Reach Community Church 2/177 Beavers Road Northcote VIC 3070
Tel: (03) 9481 6889 Email: info@reachcc.org
www.reachcc.org
Pastor: Victor Soo Church Administrator: Sharon Oen
CHURCH SERVICE Celebration Service REACH Kids
Chinese Service
Sunday Sunday
l 10am - 12pm l 11am - 12pm
Saturday l 7pm - 9pm
PRAYER MEETING
Monthly Ministry & Prayer Intercessory Prayer
1st Friday of the Month l 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Tuesday l 7.30pm - 9.30pm
BIBLE STUDY
Young Adults
University & Youth Groups
Family
Wednesday l 7.30pm - 9.30pm Friday l 7.30pm - 9.30pm Monday l 8pm - 10pm
Friday l 7.30pm - 9.30pm
OTHER ACTIVITIES Praise Dance
MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers)
Ladies’ Meeting Men’s Breakfast
Thursday l 10am - 12pm Every 2nd & 4th Friday l 10am - 12pm Quarterly Quarterly
Welcome to the eleventh issue of REACH. In this issue, we have good biblical teaching on how you can stand firm without stumbling, a great testimony on moving out of darkness into the light of God, amazing features of giraffes created by God, the meaning of true humility, and authentic tiramisu recipe.
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Reach Message
How not to stumble... ever! 7_
Reach Junior
Amazing Giraffe: Created or Evolved?
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Reach Teaser
Godly Character
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Reach Recipe
Tiramisu
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Reach Testimony
Out of Darkness 16_
Reach Character
Being Humble
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welcome
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Reach Message
HOW NOT TO STUMBLE … EVER! By Joel Pinga
We have all stumbled and fallen at some points in our lives, many times! Growing up as children, we had painfully fallen down, scraped our knees and taught ourselves to stand again. We have all made mistakes and learnt from them. Spiritually, we have backslid, repented, and come back to Jesus. Stumble – fall – stand up! And so the cycle continues in nearly every area of our lives. Needless to mention, stumbling is not an enjoyable experience. The world idolises the embattled warrior doing it alone, against all odds, overcoming impossible obstacles - all on his own. Battered and bruised, he barely stands yet continues his fight against the world – alone. Do you want this to be the story of your life? Battling in an endless cycle but getting nowhere? Are we destined to be left to our own devices and still be expected to emerge as victorious overcomers? There is Good News for all of us battlers! The Bible tells us that it is possible to NEVER STUMBLE!
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble. (2 Peter 1:10) Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. (Jude 24) And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they
shall not stumble. (Jeremiah 31:9) This is not an out-of-reach perfection. In reality we can be in that perfect world of never stumble, here and now! How do we achieve this? Faith in Jesus Christ The very basic foundation of our Christian life is our faith in Jesus Christ, taking Him at His Word. When we commit our lives to Jesus, we become born-again. It takes faith and trust on our part to get to this point. This is a package deal - we have faith when we have Jesus in our hearts. Many people mistakenly think that committing their lives to Jesus is the end of the journey; after the commitment, their lives revert to the same old pattern of failures and human struggles. Others erroneously believe that once they become followers of the Lord Jesus, all will be well and all their problems will be solved, and hurray, they will be in heaven. Of course this isn’t true – at this point we are just at the beginning of a wonderful life, in a loving relationship with our Saviour. Going to heaven is unquestionably an important part of the Christian life, but this is subsequent to a full and productive life here on earth. Growth in Jesus Christ Like any relationship, growing in Jesus needs nurturing on our part. We need to understand that Jesus loves us unconditionally and perfectly, by dying for us – there is nothing more He needs to do. This nurturing of the godly union requires a committed effort from our side.
