Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:6-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:6-7   And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.   Do you know you are already sitting with the Lord on the throne in the heavenly realms? Many Christians do not realize this, therefore they are unable to experience the victory of the Lord sitting on the throne. Many people only understand being crucified with the Lord on the cross, yet they do not understand sitting with the Lord on the throne. Jesus says in John 12:26, "...where I am, my servant also will be." The Lord was on the cross, but now he has won the victory and is sitting on the throne, and we are also sitting on the throne with him. Hallelujah!   There are many believers although they are saved yet they have never experienced sitting on the throne with the Lord. A sister once came to talk to me, she mentioned something that happened many years ago and her heart was filled with guilt. She felt she needed to confess her sins once more. I said, "Haven't you already confessed these sins many times before?" She said, "Every time I thought of it, I am very sad and my heart is filled with guilt." I urged her not to confess the sins again. What she needs to do is not to confess the sins because God has said, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. God will wipe away all our sins." I said, "You have already confessed your sins before God and he has already wiped it away. Before God you are now like a white sheet of paper. You can confess the same sins all you want, but God says he can't find it because he has already wiped it away." She said, "Then how come I still have the feelings of guilt?" I said, "Those are the lies and accusations from Satan, and also you haven't completely believed God's promises to you."   The Lord not only saved us, but he also wants us to seat with him on the throne. When the Lord is resurrected, all authority has been given to him. In him we have the authority to overcome sins and the powers of darkness, and also the authority to overcome sicknesses. Mark 16:17-18 say, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; ... they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." The Lord gave us the authority by his victorious name to rebuke all the works of the enemy in our life. You need to believe that all the promises of God in Christ are prepared for you. Now you already have the authority, grab hold of the promises of God and have victory over the enemy!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you not only saved me, but you also let me sit with you on the throne. In Christ I have the authority to rebuke the enemy, sins, and all sicknesses. I ask the Lord to open my eyes to know the authority I have in Christ and that now I can have victory over the enemy to live a victorious life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:4-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:4-5   "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."    God is indeed rich in mercy.  Psalm 103:8 says: "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."  Our God is full of mercy because He really didn't treat us according to our trespasses; however, our hearts often depart from God just like kids can easily disobey their parents.  God will teach us with mercy the way a father teaches his children; like in the story of the prodigal son, the father understood the weakness of his son and waited for him to return.  One who belongs to the Lord must understand God's mercy, else we can easily become like the elder son who will condemn the sins of others.   Grace and mercy are different.  Grace is the position that God has given us; we don't deserve the position, but because God loves us He placed us on there.  For example, the position as children of God is from His grace, because we don't deserve to be His children.  It is, however, God's mercy that we can actually be like His children.  We were undeserving sinners; even though we've been declared as children of God and our positions have changed, we in essence are still filthy sinners.  Therefore, we are cleansed only because of God's mercy.  God's cleansing of our sin is like us washing our body, for it is the mercy of God that brought forth the effect of cleansing.   God's grace let us stand on positions that we don't deserve, and God's mercy allow us to be in the form that we cannot be.  When you realize this, you will ask for God's mercy to manifest in your daily life.  God's mercy will resurrect you from the scent of death, and rescue you from the deep abyss of sin.  God will heal you from all the wounds and give you hope and satisfaction gain from circumstance of desperation.  Brothers and sisters, do you understand the mercy of God?  Do you ask Him to manifest His mercy to you everyday?                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because not only have you given us abundant grace, but you also gave us abundant mercy.  May your mercy be manifested on us; when we are in situations of sin, filthiness or wound please rescue us so that we can once again become a person full of joy, peace, holiness and victory.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:1-3

