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MFIS Equip Seminar: Prophetic Ministry

23 February 2023 blogpastor Leave a comment

The Ministers Fellowship International, Singapore (MFIS) Equip Seminar was held on Thursday, 23rd February 2023 at Covenant Vision Christian Church and the participants were blessed by the hospitality of this church that worshipped at Cemtex Industrial Building.

The MFIS leadership has put considerable thought into the programs that they offered. Their goals of 2023 were to build the 5-fold equipping tracks, form 5 ministry equipper teams, and develop a 5-level ministry training framework. This Equip Seminar focuses on the often misunderstood and underappreciated ascension gift of the prophet, the Cinderella of today’s church.

After praise and worship, Rev Calvin Lee gave a devotional meditation about what we can do to flourish like a palm tree as a minister. This message he gave never gets out of date. It is a constant reminder that busy ministers in Singapore need to hear again and again. Calvin reminded us of the recent honest confession of Jacinda Adern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who announced her reason for resignation, “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.” Thankfully, when Christian ministers do not have enough in the tank, they do not have to resign. They can go to the Lord’s presence and receive fresh power.

He Gave Some To Be Prophets

The devotional word imparted a tenderness and humility in our hearts toward the Lord. We could feel God inviting us to draw near and keep close to Him. It was the entrée that whetted our appetite for the next speaker, Rev Dr Amos Jayarathnam, my favourite prophet, a local Singaporean that God raised as a prophet to the nations. He delivered the burden of the Lord he always carried in his heart. I have heard his heart cry many times when he preached in the church I serve, and in other meetings. THE CHURCH MUST LEARN TO HEAR THE LORD ACCURATELY AND OBEY HIM UNCONDITIONALLY.

He talked about how God’s people are of different levels of faith. Some remain on the land content to have experienced the miracle of five thousand fed by a boy’s lunch. But there are those whose faith are like the disciples’ who went on the boat to the sea and left the safe and dry land. Then there are the few who like Jesus, walked on water, living in the spiritual realm where winds and waves, depths and sea monsters does not bother them. Finally, there are those who like Peter are willing to get out of the safety of the boat and take risks, and fail forward, to reach the level of faith that walks on water. He shared some inspiring stories of radical faith that landed him in great danger, strange adventures, and standing before Presidents to deliver God’s word.

He bemoaned the two weaknesses of the Singapore church. First, the church’s inconsistency in hearing God accurately and obeying Him. Second, the church’s weakness in demonstrating the full authority and power of God. However, he believes that there is grace and favor upon the Singapore church to turn around and respond to God’s invitation. The message stirred my soul and I could sense God’s invitation to me to kneel and pray with an open Bible, and to seek God. I am sure God was stoking the fire of love in many other ministers too.

Round Table Discussion on Prophetic Ministry

The next session was interesting with the leaders of Ministry Equipping Team(MET) representing the ascension ministries (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) sharing from different perspectives in a panel discussion about the practice of prophecy in the church. The discussion covered the fears of pastors, untrained prophetic ministers, accountability and biblical boundaries, gifted but immature ministers, restoration of wounded prophetic members and other matters. I loved this session because it answered questions, probed problems, suggested solutions, and promised hope and development. The discussion was practical, balanced and enriching.

After lunch we worshipped and interceded and I felt the presence of the Lord and was refreshed and washed with the Spirit. I saw younger pastors from different churches lead everyone in intercession for the churches of Singapore – revival among young people, marriage and family life, soul winning and discipling churches, and anointing on ministries of preaching and teaching in the churches.

After a heavy lunch and prayer session, my attention was beginning to fade as Rev Dr Francis Khoo took the pulpit. He looked young for one in his mid-seventies. As he preached on, I got more absorbed and captivated as he weaved his life and faith story into how God loves us and have a plan and destiny for each and every one even at our conception in our mother’s womb. We are Called, Appointed and Anointed. His story was encouraging, whole-hearted, and inspired my faith and hope in God’s sovereignty in the midst of the world’s increasingly uncertain and perilous future.

I could see that these seminars have been planned with deliberate and intentional steps towards nurturing and encouraging the growth of the five-fold ministry in the church so that they will equip church members to do the work of soul-winning and discipling.

If you wish to catch up with an earlier MFIS event click HERE.

Checking Out ChatGPT for Theology

20 February 2023 blogpastor 2 Comments

I wanted to see what answer the chatGPT artificial intelligence would give me for a topic like “new creation”. I tried this first on my mobile and this was the answer:

“According to Christian theology, “new creation” refers to the transformation of believers through faith in Jesus Christ. This transformation involves the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which enables believers to live a new life in Christ.