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Reach Message
may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
(AMP)
Peter doesn’t admonish us to have more faith, but to add character to our faith. This means integrity, moral excellence and honesty to name a few. Being diligent (verse 5) means to make every effort to add to our faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Peter reinforces in verse 10, “be even MORE
still small voice will guide us and lead us IF we allow Him to. We will be convicted of our sin. Our conscience will go into overdrive when we sin and offend the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us. Sports people know that training hard will get them up to that “zone” of bliss and increased performance. In the same way, getting into that godly “zone” of hearing, trusting and obeying the Holy Spirit’s prompting guarantees that we will never stumble. 2 Peter 1:4 tells us that we may be “partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
By the power of God’s Holy Spirit, not stumbling is achievable and within our capabilities. Galatians 5:16 tells us to
“walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”. Self-control
diligent to make your call and election sure”. We need to exert some effort to
is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. As we restrain ourselves from sin, the Spirit can work His power in us, with us and through us. How wonderful it is to be in God’s zone of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control.
“It’s too hard,” you may say, but surprisingly it isn’t. We have already placed our faith in Jesus, trusting that our Good Shepherd will always be there watching over us, making sure all our needs are met. He took away our sin so that we can have a loving and deepening relationship with Him. He has in fact covered all bases so that we sin no more, being aware that sin separates us from God and the blessings of an abundant life in Him.
The apostle alerts us that “They stumble because they disobey the word” (1 Peter 2:8, ESV). When we obey the message of the Bible, we can be free from sin! Free from sin means we are in a perfect relationship with God. We live in God’s abundance. No more stumbling around! Hallelujah!
add to what we already have – integrity, kindness, goodness and especially selfcontrol. This is the training we need, to never stumble.
Led by the Holy Spirit Receiving Jesus into our lives comes with the promise that God will reside in us by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. We become a new creation and, a temple of the Holy Spirit. God in us means that His
2 Peter 1:3 says “His divine power has
given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” We have everything we
need for a godly life when He dwells in us. So no more excuses. We don’t need to go stumbling around making poor choices, suffering the consequences of our sin. Following the lead of the Holy Spirit provides us with perfect lives free from stumbling.
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In 2 Peter 1, the apostle Peter promises that we will never stumble if we add goodness (virtue) to our basic faith, and then knowledge, followed by self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. Peter says doing this will make us fruitful, useful and productive (verse 8). This is the abundant life Jesus Himself promised in John 10:10, I came that they
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Reach Message
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Fellowship with other Believers A final point to help ourselves to not stumble is by having fellowship with other believers who will encourage us. 1 John 2:10 says, “He who loves his
brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” Godly
believers spur us to do good, which is why belonging to a church is important for our growth – we are not meant to be lone rangers. Furthermore, most churches (including Reach Community Church) have multiple small home groups designed to be safe havens for our tired and weary souls, young and old alike. In this setting we can be ourselves, confident of the discretion and supportive encouragement. Even at times of rebukes and admonishments, we know that they are for our good, to help us to be the best that God has designed us to be. There is no excuse to not join any one of these groups.
It is Possible! Jesus said that we can do greater things than what He did. What He meant is “what I can do (and did), you can do even better!” What a wonderful promise of clean sinless living, of powerful signs, wonders and miracles - all because of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus never stumbled, therefore we can achieve this too! Jesus said in John 11:9, “If anyone walks
in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.” Jesus
revealed Himself as “THE light of the world”! He is our only Way, our only Truth and our only Life. Let us therefore walk with Him and in Him! So brothers and sisters, consistently read your Bibles, for this is how we learn His promises, His power, and experience His bounteous blessings. Then we can rightly comprehend what it’s like to never stumble!
Giraffes are unique animals, wonderful examples of God’s design. They are the tallest land mammals, and are found in the tropical grasslands (savannah) of Africa. Apart from their height, giraffes have many fascinating physical features:
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Amazing Giraffe: Created or Evolved?
