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Issue No:77 September-October 2002 PP 5911/3/2003

A Bi-Monthly Publication Of Calvary Church

continued on page fifteen...

By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam

reading is not an option for thebeliever. You need to read the Biblefaithfully and systematically. The Bibleis relevant for today. The Word bringslife and gives hope. The Holy Spiritspeaks to you directly and powerfullythrough the teaching and preachingof the Word. The Bible says, �AllScripture is given by inspiration ofGod, and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for correction, for instructionin righteousness, that the man of Godmay be complete, thoroughlyequipped for every good work�(2 Timothy 3:16-17).2. Through gifts to the churchThe Holy Spirit speaks though God�sgifts to the church, through Hischosen vessels�the apostles,prophets, evangelists, pastors andteachers (Ephesians 4:11-14). Theyexpound the Word for yourunderstanding. Attending churchwhere the Word is preached is alsonot an option for the believer.Hebrews 10:25 says: �...not forsakingthe assembling of ourselves together,as is the manner of some, butexhorting one another, and so muchthe more as you see the Dayapproaching.� God can speak to youindividually even when the message

is preached to many.3. Through an audible voiceJesus says that His sheep know Hisvoice (John 10:4). When your parentscall your name in a crowd, yourecognise their voice because you aretheir child. Just as a child knows theparent�s voice, the child of God knowswhen God speaks. The Spirit of theLord spoke to John and said, �He whohas an ear, let him hear what theSpirit says to the churches�(Revelation 2:7).4. Through dreams and visionsBoth Cornelius and Peter receivedvisions on separate occasions (Acts10:9-16). They obeyed God�smessages to them resulting in thesalvation of Cornelius� household.Daniel, Ezekiel, Joseph, evenPharaoh, an unbeliever, and Paul,among others, received dreams andvisions. Pray and ask God for dreamsand visions� the language of the HolySpirit.5. Through prophecyThe Holy Spirit edifies, exhorts andcomforts you through prophecy. Paulsays, �He who prophesies speaksedification and exhortation andcomfort to men� (1 Corinthians 14:3).Personal prophecy given to you

Guidance from

�However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;

and He will tell you the things to come� (John 16:13).

the Holy Spirit

Jesus told His disciples thatHe would be going to the Fatherand that He would send the HolySpirit to them. He also said that ifHe remained, the Holy Spirit wouldnot come to them and that is notto their advantage. (John 16:5-7).Jesus in the flesh could only be inone place at a time whereas theHoly Spirit, the third Person of theTrinity, is omnipresent�He can beeverywhere at the same time. LikeJesus, the Holy Spirit will teach,guide and reveal to them all truthand will empower them. He willgive them gifts (1 Corinthians 12)for ministry and to edify the church(1 Corinthians 14). Let me sharewith you one of the most powerfulministries of the Holy Spirit. He willguide you. I would like to mentionseven ways how He will guide you.1. Through the Word of GodThe account of the Ethiopian eunuchwho was reading God�s Wordillustrates the fact that the Holy Spiritspeaks through the Word. Because ofthe Word of God, the eunuch believedand was baptised in water by Philip,the evangelist (Acts 8:26-40). Bible

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Calvarites come together toFather�s Day 16 June 2002

celebrate Father�s DayFather�s Day was celebratedat Dewan Wawasan, MenaraPGRM, this year. Thecongregations from DamansaraHeights and the Satellitelocations quickly filled the hall. Itwas a great opportunity to meetup with friends who have beenattending Church at differentlocations.

We were treated to special songssung by the Sanctuary Choir andWorship Teams, a choir made up offathers and also by the Carpenter�sWorkshop (CW) Children�s Choir. SeniorPastor Prince Guneratnam prayed forthe fathers present and the CW childrenpresented souvenirs to them from theChurch.

Special Guest Speaker Dr. TomPhillips, Vice President of Training andExecutive Director of the Billy GrahamTraining Center, USA, appropriatelyspoke on �The Greatest Father of All��our heavenly Father�the eternal,spiritual source of our lives. Heemphasised that God is concernedabout our souls. Jesus, in Mark 8:36asked, �What good is it for a man togain the whole world, yet forfeit hissoul?� Our souls live forever. While it istragic to lose our health, wealth, friendsand reputations, we cannot afford tolose our souls. Jesus paid the price forour souls with His blood and by Hisdeath on the cross, He redeemed oursouls. Dr Phillips left us with a questionthat we would do well to regularly askourselves: �How is your soul today?�

As Senior Pastor gave the altar call,many went forward to get their soulsright with God.

