National Director of Global International Correspondence Institute
I am actually from the North but have been in KL for more than 40 years. I want to introduce globalised ICI to you.
What is ICI? In the US, it is a highly regarded university. It is only a level below the premier universities like Harvard. In the US, it cost so much more per credit. It is so affordable here.
This programme have built many leaders. Churches have benefited and grown where they have leaders graduating from ICI.
We have a type of course where you can or have the options not to take exams. This is a tremendous flexibility.
Pastor John Kirby was one of the students that took this course 15 years ago. He never completed his course and when he recommended TOP, I said they are ahead of you with many students already taking the courses.
We have young students from 30 years old to 75 years. We have 57 lessons free for the young. We have a committee that does the notes so it is of the highest quality. We are not culture biased nor denominational biased.
My own church have 200 students taking these free courses. 150 people were saved on Easter as these leaders now know how to counsel the unbelievers.
I enjoyed the worship service. The worship leader had so much passion. We need that.
Though I was a layman, I have been actively serving God. After my retirement, I was asked to go full time but I knew that was not my calling, to be a pastor. Now I know where I am suppose to be at, and I have been traveling about doing this.
Psalms 91:14
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
How good must I be to merit God's favour? This is a wrong concept. We have many who wants to merit God's favour and many are genuine people who do good, more so than even some Christians
But do we sit at His feet learning His word and pray? Do we really know His name? Moses had that problem. He asked God, who are you and God said "I Am that I Am.".
God has many names.
We have El Shaddai, God Almighty
Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. That is in plural. Jesus says by His stripes we are healed.
I had a massive heart attack years ago and the doctors gave me a 50/50 chance. But I held onto the promises of God when I was lying there in pain.
God Jehovah, our Shepherd
Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner
Jehovah Jireh, God our provider
Jehovah Sabbaoth, the Lord of host
Jehovah Shalom, our God of peace
Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness
Jehovah Shamah, the Lord is there, His presence
Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
This verse is found in a few places including the New Testament.
Were the Israelite grateful to God? They were led by pillars of cloud by day and fire by night. They had manna, shoes and clothes that never wore out. God provided for them, protected them and delivered them. But when Moses was away, they worshiped other gods. Why? Because they never had the word of God. They only heard from Moses.
The longer we don't spend time with God, the further we moved away from God. Like the Israelite, though they come to the temple, their heart was far from God.
God brought back the relationship that was lost because of Adam's fall by having His only Son hang on the cross. An excruciating death. That is the love of God.
Ephesians 1:20-23
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 2:6
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
His love for us was so great yet it was not a defeated death. Every power and principalities is under His feet. Seated on the right hand of God.
And verse 6 says we will be seated with Him, in the heaven's throne room of grace. The same power He has given unto us, as Christians we are heirs and joint heirs with our Lord. But we will not know this if we do not know His word.
After I came out of the hospital, I had a natural bypass. I was told I had multiple blockages and told not to walk out as I can drop dead anytime. At first I was negative. But then I remembered the bible said Jesus's bone was not broken in fulfillment of the scripture. If I had an open heart surgery, they will have to break my bones, my rib so the next day, I told my cardiologist I want to go home.
He said if I go, don't ever come back to me. He called me a fanatic. But I went home and fasted and prayed. That was six years ago. As long as the Lord tells me I do not need an operation, I won't let them open me up.
But you must have faith, but it can only come with knowing God's word.
We must learn to memorise the word of God as in every circumstances of life we can hold onto the promises of God.
Today, there are many that contradict the word of God and yet sound so holy. Like we are told we only needed to repent once and for the rest of your life you will no longer need to confess your sins. This contradict Gods word and is being preached as truth.
I could have been a millionaire when I was with Felcra Plantation. There were so many opportunities for bribes. I was being tempted to take bribes and they even teach me how to do it. They told me for every one tree, I can make 10 cents a tree and I calculated its RM120,000.00 a month. I heard his formula for making money but I told him I'll trust my God to supply all my needs.
Sin is an absolute word in the word of God. Flee and run away from it. I said I don't want. I used to take my staff to Thailand to look at their orchards to learn. The contractors seems to know where I stay and they'll knock at my door and said they have some girls for me. I said I already got one at home which is hard enough to take care of. I humour them but they know where I stand.
As a result of walking with Him, He protects us. Once I was in Teluk Intan and I was asked to come to Sitiawan to share with their church. I took a short cut but that road was flooded. It was about 100-150 meters. The people there waved to me not to go but I prayed and went as the long way will be another 120 miles away. A car behind me sank and I realised it was swept away by a river. The road was gone and that was why the people waved to me to stop.
After passing I knelt down and prayed and gave thanks.
Another incident also with water and I remembered the Teluk Intan incident. God said wait and do what Moses did. But I told the Lord I don't even have a staff. But two trucks came along and as they drove through the flood, the water parted. That's my Red Sea. I quickly followed and a bus behind me also kept the water at bay. God answers prayer.
Another incident where I had to cross an area infested by all kinds of leaches. Leaches cannot take salt and blood is salty and I said I am covered by God's blood and I crossed through a wild boar path and went across without a single leach. The rest had to strip down to remove all kind of leaches, big fat short thin. They were surprised but I told them it is based on God's word.
We are living testimonies. Our help comes from the Lord. The word of God must be deposited in our life so that the Holy Spirit can bring to life His word in ours. The Holy Spirit can draw from that deposit to help us. That's why I can quote some of those verses by memory.
Are we spending time with God daily? Do we make it a point to spend these times? When we go into prayer we are in the throne room of grace.
When I was in Perak they poisoned me. I tightened the rule and regulations to stop corruption. I had terrible pain in my stomach and I prayed and out came bamboo shoots and mushrooms when I vomited. I never took them. Then I heard birds flapping and going out. These are real, rural areas where there are all kinds of practices. Such were the times but the Lord protected me. But we must learn to spend time with God no matter how busy we are. Then we can overcome so many things in life by the power of God.
Not by might nor by power but by His Spirit!
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