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Reach Junior
Long but flexible neck Giraffes’ necks are about 1.8m long, the height of a tall male. It is made up of seven vertebrae (neck bones), the same number as most mammals, including human. To make up such a long neck, each vertebra has to be long. Such long but few vertebrae would have made the neck rigid and inflexible; however, giraffe’s vertebrae are joined together by ball-and-socket joints (similar to human’s shoulder joint), which allow 360-degree range of movement, giving them the flexibility to turn their neck1. With the head held high A long neck needs strong support to keep it upright. Giraffe’s neck is supported by strong muscles and ligaments (tough fibrous tissues), to keep its head up high. These ligaments are elastic and work like a giant rubber band, to minimise strain on the shoulders2. Heavy and hyper-efficient heart With a brain 1.8m above its heart, the giraffe needs a strong heart to pump the blood all the way up to the brain against gravity. Weighing about 11kg, and measuring up to 60cm long, giraffe’s heart has thick wall and is able to pump 75 litres of blood per minute3 (human heart pumps 5-7 litres of blood per minute). This generates blood pressure of 300/2003, more than double of human’s.
Cool circulatory system Such high blood pressure can be dangerous: 1) blood going to the brain too quickly, causing bleeding, especially when they bend down to drink, 2) blood pooling in the lower legs, 3) the risk of bursting the blood vessels. To accommodate for these, giraffes have a specially designed circulatory system (a system that brings blood from the heart to the entire body).
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Reach Junior Firstly, the walls of their blood vessels are thick and elastic enough to withstand the high blood pressure2. Secondly, at the base of their brain, a spongy tissue filled with a network of small blood vessels (the “wonder net”) helps to control the blood before it reaches the brain4. In addition, there are multiple valves in their jugular vein (the major vein of the neck) to regulate blood flow between the brain and the heart5. Lastly, the skin of their legs is thick, tough and tight, like a pair of compression socks, preventing blood from pooling in their legs3. The Bible tells us that all creatures are created by God. Unfortunately, many scientists erroneously believe that giraffes are evolved from earlier species with much shorter necks. As you can appreciate, to evolve from an animal with a short neck to one with such long neck, there needs to be many changes of the body to support the long neck, as explained above. Creationist Dr Jerry Bergman explained, “The giraffe is actually an excellent icon for intelligent design because its extreme complexity requires all of the pieces to be in place before its neck structure is functional… Producing a longer neck would require hundreds or thousands of simultaneous (or almost simultaneous) mutations, a set of events that, for all practical purposes, has a probability of zero.”6 Even if we insist stubbornly that the “miracle” of hundreds or thousands of mutations can occur simultaneously without God, there are still multiple gaps to prove that giraffes evolved from animals with short necks. Evolution for survival? Basing on the theory of Charles Darwin, evolutionists believe that creatures evolved by natural selection. In the case of giraffes, their ancestors with much shorter necks evolved to have longer necks so they can browse on the leaves of tall trees more easily7. This adaptation was passed down to the next generation through genetic mutation (altered genes). Species with these altered genes of longer necks are more likely to survive because they can reach higher branches of trees for food. Over millions of years, “an ordinary hoofed quadruped might be converted into a giraffe”8. However, recent researches suggest that having a longer neck is not necessarily advantageous or required for survival of giraffes: 1. Research of Simmons and Scheepers showed that “giraffes generally feed from low shrubs, not tall trees” and they also “feed faster with their necks bent”9.
Reach Junior
Despite these findings, evolutionists refuse to abandon their theory of evolution, but continue to search for the reason of the evolution of long necks. Many other theories had been proposed but all remain speculations. Evidence of Evolution? In addition, if giraffes did truly evolve from their much shorter-neck ancestors over millions of years ago, there should be evidence for the existence of many intermediate species (those with necks shorter than giraffes of today but longer than the presumed ancestors). However, to date, no such fossils had been confirmed.
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2. Giraffes do not stay in one area for food, but often migrate over long distances10. A study showed that they are capable of migrating up to 300km11. So instead of stretching their neck for food (or die of hunger), they could have easily migrated to another place. 3. It does not explain why there are still many antelope species in Africa (with short neck) which did not die off or evolve into animals with long necks12.
