O the pain, the pain - take the balance

O the pain, the pain - take the balance

I like to hear sermons from Ps Joseph Prince because he taught me grace all over again and made Isaiah 53 come alive. Putting what I learned from Ps joseph Prince and Leong Tien Fook in such a short time is amazing. It has strengthened my understanding of who this Jesus is. So, I find it irritating that people have nasty things to say about JP. I don't really want to defend him but he doesn't deserve all the comments. Really, no one is perfect. I get irritated when Nic listens to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance but we live in an imperfect world which is getting worse each day. I hate the song because it has such awful lyrics. Who wants bad romance or 'i want your ugly' or 'I want your disease'. I have come to a point that I tell Nic to take what is good and throw what is bad. The music, the melody, the rhythm is brilliant. Just change the lyrics to something good like "I'm bold, bold, bold as a lion, bold, bold, bold as a lion'.  it's so catchy, it makes a good memory verse tool!

I guess some people will fall for the song and subconsciously take in all the bad and become bad influence in society but we can't save the world. Only Jesus can! John 3:17 "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him."

Just pretend that JP is only teaching a class on righteousness and grace. We know that there is more to grace in the bible but JP has beautifully referenced grace to all parts of the bible and it's wonderful to see how God was at work from the beginning of time. It was he who gave me an interest to study the tabernacle so much so when Leong Tien Fook gave a class on Hebrews, I just snatched the opportunity. I knew it was my key to knowing Jesus better.

A lot of criticism has been taken off tangent, like they take half of what JP says and then criticize how it is not consistent to the bible. But if you continue to hear what he says, his emphasis is always on Jesus' finished work on the cross, the life transformation through the holy spirit and then all the things criticized about will be tackled. It's like seek ye the kingdom of God and all will be added unto you. He definitely does not promote sin. Like in Hebrews, he does not want us to be sin conscious where the Jews had to annually sacrifice goats and bulls for the forgiveness of sins. He wants us to be Jesus conscious. Repentance is over time with the power of the holy spirit. The holy spirit does not condemn but gently leads and guides. He is saying that we have a wrong understanding of the word "convicts". The devil, the accuser condemns us and puts us through guilt, condemnation and shame but the holy spirit reveals and gently guides and leads us back to Him and be aligned again with His word.

So, if we are not quick to condemn but slow to listen, there's actually really good sermons and teachings we can hear not only from JP but from other preachers. I know some may not be so discerning but should we spend time rescuing everyone or building our own faith and sharing Jesus. Be like a berean to check back to the gospel with the guidance of the holy spirit. Take what is good, throw away what is bad.

The trouble with traditional churches is there is a lot of head knowledge and not enough of practice. When they do practice, i wonder how much is really out of love and how much is out of "doing". And how do we grow and bear fruit and receive all that He wants to give us. Most times, i was struggling to read the bible and be a good christian. Where is the holy spirit? Sigh. And in charismatic churches, how much of giving is out of the heart and how much is out of greed to want more? How do we know how well they utilise the money or is that not our concern because we tithe to God and not to men? See, no one is perfect, not the traditionals, not the charismatics not anyone.

But the holy spirit is right! If we stay close to God he will lead us along the straight path come what may. We should always pray for our own pastor, our leaders, our own church if we have any complaints. Only God can move great and mighty things amongst us. Ok, I better talk to God about this then.