Sept. 17-19, 2010
A few days prior to our much awaited Spiritual Emphasis Week, news arrived that Pas. Dale Lim would be unable to make it due to some health constraints. But as the show must go on...at just the right time Pastor Lim stepped in, as he humorously quipped ‘the other alternative. ’ But seemingly and agreeably so, we all concurred...he was rightly...’God’s alternative.’
With Pastor Lim, one wasn’t fully aware that he just flew in a couple of hours prior to his preaching. Not only that, he just got back from Davao a few days prior to this engagement, unpacked on a Tuesday, got invited as our speaker on a Wednesday, packed on a Thursday, flew back to the Philippines on a Friday (whew!).
But nonetheless, Pastor Lim came with the right message at the right time. It was as if God had designed all sequences of events, to speak life, to renew vision, to resurrect us. And he was just the right ‘man for the hour.’
PRAISE HIM IN ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCE
The pearl, which often is symbolic of God’s kingdom, is so uniquely formed...from irritants...or particles that get inside an oyster’s shell, and imbeds itself in the oyster’s soft tissue, whereby causing it to constantly emit secretions to coat it. This oyster’s chemical defense against this irritant, eventually forms into a pearl, prized for its lustre and beauty.
Same goes with our Christian walk...with all its pitfalls and pitstops...can bring about the lustre and beauty of God’s presence, when we praise Him during adversity. Hold on despite the severity of our circumstance, praising Him despite of it...then we will see the King of Glory come in, in victory and deliverance!
COMMITMENT TO GOD
If ever David withstood Goliath, it was born out of a passionate commitment to the living God. This commitment enabled him to withstand a giant...who looked upon him insultingly as someone akin to a dog, and worth nothing. Yet, it was because of this commitment, that the world remembers how a shepherd lad felled a giant.
Who are the giants of our lives? Giants that make us cower in fear and defeat. Let your confidence be in God. Quoting from Pastor Lim himself, ‘Right is the confidence that rests in God, who is able, for God is bigger than your Giants.’ Commit to God therefore, and He who is able, shall make it come to pass.
FAITH
Much has been said about the faith of this syro-phoenician mother who came pleading to the Lord for the healing of her sick daughter...and got rejected many times over... but still BELIEVED nonetheless. This is a story of faith that surpassed constant rejection, but overcame in the end, as Jesus succinctly professed ‘Great is your faith.’ It is a stubborn faith, that is immovable in the face of insurmountable rejection...yet prevails...Hallelujah!
The fire of God fell. In rivers overflowing, torrents that lifted us through the word and the Spirit. Pastor Lim, was definitely the ‘Man of the hour’ sent by God, to affirm and confirm what God has been speaking again and again, to individuals, to the church as a whole. And all we can say in the midst of it is...’come Lord Jesus.’