Recently, the vertebrae of Samotherium Major were compared to those of giraffe and okapi, the only two mammals belonging to the same family, and many similarities were observed. The evolutionists rushed to accept Samotherium as the transitional fossils of giraffes, even though the lead researcher Professor Solounais admitted that Samotherium was not the direct ancestor of the giraffe, but likely to be closely related13. In conclusion, despite the widespread belief of evolution, it does not stand scientifically. Taking the example of giraffes, the evolution of long neck requires hundreds or thousands of simultaneous mutations to support this long neck, the probability of which is close to zero. The theory of the evolution of long neck for survival has also been contested. Furthermore, there has been no confirmed intermediate species on the fossil records for the evolution of short-neck species to the giraffes of today. The best explanation for these unique animals is that they are designed by a Creator, God. 1 Cristen Conger, If a giraffe’s neck has only seven vertebrae, how is it so flexible? Animals.howstuffworks.com 2 David Pitman, Giraffes, Walking Tall…by Design. Creation.com/giraffe-neck-design 3 Ben Coley, A pain in the neck for giraffes. Africageographic.com, posted on 14 April, 2016. 4 The Amazing Giraffe. Just2amazing.wordpress.com 5 Graham Mitchell et al, The Structure and Function of Giraffe Jugular Vein Valves. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 2009:39 (2), p 175-180. 6 Jerry Bergman, The giraffe’s neck: another icon of evolution falls. TJ 16(1), 2002 7 Philosophie Zoologique, published in 1809 8 Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 6th Edition 9 Robert Simmons and Lue Scheepers (1996). Winning by a Neck: Sexual Selection in the Evolution of the Giraffe, The American Naturalist vol. 148, p 771-786 10 Wolf-Ekkehard Lonnig, The Evolution of the Long-necked Giraffe, 2011 11 Yvonnick Le Pendu and Isabelle Ciofolo, Seasonal movements of giraffes in Niger, Journal of Tropical Ecology (1999) 15:341-253 12 Craig Holdrege, The Giraffe’s Short Neck, The Nature Institute, 2003 13 Danowitz, Melinda et al, The cervical anatomy of Samotherium, and intermediate-necked giraffid, Royal Society Open Science, published 25 November, 2015
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Reach Teaser
Godly Character Characters Cautiousness
Punctuality
Orderliness
Diligence
Security
Endurance
Dependability
Flexibility
Thoroughness
Definitions1 1. Showing esteem for others by doing the right thing at the right time. 2. Knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of my work or words if neglected. 3. Structuring my life around that which cannot be destroyed or taken away. 4. Investing my time and energy to complete each task assigned to me. 5. The inward strength to withstand stress and do my best. 6. Fulfilling what I consented to do, even if it means unexpected sacrifice. 7. Knowing how important right timing is in accomplishing right actions. 8. Arranging myself and my surroundings to achieve greater efficiency. 9. Willingness to change plans or ideas according to the direction of my authorities.
1.Punctuality 4.Diligence 2.Thoroughness 5.Endurance 6.Dependability 3.Security
7.Cautiousness 8.Orderliness 9.Flexibility
Answers
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Match each character with its definition. As you do it, meditate on some practical ways to display these characters in your daily life.
1 The definitions are taken from the Character First! Program, Character Training Institute.
By Carmel Quirino (Serves 6-8 people)
Ingredients Eggs 3 Castor sugar 4 tbsps Thickened cream 1 cup Philadelphia cream cheese 125g Mascarpone cheese 250g Vanilla essence 1 tsp Instant coffee 2 tbsps Warm water 2 cups Cocoa powder, to dust One packet of sponge finger biscuits Methods 1. In a bowl, dissolve instant coffee in 2 cups of warm water, let it cool. 2. Separate egg whites and egg yolks. 3. Add sugar to the egg whites, and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. 4. Add thickened cream, Mascarpone cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese and vanilla essence to the egg yolks; whisk the mixture together. 5. Add the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat together. 6. Dip each sponge finger in the coffee mixture; just a quick tip, do not soak the biscuits. 7. Arrange the sponge fingers on the base and side of a glass bowl or a tray; put one layer first. 8. Pour the mixture over the layer of sponge finger; dust with cocoa powder. 9. Put a second layer of sponge fingers followed by another layer of the mixture and cocoa power; repeat the process until the mixture is used up. 10. Add final sprinkle of cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. 11. Serve on its own or with fruit salad.
