It Has Expired! - by Bro Alan Hiu

I read Bro Alan Hiu's newly set-up Chinese blog, and I really love his latest post entitled "It has expired!" (title translated from Chinese). I thought of translating this article into English so that more people can enjoy this fresh food that he's dishing out but Bro Alan informed me that the Chinese article is actually a translation of the English original which he wrote in June last year.

Nevertheless, I love Bro Alan's analogy of the expiry dates printed on food products to illustrate why we should not feed on the old covenant of the Law which has expired ... you can read the English article here and the Chinese one here.

Humpty Dumpty Was Not Pushed By God - Facebook Reactions

Friend: The subject of suffering and the problem of evil is quite complex. There exist a number of views regarding T&T.

In the verses I cited, you correctly pointed out that James 1:2-4 & 12 and 1 Peter 1:7 merely state that T&T can result in good for us but do not say that T&T come from God. But NEITHER do the verses say they come because of our doings or the devil.

If we attribute all T&C to our own doings or the devil, I think we give too much credit to the devil and may sound like one of Job's friends. haha

God is in totally in control. He is threading and weaving every thread of our lives including our disappointments and pain into a grand design. Why He SEEMS to send us T&T is a holy mystery. The T&T, I refer to above are extremely painful events which happen beyond our control, either due to mistakes of others or unknowable reasons.

Your interpretation of Isaiah 48:10 is better. I like what you write and enjoy reading them.

Peter: Friend, To insist that He sends us, His sons and daughters in Christ, painful T&T(which cannot be supported by Scripture) may border on blasphemy. It wud be more accurate to say He allows in His sovereignty the T&T that are brought about by ourselves or the devil for our refining for our good.

Kat: When we think that God sent the trials to test us, we may come out of them feeling tired and bitter. We have to rely on our own strength to overcome since the trials are meant to "test" us. When we know Jesus has overcome everything on the cross, we can then fight from victory ground. The outcome will definitely be different.

Friend: Peter, I did not emphasize that God sends us T&T. It may be infer from what I have said but that was not my point. There is a holy mystery when T&T come not because of our doings or the devil. We simply dont know. And because God is in total control, it seems that he send them or as you put it, he allows them to happen.

Are you saying that there is scriptural support to say ALL T&T come from our own doings or the devil?

Abraham was tested. Job was tested. I have read far too many autobiographies of great men of God who faced T&T throughout their lives to accept that all T&T come from our own doings or the devil.

In the "The End of the Spear", Steve Saint wrote that he believes that God purposely arrange for his father and the other 4 missionaries to be killed for the greater purposes and glory of God.

Kat: Hi Friend, I believe Satan was the one who wanted to test Job, not God. Satan asked God not to interfere but God restored Job in the end. If you are referring to Abraham being tested in Isaac's case, I also believe that God was using that as a picture of Himself eventually sacrificing His Son, His only Son, the Son whom He loved. Pls note that the ram was already on the way up even before Abraham did any thing. God already provided a solution for Abraham!He never meant for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he was talking about Himself and His own son, Jesus.

Friend: Hi Kat Poon, you are right. But God gave Satan permission to destroy everything that Job had. Why did God do that?

James reminds us to consider the latter end of Job's life ( James 5:11). But that still doesn't answer why God let Job suffer in the first place.

The impossible question which has plagued a number of believers is : If God is love and has all the power to remove suffering, why does He allow good people to suffer?

However, my response to Stanley's excellent article is not about God sending T&T to test us. My point is that not ALL T&T come because of our doings or the devil. And that God does use T&T to test us for reasons we do not understand eventhough at the end the result is for our own good.

My personal view of the devil is that he is a defeated small fly. He cannot bring us any T&T nor do us any harm without God's permission. He is not an equal to God. God is God even if we do not understand the holy mystery of suffering and the problem of evil.

Peter: Friend, I understand your point: 3 sources of T&T, including God. My point (incldg Stanley n Kat Poon) is that God doesn't send T&T to his own though He may allow it.(precisely what you stated in your last para...without God's permission.)

The question of suffering/evil is another thing altogether from Humpty Dumpty falling off the Wall!

Kat: John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. " It is very clear here that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy...that sounds like T&T to me! Precisely because the devil is a defeated foe, no weapon formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17) Guess who was the one who formed the weapons?

Friend: Hi Peter,

(1) Humpty Dumpty falling off the Wall could be due to something not his doings or the devil. An earthquake, for instance.
(2) T&T= the problem of sufferings and our own doings and he devil = the problem of evil.
(3) Whether God "seems to send" and though "he may allow it", is a question of semantics.
(4) Job 42:11 indicates that God is responsible for bringing T&T to Job.
(5) Not all God's children experience T&T in the same measure. Some are tested severely and some are not.
(6) Now we dont understand. But at the end, God will restore and turn all our T&T into his glory.

