July 2, 3, 2022
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

In our last article, we introduced our series on Christ Our Healer. We shared how our concept of healing in the Alliance church is unique as we focus on Christ as our healer. We also talked about the importance of health in general.

But the Bible teaches us that “health” is more than physical health. It encompasses our “spiritual being” as a physical-psychological-spiritual whole. Simply defined, the Hebrew and Biblical concept of “health” is “wholeness” (shalom) for our entire “spiritual being.” In our spiritual journey on earth, we as followers of Christ, still face physical, psychological, and spiritual challenges and trials, just like everyone else. This is because we are still flesh and blood, and oftentimes our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. Our mortal bodies waste away day by day and none of us is immune to disease, sickness, and aging.

Also, the Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and therefore Christians still sin, often grievously as our conscience can be dulled, sometimes even by head knowledge, preventing the work of the Holy Spirit. Sin is indeed one major cause of sickness. Because we are a spiritual whole, our body, our mind, and our soul affect each other, and we can all suffer from physical, mental, and spiritual illnesses stemming from any negative aspect of our whole being. Moreover, lest we forget, Satan is like a roaring lion ready to attack us when we are vulnerable, or when we let our guards down, telling us that “we can be like God…” We are therefore ultimately in a spiritual battle.

Furthermore, we do not preach a health and wealth gospel, and we are not in the charismatic tradition, but we do believe God answers prayers and God heals. In other words, we do not believe that by trying to be a “good” Christian we will automatically be blessed by the Spirit with health and wealth, as if we can earn them by doing good. We also are not in the charismatic tradition where the belief is that by our own efforts we can earnestly seek and get the special gifts of the Holy Spirit which includes physical and emotional health. However, we do believe that God is the healer and in Christ and His substitutionary atonement and redemption, we are healed according to His perfect will. What that means is we are healed by Christ through His sacrificial death. Because He died in our place, we are saved. His saving grace may include temporally saving us from illness according to God’s will and timing, but we are definitely and ultimately saved to have eternal lives, to be with God in heaven.

As an Alliance Church we also believe (and should put in practice more) in prayer, fasting and the anointing with oil as taught in chapter 5 of the book of James. Oil in the Old Testament have medicinal value. Kings, prophets and priests are also anointed signifying the authority and blessings of God. The important thing to note is that ultimately healing comes from God. May the Lord bless us all with His total health and healing.

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Dr. Simon Lee,
Senior Pastor

2022.07.02/03

列宣家親愛的弟兄姊妹,

上星期已開始介紹我們夏季的講道系列(2022年7至9月)，將集中於宣講基督是我們的醫治者，這也是有關四重福音系列的第三部分，是宣道會的特色和神學的核心。基督不僅是我們的救主和我們的成聖者，他也是我們的醫治者。

但按照聖經教導，“健康”不僅指身體方面。也包括我們的“靈性健康”作為一個身體-精神/心理-靈性的整體。簡而言之，希伯來文及聖經中的“健康”概念是我們整個“精神存在”的“整合”(shalom)。在我們活在世上的屬靈旅程中，身為基督的追隨者，我們仍會像其他人一樣面對著身體、精神/心理和靈性上的挑戰和考驗。因為我們仍屬血肉之軀，很多時候我們的心靈是願意的，但我們的肉體卻是軟弱的。我們血肉之軀一天天的消逝，沒有人能免疫於疾病、病痛和衰老。

聖經也告訴我們，人心比萬物都詭詐，因此基督徒可能會因著良心遲鈍，或是只具頭腦的知識，或因阻止了聖靈的工作，仍然會犯罪有時甚至是令人痛心疾首的。罪確實是導致疾病的主要原因之一。因為我們的身心靈是一個整體，我們的身體、思想和靈性相互影響，我們都可能遭受身體、精神和精神疾病的折磨，這些疾病源於我們全人的存在的任何負面影響。此外，不要忘記，撒但就像咆哮的獅子，隨時要準備在我們脆弱時或當我們放鬆警惕時攻擊我們，告訴我們：“我們可以像神一樣…”因此，我們由始至終也處身於屬靈的爭戰中。

此外，我們不宣揚健康和致富的福音，我們也並非屬於靈恩派的傳統，但我們確信神會應允禱告，並會施行醫治。換句話說，我們不相信透過努力成為一個“好”的基督徒，便會自然而然地得到聖靈的祝福，擁有健康和財富，就像我們以為可藉著靠行善來賺取祝福一樣。我們也不像靈恩派的傳統，相信透過自己的努力，可以靠著殷切的尋求而獲得聖靈的特殊恩賜，包括身體，情緒健康。然而，我們確實相信神是醫治者，在基督的犧牲和代贖中，我們按照祂完美的旨意能得到醫治。意即我們藉著基督的犧牲受死而被治癒。因祂代替我們而死，所以我們得著拯救。祂的拯救恩典也包含著按照神的旨意和時間，能拯救我們暫時脫離疾病，但我們絕對肯定至終會得救，獲得永生，在天堂與神同在。