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Tiramisu
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Reach Recipe
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Reach Testimony
Out of Darkness...
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By Salvatore Quirino
Jesus is the reason for me to share this testimony, I hope that it will be an encouragement for you. The Darkness of this World In 1979, Carmel my wife, our three year old daughter and I lived in a rented flat in Fairfield. We had been married for three years. Although we had a few dramas in our marriage, our life was overall simple and lovely. Carmel was a home mum and I worked at APM (Australian Paper Manufacturer) as a shift worker.
we lived. His name was Peter. He was single and lived alone. Peter was into New Age teaching, he read a lot about all that stuff and smoked marijuana. I was impressed by Peter, he seemed to know a lot and we became good friends. We spent a lot of times together, we were like brothers. I also began to smoke and read books that he gave me. In a way, we were both on a journey of discovery, searching for life and its meaning.
I made good money and we had surplus, so Carmel and I decided to invest in a business. After some searching, we settled on a take away shop on Johnston Street, Collingwood.
I really looked up to Peter and considered him a guide in my life. This went on for many months. He gave me many books to read, books on psychology, life skills, and religions. My mind was opened up to things I had never heard before. I was excited to discover all these new things.
Few months later, we realised that we had been scammed. The shop did not yield the returns we experienced during the trial period, the accounts were fiddled with. Before long, we were constantly in the red. Most of the money I earned at the paper mill had to be added to the shop income to keep us afloat. Slowly Carmel and I got discouraged. Carmel cried every day and hated managing the shop, she didn’t want to be there. We began to argue a lot and the situation was not good.
One day Peter gave me a book on Hinduism. I was fascinated by the stuff in the book. Before long, I started to meditate and practice the ideas from the book. During my meditation alone, Carmel knew nothing about what I was doing in my spare time. During these times, I “travelled” to different plains and “met” my guides who led me deeper in my understanding of the spiritual world. Slowly I began to do astral travel1 . As time went by, I was compelled to meditate every day.
During this time, I became friend with one of the tenants of the flat where 1 Astral travel (or astral projection) is a form of meditation or out-of-body experience, where the meditator believes that his mind leaves his physical body and travels outside the body.
My life became a place of darkness, a place with no hope, no love, and no joy. Life was not worth living anymore. I could not understand why. Looking back, I can see how the situation with the business and the secret life I led, had a profound effect on me, in a negative and destructive way. My life started spiralling downward and I had no control over it. It got so bad that for the first time in my life suicidal thought began to cloud my mind. I never had such thoughts before, but now suicide became the only comforting thought I had. Somehow the suicidal thoughts provided a way of escape. For a few months, I thought about killing myself daily. One day I decided to carry it out. For a month or so I contemplated on how to do it. I could not bear the thought of jumping off a bridge or any high places, and I knew that pills don’t always work, and I was too cowardice to pull the trigger, so I contemplated gassing myself with the exhaust fumes from my car. Then something happened that changed everything. The Light of God On one of those days while I was thinking and building up the courage to carry out the plan, I remember getting into my car, I drove down the driveway, did a U-turn, and stopped at the traffic light on Station Street.
Sitting at the red light, my mind kept thinking about gassing myself. Suddenly out of nowhere, I heard a voice, “Read the Bible.” I did not know where this voice came from, but my immediate thought was ‘not another book’. I wondered but could not figure out who could have said those words “read the Bible”. The strange thing was that those words became like an echo chamber, constantly echoing inside my mind. When Carmel came home, I told her what had happened. The very next day we both went into the city, to the big Collins book shop on Elizabeth Street. We went in and asked for a Bible, the shop lady gave us a big Bible, an old King James Version, with a blue cover. I couldn’t explain how and why, for the first time in about a year, I felt my heart come alive. We took the Bible home and began reading it. We could not put it down. Like any book we started reading from the start. We started with learning about God in the Old Testament. Bit by bit God revealed Himself to us. At the time, we did not know any Christians, and so there was no one to guide us through the Bible teachings. I told Peter what had happened to us, but he was not interested, and slowly our friendship dwindled. But my knowledge of God increased. Carmel and I began to believe in the God of the Bible, and we started talking to Him. Amazingly, wonderful things started to happen to us that we could not explain. Within a year or so, we became absolutely convinced that God was with us.