By Audrey Kum

Senior Pastor PrinceGuneratnam addressing thecongregation

The Sanctuary Choir with theWorship Teams

The Carpenter�s WorkshopChildren�s Choir

The Choir made up of fathers

Dr Tom Phillips Calvarites responding at the altar

On 14 July 2002, at the 10.30am Worship Service five babieswere dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ by Senior Pastor PrinceGuneratnam at Calvary Church Damansara Heights.

By bringing their children to be dedicated to the Lord, the parents were publiclycommitting themselves to bringing up their children in the fear and nurture of the Lord.Babies dedicated:Michelle Joy Lim Jing Jin; Jaden Gan-Selvam; Renee Toh Cai Xin;Darylene Lum Jen Li; Mercy Hon Ai Neng

Precious JewelsMichelle Joy Lim Jing JinParents:Lim Chin Tik & Annie Wong

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Jaden Gan-SelvamParents:Paul Selvam Ratnam & Gan Wan Yeat

Renee Toh Cai XinParents:Toh Chun Hoe & Alice Oi

Darylene Lum Jen LiParents:Pascal & Grace Lum

Mercy Hon Ai NengParents:Hon Woei Loon & Liew Chooi Mei

The Royal Rangers Ministry organised a Father�s Day programme to specially honour the fathers on theSaturday before Father�s Day. A total of 42 fathers together with the Rangers, some mothers and siblingsattended the event held at Elim Bungalow at 4pm.

Royal Rangers Father�s Day Programme 15 June 2002

The Rangers honour their fathersBy Lam Kah Meng

The event started offwith fellowship over lightrefreshments. This wasfollowed by praise andworship led by Trail RangersVictor Yee and Victor Yongand then spiritual food byAssociate Pastor RichardYun. His devotion entitled�The Candle Maker�,

Kester Low then conductedthe games time. There werefour games played. The firsthad the sons trying to tieneckties on their fathers. Therest centred on games thatthe fathers used to playwhen they were young��Balloon World Cup�. �BottleCaps� and �Arm Wrestling�.

encouraged the fathers tocarry on their responsibilitiesas godly fathers although itmay be tough. Victor Yeethen shared his testimony onhow his father has alwaysbeen supportive of him andhis interests especially in theRoyal Rangers programme.Commanders Jason Tan and

The games reminded them oftheir childhood days! Everyone,especially the fathers, had agood time that day.

AssociatePastorRichard Yun

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�A Beginner�s Guide To The Implementation of the J12 Principle�was made available to each LG member on 1 July 2002. It is a tool tohelp each LG member to obey the Great Commission and be involved inthe ministry to reach the community. The guidebook contains practicaltips to help LG members to get started in witnessing, soul winning anddiscipling over the second half of 2002. Each LG member is to believeGod for one soul to be saved by the end of the year.

Since the inception of the J12 Principle over two years ago, we havereaped a harvest of over 140 souls, mainly relatives and friends of our LGmembers. Seventy-nine are currently being discipled on a one-to-one basis.

Here is a testimony of a LG telling us how they are reaping God�sblessing as they faithfully reach out through evangelism and discipleship.

A time to sow, a time to reap

The delight and discipline of discipleship

Testimony of Peggy Low and Veronica See

Co-LG leaders of Women�s LG (WO16)

Our LG was one of two newly multiplied LGs in October 2000. The group began with six

members but within two months, two members left to work in Singapore. Based on the

encouragement in Acts 2: 41 and 47, we prayed and asked the Lord to add to our group. Every

individual represents a precious soul that Jesus loves and died for. We asked the Lord specifically

for unbelievers to be converted. By October 2001, a year later, the average attendance had

increased significantly to 14 members. Such an increase is only possible when each LG member

takes evangelism and reaching out to the lost seriously. Consistent telephone calls, visits and

fellowships were made to establish friendships that resulted in a stronger bonding among the LG

members.Also, we have two members who are ready to go for LG leadership training. They have been

nurtured and raised to become reproducing Christians who will reach and guide others. There are

five new believers who are attending our LG regularly. In line with Senior Pastor Prince

Guneratnam�s exhortation to obey the Great Commission and to help our LG grow spiritually and

numerically, we decided to teach the J12 Discipleship Course to all the LG members. The

comprehensive study of all the discipleship topics has helped us grow in Christian maturity. The

powerful principle of J12 is helping us to disciple our LG members whom we anticipate will

disciple others.