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:1-3   "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath."   Paul described non-believers as those are "dead in your transgressions and sins."  A "dead" person doesn't have any power; they have no freedom because they live in the bondage of transgressions and sins.  Paul has mentioned several bondages here:   First, nonbelievers follow the ways of the world.  To the Chinese people, the most obvious ways are feng-shui and fortune-telling.  These two things have deep impact to the life of Chinese people and make it difficult for them to depend on God.  Is feng-shui really effective?  There's no real evidence, but the Chinese people take on the attitude that they rather believe that it works than not.  I've met many people whose places were adjusted by feng-shui masters and I asked them whether everything's smooth sailing from then.  They said that things haven't gone that smoothly, but if they haven't done it maybe they'd be in even worse shape.  This is simply a bondage brought forth by fear.  May the Spirit of God help us, let us understand that we were dead in these customs and have no power, but now that we are in Christ we are alive and don't need to be bound anymore.   Second, nonbelievers submit to the ruler of the kingdom of the air.  Devil Satan is the ruler of the air, and there are regional evil spirits in all the nations and cities.  To the Chinese, authority of darkness is the culture of Buddhism and Taoism, and that's why many people worship all kinds of gods and evil spirits.  Most of them don't even know what they a worshipping, but because they are dead under such culture they don't think it's so bad to worship those false gods.  Thanks to God, although we were also dead under such culture, in Christ we have come back to life and can no longer be bound.   Third, nonbelievers are in the bondage of following their sinful nature and desires.  Following their own desires doesn't necessarily mean doing bad things, but it's the self-centered attitude of doing whatever we like.  This often leads us to take on the way of the world but depart from the way of God.   Are you still living under these bondages?  Jesus can bring you out these authorities of darkness!  Let us once again receive all the grace that the Lord has given to us.                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because in Christ we have received freedom.  If we were dead in transgressions and sins before, please bring us back to life now.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:22-23

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:22-23   "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."   There is hope in God's calling, which is to take on the role that He gave us.  There's also glory in God's inheritance, which is the work that He'll perform on us.  God has also great power, and He will manifest his omnipotence in our life.  God's power is not just empty talk, but it's the power that overcame death and resurrected Jesus.  God's power lifted Christ high up so that He could sit on the throne that rules all, and that same power will be manifested in all who believe in Him in two ways:   First, we must believe that our Lord is sitting on the throne.  When Jesus resurrected and was about to ascend to heaven, He said that all authorities in heaven and earth have been given to Him.  Therefore, if we believe in all things in His will, nothing is impossible.   Second, we must believe that the Lord has given the authority to overcome to us.  Head and body cannot be separated because they are together.  If Christ has authority, then church, as body of Christ, also has authority.  Christ is the Lord of all and each believer is a little part of that body of Christ.  From our view, the most humble part of the body is the feet, but because all things are under the feet of Christ, God has already given the feet authority to overcome all things.  What you need to do is to declare by faith that this authority to overcome is in your life, and devil Satan will leave you alone.  The Lord's power will be manifested in those who believe, not just once or twice in the form of a miracle, but it should be continuous.  The continuity means that it will not just on from you, but from the whole church, because church is the body of Christ.   Every time the Bible talks about the body of Christ, it uses the word "Christ", not Jesus, because the meaning of Christ is "the anointed one."  He is the anointed one and church is the body of Christ, which means in Jesus Christ we have taken on the anointing of power, and the one who fills everything will also fill our church.  It is so glorious that we ought to praise Him together!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you and praise you; even though we are meager, you have chosen us to be the body of Jesus Christ so that the one who fills everything also fills us.  The authority to overcome in Christ has been given to us, so in the name of Jesus we rebuke any work of the enemy Satan on us, and we give all the glory to you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:19-21

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:19-21   "...and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."   The "great power" that God manifested through the believers is the same power that uplifted Christ and made Him the king of kings.  The same power also resurrected Christ from death and will accomplish God's will with Christ in the center of all things.  Therefore, any power that wants to hinder Christ will not be able to stand up to Him, and all the work that in God's plan will be accomplished.  Also, this great power will manifest in the believers.  Faith is the entrance to power, and the amount of faith is directly proportional to the amount of power manifested.  God's great power can be manifested through the faith of people.   In the Gospels, Jesus often said "your faith has saved you" when healed the sick.  On the contrary, Matthew 13:58 says that "...and he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith."  