The Upper Room Diaries

Category: Missions

November 11, 2011

Compassion is Key

Matt. 9:36 – Jesus had compassion on the multitude when they were “like sheep having no shepherd.”

Matt. 15:32 – Jesus had compassion on the people when he fed the 4,000.

Matt. 20:34 – Jesus had compassion on two blind men when he healed gave them their sight.

Mark 1:41 – Jesus had compassion on a leper and healed him.

Mark 5:19 – When Jesus removed the demons from the man, Jesus told him to go and tell his friends about the compassion (or mercy) that the Lord had for him.

Luke 7:13 – Jesus had compassion on the widow of Nain when He raised her son from the dead.

Whenever Jesus did some big miracle, it was out of compassion. At Mark 1:41, the translators even went on to say that Jesus was “indignant” — which means a feeling of being angered by unfair treatment.

Sally, one of my esteemed colleague, used to be based in Hong Kong with OMF International. During her time there, she was the personal secretary of James Taylor III. James Taylor III was the great-grandson of J. Hudson Taylor, one of the legendary missionaries to China in the 1800′s. James Taylor passed away some three years ago at the age of 79. I recall that just this Tuesday, Sally told me some things about the Taylor family that little people knew about.

1.   James refuses to speak to her in English, always in Mandarin.

2.   There was once James’ children came home and told him and his wife to hide because their school friends were coming over. The children thought that their parents looked too different from the rest of the people, and are ashamed to introduce them to their friends. They forgot that they themselves are also Caucasians! The children thought that they were the same as the Chinese locals.

3.   When James’ son got married, they are so proud of their daughter-in-law. This is because their daughter-in-law is a Taiwanese, and they say “finally we have Chinese in our blood!”

This is the extent of their dedication to the Chinese people. When I first heard all these from Sally, tears filled my eyes. I cannot help but think “wow, God can really bury the love for a certain people so deep in the family that it runs for generations!”

Now, my point.

I am not trying to say that since Jesus had compassion, so must we. If that was my point, many of you must be thinking, “but that was him, God gave him that love for the Chinese, not me.” Or, “thats Jesus! Jesus is God, but I am not God!” Now this is precisely my point — compassion is God-given. Compassion cannot be mustered up within ourselves. Compassion is a state of being, we either have compassion or do not have compassion. You cannot have more compassion or less compassion. We cannot minister without compassion; but God gives compassion.

“How much do I love the men and women in their culture? How much do I believe that God loves the children? How much confidence do I have in the potential that God has put in the youths?” When I was driving back home today, I found the Holy Spirit asking me these questions before hitting me with the key word “Compassion”.

Ask the Lord for that love for the people you minister to. Ask God to flood your heart with love for the His people. We cannot minister without God touching our hearts. God needs to meet with us today.

“Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever me from any tie but the tie that binds me to your service and to your heart.” - David Livingstone, a legendary missionary to Africa.

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October 25, 2011

The Unnamed Individuals

It is interesting to note that there was actually a time when Jesus said that it would be impossible for a certain group of religious people to be saved. To that, his disciples were greatly astonished and asked “who then can be saved?” [Jesus looked at them and said “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”] (Matthew 19:26)

As I dive deeper into Missions I come to realize that religious sensitivity is a very real issue. You may think that I am talking about Singapore, but no, I am primarily referring to the situation abroad. Our situation here in Singapore is very mild compared to certain regions abroad. Hence the task of Missions Awareness (Publicity for Missions) is to know what can be said and what cannot be said. Usually, it is the things that cannot be said that are the most inspiring. The challenge is to say what cannot be said, in the wisest way possible, so that you as the Church, can rally behind the people involved and support them in prayer. This massive task would require much wisdom from the Lord.

