Changing The Approach for Young People

When one guy got his lower spine straightened and healed, his friend requested for his knee to be healed. But he couldn't test it as he would need to be sprinting up and down for a distance. It might not be appropriate as he was wearing jeans and people were walking up and down the bridge.

We did readings on him. Sometimes we get the name of the person. Sometimes it's vague. So we said that we saw the name with the letter 'R', he said, "Yes that's my name!" After the readings, he went to pull two more friends over for readings.

One of his friends came with fresh blisters at the back of both her heel areas. She wore a new pair of shoes. She got healed and exclaimed, "What the hell! What the hell! I didn't even expect it. I'm not even kidding. What the hell!"

On hearing that, the male friend whose knee was prayed for ignored the flow of people and disregarded the fact that he was wearing jeans. He started to sprint up and down the Clarke Quay area to test his healing. He was overjoyed.

A lady came with her family and she said, "I would like to ask questions about my career." We replied, "Don't tell us anything. You just take a seat."

After reading her, her SIL was exhilarated. She was read. Her husband, who insisted that he didn't want to be read, came back to be read.

One by one, those who initially appeared to be resistant and reluctant to be read surrendered to the goodness and grace of God, and took the step of faith to be read.

We had a lady who had her mail read. She was so excited that she became our saleswoman. She started to call out to the people around, "Guys, you should come and try this!"

Soon there was a queue.

People are hungry for spiritual things. Especially the younger generation. Maybe we should change the way we preach to them because preaching is not always about using the traditional pulpit. In fact, they might switch off when it's a one-way top down approach.

The world is changing. If we still stick to the old approach, we will lose the young people.

Gather OR Scatter?

Every year, by His grace, I get a better understanding of His Kingdom. I hope I did.

There is ONE important aspect that I discovered.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓.

Regardless of our differences, opinions, perspectives, etc, the moment when anyone chooses to walk away from true Kingdom-minded people, he has chosen to scatter and he does not understand the Kingdom.

Over the past decade, I have encountered pastors, leaders, friends, etc. who talk/preach about the Kingdom, but do not understand the Kingdom.

It doesn't matter how much you think you know or how much you preach about the Kingdom. The moment you separate is the revelation that you don't comprehend the Kingdom.

Double Shalom

Shalom Shalom

I shared in a blog post about how resting destroys satan's works.

https://wilsonbarnabashealingmiracles.blogspot.com/2024/06/resting-destroys-satans-works-part-one.html

When you have peace, you rest. Jesus rested in the boat while the disciples wrestled in the storm. The reason Jesus had to wake up and rebuke the storm is for the sake of His disciples who were crumbling in fear.

I can comprehend that Jesus got up and rebuked the storm. I can imagine myself doing that. It's possible. Afterall, being awake and taking authority over something is not that difficult.

But what is beyond my comprehension is Him sleeping in the boat, while a perfect storm was present. Yes, we can talk about it. We can preach about it. But the heart of the matter is, "Can we DO it?"

Mark 4:37 says that the waves rushed into the boat and the water was filling the boat.

Yet the peace within Jesus is untouchable. The waves could not touch Him. He didn't need to wake up from His sleep to release that peace into the atmosphere. There was NO NEED to calm the storm and waves.

I can imagine the water and the waves surrounding Him, moving along the perimeter of His body as He was sleeping, BUT they could not touch Him. That's the kind of peace that surpasses ALL understanding.

I have been meditating on this for the past few days. It's still beyond comprehension. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?

If I were Him, I could hear the waves, the storm and perhaps the lightning. By the way, I'm a light sleeper. I could feel the whole boat in turbulence. How could I still sleep?

Mark 4:38 says that He was sleeping in the stern of the boat. The stern is meant for steering the boat, for stability and for navigation. For Jesus to sleep there, it speaks of His complete dominance, because the King of peace reigns over all.

But what kind of peace is that? It is beyond the shalom we say and know.

Isaiah 26:3 - You keep Him in (shalom) (shalom) 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮, because He trusts in you.

This is a double shalom. He was sleeping there with His mind stayed on God. The word 'stayed' means 'to rest' in Hebrew. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩.

As a father, I can recall times when baby J rested on my chest (bosom) to sleep. The world around him didn't matter. It's a kind of rest that trusts in the father's love. This produces double shalom.

Yes. I can talk about this. I can preach about this. But as I'm meditating on it, I wonder how to live this out. Because I'm jealous or rather, zealous for such Word-reality.