Faith and power can never be separated; as true faith is not for us to accomplish what we want, but rather to accomplish what God wants according to God's command.  So, we can't simply ask God to give us more faith, but we need to exercise our faith by following the word of God.  In the miracle of healing the ten lepers, they all got healed when they followed the Lord's command.  The word of God carries power, and when we follow His word by faith, we will witness the manifestation of God's great power.   Have you experience the Lord's great power?  Come before God to seek Him, follow His command, and you will experience how great is the power within us!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have manifested great power from our life.  The same power that resurrected Jesus from death and lifted Jesus to the throne will also manifest in our life.  Please give us the determination to obey you so that your power can be manifested in our life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:18   "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."   The Lord's calling is out of His grace.  He called us to give us a new role and position that we do not deserve to have, but were given to us by God in Jesus Christ.  In the book of Ephesians, Paul often called the believers saints, which is the most important and prestigious position in God's kingdom.  Church often has the wrong concept that believes pastors and apostles are the most important people in the church, and those of us who are lay believers aren't really that important.  Under such misconception, the lay believers are conditioned not to think about our role in God's Kingdom.    The fact is that everyone who believes in the Lord is a precious saint in the eyes of God!  If I have a bunch of keys in my pocket, can I say which one is most important?  It's hard to say, because every key is special and important.  In the same way, in the Kingdom of God, some people might look more visible and outstanding, but in the eyes of God everyone is like the keys on the keychain - equally important.  God wants to use different keys to open different doors and to bless different types of people.  In the Kingdom of God, there's no difference between pastor and lay people; we are all saints who are called by God and set apart, only to be placed in different positions.  I am a saint who's in the position of pastor, and you might be a saint in the position of engineer or accountant.  God wants to use us to bless different people.  You might even be a saint who's in the position of a housewife, and I did come across a great testimony from a housewife!  A sister is a housewife and she didn't seem to have accomplished much in life, but she posted a sign on top of the stove, saying "I am serving the Lord here three times a day."  Praise the Lord!  She knows God's calling, and this calling gives her strength for her daily life.  Do you know what your calling is in Christ?                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, you called us to become saints and to take part in your Kingdom because you want to bless others through us.  We are like a key in your hands that can be used to open different doors, in order to let blessings flow through us.  May the Lord help us to become obedient vessels for you to use.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:15-17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:15-17   "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."   Faith is in essence a subject experience.  Although we can analyze and categorize faith to become an objective knowledge, true faith can never be forced upon someone.  Strong faith needs to be established on the foundation of accurate knowledge.  We need to know what and whom we believe in so that we may take our faith from an objective knowledge to a subjective experience.  You can learn knowledge about someone from his biography, but you can only truly know this person by spending time with him.   We need to know more about Jesus and communicate more with Him; otherwise, our faith can easily become merely a form because we'll just be following tradition instead of understanding the true meaning of the faith.  We may also fall into fanaticism, seeking after experience but lose Christ.  Finally, we may fall into rationalism, where we only seek whatever is reasonable in knowledge, but we will exclude the all-power and eternal God outside of the boundary of such knowledge.   Paul said in Philippians 3:8: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...."  He didn't say that Christ is great, like He's just an unreachable, most high God, but rather he said that knowing Christ is the greatest thing.  Clearly, the Lord we believe in loves to be close to us and communicate with us.  Knowing this, Paul said that "...for whose sake I have lost all things."  Because of his knowledge of Christ, he considered his job, position, knowledge and fame as "a loss", and such understanding gave Paul the strength to live and to serve, and a hope for eternal life.   When we look at our church and ourselves, we need to acknowledge that we are often lukewarm towards our faith.  May God open our eyes so that we may know Him better, and let Jesus Christ become the momentum that draws us closer to God, so that we will hurry to follow Him.                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please open our eyes so that we may truly know your beauty and mercy, righteousness and faithfulness, because you are the Lord who's sitting on the throne!  Let our hearts be stirred up by your fire again, so that we will hurry to follow you.  I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!