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Over a period of six months, my life went from being simple and lovely to a place of isolation. I isolated myself from people around me, including Carmel.
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Reach Testimony
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At that stage we still had no idea of the Christian world, the church or being born again. We didn’t know who Jesus or The Holy spirit was, but we knew God. We were in the Old Testament.
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Reach Testimony
One thing we did was to tell people that God was real, many people thought we were crazy. But something had happened to us that we could not deny the existence of God. One day one of my work colleagues came up to me and pointed to another worker, and said, “See that guy over there, he’s a born again Christian like you.” I honestly did not know what he meant. Later on I approached this young fellow, Alex. Alex became a Christian one year earlier, he shared his testimony with me, and how he came to the Lord. My ears opened up, and I understood more as he explained many things to me. One day, Alex invited me to a drama held at his church and I accepted. I did not care for the play but was interested in what people do in church. On the Sunday, Carmel and I attended the meeting together, which was held in the city, at the top of Bourke Street. It was in a theatre, The Princess
Theatre. I was puzzled by a church in a theatre, but the people were so nice that we decided to stay. There were lots of people, they sang beautiful songs about God, I was overwhelmed by the experience. At the end the preacher asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus and be baptised. I got up and went down, Carmel stayed behind. I was taken to the backstage and people prayed with me. I was not the only one who went down. After the prayer I was asked to change into a white gown and waited on stage. Suddenly the curtain opened and the crowd was there watching us. I was led to a huge tub filled with water and was baptised. When I came out of the water I saw Carmel there in a white gown and she was baptised too. I couldn’t explain the overwhelming joy, peace and love that I experienced that day. I felt like I was literally in heaven. Since then we have not stopped serving the Lord, our marriage and lives were healed, and the Lord showed us many signs and wonders. He is indeed the Truth, the Life and the Way. To God be the glory.
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Reach Testimony
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
...Into His Marvellous Light
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Reach Character
Being Humble
In our series of practicing good character, we have so far practised GRATEFULNESS, SELF-CONTROL, GENEROSITY, and OBEDIENCE. In this issue, I chose humility as the character, but “practise HUMILITY”? It sounds so pretentious. Humility requires a change of heart, a paradigm shift of mind, simply practising it will only produce false humility. Unfortunately, in our fallen world, the true meaning of humility has been distorted. Many people now perceive humility as a negative rather than a noble trait, a vile rather than a virtue. It is associated with weakness, lack of assertiveness, and avoidant behaviour. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humbled Himself to live on the earth and die on the cross. His earthly life and ministry is an embodiment of humility. The Bible is the best place to learn HUMILITY, so I ventured myself into it, and it was truly a humbling experience for me.
H
eart
True humility requires a tender heart, which enables us to humble ourselves before God, to repent of our sins. God said of King Josiah,
“Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitant, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. (2 Chronicles
34:27) The same tenderness enables us to humble ourselves before others to ask for forgiveness when we offend. The prouder we are, the more easily we are offended, and the harder it is to forgive. A
humble and tender heart empowers us to forgive as we remember God’s mercy on us.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians
4:32)
Moses was a prophet in the Old Testament, he was commended for his humbleness,
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3)
This was written when Moses’ siblings Miriam and Aaron spoke against him (see Numbers 12:1-3). However, when Miriam became leprous, instead of feeling vindicated, “Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘Please heal her, O God, I pray!’” (Numbers 12:13) What a demonstration of humility! True humility requires a tender heart which enables us to repent of our sins, seek forgiveness from others, and forgive others.
