prophecy – Page 2 – BLOGPASTOR

Tag: prophecy

Church of our Savior with sails hoisted

12 April 2010 blogpastor 4 Comments

Visit to megachurch with a blogging friend

Daniel Ong drove me in his orange Suzuki to the side road car park in front of a former theatre. It was about 8 plus in the morning. He usually parked across the main road and MRT track in the multi-storey car park but in our banter he forgot and we happened to get an empty lot nearer. Never is easy to park in Singapore churches, both mega and small.

We entered the worship hall 5 minutes early and there were many empty seats. By the time worship began, most of the seats on the ground floor were taken but not the balcony. I noticed the planets mural were all gone. Missed them. The congregation were mainly folks in the second or third part of their lives. Nice worship, singing songs more familiar to me.

There was no sermon that Sunday but instead a report by their Harvest & Souls ministry- one that reached out to the poor communities in Redhill. I was impressed with the penetration into the dialect speaking world, the practical help they gave, the people who came to Christ, the cell groups they formed ( that met in the common corridor), and the children’s clubs they started (using the void decks). In the end, I had two messages from prophetic people, one on paper from Magdelene and another from my host. I also bumped into Dr Lorna Khoo but we had no time to catch up.

Prophetic painting

I had coffee with Paul, the pastor in charge of the creative arts- the drama, dance and now the prophetic painting ministry. I was of course curious about the latter and inquired about it. They had picked it up from the Bethel Church in Redding, California, a church better known for its equipping and releasing of members to preach and heal the sick out where the people are. They are evidently very open to the winds of the Spirit and all His expressions through people, one of them being the employment of art in giving prophetic messages and in combination with words of knowledge and other gifts. Pastor Paul shared three stories of how God used paintings to revive a backslider and lead people to Christ.

Incredibly open to the winds of the Spirit

It struck me that the Church of our Savior has been incredibly open to the winds of the Spirit. It takes after its pastor Derek Hong, one of the pioneer and key Anglican priests, in the charismatic movement. He was an “early adopter” in the 70’s and his open innovative posture towards the new things God has been doing has never changed. His posture was “Dive!” or “Chiong”. He would hoist his sails and catch the wind whenever it passed, and that moved the church forward and kept it fresh. So it was no surprise to me then that while some people may have been debating about healing rooms, sozo, Bethel, and now prophetic painting, he had already gone full steam ahead with them.

Monthly COOS have someone painting prophetically on the stage as the people worshiped. I have read about emerging churches doing this but it’s probably the first and only church that does that in Singapore, with prophetic inspiration added. Probably this first in status will remain so for some years.

A few months ago COOS was associated with AWARE and the bad press from a bad press. Forget the past, and see what the Lord is doing in this new day!

Discerning what you “hear from God”

16 September 2009 blogpastor 10 Comments

I had a friend from outside church who was always hearing from God. It seemed like he had a direct hotline to God, while all I had were smoke signals and myopia. Sometimes I envied the simplicity and immediacy of his fellowship with the Lord, but most times I was cautious and doubtful. My reservations had to do with the content of what he claimed to have heard: often messages of judgment on the world, or Singapore, or the Church, and what the church should do. Most times I listened patiently and occasionally I felt perturbed, and even irritated.

It is wonderful for anyone to have an interactive fellowship with the Lord, and for one to have experiences of dialogue and conversation with God. He can even share his personal experience, “The Lord said to me….”. But when he starts saying, The Lord says this about you, about the church, about the world, and this is what must be done, it is a different thing. He has moved from the sphere of private experience to the public domain where his words can have implications and bind the conscience of others. Such claims to have heard from God need to be discerned (1 Thessalonians 5: 19-22). Discerning the voice of the Lord is important for otherwise it can hurt people, the church, or bring the name of the Lord into disrepute.

Mexico Hijacking Such was the case with Jose Flores Pereiras, a Bolivian ex-drug addict pastor, who hijacked Aero Mexico’s flight 576. He threatened to bomb it unless he got the ears of President Felipe Calderon of Mexico. Jose Flores had “heard from God” that a great earthquake is about to strike Mexico City. It was an earthquake “like none there has ever been”. Having tried for six months to contact the President without success, he had in desperation, resorted to a liquid laden receptacle with lights on it. It took a pilot to persuade the pastor to release the 107 passengers unharmed. When the SWAT team arrested him, a few other passengers were mistakenly taken into custody too because Jose said there were three persons working with him. It later turned out that Jose was referring to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit working with him on this unholy venture. And why did he chose 9/9/09 to hijack the plane? Because 999 turned upside down is the Satanic 666! By God’s mercy, he was not hurt. This story underlines the importance of discernment of God’s voice and the interpretation of apocalyptic scriptures.

The best people to discern the Lord are those who continually experience the unconditional love of God. I was meditating on the Gospel of John chapter 21. Jesus had called out from the shore in the early but dark hours of dawn, “Have you caught any fish?” And Peter and the disciples who had fished all night without success replied, “None.” Then Jesus said, “Throw your nets to the right side of your boat.” Which they did and they caught so much it shocked them!

Peter and the other disciples were too caught up in work to notice who was the one on the shore. But John alone perceived that the stranger who spoke was Jesus. Tellingly the text described John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. The inference I draw from this is that those best equipped to discern the Lord’s voice are those who have matured from having tasted and felt the length and breadth, and height and depth of the love of God over and over again. Children of the heavenly Father who have drunk deeply from the fount of God’s grace and love are most able to distinguish the voice of love. Like nets in the hands of hardworking fishermen, they have been mended and made whole by divine love. It is love and grace that distinguishes God’s voice from Satan’s and from ours.

The Holy Spirit speaks to us in our thoughts. These thoughts are so natural we think they are ours, but later on reflection learn to recognize that it is an inspiration from the Lord. He also speaks to us as we meditate or reflect on the scripture or experiences of the day as Peter found out: “while Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him….” (Acts 10). Such precious illuminations or ideas need to be journalled in a notebook or smart phone or e-journal to see if they persist and are of the quality of love we are familiar with. This way we learn more and more his gentle whispers.

Another principle of discernment is that it is best done together with the Christian community. “It seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit….” were the opening words of the final decision made by James and the elders of the Jerusalem Chrisitian community(Acts 15). The many scripture injunctions to be humble, teachable and submissive to one another, and to the leaders God has appointed over the church provide a healthy environment for hearing God. Collective spiritual intelligence is better than the lone judgment call. God has placed us in a body that grows and thrives because the members are inter-dependent for real growth to happen. Such spiritual environment is where spiritual discernment can best be practiced as a corporate discipline.

Having mentors and spiritual friendships with others we can confide in and receive mature input and feedback is an important part of discernment. I have spiritual friends who have been immensely helpful in discerning with me what God is doing in my life. In addition, during prayer retreats I have had spiritual directors and found them to be insightful guides. The Roman Catholic function of spiritual direction has in recent decades regained some acceptance in the life of the evangelical church and this augurs well for future.

When I read the report about Jose Flores Perairas, I thought, “Oh no another Pentecostal-Charismatic wreckage….another horror story where “hearing from God” is put in a scary light”. More fodder for the mocking secular press. The report only served up another example of why it is better to stay in the boat rather than try to hear and obey a living Lord. Why risk being like Peter who almost ended up being known as the apostle who drowned? Yet Jesus is the one who, in the midst of our stormy seas, lovingly coaxes and invites us to ride the storm, which is why hearing from God is an essential despite the attendant risks. Just do it with the discernment of one who is deeply loved and highly favoured, and discern God’s voice with the spiritually intelligent.