We are excited with what God is doing in the LG. Through the J12 Principle, we know that we

are able to reach and nurture many more ladies for His glory.

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By Karen Seah

For the 30 intercessors who attended thefellowship held in Elim Bungalow, it was an afternoonto remember. After a joyful time of worship led byOng Meng Foong, Associate Pastor Peter Ong, themaster of ceremonies that day, shared some praisereports from the Calvary Prayer Tower Ministry. Thiswas followed by an encouraging testimony by Ho SookMay on how the Lord had called her into the prayerministry and challenged her to keep the sweet hour ofprayer every morning.

The highlight of the afternoon was the inspirationalmessage by Associate Pastor Timothy Ong entitled �The Heart ofIntercession�. Matthew 6:21 says: �For where your treasure is,there your heart will be also.� God did not spare His own Son butgave Him up for us all because we are His treasure. The heartof God is with His people. As intercessors, we are exhorted toknow the heart of God because that is the heart of intercession.

Recognising that the intercessors may have their ownpersonal needs, each of them was asked to fill in a slipindicating the areas they needed prayer. The slips were thencollected and Associate Pastors Peter and Timothy, AssistantPastor Susan Tan and Calvary Prayer Tower Coordinator, KarenSeah, prayed for them. After the meeting, we adjourned forrefreshments. It was indeed an afternoon well spent in theLord�s presence and in the company of people who share thesame passion�prayer!

If you have a desire to pray and intercede,we encourage you to join us for our Saturday Intercession

at 2pm in the Calvary Prayer Tower.For more information, call up Calvary Prayer Tower at

03-2092 1778 or 03-2093 3946.

Intercessors Fellowship 8 June 2002

Intercessorsinteract

The first Calvary Young Professionals activity wassuccessfully held on 6 July 2002 with 50 youngworking adults who are aged 30 years and below inattendance. The talk, appropriately themed �CarpeDiem� (Latin for Seize The Day), was given by PatrickWong. Besides having prolific training and developmentcredentials in the business community, he is also aSchool of Christian Growth teacher and ChurchDeacon; positions he has held for many years. Withthis background, he was able to speak about timemanagement through a Christian perspective.

He started the session by conducting an ice-breakerwhere participants were in groups to solve different time-related phrases. Then, one of the first issues that he impactedon the attentive participants was the scarcity of time resultingin the urgency and importance of time management. He thenproceeded to bring the participants to a realisation of theimportant things in their lives and a simple way to prioritise. Atea break in between the sessions saw the participantsfellowshipping and enjoying each other�s company at theCalvary Refreshment Centre.

Assistant Pastor David Seah wrapped up the talk byreminding them that it is through the enablement of theHoly Spirit that we are able to reach our fullest potential.The Young Professionals desiring to be empowered by theHoly Spirit to live for God�s glory indicated their need forprayer by their uplifted hands.

The Young Professionals Life Group (YP LG) wasintroduced at the end of the gathering. The YP LG seeks tomeet the spiritual, intellectual, social and recreational needsthat are unique to the young working adults of Calvary Church.The Life Group also purposes to gather for interesting andlively discussions on topics on God, work, relationships andcurrent events affecting their lives. Out of the 50 YoungProfessionals who came, 15 have indicated their interest tojoin the YP LGs. All in all, it has been a meaningful andexciting first gathering for the Calvary Young Professionals.

Watch out for more events coming your way!For more information on the YP LG,please contact Pastor David Seah

at 03 - 2099 7135.

Carpe Diem �Young Professionals Gathering�

Seize The DayBy Toh Yew Peng

Associate PastorsPeter and Timothy ,Assistant PastorSusan Tan andCalvary Prayer TowerCoordinator,Karen Seah, prayingfor the intercessorsand their needs

a talk on time management

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Patrick Wong Trying to solve the puzzle on the wall!

Associate Pastor Peter Ong was

the emcee

Associate PastorTimothy Ong sharing

the message

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In his book �Finding God inUnexpected Places�, PhilipYancey talks about how we canencounter God at the places wevisit, or even in the midst of themundane routines of life.Whether it is a look up in the skyon a starry night or while busilyclicking away on a computerkeyboard at work, we can beconstantly amazed andtransformed by the presence ofGod in all that we do.