Me: I read Matthew Henry's Commentary and he had this interesting thing to say - "His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose."

Friend: (1) While Satan was the instigator of Job's suffering, dont you think that God bore ultimate responsibility by allowing Satan to test Job? (Job 42:11)

(2) Is it not correct to conclude that one of the lessons in the book of Job is T&T are not always the result of our own doings which is the erroneous conclusion drawn by Job's friends? Doesnt Job proves this is not the case?

Angie: My view is that if we can allow even the slightest notion that God is responsible for certain T&T in our life, we can also allow the slightest notion of incomplete trust in Him.

Me: Hi Friend, going by your logic that God bore ultimate responsiblity, then how can we say that God is good when we see all the death in the Szechuan earthquake, the Asian Tsunami, the 9-11 terror attack? How can we then trust a God who is ultimately responsible for all these destruction?

You are giving God the wrong credit (if you can call this credit)! The lesson in the book of Job is that the devil is the one who brings on all the T&T while God is the one who restores, nay more than restores, for Job received DOUBLE what he had in the beginning!

Friend: Hi Stanley, I am glad that you disagreed. I always assume that I am 50 percent wrong of the time, just dont know which 50 percent.

Yes, there is no logic to it. There is only faith. There is also no logic to say that parallel lines will meet. But they will meet in the realm of infinity. God is above logic, time and space. For many people, there is also no logic to the doctrine of Atonement.

God is good because the bible say so. God is responsible because that is the best biblical view I can accept. I can trust God who is ultimate responsible for these destruction. I have witness his interventions in my life and others.

The devil is a created being and is subject to the control of God Almighty. In the book of Job, Satan is a minor player. What did Job cry out to God? " I cry out to You, but You do not answer, You have become cruel to me; You oppose me with the strength of Your Hand" ( Job 30: 20-21). Job holds God responsible and not Satan for his T&T.

If God is not ultimately responsible than who? Satan? Hardly possible because Satan has extremely limited powers. No where in the Bible can you find a passage which clearly attributes power over weather, natural phenomena or disastrous events to Satan.

God is totally in control of everything. He can cause disaster or he can prevent it. He controls every detail, even the fall of a sparrow. The greatest natural disaster in the Bible, the great flood was God's work, not Satan's (Gen 6-8), where God (not even with Satan's help) flooded the whole world and destroyed practically every living thing.

God causes earthquakes, especially when he is angry (Job 9:5, 28:9, Ps 18:7, 77:16-18, 97:3-5, Isa 2:19, 24:20, 29:6, Jer 10:10, Nahum 1:5, Heb 12:26). He causes the mountains to be thrown down and the valleys to fill (Ezek 38:20).

Can we trust a God who causes natural disasters. The answer is Yes.

Me: Job blamed God for all his troubles, and many Christians are now also making the same mistake as Job - Job 34:35 - ‘Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom.’

Peter: Friend, God is no more angry... All His anger has been taken out on Jesus on the cross! (Noah's flood... ask Stanley to explain... he is very good in this.) Our view of God needs to be consistently with the over arching theme of Scriptures.

Friend: 1. God is ultimately responsible because the devil cannot do any harm without his permission. As I said, the devil is a created being and is not his equal.
2. To hold God responsible and to blame God is two different things. Our view of God must be so BIG to accept that He is responsible and He can JUSTIFIED and restore everything that have ever happen. In other words, all mysteries and "why no logic" will be resolved in the end. He will turn our every agony into his Glory.
3. To digress a little, most of us will be surprised if we see people like Hitler, Stalin, or Osama in Heaven. But who can prevent God from extending his Grace to these people? After all, we are saved by grace and not that we have not done wicked things.
4. Isaiah 45:7 is clear: "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create DISASTER, I, THE LORD, DO ALL THESE THINGS.
5. We have to trust him regardless of anything. And who amongst us can understand the problem of evil and sufferings.

Stanley, if you are in Job's position ( where everything is destroyed and all his children died), you may "blame " God also. Job did not "blame" God but hold God responsible. If he will to blame God, he would have CURSE God. This he did not do. IN ALL THIS, JOB DID NOT SIN IN WHAT HE SAID (JOB 2:10)

In my view, in our desperation, we may blame God. But God understands and He can accept all our anger. Have you ever being angry with God?

If as you said, Satan is responsible for all of Job's T&T, why doesnt God said so to Job?. I mean, God could have said, "hey, look here Job, this is all Satan's doings and dont you dare blame me.