作為宣道會成員的堂會，我們相信(也應更多實踐)雅各書第5章所教導的祈禱、禁食和抹油祈禱。舊約中的油，具有藥用價值。君王、先知和祭司也接受膏抹，象徵著神的主權和祝福。願主以祂的完全健康和醫治賜福予我們。

主僕,
李耀全牧師,
主任牧師

June 25, 26, 2022
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

In this summer quarter (July to September 2022), starting next week, we will be preaching on Christ Our Healer, the third part of our series on the Fourfold Gospel, the very heart of the distinctives and theology of the Alliance Church. Christ is not only our Saviour and our Sanctifier, He is also our healer. In the fall (October to December), we will end the series on Christ our Coming King.

In this series, we are going to start by introducing our Alliance distinctive on healing – looking at healing from the perspective of the salvation in Christ: “by His stripes we are healed.” We will then look at 4 stories of the healing of God found first in the Old Testament, followed by 5 stories of the healing by Jesus found in the New Testament. These stories will tell us that God indeed heals the sick in different circumstances. We also see how healing is an important part of Jesus’ ministries while he was on earth.

We are all very concerned about our physical health and rightly so, because if we are not healthy, we cannot enjoy anything else in life. Therefore, it is important that we all lead good healthy lives, eat well, sleep well, and have healthy lifestyle. But for many of us, trying to lead healthy lives is often a big challenge.

Rev. Rick Warren of Saddleback church wrote a book with Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman in 2020 called The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life. It is much more than a diet plan. The 5 key areas of The Daniel Plan are: Faith, food, fitness, focus and friends. Biblical principles are first and foremost. Then learning the right foods to detox your body and lose weight is key. We all know that exercise is important. We need also to have the right combination of food and fitness. Finally, friendship is most helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We can see that this “5Fs”is a good guide to a healthier life, just like Daniel in the days of old.

However, we still can be become ill because we are mortal and frail, and sometimes sickness is beyond our control, as we have seen in the past three years with the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that we have the vaccine, we should do our best to get vaccinated to be more protected against the ever-changing virus. When possible, we should still use all the precautionary measures available. Those who have very weak immune system should take extra precautions. When we develop symptoms, we should stay home and quarantine ourselves to help prevent the spread of the virus. Let us all do our best to stay healthy for ourselves and each other. (Next week: Christ Our Healer (2))

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Dr. Simon Lee,
Senior Pastor

2022.06.25/26

列宣家親愛的弟兄姊妹,

我們夏季的講道系列(2022年7至9月)，由下個週末開始，將集中於宣講基督是我們的醫治者，這也是有關四重福音系列的第三部分，是宣道會的特色和神學的核心。基督不僅是我們的救主和我們的成聖者，祂也是我們的醫治者。我們將於秋季(10月至12月)以基督是我們再來之王系列作結束。

在這個系列中，我們將首先介紹我們宣道會在醫治方面的獨特之處－從基督救恩的角度來看醫治：“因祂受的鞭傷，我們得醫治。”然後我們將選讀舊約中的4個有關神醫治的事蹟，接著就是在新約中5個耶穌醫治的事蹟。這些故事將給我們看見在不同處境中神也會施行醫治。我們亦看到醫治是耶穌在世主要事工之一。

我們一般對自己身體的健康極為關注，這是理所當然的，因為若失去健康，我們就無法好好享受生活。因此，重要的是我們都過著健康的生活，吃得好，睡得好，持有健康的生活方式。但對我們不少人健康生活往往仍是一大挑戰。

美國加州馬鞍峰教會創會牧師華理克牧師(Rick Warren)於2020年與Daniel Amen及Mark Hyman博士合著一書，書名為《健康標竿-40天但以理計劃》。內容不僅談論飲食計劃。《40天但以理計劃》所涉獵/包含的5個關鍵領域(5Fs)是：信仰(faith)、食物(food)、健身(fitness)、聚焦(focus)和朋友(friends)。聖經原則是首要的。並著重於學習如何以正確的飲食方式來排毒和減肥/瘦身。我們均明白運動的重要性。我們也需要正確地平衡飲食和健身以確保健康。最後，友誼是最有助於保持健康生活方式的因素。這5Fs 是健康生活的指南，有如昔日先知但以理健康的生活一樣。