After months of practices andmuch seeking after God in prayer andfasting, the Calvary Youth saw God atwork on a typical Saturday, during theYouth Concert. The theme was �BetterThan Life� (Psalm 63:3). Approximately720 people turned up for the Concert. Itbegan with a simple icebreaker and avideo presentation. Then, a beautifullychoreographed dance entitled �As DavidDanced� was presented by dancers whowere evidently enjoying themselvesdancing before the Lord. The Concertcontinued on with a powerful time ofworship. Meaningful worship choruseswere sung, some written by the youthsthemselves such as �All Blessing andHonour�, How Can It Be�, the themesong �Better Than Life�, �More LikeYou�, �Now We Come�, �All My Heart�and �With Everything�. Youth in thecongregation (these included supportiveparents and those young at heart) wereseen jumping and dancing joyfully in theLord�s presence!

Associate Pastor Steven Kum, ourYouth Pastor, shared a short messageand encouraged us to always seek Godearnestly (Hebrews 11:6), so that wecan encounter Him and be filled withmore of Him. Praise the Lord for thealtar response�six received salvationand six rededicated their lives to Himwhile many others sought God earnestly.All glory to God!

Throughout the entire Concert,Jesus Himself extended His invitation toall who were there�to be desperate formore of God in our lives, to encounterHim and be changed by His love for us.For just like the Psalmist David, we wantto proclaim, �My lips will glorify Youbecause Your love is better than life!�

God�s love is better than life!Calvary Youth Concert 27 July 2002

By Jeannie Low

Adrian Lee began theconcert at the grandpiano with the song hewrote, �All Blessing AndHonour�

The youthhandling thesound system

The final pose of�As David Danced�

Alvin Kang Nathan singing hiscomposition, �How Can It Be�

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27-30 May 2002

Associate PastorSteven Kum givingthe altar call after hismessage

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As a Church, we needcontinually to renew thecommitment of our lives tolive for and serve God notonly with our finances but inall aspects of our daily living.We need to reach out andpossess our God-givenmoment of opportunity. Thisstirring challenge set thestage for the first of thethree Missions-relatedservices in the closingdays of June, this year.

�Go...You�re His Light� Matthew 5:14, 16

Faith Promise RenewalSunday has always beenregarded as an importantevent in the Churchcalendar. As a fittingconclusion to a weekend ofservices focused on thework of missions, theexercise of Faith PromiseRenewal allows eachmember of the variouscongregations of theChurch to be activelyinvolved in God�s work.

Before welcoming Rev.Sam Johnson to the pulpit,Senior Pastor PrinceGuneratnam reminded theChurch that the Faith Promise

Saturday afternoon presented Rev. Sam Johnsonwith the task of challenging the 119 young peoplewho attended the youth meeting, to get immersed inthe work of missions.

Prefaced by two insightful personal testimonies given by SherylChong and Cheryl Mohan, Rev Johnson spoke with an ease evidentof his ministry in years gone by as a Youth Pastor in Sioux City, Iowaand his subsequent work with Teen Challenge in Portugal.

Urging the young people from the beginning to �keep thelong view in mind� and not to allow �current problems� to plague

Church Challenge 28 June 2002

By Christopher Ling

The Friday night serviceincluded special numberspresented by the SanctuaryChoir and Adult Ensemble aswell as a brief news updatepresented by the CalvaryMissions News Network(CMNN)�obviously tailoredafter its more illustrious mediacounterpart.

Rev. Sam Johnson thentook the pulpit, beginning bycalling on the congregation tobe constantly on the lookoutfor that �one moment of greatopportunity� which he believesexists in everyone�s lifetime.

Articulating his way through anextensive line-up of Old andNew Testament personalities,from Moses all the way to thethief on the cross�who all hadtheir moments of greatopportunity�he encouragedus to seize that moment thatGod provides us with.

Being a dynamiccommunicator, Rev. Johnsonhad little difficulty in engagingthe ears of the congregation.One could not help but noticethat the conviction, with whichhe preaches, stems from adeep-rooted compassion that

he feels for the lost.Having served as a pastor

and missionary to Europe thelast 30 years has also givenRev. Johnson many a storyand personal experience torecount. He currently servesas the vice-president ofMission of Mercy, a ministry tounderprivileged children ofEurope and Africa.