U
nderstand our sinful nature
In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector, both went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee thanked God for his own righteousness and his spiritual achievement; whereas the tax collector cried out to God for mercy. Which of these two men humbled himself before God? What makes the tax collector different from the Pharisee? The Pharisee looked at himself – his upbringing, his intellect, his achievements – and became proud. The tax collector focussed on God and realised his own sinfulness.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1
John 1:8)
Understanding of our sinful nature helps us to grasp our need of God’s forgiveness, which keeps us humble. It also sets us free from being judgmental and critical of others.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Matthew
7:1-2)
True humility recognises our sinfulness before our Holy God, and sets us free from being judgmental.
M
otive
Our motive reflects our humility (or the lack of it). Why do we choose a certain career? Why do we enter into a particular ministry? Why do we share certain things on social media? Why do we help others? Why do we do what we do? A seemingly noble act might be driven by a selfish motive, which, often than not, is driven by pride. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.”
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No matter how good we think we are, our “goodness” pales in comparison to God’s holiness.
What is your motive for the things you do? Are you trying to glorify God, and to benefit others? Or do you desire to prove that you are better than everyone else, to receive recognition or praise from others, or to draw attention to yourself?
Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven… 5And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. (Matthew 6:1, 5) 1
True humility is free from selfish motives.
I
ntimacy with God
This is bidirectional: intimacy with God makes us humble, and humility draws us to God. Knowing God intimately and experiencing His greatness humbles us. God needs nothing from us.
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (Acts 17:24-25)
God gives us life, the air that we breathe in, the body parts that function congruously. With all our might, we could not even add a single hour to our lifespan (see Matthew 6:27). Intimacy with God motivates us to imitate Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate example of true humility.
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Reach Character
Reach / Winter 2018
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Reach Character You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
True humility results from intimacy with God and imitation of Jesus Christ.
L
ove for others
Love for others in humility involves three aspects: 1) value others and look out for their interests, 2) serve others, and 3) admonish gently.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4,
ESV) Many of us might be quick to protest, “But I don’t count myself more significant than others.” How well do you listen when others speak? While on earth, Jesus set an example of serving by washing His disciples’ feet, and He asked them to follow His example,
For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:15-17)
In addition, genuine love desires goodness. When we see our loved ones living in sins, it should compel us to bring them back to the right path.
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.
And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. (Galatians 6:1, NLT) True humility understands that we are all valuable in God’s eyes, which allows us to look out for the interests of others, to serve them and to bring them back to the right path when necessary.
I
dentity
Humility is not low self-esteem or selfdeprecation. As pastor David Jeremiah said, “Humility is not thinking less about yourself, it is thinking about yourself less.” Who we think we are has a consequential effect on our life. Who do you think you are?
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1a, NLT)
Yes, in God’s eyes, we are His children, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14). And “we are His workmanship, created for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). When these truths are ingrained in us, it transforms the way we live our life. Our worth does not come from our appearance, assets, or ability. Knowing our identity gives us the freedom to: 1) do what God has set us to do, without comparing ourselves to other people, 2) receive criticism from others, without being offended or discouraged. True humility gives us the freedom to be who God created us to be, to do what God called us to do, and to receive criticism in a constructive way.
T
alents
There are three aspects of humility in our talents (or gifts): 1. Our talents come from God. 2. Our talents are not for selfish gain, but for the glory of God.
us in the right perspective.
John the Baptist was a great prophet, and he understood that he was sent to bear witness for Jesus.
John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” (John 3:27) For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7) For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God… Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfil the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. (Deuteronomy 8:12-14, 18, NLT)
I love the definition of humility from the Character First! Program : “acknowledging that achievement results from the investment of others in my life.” It keeps
True humility acknowledges that our talents and successes come from God and others who have invested in us.
Y
earning
It is human nature to yearn to be great. Jesus’ disciples argued among themselves, coveting to sit beside Jesus in heaven (see Mark 10:35-45). His answer to them,
You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45) When the disciples of John the Baptist came to him, informing him about Jesus baptising many on the other side of the river, John rejoiced,
Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. (John
3:29b-30)
True humility does not yearn to be great, but rejoices when God is exalted.
He has shown you O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
Reach / Winter 2018
3. We should never become conceited when we succeed through our talents.
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Reach Character