30 January 2013 by Natasha Kim-CM
The past weekend I attended the River of Life Sanctuary Church located in Bandar Puteri, Puchong. At the very beginning of the church history, it started off at a previous location, also in Bandar Puteri as well. This was when Pastor Dr. Paul Chen and Dr. Chen Siew Tin heard from the Holy Spirit and their calling to open up a Church several years ago in 2002. Not so long after in 2007, as they grew, they began to search for a more permanent venue and they happened to find this humble corner lot building that they are currently in today. Slowly but surely, everything came to existence by the will of God and today the Church has a few different language services and a total congregation of about 200 people.
Stretch your Heart and your Minds to Receive God
After the praise and worship session, Pastor Rennie Tan preached. He started off his sermon with a reading from Ephesians 5:18 which says to us:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
With that he began to share a story with the congregation about his past experience of having seen people “drunk” with the Holy Spirit. One day, at a Full Gospel Assembly (FGA) youth camp, he witnessed hundreds of teenagers touched by the Holy Spirit, some running around because there was fire within them, some speaking in tongues and many others just doing many different things. It was a sight to behold. He says, “You cannot stop when God begins to move.”
Acts 2: 3-4: 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Then according to the Scriptures, the crowd then who watched as these people spoke in tongues responded in Acts 2: 12-13 which mentioned:
12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.
Why did they associate them with a drunkard? “Because they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and it was almost like the symptoms of a drunken person. They were clearly not themselves.” he said. According to Scriptures, before the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were the same people namely scared, confused and fearful. As the story goes Peter denied Jesus three times and Thomas doubted while the rest were puzzled whether Jesus really rose again after being crucified. Extraordinarily however, when they were filled with the Holy Spirit they became different, they became brave and confident and joyful! “The last time this crowd probably saw someone so happy, brave and jolly, was when they were drunk.” he said.
People drink alcohol to get drunk because they want to drink their sorrows away or to get happy. However, this depressant works to depress and diminish a part of the brain so that when someone is drunk they see less of reality. Sadly, it does not last! And soon enough reality sets back in and people start to realize that happiness they receive with alcohol is only temporary.
The fullness of the spirit operates exactly the opposite way, “It gives you more of reality, and it’s not about your problems this time, but more of God.” he said. All things can be revealed by the Holy Spirit because we have been ordained by the Spirit. We need to see God’s promises and see God in our problems.
Open our Eyes so that we may See
Pastor then went on to talk about the story where Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans as told in 2 Kings 6. Verse 15 – 20 states:
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 1
8 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
If you allow the Holy Spirit to open your eyes just as Elisha prayed, you will be able to see more of the reality of God, just like the servant did. Indeed we all need to see the reality of God and through God we can overcome all our problems. “Let us see God has already provided for us if we have financial problems. He has already provided us with all our needs, both physical and spiritual, all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.” he preached. Let us all pray that we choose to believe His word and be filled with the Holy Spirit, because then we would see nothing but God!
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