21 Dec 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
On Dec 14, guest speaker Rev Looi Kok Kim of Charis Sanctuary in Taman Miharja, came to preach a Word of God at Charis Christian Centre in Cheras.
He told the story of God blessing Mary with His son Jesus Christ, at the oppressive backdrop of the Greek empire. At that time, the Israelites were allowed to return as exiles to Jerusalem under the reign of King Herod of Judea.
Under the reign of Caesar Augustus at that time, the Israelites were living a somewhat peaceful, comfortable, and autonomous life. Yet, beneath the surface, they were also undergoing oppression from the Greek. Augustus issued a census for the Israelites dwelling in his empire to pay taxes. He wanted his face to be printed on the currency, and his statue to be set up all over his conquered territories. Many of us are also experiencing similar oppressive situations, cloaked in an impression of peace, comfort, and autonomy.
“To address this situation, we need to know how we can find favor from God in this journey because life is going to be tough,” said Rev Looi, addressing the implication of the coming Government Service Tax (GST) next year.
Following Mary’s footsteps, Rev Looi shared that we first need to have faith in God in the midst of oppression.
“How can a lady anticipate the angel appearing before her and said, ‘you shall conceive a child and this child would be the Son of God.’
“When God speaks, He speaks of unthinkable things that will become a reality if we operate in the realm of faith,” said Rev Looi.
Mary had faith in God. Although she knew the risk of being stoned to death due to pregnancy out of wedlock, she believed that God’s Word would come true.
“We have to have faith to trust God, so that we can overcome the struggles we have in our mindset and our cultural setting.
“My challenge to you today is that if you were to be a miracle giver like Mary, let us come before God and seek Him. Say, ‘I want to see You and I want to have such a faith in me that I will become an overcomer of situation,’” said Rev Looi.
Rev Looi shared that some of us are in a crossroad of making important decisions in life, which involves an element of risk. But we can take comfort that we can always come to God by faith and ask for His guidance. Faith overcomes fear of uncertainties.
“When you are encountering a new risk in your life—‘I am getting a lesser pay’ or ‘I am not sure if this journey would be successful’—when you have question mark upon question mark, know that the Holy Spirit is always with you and He will send the conviction into your heart,” said Rev Looi.
Also, although the sight of the angel Gabriel initially disturbed Mary, Mary found comfort in the angel’s words. How can she easily accept and believe the message? That is because Mary walked closely with God. Hence, if we want to move in faith amidst risky situations, faith needs to be first built on an intimate and ongoing relationship with God.
Lastly, sometimes, we wondered if God’s favor is still upon us when we had to move in faith in a particularly risky situation. When the angel told Mary about what God was about to do in her life, he first addressed Mary as ‘highly favored.’ Likewise, when God ask us to move in faith as well in risky situations, we are actually ‘highly favored’ as well. This is because God is about to do a miracle in your life! You are about to be a miracle-giver!
Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. (Prov 22:29)
Pray to God for faith that overcomes fear, so that you and I can be miracle-givers to others.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:6)
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