April 30 /May 1, 2022

From the Pastor’s Desk Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

What a joy to witness on Easter Sunday this year 10 persons were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! This follows 19 persons baptized last October on Thanksgiving Sunday. I am totally amazed by the work of God Himself amidst the COVID pandemic, that after almost two years of the Church being locked down, altogether there are still 29 new members through baptism. Yes, it is all the grace of God!

At the baptism, each baptismal candidate is asked two questions. First, do you know you are a sinner, and you accept Christ as your Saviour who washes away all your sins? The second question is will you from now on follow Christ as your Lord, obey His teaching and grow in your faith daily? It is so exciting each time to hear each candidate answers very affirmatively “I will!” The whole congregation all reacts with joy to witness that, just like the angels in heaven!

But all of us as Christians struggle in our faith after we put our faith in Christ. It is part of the growing process when we face all sorts of trials in our daily lives. At such time it is important to remember that Christ is not only our Saviour, but also our Sanctifier. Christ will help us grow as Christians so as to conform to His image. Peter teaches us: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (I Peters 1:14-16, quoting Lev.19:2) So for the next two months, we are going to look at the theme of “Christ Our Sanctifier.”  We will do this by studying the Book of James.

The Book of James is most probably written by James, the brother of Jesus. James, together with Peter and John, were the pillars of the church (Gal. 2:9). He was the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church as we can see in his speech at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).

The purpose of the letter of James is to encourage the early believers to grow in Christian maturity and holiness of life. James teaches young Christians how to achieve spiritual maturity through “a confident stand, compassionate service, careful speech, contrite submission, and concerned sharing.” (BKC) It deals with every aspect of our Christian walk.  James emphasizes “practical holiness,” how faith and conduct must come together when we walk with Christ, in all situations of life. The series is as follows:

Christ our Sanctifier 1: The testing of your faith (1:1-18)
Christ our Sanctifier 2: Hearing and doing the Word (1:19-27)
Christ our Sanctifier 3: The danger of prejudice (2:1-13)
Christ our Sanctifier 4: Faith without work is dead (2:14-26)
Christ our Sanctifier 5: The taming of the tongue (3:1-18)
Christ our Sanctifier 6: The challenge of worldliness (4:1-12)
Christ our Sanctifier 7: The challenge of the wealthy (4:13-5:12)
Christ our Sanctifier 8: The prayer of Faith (5:13-20)

Brothers and sisters, please read ahead and wait for a word from Christ our Sanctifier. Shalom!

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Simon

2022.04.31/5.01

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

繼去年10 月感恩節主日有19位弟兄姊妹受洗後，我們十分歡喜快樂地在今年的復活節主日一同見證10 位弟兄姊妹奉父、子、聖靈之名接受洗禮！在新冠病毒大流行中，神自己的工作讓我感到非常讚嘆驚訝，在教會被封鎖近兩年後，總共還有29位新成員藉著洗禮加入教會。無可置疑的，這全是神的恩典！

在施洗過程中，每位準備受洗者都會被問到兩個問題。首先，你知道你是一個罪人，你願意接受耶穌基督為你的救主，赦免你所有的罪嗎？第二個問題是，從今以後，你願意跟隨基督，尊祂為你的主，遵守施的教導，每天在你的信心上成長嗎？每當聽到每個受洗者都非常肯定地回答“我願意”，真是令人感到興奮。就像天上的眾天使一樣，全會眾也滿懷喜樂地一同見證他們對主的確信！

但是，在我們相信基督之後，所有作為基督徒的我們，當我們在日常生活中面臨各種考驗時，都會在信仰歷程中經歷過掙扎。這是成長過程的一部分。在這時候，重要的是要記住，基督不僅是我們的救主，也是我們的成聖者。基督會幫助我們成長，為能在生命中反映祂的榮美形象的基督徒。彼得教導我們：“你們作為順服的兒女，就不要再效法從前無知的時侯，放縱情慾的生活。那召你們的既是聖潔的，你們在一切所行的事上也要聖潔，因為經上記著說：“你們要聖潔，因為我是聖潔的。”(彼前1:14-16，引用：利19:2）因此，在接下來的兩個月裡，我們的講道信息將集中於“基督是我們的成聖者”這主題之上。我們將透過研讀雅各書來一起學習。