Me: Isaiah 45:8 -

Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the LORD, have created it.

Humpty Dumpty Was Not Pushed By God

(pic source: http://www.alphabet-soup.net/goose/humpty.html)

My blog posts are also published in Facebook and one of my FB friends made a comment that while trials and tribulations are usually of our own doing or the devil’s attacks, he believes that God does send them too to test us.

Here’s our little exchange on FB:

Friend: God uses trials and tribulations to test us. (James 1:2-4 & 12, 1 Peter 1:7) A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. ( Psalm 51:17)

Me: Yes, trials and tribulations (T&T) do test us but God does not send them on us. James 1:2-4 & 12 and 1 Peter 1:7 merely state that T&T can result in good for us but do not say that T&T come from God. As I have pointed out in my post, T&T come because of our own doing or the devil's but God can help us come thru them stronger.

Friend: You are right. But not all T&T come because of our own doings or the devil. There are instances of when bad things happen to His people. Since God is our protector and engineer of our circumstances, we have to acknowledge that God is testing us for reasons that we may not understand now because His thoughts are higher than ours. "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." ( Isaiah 48:10)

I wanted to reply him on FB but I realized that I can’t squeeze what I want to say into the little comment box there, so I decided to reply him here on my blog.

My friend quoted Isaiah 48:10 to support his point that God does send trials and tribulations to test us for reasons we may not understand now. However, I totally disagree with such a view, and I would also say that Isaiah 48:10 has been misinterpreted by my learned friend.

Looking at Isaiah 48:10 in context, take note that God, in the verse, was not addressing the Church. God was, in fact, talking to the nation of Israel which had turned away from Him and was worshipping idols:

Isaiah 48:1,5 (NKJV)

Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the LORD,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But not in truth or in righteousness;

Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’

Moreover, if you continuing reading to Isaiah 48:11, you will see God explaining why He “refined” and “tested” Israel:

“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For how should My name be profaned?
And I will not give My glory to another.”

God did it for HIS OWN SAKE, not Israel’s sake; God did it to re-establish His glory to Israel, to remind them that, without a doubt, He is the ONE and ONLY GOD:

Isaiah 48:12-13 (NKJV)

“ Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, I am the First,
I am also the Last.
Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When I call to them,
They stand up together.”

Actually, Isaiah 48 is not about God’s “refining” and “testing” but rather it is about God’s redemption! As you continue reading from verse 14, you will see God revealing his redemption plan for Israel:

Isaiah 48:20-22 (NKJV)

²⁰ Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, “The LORD has redeemed
His servant Jacob!”
²¹ And they did not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
²² “ There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

Take a look at v21, God did not send trials and tribulations on Israel when they were in the desert. In fact, God rescued them time and again, even causing water to gush out of a rock for them.

God did not push Humpty Dumpty off the wall! God does not break us, He restores us, even Humpty Dumpty which all the king’s men couldn’t put together again.

Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall

(pic source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpty_Dumpty)

Humpty Dumpty is a nursery rhyme which I learnt as a kid and it is so ingrained in me that I still remember it till this day. Last week, I had a chat with two sisters-in-grace and we had a mini-discussion on the “brokenness” and the “breaking process” of a Christian. I have been thinking about this for the past few days and Humpty Dumpty came to my mind.

God was speaking to me through Humpty Dumpty. He (God, not Humpty Dumpty) asked me, “How did Humpty Dumpty fall?” Hmmm, I have never really thought about this but I have always assumed that he fell down on his own. God said,”Exactly! He fell on his own but have you thought about the fact that Humpty Dumpty has no business sitting on a wall in the first place? He is setting himself up for a fall! Many of you think that I am the one who sat Humpty Dumpty on the wall and pushed him off!”

Many Christians hold this belief that when they are going through trials, it is because God is “refining” them or bringing them to a state of “brokenness” (Steve McVey calls this the “breaking process”) so that He can transform them. Steve McVey, in his book “Grace Walk” wrote that “brokenness is a condition that exists when a person has given up all confidence in his own ability to manage life.” I tend to agree with this definition of “brokenness” but God is not the one who brought this “breaking process” upon you.

When we, Christians experience trials and tribulations, many of us like to think that God is the one who sent them to teach us a lesson. However, I must stress that this is not true, God does not send us trials and tribulations. In John 16:33, Jesus says “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Take note that Jesus said you will have tribulation BUT He did not say that He gives you the tribulation. Many times, if we are honest, we’ll have to admit that we brought trouble upon ourselves and sometimes it is the devil, working through other people, who attacks us for the devil comes only “to steal and kill and destroy”. (John 10:10)

Let’s take a look at the life of Joseph (Genesis 37 – 50). Joseph went through a lot of trials and tribulations before he eventually became the top official of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Did God give Joseph those trials and tribulations to break him? No! In fact, “The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered” (Gen 39:2).

