Monday, May 10, 2021

When God Wants To Drill A Man




When God wants to drill a man,

And thrill a man,

And skill a man

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;


When He yearns with all His heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed,

Watch His methods, watch His ways!


How He ruthlessly perfects

Whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him,

And with mighty blows converts him


Into trial shapes of clay which

Only God understands;

While his tortured heart is crying

And he lifts beseeching hands!


How He bends but never breaks

When his good He undertakes;

How He uses whom He chooses,

And which every purpose fuses him;

By every act induces him

To try His splendor out-

God knows what He’s about.


– Anonymous

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

My Monologue Has Become A Dialogue With The Lord


Handing-over Prayer has become my 24-7 activity. 

Yes, it's praying without ceasing. 

As long as my mind is able to keep thinking of something, handing-over prayer would then always be my portion. 

I have discovered that I can convert my ceaseless stream of thoughts into a ceaseless stream of "handing-over" prayer to the Lord.

And amazingly, the Lord is most interested in listening and receiving my prayers.

Sensing His regular presence speaks volumes about His interest in my apparent monologue. 

Like a doting parent, He held me in His perpetual embrace and listen to my every word. 

What has begun as my monologue has become a constant dialogue with the One who loves me and died for me. 

What a blessed life I am living - to be able to dialogue moment-by-moment with my Creator God.

I am blessed indeed. 

Albert Kang

Click this video link to learn about "Handing-Over" Prayer.
https://youtu.be/SXdOvskQiV8

Monday, February 8, 2021

How Should Christians Respond In The End Times?

 


As we look at the cataclysmic situations in the world, most of us would naturally figure them to be the preludes of the End Times. Many are happy that Jesus will be coming back soon but many are afraid of the persecution and suffering that would come before Christ’s return. In fact, some believers are selling their homes in the urban areas and moving to rural areas – remote countryside, forested mountains or even to the deserts. Some are stockpiling food and learning how to grow and preserve foods. Many of these are even buying weapons so that they can protect themselves. 

The question is whether God wants His Church to run and hide when the situation becomes bad or that His Church should stay and continue to minister to the people? We do not need to look far to see what we should do during such cataclysmic time – just look at how the churches not only survive but thrive in the Communist countries around us. For example, back in the 1970s, we as young overseas Chinese Christians, were praying and fasting for China because we thought that the Communists had managed to totally destroy Christianity in China. But, in the 1980s, we received good news that in spite of not having missionaries, the Church of Jesus Christ had survived. 

The Chinese believers went through their own Tribulation for more than thirty years and they did not only survive but thrive. And from a mere one million believers before the Communist’s rule to now over 100 million believers. How did they do it? 


At the beginning of the persecution in 1951, majority of the pastors and elders were arrested and imprisoned. These people were arrested on fabricated charges of crimes and that they were falsely accused as counter-revolutionary activists.

The climax of the persecution came in 1966 with the great proletarian cultural revolution. By that time, organised Christianity had been totally demolished and many of the Christian leaders were arrested and subsequently executed. 

What were left behind were mostly the women and their children who went underground to form the underground churches. It was in these dire circumstances that the Church was purified and cleansed. Those who could not take the persecution left the faith. There were also traitors and betrayers who sold the safety of their brothers and sisters so as to secure safe passage for themselves. 

When I was in China in the late 1980s, I personally listened to testimonies from the persecuted believers about how they survived and thrived in the face of danger and death. They worshipped in the cold forest at three in the dark early morning and some worshipped in secluded caves. They did not seek just to survive but to be able to worship the Lord and also to share the Gospel.

How did they physically survive? There were stories about how the urban Chinese believers who escaped to the rural areas learned from the locals how to survive in the harsh conditions of the countryside. Many of them also learned about God’s natural ways of treating infirmities with herbal and traditional methods. When I was in the military, basic jungle survival method was taught to all recruits but we rarely needed to use it. However, those in Commando training, were put to the test because they were left in an isolated island to survive on their own for a week. I heard that each trainee had only a hunting knife and a small amount of ration. The idea of learning how to grow vegetables or hunt animals is of course useful, if one has to really live in the jungle. These would of course be interesting courses to take even in peacetime.

Back to the Chinese Church that survived the persecution – while I was in one underground church, the Elders asked me to lay hands and pray for a sister who was to take the place of her father in the ministry. Apparently, the father was killed by the Communists while in prison and now his place of eldership in the underground was vacant. She was to take his place and face the danger that her father had faced. There was a particular sadness in my heart because I felt like I was ordaining her to be martyred for Christ.

What should we do in the face of persecution of the End Times?

When we look into the Bible, we should be thankful that the Apostle Peter did address this matter of how to face the End Times. Writing specifically about this matter, Peter revealed what God had shown him - “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, [and] both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

He added. “Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:10-12).

Please note that Peter did not suggest that all Christians should head for the jungles or hills in order to hide from persecution. He did not suggest that believers should be isolated from the ministries that God has assigned the Church to do. Throughout the history of Christianity, the believers who ultimately made an impact for the Kingdom of God were not the ones with the “fortress mentality”. The early disciples were not exactly brave and they were found together praying in the upper room. When the Holy Spirit came upon them there was such a transformation. (Acts 1-2). Were they persecuted after the Holy Spirit came? The fact is that the persecution was intense so much so that believers like Stephen and James were murdered for their faith. Many others were arrested and put in prison. In the midst of the heavy persecution, they continued to preach the Gospel. There was no stockpiling of food or weapons in a fortress. However, the believers did move from one place to another. In the process, they spread the Gospel further and wider to other cities and even countries.