The concept of new creation is rooted in the teachings of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, particularly in 2 Corinthians 5:17, which states, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” This verse speaks of a radical change that takes place in the life of a believer when they come to faith in Christ.

The new creation is not just a personal transformation, but also involves the renewal of all things. According to Christian theology, god is in the process of redeeming and restoring all of creation, which has been corrupted by sin. This process of renewal began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and will ultimately culminate in the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation 21:1-5.

In summary, the concept of new creation in Christian theology refers to the transformation of believers through faith in Jesus Christ and the renewal of all things through God’s redemptive work.”

Impressive, but…

I must say the AI did an impressive job of explaining the meaning of “new creation” without unnecessary theological jargon. It is clear and broad enough and concise. Conciseness and clarity seems to be foundational values the AI is built upon.

I do wish the name of the Bible translation used was listed. I do wish it discussed alternate views and interpretations that will add depth, diversity and richness. But this will increase the article’s length, make it more complicated, and turn off many readers. This is good as more will have access to Theology for Dummies, but what is unhealthy is that readers do not learn a breadth of ideas and discern for themselves what is truth and what is error, what are the nuances in the faith, and the what and why they are finally convinced and persuaded of.

Why Is Answer Different?

I could not copy and paste with the mobile so I tried it on my laptop. I was able to copy and paste with the laptop. Using the exact same question, “What is “new creation” according to Christian theology?” The answer that came out was different, sticking mainly to the transformation of the sinner to a child of God. This version was truncated and an important aspect of the new creation was completely absent: the new heaven and the new earth. I then changed the last phrase to: “according to the Bible”, “according to biblical theology”, and “according to Christian tradition” and the answer remained the same. This was the truncated version:

“According to Christian theology, the “new creation” is the transformation of a person’s life that occurs when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is based on the teachings of the Bible, particularly 2 Corinthians 5:17, which states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” This transformation is seen as a supernatural work of God, where the person is made new in Christ and their old self is crucified with Christ. The new creation is characterized by a renewed relationship with God, a new identity in Christ, and a transformed way of life. It is considered a foundational concept of Christian theology, representing the power of God to change lives and redeem humanity.”

And HERE is my understanding of “new creation” from my readings, reflection and gleanings from good old Google.

I must try ChatGPT for sermon development in future and let you know whether it can be as useful a tool as Google. Haha… a ChatGPT vs Google match. Will ChatGPT end Google’s dominance in the search engine business?

Christ’s Finished Work: New Creation

15 February 2023 blogpastor Leave a comment

Most Christians would have heard of the term “new creation”. They will first encounter it in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old have passed away; behold the new has come” (ESV).

When people decide to follow Christ, they will experience a spiritual transformation. Once dead in sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1), they will be made alive towards God. Their hearts of stone will become hearts of flesh. Their conscience will be cleansed, and renewed to a new sensitivity. This immediate and supernatural transformation is the work of the Spirit of God.

The old life of guilt, alienation from God and others have passed away and the new creation has come. They have entered into intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and this relationship is so deep and profound, it is termed “union”. They will realise that they have actually begun a life-long journey of transformation towards the likeness of Christ.

This renewal is not merely individual, God is interested in forming a vast community of made-new people of all ethnicity, race and languages – a new society or humanity that has broken all barriers of race, gender and status, and that spans time and space. It is the church universal that is God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works so that the unbelieving world would see the grace and majesty and wisdom of God displayed in the church. A new creation indeed!

God’s new creation came to us in power through Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. Whereas Adam failed by disobedience and his descendants suffered all the consequences, Christ the last Adam, the ideal Adam, succeeded by his perfect obedience to God, and became the first of a new humanity that will live under the abundant blessings of his finished work. But there is still more. This humanity that will live in union with God forever will inhabit a new earth and heaven.

God also intends to redeem and renew the whole world he created, which has been “subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8: 20- 22)”. This earth was not as God created and intended it to be. It has been corrupted and polluted by the curse and by sin. This subjection of the earth to degradation is described as a groaning in pain like in the pains of childbirth. This wait will end at the “revealing of the sons of God” (verse 19), when the kingdom of God is finally birthed or consummated, at the glorious return of Christ.

I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband.I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighbourhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate”(Revelation 21:1-5 The Message).

New creation is one of the blessings of Christ’s finished work and it gives us a wonderful hope to look forward to. Besides that it gives us a glimpse of God’s heart of love and his incredible intention for an eternal intimacy with us. This vision of hope will certainly strengthen us to weather the storms of life whether hardships, persecution, suffering, or death.

This is part of a planned series of writings on the topic, “The A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. I am writing it alphabet by alphabet. Thus far the others that I have written can be found HERE.