At the beginning of this year, I had an encouraging chat with one of our Chinese brothers. Speaking of missionaries, he said that back home, being a missionary is one of the most respected in terms of ministry vocations. The reason is “because they really serve God using their life.” Reading this in English does not justify the effect it meant in Mandarin. What he meant was that many people are willing to serve God using their gift and talents, but not many people are willing to do the same with their life. This is what our missionaries and mission workers are doing right now. Many of them are risking their very lives in the land of their ministry. They are forced to go under cover. Much of their work cannot be made known to you as the surveillance over there is a very real issue. This resulted in them doing ministry very detached from the Church in Singapore. Little of us know of their work and who they are, and much less to pray for them.

The media has proven to be really powerful. In some countries the Christians are portrayed to be anti-authority, rioters who want their rights. The thing was that I actually believed those official press releases. It was only when I heard it from our people on the ground that I found out that the real situation there was not like what it was portrayed by the media. The reality is that God is moving powerfully. When the world seeks to suppress and shame the people of God, God is the one who vindicates them. Our reputation is in the hands of the Lord.

Let these individuals, who cannot be named, be an inspiration to you. As much as the presence of the enemy is real, the protection of our God is even more real. Pray for an undying passion for the Lord. Keep that fire burning! It is this fire that will spur us to live life missionally.

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June 8, 2011

Being Comfortable with Your Unique Call

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:38-40)

Who would have thought that a small boy could slay a giant with just a sling and a few stones? David wanted to use a slingshot, but Saul wanted him to use his armor and weaponry. Everyone of that time knew that Saul’s advise was obviously better, but David knew that the popular choice do not fit him. He went ahead with what he felt comfortable in, trusted the Lord, and to the surprise of many, he gained success.

God wants to use us, but many times God did not pin-point the “how”. The variety of methods exponentially increases as globalization and technology matures. What that is not possible five to ten years ago, may be the most effective thing today. Inversely that which was effective five to ten years back may not necessarily be effective now.

This however provide the framework for a problem. Often times it is a tendency for us to look into the past and use that as a measure of success. Many times we do this to give ourselves some sort of identity which is recognizable by people. Some times we do this to ourselves, other times people project their thinking onto us. Often, this is an unconscious effort.

Let me give you an example. A traditional missionary is one who goes overseas and live among the community he or she ministers in. It was known to be the most effective form of missions as they are the ones who would be able to blend into the way of life and understand the thinking patterns of the community they are in. Today, given globalization and technology, who says that only a traditional missionary can be effective? It largely depends on the strata of the society you are reaching. If you are aiming the upper echelons, many are tech-savvy, financially influential and well versed in English.

Let me give you a local example. A pastor was known to be one who preaches and teaches on the weekends. However today, we can do the same online and almost at every moment! And the format need not be the same as the usual pupit-sermon. Today, gospel content could be found on msn, sms, facebook, twitter, in text, video, graphics, songs, dance, the possibilities are just endless! I learnt in my preaching class that the term “Preaching” is basically a time of proclamation with regards to the Word of God; and “Teaching” is a process of guiding people to discover the content on their own. It did not say how we are to proclaim or guide. It is the society that projects their understanding of the terms to be one of weekend pulpit speaking, or in the case of “Teaching”– classroom speaking. In other words, I could possibly be preaching to you now as you are reading this blog. Everyone can do the same!

Given these two examples, we must not limit our potential to peoples’ understanding of the terms. I mean, aren’t we are all seeking to obey God? Are we not giving ourselves to Preaching, Teaching and to Missions just like how our pastors does it? Do we even need a title to be spiritual? No. God wants all of us to be like Jesus . . . and Jesus does all the above-mentioned.

Jesus tells us to fulfill the Great Commission but he left it to us to strategize. I (wildly) presume that Jesus gave us this freedom because in his all-knowing, he knows that times change. Thus the methods should change while the message stays the same. People, do not be a Saul. Do not be someone who seeks to mould people into his or her image. Be brave and be like David, who dared to stick to what he is good at, rather than allowing himself to be moulded into an image which he is not. When we become comfortable with who we, the power of God flows through us in a greater and more powerful manner.

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