The fortress-mentality is for people who do not see life as being eternal. Sadly, for them, this temporal life is the only one that they treasure and so they have to sustain it at all cost. Basing upon the revelation of Peter, all believers who are going through the End Times can do one thing, apart from worrying about food and drink, and that is to practice holiness and do good to others wherever and whenever we can. Indeed, we are supposed to do the works of the Kingdom of God “while it is day” (John 9:4). The Apostle Paul also received the same revelation from the Lord: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

I hope this clarifies and answers some of your questions about what we should do during the End Times. Thanks for reading.

Pastor Albert Kang




Friday, January 1, 2021

Theme for 2021 - The God of the Impossible

The theme for our FaithLine Church in 2021 is "The God of the Impossible".

In this New Year, we are feeling like Moses and the children of Israel, taking every step by faith, as we walk into the opened Red Sea.

Our focus is not upon the "Red Sea" or the "Pharoah's armies" but upon God and God alone.

Yes, the sea has parted but we must walk through the narrow path. 

We must trust that God will hold back the two gigantic walls of water until we reach the other shore. 

We must trust that He would continue to block the Pharoah's chariots and warriors until we cross over. 

We must trust that God knows the right timing to put the sea back in place and drown all our fears and trepidations. 

This new year will definitely be a courageous walk of faith for all of us. 

Let's do not hesitate but move on, by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the mighty name of Jesus.

With The God of the Impossible on our side, we already have the victory.

Albert Kang

Monday, October 12, 2020

Is God Sitting On Our Throne?



Jesus has to be truly the Lord of our lives.

This can only happen until we fully renounce our lives, carry the Cross and relinquish the desire to direct our own paths in this world.

If we refused, then we will never be able to understand what it meant to be a real Christian or a true Disciple of Christ.

A true follower of Jesus is a person who has died to the soulish self, been born again of the Spirit, and who is now walking by faith in a precious relationship with the Lord. 

Only then, we can say that God is sitting on the throne of our hearts and that we are the real subjects of His Kingdom.

Albert Kang

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Praying for others in your Handing-over Prayers




When you pray for others in your Handing-over Prayers, you are recognizing in others, the image of 
God. Your prayers will touch the lives of others through the hands of God. He takes what is hidden in their hearts and reveals it for confession and repentance. What once was unreachable, it is now available for divine healing. 
When you become a person of prayer, you will continue to indirectly guide others away from their confusion and towards clarity - from darkness into His wonderful light.
As you learn to "hand-over" all these precious souls in your daily "Hand-over" Prayer to the Lord, you will be working closely with the Holy Spirit to lead these struggling souls from their self-centered pursuits to the enlightening Christ-centredness. 
Because of your prayer, they will sense the love of God that seems to mysteriously surround them. And the peace that is beyond understanding, touching their innermost beings. They will seek for the source and the Holy Spirit will guide them to the source which is Christ and Christ alone. 
Your prayer life is indeed an integral part of the Lord's Prayer that invokes "Thy kingdom comes, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Amen.
Albert Kang

Monday, August 31, 2020

The Most Effective Prayer Approach - Handing-over Prayer

In your prayer and daily devotion, learn to accept all the thoughts and issues that you have subconsciously or consciously been gathering in your mind. 

Yes, you have not read wrong – learn to accept all these thoughts. Whether they be good, negative, lustful or holy, welcome them. However, you are not the reservoir for all these thoughts, but you are a clear channel. 

This means that nothing stays in you and everything flows out through you to the hands of God.

Take time to hand over gently all your comforting or troubling thoughts during this quiet moment with the Father. Whisper to Him every thought that runs through your mind. Do not fight the thoughts or treat them as unwelcomed issues. Just receive and let go.

There is no condemnation, stress, or demand on your part. Just come confidently before your Father in heaven, let go and let God handle all your thoughts and struggles. Despite your difficulties, God has given you the assurance that He is most willing to carry your burdens.

Tell God that “this thought I give to you” or “this thought I surrender to you”. If the thought comes back many times, simply hand it over again and again. Do not resist it – just hand it over to God.

Some of you may never experience this permanent love of God the Father. However, this is a good new adventure for you. Until and unless, you take time to have a solitary moment with the Father, you will never have a chance to know Him more and more.

God has said in Jeremiah 31:3 - “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.” The reason why this assurance of an everlasting love is because we are created to be everlasting. We all experienced this eternity within our souls because of the sense of this everlasting life cries out from within us.

Moreover, it is God who first loves us (1 John 4:19). We are not an afterthought. We are the apples of His eyes. Therefore, we should learn to lean upon God for this “perfect love” instead of leaning upon the people around us. God is a permanent God and our relationship with God is permanent. We can safely place our lives in the hands of God and we will never need to be afraid.

Albert Kang

Please read the first part of this article, "How To Experience God's Perfect Love"

https://faith2ndhalf.blogspot.com/2020/08/learning-how-to-give-everything-to-god.html