Who threw Joseph into the pit? His brothers, not God! Who sold Joseph as a slave? His brothers, not God!! Who falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape? Potiphar’s wife, not God!! Who threw Joseph into prison? Potiphar, not God! You say God is working through those people to bring trials and tribulations on Joseph? But how can God work evil?! “How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?” (2 Cor 6:14-15)

Let’s also take a look at the life of the younger son in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-42). The younger son demanded his share of his father’s possessions and wasted it all on prodigal living and eventually became dead broke. He even had to get a job feeding pigs in order to survive. Imagine this, a JEW feeding PIGS! Did Jesus say that God put the younger son into that situation to break him? No! The younger son did that to himself! However, the younger son was eventually restored by his father when he was utterly broken (ie. “has given up all confidence in his own ability to manage life”) and decided to return to his father.

Psalm 23:1-3 says:

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
² He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³ He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honour to his name.

God does not lead us into trials and tribulations; He leads us to peace and rest, He renews our strength and guides us along right paths. When we get into trouble, usually it is own fault; as Psalm 23:4a says “Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” – take note that the verse says “I walk”, it does not say “He leads me to walk”.

However, even though we are not led but choose to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God walks through with us to bring us out of the valley – Psalm 23:4b “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Do not malign God; God does not break us, He restores us. He does not put us through all the trials and tribulations that we bring upon ourselves or the devil attacks with BUT He will walk with us through them all and bring us safely out. God is not the one who “breaks” us, we sat on the wall and fell!

“A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.” Matthew 12:20

Musings of the Ice Kacang Man (3)

continuing from Part 2 of my post …

9. Customers who order from my stall because it is near their seats

I have served quite a few customers who ordered from me just because they were sitting at the tables just outside my stall. Hopefully, some of them will come back as my regulars after they have tasted my desserts for the first time.

I suspect that one of the main reasons for Christians to attend a particular church is that the church is near their homes or at least conveniently accessible. That’s why it is so important for NCC to have a convenient location for its services.

Presently, NCC is at Suntec City which is near the Central Business District and the shopping belt, and more importantly, near City Hall MRT station. In a few years’ time, NCC will be moving to One-North at Buona Vista and crucially, it is next to the Buona Vista MRT station and will also be served by a station on the upcoming Circle Line. It is also near the Ghim Moh HDB estate, Singapore Polytechnic and also the Biopolis, a large catchment area where hopefully NCC will attract some of them to listen to the gospel of grace for the first time, and then come back for more.

10. Customers who order from my stall after they could not get what they wanted from the first stall

I have seen for myself how some customers walk over to my stall and order from me AFTER they ordered from the first stall some desserts which they didn’t have.

Likewise, I know of quite a few NCC members who came from other churches to NCC because they could not find the answers they were searching for in their previous churches. Some of them were even disillusioned with Christianity until they came to NCC and found the gospel of grace. They are now able to see God as well as the scriptures in a different light through the anointed sermons.

Conversely, there are also people who have left NCC for other churches because they cannot accept the grace message. They are still looking for something to do to justify themselves and score points with God but they can’t find that in NCC.

11. Customers who order only take-away

I have a few regular customers who order only take-away. They do not eat at the hawker centre. It is always best to eat the ice desserts fresh because the texture of the ice is softer and you can also see the presentation of the dish (see top picture for examples). For take-away, what you’ll get is a plastic container with everything stuffed tightly inside because the ice has to be compacted to slow down the melting process.

Similarly, for whatever reason, there are people who listen to NCC’s sermons on CDs but do not attend the church services. It is good that they are getting the right feeding but it will be even better for them to come to church and experience the message live, and see and hear things that cannot be reproduced in the CD. Anyway, Heb 10:25 does remind us to meet together so that we can encourage one another.

12. Non-customers who simply don’t like me

Sad to say, there are people who refuse to buy from me simply because they don’t like me (for whatever reason). God bless them!

But I guess I am in good company … I know of some people who refuse to come to NCC because they don’t like Pastor Prince. I have also read quite a few blogs who attack Pastor Prince on a personal basis and reject the gospel of grace because of Pastor Prince. God bless them!

This is all I have for now, and if some of you think that I am a tad too proud because of my confidence in the quality of my desserts, then let me just say that I take pride in my work and I am not shamed to say that my desserts taste Gooooooooooood!

Sounds familiar? Someone said something like that centuries ago …

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Rom 1:16