In conclusion, Rev.Johnson told us an amazingstory of a lady who ended upwith a month�s supply ofgroceries from a supermarketwithout paying anything for

Youth Challenge 29 June 2002

them, he proceeded to highlight the following three points usingthe brief epistle written by Jude:1. The defence of the faith is ours to make. Verse three asks usto contend earnestly for the faith or vigorously defend it. Only adefence of faith in the Lord Jesus will stand in eternity. Incontrast, Cain, when trying to defend (and possibly regain) anearthly position as an elder brother to Abel, merely succeeded inbecoming the first murderer in the history of mankind.2. The dedication is mine to offer. Verse 20 talks of �buildingyourselves up in your most holy faith� whilst verse 21 says,�Keep yourselves in the love of God.� We are to stop dedicating

someone else�s abilities, time and talents. It is time that wededicate ourselves completely to God.3. The demonstration is God�s to give. Verses 24 and 25,familiar to us as a Benediction, also speak of God�s all-encompassing love for us. It is He who will enable us to defendour faith in Him and keep us from falling in the process becauseGod is �crazy� about us.

We praise God for the one soul who received salvation andthe two who rededicated their lives to the Lord. A missionaryoffering was collected to sponsor a seminar/youth evangelisticmeeting in Medan, Indonesia, in the latter half of the year.

Faith Promise Challenge 30 June 2002

programme is a key to ourinvolvement in missions.Missions work by our Churchin places as geographicallydiverse as Nairobi, Kenya,Vancouver, Canada and locallyin Gemas, Johor can continueand be further strengthenedby faithful giving. He furtherreminded the Church to bewilling and obedient to the callof God.

Rev. Sam Johnson spokeon compassion and defined it asthe love of God when it makescontact with human need. Hepresented three qualities ofgenuine, life-transformingcompassion, making referenceto the parable of the GoodSamaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

Compassion is practical.God�s love compels thebeliever to do something tohelp the one in need as seenin the response of the GoodSamaritan towards thephysically injured man by theroadside.

Compassion is universal.The Priest, who was the first towalk by, had the educationalqualifications but did nothingto help the injured man. TheLevite (helper to the Priest),who would have been theclosest linguistically andculturally to the man to beable to minister to his needseffectively, also did nothing. Ittook the Samaritan, a manfrom a different culture andracial background, to minister

to the needs of the dying man.Compassion is costly.

There is a price to be paid inbringing God�s compassion toHis people and it involvesmoving out of our comfortzones. The Priest and theLevite were unwilling to paythe price. However, it was theSamaritan who was willing todo what was necessary toease the suffering of the manby the roadside.

Rev. Johnson pointed outthat too often, we merelyrespond to altar calls, tellingGod that we would heed hiscall. However, when the callactually comes, we giveexcuses not to go. When theopportunity arises for us toserve, we are nowhere to befound. Whose lead are wefollowing? That of the Priest, theLevite or the Good Samaritan?

them simply by her absoluteobedience to what God hadtold her to do. The life-changingprinciple of hearing God�svoice, listening to Him andobeying Him�no matter what�applies to us all. And we toocan look forward to momentsof great opportunity in ourlives.

That Sunday, aMissionary offering was takenin aid of one of four homes forHIV-infected babies inPortugal. We praise God forthe 2,721 individuals fromDamansara Heights and thevarious Satellite locations whomade Faith Promise pledges.

Kids exercise faith

Missions Emphasis

God gives His people moments of great opportunity

Calvary Youth challenged to share their faith

Following the Good Samaritan�s lead

Missions Director, Associate PastorPeter Ong

Special guest speaker,Rev. Sam Johnson

Our very own newscasters: Dolly Chyeand Samuel Yap

Praying for theteam going toEast Malaysiaon a missionstrip

Individualsresponding to a callto full-time ministry

Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam leading in prayer for the Faith Promise partnersRev. Sam Johnson

Youth indicating their willingness to be involvedin youth missions

Rev. Sam Johnson

We praise God that 604 of the Carpenter�sWorkshop children committed themselves in faith to giveto the work of missions!

Our missionaries to Kenya, Tony (below) and Christine Phang (above) telling thekids about their work in Kenya.

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�The Scriptures Inspired: The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verballyinspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule offaith and conduct.� One of the choruses I sang as a child in Sunday school is indeliblyimpressed on my mind:

16 Foundational Truths Series

Those really are God�s words

Word of God is not merely adequate,it is abundant and full. The riches ofthe kingdom of God in the presentare found and experienced in theWord of God, providing preparationfor the future complete expressionof the kingdom of God.