然而，我們仍然有機會生病，因為我們的血肉之軀是脆弱的，間中染病是無可避免的，正如我們在過去三年的疫情大流行中所見。現在我們有了疫苗，我們應盡最大努力接種疫苗，以能夠更有效地抵禦不斷變種的病毒。再者，在可能的範圍內，我們仍應採取所有可使用的預防措施，特別那些免疫系統極低人士更需要採取額外的預防措施。當我們出現感染症狀時，應留在家裡並自我隔離，以幫助防止病毒傳播。讓我們為著自己和他人，一起努力以保持健康。(下週：君王基督：基督是我們的醫治者(2))

主僕,
李耀全牧師

主任牧師

2022.06.18/19

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Pray for wholeness and well-being

Last Sunday afternoon we had a very meaningful and moving prayer meeting for Newcomers from Hong Kong, attended by over 60 people. Of the newcomers there was even one young person who only arrived three days before the meeting! Quite a few of our members were there to pray with them. There were tearful reflections and sharing. In the end, prayers were offered to God in many ways. Indeed “shalom” was shared.

Continuing our reflection on the word “shalom” we find that it is used about 250 times in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). It is used primarily in three ways:

• About 10% as a greeting or farewell. (e.g. Ezra 4:17)
• About 25% refers to a state or relationship that is free from war or conflict. (e.g. 1 Sam. 7:14)
• About 65% refers to wholeness, maturity and well-being in our daily lives: “And work for the peace and prosperity(shalom) of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare (shalom) will determine your welfare (shalom)” ( 29:7).

As we can see from this analysis, “shalom” is more than a greeting (hello and goodbye). It is also more than the absence of conflict. It is the concept of wholeness and wellness. We read in Genesis 43:27-28, Joseph, without his brothers recognising him, is asking about their health and his father’s health: And he inquired about their welfare (shalom) and said, “Is your father well (shalom), the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ They said, “Your servant our father is well (shalom); he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.” Here “shalom” refers to our welfare and well-being.

In the “Aaronic Blessing” (Numbers 6:24-26), Aaron was instructed by the Lord to pronounce the blessing of the Lord to the people of Israel (and to us today) with these personal words of blessing:

24 “The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵      the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶             the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (shalom).”

Pray for the peace of the City

However, peace (shalom) is not just for the personal well-being of oneself. We need to pray for the peace of our city and nation, as we are shown in praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6-9):

“Pray for the peace (shalom) of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! ⁷ Peace (shalom) be within your walls and security within your towers!”⁸ For my brothers and companions’ sake, I will say, “Peace (shalom) be within you!”⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

Today, we not only pray for our own peace and well-being, we also pray for the City “for the sake of the house of the Lord our God.” Today that must include for us Hong Kong, Vancouver, and for the cities in the many war-torn nations around the world (e.g.  in Ukraine).

Pray and be “shalom-makers”

We are therefore to be shalom-makers (peacemakers). In the beatitude, Jesus Himself taught us to be peacemakers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9). By this, Jesus is not talking about being  “mediators or political negotiators” (Doug Hershey)

In this verse, Jesus is not referring to mediators or sympathizers, but children of God (you and I) are at peace with God and who help others to make peace with God and therefore peace with one another. The meaning of shalom is connection to God. As peacemakers, we share the peace that we have so that others can have the same peace, and be “called sons of God.” May all our prayers bring “shalom”!

In Christ,
Pastor Simon Lee

2022.06.18/19

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹，

上星期日下午在教會舉行的「香港人分享祈禱會」，有超過60人出席。參加的來賓包括一位剛到步3天的年青人！有好幾位我們的會友也前來支持。會中看見不少來賓都是帶着眼淚！我們以不同的方式一起禱告，可說一起分享在主內的「平安」(shalom) 。

繼上文，“Shalom”這詞在舊約(希伯來聖經)被引用了約250次。主要用於下列三方面：

• 約有10%用於問候或告別。(例如:拉4:17)
• 大約25%用於形容沒有戰爭或衝突的國家或關係。(例如:撒上7:14)
• 大約65%是指我們日常生活中的完整、成熟和幸福：“我把你們擄到的那城，你們要為她求平安(shalom)，為她向耶和華祈禱；因為她得平安(shalom)，你們也得平安(shalom)”。(耶29:7)