雅各書的作者一般認為由耶穌的兄弟雅各所寫。雅各與彼得和約翰同為教會的支柱(加2:9）。正如我們從使徒行傳15章，他在耶路撒冷會議上的講述中所見，他是眾人所公認的耶路撒冷教會領袖。雅各書的寫作目的，是為鼓勵早期的信徒要在基督徒的邁向成熟和聖潔生活中成長。這些教導涉及我們基督徒生活的每一方面。雅各強調，“實際的活出成聖生活”，就是要我們學習如何在生活中的所有情況下與基督同行，信仰和行為必須一致。基督是我們的成聖者講道系列如下：

1: 信心的試煉(1:1-18)
2: 踐道於行(1:19-27)
3: 偏見之危機(2:1-13)
4: 信心缺行為是死的(2:14-26)
5: 舌頭的馴服(3:1-18)
6: 屬世的挑戰(4:1-12)
7: 財富的挑戰(4:13-5:12)
8: 信心的禱告(5:13-20)

在此謹請各位弟兄姊妹預先抽時間來細讀經文，並讓基督我們的成聖者，藉著神的話語向我們說話。願您們平安！

主僕
李耀全牧師

2022.04.16/17
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Easter is here! Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! On this day, we celebrate the complete victory of Christ, over death, over sins and temptation, and ultimately over Satan.

When I first started this series of article on “The first and last temptations of Christ,” I was struck by the fact that three times in the last days of Jesus was “tested” on politically sensitive, theological and ethical issues, by the religious leaders of the day, trying to put Him to death. Jesus was able to answer all these “tests” with divine wisdom. I then remembered that Jesus when He began His ministry was first tempted by Satan three times also. As I re-study these temptations, I realized that were not like the cunning traps that the religious leaders laid for Jesus, but that they were challenges of much greater cosmic significance. Satan wanted Jesus to listen to him and demonstrate in Satan’s ways that Jesus was the “Son of God,” and so not follow the plan of God the Father, which was the way of the cross. But Jesus did not fall for Satan’s craftiness and rebutted him every time with the Word of God. I finally realized that the three first temptations were but one, whether Jesus as the Son of God would follow Satan or follow the will of God.

Therefore, in this final article of the series, I would like to change the focus instead to Christ’s final real “test” (temptation), the one that He faced in His spiritual struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:36-46).  The crux of the trial was expressed in Jesus’ prayer to His Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26:39)

Jesus was not afraid of death or the pain He knew He would suffer, that was not the test. The “cup” referred to here is the cup of suffering due to sin and eventual death. Jesus knew He would be separated from the Father (Mt 27:46) and He would bear the sin of all humanity (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). The Father has never forsaken His Son before. A cup, figuratively in the Old Testament, refers to wrath. The wrath of God was on Christ because of the sins of all humanity now were borne by Him.

Indeed later, at the ninth hour on the day Christ was crucified, “Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46, quoting from Ps. 22:1) Therefore, in Gethsemane, Jesus was exceedingly grieved or sad to the point of total distress.  This distress was not helped by the fact Jesus’ most trusted disciples: Peter, James and John, were not able to stay awake, and watch and pray with Him.

The last and final “temptation” of Christ was not wrestling with or resisting God’s will. As perfect man, Jesus felt the heavy burden of repelling sin. Yet as the Son of God, He was ready to yield to the will of God and fulfill the mission that the Father sent Him to accomplish. This “struggle” comes from the mystery of His humanity and deity, the fact that Jesus the Son of God was at the same time the Son of Man. Christ was already victorious when He rose after the prayers in the Garden to face those that were going to betray Him and crucifying Him on the cross.