The Bible is one book, dividedinto the Old and New Testaments.Several factors clearly set forth theunity of the two Testaments. Thereis a common theme to be found inboth the Old and New Testaments�the plan of God to redeem fallenhumanity, focused on the sending ofHis Son to be the Redeemer. Thereis evidence of a common author,God himself, speaking throughchosen human authors to makeknown His will. The propheticutterances and their subsequentfulfillment also link the two

�The B-I-B-L-E.� This littlechorus asserted that the Bible wasthe book for me, the Word of Godupon which I could stand. In theyears that have passed sincechildhood, I have found that thesentiment of that chorus is true�God has spoken to us, that speechis recorded infallibly for us in theBible, and we can stand on thatWord alone.

We use several designations todefine what we mean by �theScriptures.� For instance, we callthem sacred writings, and in sodoing we are in agreement with theview of the ancient Hebrews andearly Christians. When Paul assuredTimothy that the Scriptures wereinvaluable for life and service, hereferred to them as the Scriptures,or the �writings,� the same way in

which the nation of Israel referred tothose sacred writings by which theylived (2 Timothy 3:14-17, NIV).These writings are sacred becauseof their divine source; they are theproduct of Almighty God throughhuman authors. They are sacredalso because of their value tohumans; they provide for us theknowledge of God that is necessaryfor our salvation.

The Bible provides authoritativeguidance to humans, not only forsalvation but also for the directionneeded for living this life. Otherauthoritative sources, such as thechurch, tradition and reason, arevalued in their respective places,but the Bible is the ultimateauthority by which Christians livetheir lives. The Word of God is lifeitself. The life that is provided by the

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Testaments. The story of Jesus,especially as told by Matthew, isreplete with examples of fulfilledprophecies, including themiraculous nature of and place ofHis birth and the flight into Egypt toescape the wrath of Herod (Matthew1:22,23; 2:5,6,14,15).

God has chosen to reveal, todisclose, himself to humans, withoutwhich we could not know Him.Indeed, we have not found God; Hehas found us, and that is theexciting truth of Christianity. He hasrevealed himself in the world thatHe created, in the constitution ofhuman beings, and in the flow ofhuman history. These aspects of Hisrevelation, however, pale in the lightof the disclosure of himself made inJesus Christ. Before His death Jesusmade sure the disciples knew thatin seeing Him they had seen theFather (John 14:9-11), and thewriter of Hebrews called Jesus the�radiance of God�s glory and theexact representation of his being�(1:3). To make sure that we wouldnot miss Him, God took uponhimself human flesh and livedamong us.

Though we do not now seeJesus in the flesh, as did thedisciples, we have the revelation ofGod in human words. God chose toinspire humans to write about Himto ensure that we could encounterHim. While we do not know whatverbal symbols God uses in heaven,for us He has chosen to use thelanguage of this earth. We may nothave been able to understand thecommunication system of heaven,but we can know the manner inwhich He has chosen tocommunicate with us�ourlanguage. In this way His revelationcan be transmitted and preservedthrough time.

The process by which God hasallowed His revelation to beencapsulated in human languagecan be described as plenary-verbalinspiration. Paul declared to Timothy

in the Bible By Jim Railey

that �all Scripture is God-breathed�(2 Timothy 3:16), which aptly showswhat is meant by the concept ofinspiration. The Bible is the veryproduct of the breathing out of Godthrough human vessels. Peterdescribed the origin of Scripture andidentified the same two elements:�Men spoke from God as they werecarried along by the Holy Spirit� (2Peter 1:21).

Both Paul and Peter point tothe successful work of God the HolySpirit to inspire the writing of theScriptures so that in their entiretythey fully declare the Word of God tous. God chose to employ humanauthors for the activity of writing Hisrevelation in human language. Inusing them to write Holy ScriptureHe did not violate their humanity,but engaged them fully in theprocess. Making use of theirvocabularies and writing styles, Godmoved upon the biblical writers sothat they wrote His will forsucceeding generations to read.

The work of the Holy Spirit uponthose human authors was somysterious and powerful that,without His dictating what they wereto write, they did write what Hewanted written. The words theychose to use in actuality were theprecise words that best conveyedthe will of God. Thus, God worked toensure that the message was notlost in the process of flowingthrough human authors.

