North African and Arab) bordering the Mediterranean, including arch enemies Israel and Syria. And not forgetting the volatile Balkan nations. And now France is looking to be back in NATO( just as America's leadership of the dominant military alliance is waning).

What about water? Water and energy will be the two key resources an increasingly industrialized world will hunger after and fight for, and as an interested observer, one should not ignore the recent major corporate realignments in these major sectors in Europe and the fact that an assertive Russia(the possible future invaders of Israel from the North) now holds the key to either a frigid or comfortable winter for most of Europe with its control over gas.

6. What about the world??

'… and the gospel must first be preached to all nations'
Mark 13:10
In one swift stroke, the internet and technology in general, have made it possible for communication to reach the far flung places of the world. God wants each and everyone of us to be given that choice, to follow or not to follow His call. But we must all first hear of the good news of the gospel. The world is now a much smaller place and with the lifting of the Iron Curtain and the capitalist swing of China, there are now indeed very few places in the world where instititional barriers made it harder to spread the gospel. Remember once isolated Albania. Indeed North Korea does feel lonely.

And with the globalization of cities, where the world, at least people of impact gather to live and work in, there has never been such a concentration of different beliefs in just a few areas. An opportunity for harmonization of beliefs at the lowest common denominator, a one world religion, yet also an opportunity for many to hear and experience the Gospel of our Sovereign God being lived out.

The world is indeed a World In Progress. But is it a digression towards mammon or a progression towards God? It cuts both way and the choice is yours. John Woo edited his version of Red Cliff to a shorter 2 1/2 hours to suit the American audience. For the rest of us, it will be two movies of total 4-5hours. That in itself is already just one segment of the long epic "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"

This sharing was not meant to look like a long distance race, but truly its length is a testimony of the sense of urgency that requires our attention and response to, for one might be long on the details, but the time for you is short.

'He hath made everything beautiful in His time; also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life'

Ecclesiastes 3:11-12

Rgds and God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(21 Jul 2008)