Part 2 - Sinner's Prayer Or Born Again

Part 2 - Sinner's Prayer Or Born Again

In Part 1, I shared that if we lead people to say/pray the sinner's prayer after the benefits (miracles/healing), they would perish without knowing Jesus, but if we share the Gospel of the Kingdom, they will get born again and receive eternal life.

Jesus said it to the Jews in John 6.

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. - John 6:27

He further explained and drew the parallelism of this context with the patriarchs. They saw and experienced the miracle. They ate the supernatural gift of manna in the wilderness. Yet they died.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. - John 6:48-50

This is why Jesus talked about working for the food that endures to eternal life (Jn 6:27) --- through believing (v29).

Don't confuse getting people to say/pray the sinner's prayer with getting them to be born again. They are not the same, unless you preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, so that they work for the food that endures to eternal life.

Sinner's Prayer OR Born Again?

Sinner's Prayer OR Born Again?

Do not confuse getting people to say/pray the sinner's prayer with getting people to be born again. They are not the same if we don't understand the Gospel of the Kingdom.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. - John 6:26-27

The people desired Jesus, NOT because they saw the 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦, but because they were 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. In other words, they purely wanted the temporal satisfaction/benefits WITHOUT submitting to His Kingdom.

Jesus told them not to go after the benefits as they would perish, but to go after Him (true food) who gives eternal life.

When we get people to say/pray the sinner's prayer after healing/miracles, we are getting them to go after the food that perishes instead of the food that endures to eternal life. That is not Christianity, but sensuality. Most believers are still doing that, because they follow man's tradition instead of Jesus' approach.

On the other hand, when we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and His Kingship, when people respond and give their lives to the King, they are truly born again and receive the food that endures to eternal life.

Don't confuse the name of professed Christians with Christianity. They are not the same. Don't confuse sinner's prayer with being born again. They are not the same either.

Holy Communion

Holy Communion

The evangelicals view Holy Communion as a symbolic act. It's for remembrance (1 Cor 11:24-26).

The Lutherans and Methodists view Holy Communion as a spiritual act with the real presence of Christ. It's a sacrament (Matt 16:26-29; 1 Cor 11:27-32). The Lutherans believe in sacramental union where Christ is present with the elements.

The Catholics view Holy Communion as both spiritual and physical acts. We call it transubstantiation, where the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ (John 6:51-56).

Personally, I believe in all of them. All are correct in their beliefs. All can be found in Scriptures.

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh... Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. -John 6:51-56

What is important is what we do during the Holy Communion. In a church service setting, Holy Communion is often rushed through without much consideration.

In the early Church, Eucharist (aka Holy Communion) was the central act of worship. The breaking of bread and the sharing of wine was central. Not your songs of worship, not your pulpit preaching.

It has since evolved to our modern church service setting.

Therefore, we need to do Holy Communion outside of the church service setting. Among a community or home group. Because it has been watered down so much into a small segment of a service.

In Communion, we must both celebrate and appropriate what Christ did with His body and blood, without which, we cannot receive the full benefits of the Cross. The 'zoe' life of God is in His body and the redemptive power of God is through His blood.

The true fellowship (koinonia - shared participation) of Christ with fellow believers doesn't happen at a coffee session or makan places. It happens through Communion.

At Communion, we individually and corporately participate in the life, sacrifice, death, resurrection and hope of Christ. It is not a 5 or 10 minutes' Scripture reading and eating/drinking. If we include prayer and meditation of the Body and Blood, it can take a long time.

Because we do not want to go through the motions. We want to release faith and appropriate what He has done. This is the moment where healing and health are released, providence, peace and goodness are released, and power over sins and divine protection are released.

While it is not the same as the Passover meal, parallelism can be drawn from it. The Israelites experienced amazing benefits of the Passover as they put their faith in God.

Let's take Holy Communion more seriously and restore it to its place.

What Do You Believe? Healing or Healed?

Jesus did not just remove sin from us. He removed us from sin.

If He merely did the former (1), we only received forgiveness. But we remain in the position of sin. We stay as sinners. And we continue to be bound by sin.

But Jesus also did the latter (2), so that we received Righteousness. We were removed from the position of sin. We have become the Righteousness of God. And we are free from sin.

In the same way, Jesus did not just remove sickness from us. He removed us from sickness.

If He merely did the former (1), we only received healing. But we remain in the position of sickness. We continue to get sick and need healing again and again.

But Jesus also did the latter (2), so that we received health. We were removed from the position of sickness. We have become the Healed of God. And we are free from sickness and disease.

The reason why we only experience (1) is because we don't believe (2). When we believe (2), our experience will line up eventually.