With such an involvement ofGod in the writing of Scripture, it isnot surprising that we describeGod�s Word as infallible. The Wordof God contains such force that itwill accomplish its intendedpurpose. The prophet Isaiah noted,�The grass withers and the flowersfall, but the word of our God standsforever� (40:8). The infallible Wordof God is totally correct. There is nopossibility that the Bible will evermislead us because it tells the truthin every assertion it makes.

The Assemblies of Godmaintains that the Bible is �theauthoritative rule of faith andconduct.� This is very similar toPaul�s assertion that the Bible is�useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training inrighteousness� (2 Timothy 3:16).The Scriptures tell us what we are tobelieve and we must be careful toallow the Bible to judge our beliefs.Our manner of living is not decidedupon by a comparison with that ofthe world. Rather, the Bible speaksto us about the way we conductourselves as ambassadors of God inthis dark and dying world. Whenconfronted with situations that bringdistress and sorrow into our lives,we turn to the Bible and in it hearthe Word of God bringing comfortand strength.

We may no longer sing thechildren�s chorus �The B-I-B-L-E,� butthe truth that it declared is still to beconsidered. The Bible is the Word ofGod and provides that upon which wecan stand no matter what happens inthe world around us. In the Bible, Godstill speaks to us, and we hear Himas we worshipfully read it.

Jim Railey is professor of theology

and chairperson of the

Bible and Theology Department at

Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

This is the first in a series of eightmonthly articles on the16 Foundational Truths of theAssemblies of God, written by faculty ofAssemblies of God TheologicalSeminary for the Pentecostal Evangel.

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concerning the future, is given as aconfirmation of what the Lord hasalready spoken to you.6. Through your conscienceWhen you listen to your conscience, itgives you the cutting edge. The HolySpirit convicts you of the laws of Godthrough your conscience. This is whathappened to the accusers of thewoman who was caught in adulteryand brought to Jesus. Jesus said, �Hewho is without sin among you, let himthrow a stone at her first� (John 8:7).�Those who heard it, being convictedby their conscience, went out one byone, beginning with the oldest even tothe last. And Jesus was left alone,with the woman standing in themidst� (John 8:9). The Holy Spirit canguide you through your conscience.7. Through circumstancesGod speaks through circumstances.He may guide your circumstances toopen a door for you or to close it. TheBible says, �See, I have set before youan open door, and no one can shutit...� (Revelation 3:8). However, whenthe adversary hinders you fromentering the open door, exercise yourfaith and speak to the �mountain� tobe removed. The Holy Spirit will guideyou and give you wisdom.

Now that you know the HolySpirit will guide you, you need tomake sure you know His voice. Thefollowing account, recorded in theBible about Daniel, is a beautifulillustration that prepares you to knowthe voice of God. There are four factsthat need to be noted in this account.

King Nebuchadnezzar had adream and he wanted to know what itmeant. None of the astrologers,magicians or sorcerers could interpretthe king�s dream. The king was angry

and commanded that all the wisemen of Babylon be destroyed andthey also sought to kill Daniel and hiscompanions. Daniel 2:14-19describes Daniel�s response:

�Then with counsel and wisdomDaniel answered Arioch, thecaptain of the king�s guard, whohad gone out to kill the wise menof Babylon; he answered andsaid to Arioch the King�s captain�Why is the decree from the kingso urgent?� Then Arioch madethe decision known to Daniel. SoDaniel went in and asked theking to give him time, that hemight tell the king theinterpretation. Then Daniel wentto his house, and made thedecision known to Hananiah,Mishael, and Azariah, hiscompanions, that they mightseek mercies from the God ofheaven concerning this secret, sothat Daniel and his companionsmight not perish with the rest ofthe wise men of Babylon. Thenthe secret was revealed to Danielin a night vision. So Danielblessed the God of heaven.�Firstly, desire God�s will. Desire is

a motivating force. Desire can causeyou to sin or to do the will of God.Daniel had a desire to seek God forthe interpretation so he boldly askedthe king for time. When you seek Godfor guidance, you need to make timeto understand the Word and toreceive God�s revelation. Jesus said,�If you abide in Me, and My wordsabide in you, you will ask what youdesire, and it shall be done for you�(John 5:7).

Secondly, have an obedientheart. Daniel lived a life of obedience.�Daniel purposed in his heart that hewould not defile himself� (Daniel 1:8).His obedience had to do with food inthis instance but it was clear that hisobedience applied to all areas of hislife. Daniel did what was pleasing toGod and God blessed him and gavehim wisdom (Daniel 2:46-49).