正如從這個分析中看到，“shalom”不僅是一個問候(問安和再見)，更是指整體(wholeness)和健康(well being)，兩者是沒有衝突。我們在創世記43:27-28 中讀到，約瑟在他的兄弟們沒有認出他的情況下，問及他們和他父親的健康狀況，他詢問他們是否安好：約瑟先向他們問安(shalom)，然後又問：“你們的父親，就是你們所說的那老人家平安 (shalom)嗎？他還在嗎？”他們回答：“你僕人我們的父親平安 (shalom)，他還在。”於是他們低頭下拜。”這裡“shalom”是指我們的平安和福祉。

在“亞倫的祝福”(民6:24-26) 中，亞倫被主指示用以下的個人祝福語向以色列民(以及今天的我們)宣告主的賜福：²⁴ 願耶和華賜福你，保護你；²⁵願耶和華使他的臉光照你，賜恩給你；²⁶願耶和華敞臉垂顧你，賜你平安(shalom)。

為城市祈求平安

然而，平安(shalom)不僅為了個人的福祉。我們需要為我們的城市和國家的和平祈禱，正如昔日以色列人為耶路撒冷的和平祈禱(詩122:6-9)：⁶你們要為耶路撒冷求平安(shalom)，說：“耶路撒冷啊！願愛你的人都亨通。⁷願你的城牆內有平安(shalom)，願你的宮殿中有安穩。”⁸為了我的兄弟和朋友的緣故，我要說：“願你中間有平安(shalom)。”⁹為了耶和華我們神的殿的緣故，我要為你求福樂。

今天，我們不僅為著我們個人的平安和福祉祈禱，我們也要為我們身處的城市，包括香港、溫哥華；以及世界許多飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家祈禱，“為我們的主，我們神的殿”祈禱。

祈求並成為“shalom-makers” “使人和平者”

因此，我們要成為使人和平的人(締造和平者)。在八福中，耶穌親自教導我們要成為和平的締造者：“使人和平的人有福了，因為他們必稱為神的兒子。”(太5:9)。在此，耶穌並不是在談論成為“調解人”或“政治談判者”(Doug Hershey) ；在這節經文中，耶穌不是指向調解或同情者，是指向作為神的兒女(你和我)要與神和好，也要幫助他人與神和好，從而帶來彼此的和好。沙龍(shalom)的意思是與神的聯繫。作為使人和平者，我們要將從神而的平安與別人分享，好讓其他人也能擁有同樣的平安，並被“稱為神的兒子”。願我們所有的祈禱都帶來“平安”！

主僕，
李耀全牧師

2022.06.11/12
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Pray for “shalom”

“Ciao” is an Italian greeting that means both “Good-bye” when you are leaving a person or place, and “Hello” when you meet someone when you arrive. This is used in our poster for our “Hongkong Newcomer Prayer Meeting.”  In the past eight months we have many such Hongkong newcomers coming to our Church services, especially to the 2 Cantonese services and AYAYA. For many of these people, saying “good-bye” to Hongkong was often a very sad and painful experience. It is not any easier when they arrive here to start anew all over, as saying “hello” must be filled with a lot of mixed feelings which include anxiety and a lot of uncertainty.

I personally have underscored again and again to all our staff that RCAC is politically neutral, and we welcome people, just like us, from the whole socio-political spectrum. Pastor Francis the organizer for the Prayer Meeting agrees fully. Our “Hongkong Newcomer Prayer Meeting” is organised solely to welcome them with open arms, whatever their background maybe, and to pray for them and with them that our Lord will give them peace and joy, and they will settle faster and find a spiritual home.

Interestingly, “shalom” is also a word that comes to mind that means in Hebrew both “good-bye” and ”hello,” used in the greetings among Jewish people even today.  Actually, the word is translated most often as “peace” but it is much more than our concept of “peace.” So, in saying “goodbye” or “hello,” we are saying, put simply, “shalom” be with you. In fact, “goodbye” is shortened from “God be with you.”  The Christian Community Development Association describes “shalom” this way:

“When God created the heavens and the earth, he wove it all together like a million silk threads forming a dazzling garment never before seen, each thread passing over, under, and around millions of others to create a perfectly complementary, tightly-woven interdependent, amazing whole. This wondrous webbing together of God and man and all of creation is what the Hebrew prophets called shalom. Shalom is a word packed with hope for a broken, bruised, and wounded world. It speaks of wholeness, right relationships, justice, salvation, and righteousness, all of which can be missed when we read the English word “peace.” God’s intention for every community is that his shalom would reign.”

Indeed, what we Christians at RCAC have to offer these newcomers is more than a warm welcome. Jesus, the Prince of Shalom (Isa. 9:6), Himself said to us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) In this article (I and II), I would like to study and share with you the rich meaning of “shalom.”

In Christ,
Pastor Simon Lee