Thirdly, pray. Do what it takes tohear His voice. Daniel was a prayingman (Daniel 6:10). Daniel took timeto pray. He prayed and sought prayersupport from his friends. You too needthe prayers of other believers. Takeadvantage of opportunities to praywith others whether in large or smallgroups. God answers prayer. �Call to

Me, and I will answer you, and showyou great and mighty things, whichyou do not know� (Jeremiah 33:3).

Fourthly, be a worshipper. Danielwas a worshipper. Daniel blessed Godfor the revelation given to him. Whenyou worship God, He willcommunicate and relate with you. It isthe will of God that you worship God.Jesus said, �You shall worship theLord your God, and Him only shall youserve� (Luke 4:8).

In conclusion, let me mentionthree hindrances that can cause youto miss the Holy Spirit�s guidance.

Firstly, when circumstances arenot in your favour and you are filledwith fear, you doubt whether you haveheard correctly from God . At suchtimes do not let fear hinder you butexercise faith. Faith is the onlycurrency that will buy in God�seconomy. God told Joshua that Hewould divide the waters of the Jordanfor the children of Israel as soon asthe priests step into the water (Joshua3:13). But you want the waters todivide before you would step in.Believe first, then you will see. Do notlet your circumstances cause fear tohinder you from God�s will andpurpose. Obey Him and He will giveyou the victory.

Secondly, being religious canalso cause you to miss what God issaying. The religious have a form ofgodliness but do not manifest God�spower. They may look spiritual, berational and democratic but all thesedo not mean that they are right. WhenIsrael went to the Prophet Samueland demanded for a king, theymissed the will of God when theychose what the majority wanted.Today the challenge is, be led by theHoly Spirit and not by �kings� in yourlife, the way of the majority.

Finally, do not take short cuts tohear from God by asking others topray for you and finding out fromthem what the will of God is for you. Itis like hiring a receptionist to receiveyour calls. Pick up the telephoneyourself and hear directly from God.He will honour the time you devote toHim by revealing His purpose and willfor your life.

God loves you and He wants toguide you each step of the way by HisHoly Spirit.

All Bible quotations are from theNew King James Version unlessotherwise indicated.

Continued from front page

Guidance fromthe Holy Spirit

16

CALVARY CHURCHCHRIST-CENTRED EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY

(Assemblies of God)

REACHING THE CITY OF KUALA LUMPUR AND BEYOND

CHRIST-CENTRED EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY

2, Jalan Damansara Endah, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Tel: 03-2095 2620 email@calvary.org.my

http://www.calvary.org.my

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The Filipino Life Groups held a combinedservice on Sunday at Calvary Church Ampang toclebrate the Philippines Independence Day (12June). A prayer in song for the nation and peopleentitled �Dinggin Mo� meaning �Hear us�, was sungby the Filipino Choir. Associate Pastor Timothy Ong,in his message on �Seeds� (Matthew 13:1-9),encouraged the congregation not to allow negative�seeds� to discourage us in our walk of faith andtrust. Instead, we must let good �seeds� help usdraw strength and joy in our daily living.

Associate Pastor Steven Kum called all those who werePhilippine nationals to come to the altar to represent theirnation as prayers were offered for the Philippines, itsgovernment and its people.

As part of the programme, lunch was served. After that,three Life Groups (two from Damansara Heights and one fromAmpang) participated in a Skit Competition with �Unity� as thetheme. Everyone was a winner that day. The teams portrayedunity in the nation, the family and the Life Groups. The judgesof the competition were Associate Pastor Richard Yun, andChurch Deacons, Edmund Read and Bernadette Tay. PastorTimothy presented the prizes.

The celebration and competition successfully improvedbonding and unity among the Life Group members and wepraise God that through this, five individuals received Christinto their hearts!

Combined Filipino Service 9 June 2002

By Kay Lim

The Filipino Choir singing �Dinggin Mo�, conducted by Kay Lim, FilipinoMinistry Coordinator

The Ampang LG (F003) with their LG leader Chin Sok Mei (front right)

The Damansara HeightsLG (F001) with their LGleader Kay Lim

The Damansara HeightsLG (F002), with their LGleader Maria Lourdes (infront of flag), performingtheir skit

The LG members from Damansara Heights and Ampanginteracting over lunch

the Philippines Independence DayFilipino Life Groups celebrate