Before Jesus yielded up His spirit and died, he shouted, “It is finished! Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” (Jn 19:30)  It was a shout of victory, as Jesus the Son of God had obeyed fully the will of the Father. Jesus was triumphant over Satan and all his deceptions. His mission was accomplished.

We read that on the day Jesus rose from the dead, in the early morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb…, an angel of the Lord said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead…, So …with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (28:1-9)

Yes, Christ has risen. He is victorious over all temptations, sin, death and Satan. Let us all come and worship Him, for He is indeed the Son of God. He had died and rose from the dead to make us all children of God.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Your servant in Christ
Rev. Simon Lee

2022.04.16/17
李耀全牧師

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

復活節到了！基督復活了，祂的而且確的復活了！在這一天，我們慶祝基督完全戰勝死亡、戰勝罪惡和誘惑，最終戰勝魔鬼撒但。

當我第一次開始撰寫關於“基督的首次和最後的試探”文章系列時，令我懾服的是，耶穌於在世的最後日子裡，當時的領袖和宗教人士，企圖置祂於死地，曾三次在政治敏感問題、神學和倫理問題上 “考驗” 祂。耶穌均能夠以屬神的智慧一一應對所有這些“考驗”。我也記得，當耶穌開始祂的事工時，祂亦曾三次受到撒但的試探。當我重新研究這些誘惑時，我才意識到這與末後宗教領袖為耶穌設置的狡猾陷阱截然不同之處，是先前的試探含蘊著具有更大「超宇性」(cosmic)意義的挑戰。先前撒但希望耶穌聽從牠的獻計，不要遵循聖父上帝的計劃而走上十字架的道路，並以牠的方式來證明祂自己是“神的兒子”。但耶穌並沒有中了撒但的詭計，而是每次都用神的話來駁斥牠。我終於明白，先前三個試探實為三連於一，要耶穌選擇跟隨撒但的意思或跟隨神的旨意，以表明神兒子的身份。

因此，在本系列最後的一篇文章中，我的重點轉到關注基督最後的真正“考驗”(試探)，即祂在客西馬尼園的屬靈爭戰中所面對的考驗(太 26:36-46)。試煉的癥結關鍵在於耶穌對天父的禱告 “我的父啊，可能的話，求你使這杯離開我；但不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思！”(太26:39）

耶穌的考驗不在於畏懼死亡，也更不在於畏懼祂自己知道將會遭受的痛苦。這裡所說的“杯”是指因犯罪而受苦和最終死亡的杯。耶穌知道他將會與父神分離 (太27:46) ，並且他會承擔全人類的罪在祂身上（林後5:21; 彼前2:24）。父神從未離棄過祂的兒子。“杯”，在舊約中比喻為忿怒。神的忿怒傾在基督身上，因為現在全人類的罪孽都由祂承擔了。

事實上，接著，在基督被釘十字架那天的第九個小時，“耶穌大聲喊著說：“以利，以利，lema sabachthani？意即，“我的神，我的神，你為什麼離棄我？” （27:46，引自詩篇22:1）回顧在客西馬尼園，耶穌極度悲傷及傷痛，甚至到極度痛苦的地步。事實可見，連耶穌最信任的門徒彼得、雅各和約翰也無法保持清醒，與祂一起守望與祈禱，門徒並沒有分擔減輕祂的痛苦。

基督至終並最後的“試探”不是與神的旨意鬥爭抗衡，也不是抗拒神的旨意。作為完美的人，耶穌感受到驅除罪惡的沉重負荷。然而，作為神的兒子，祂已經準備好完全順服神的旨意，完成天父差祂來成就的使命。這種“掙扎”來自於祂的人性與神性在於一身的奧秘，即神的兒子耶穌同時也是人子的事實。當基督在客西馬尼園祈禱後站起來，正面面對那些將要出賣祂並將祂釘在十字架上的人時，祂已經得勝了。

耶穌在將祂的靈魂交付於神，斷氣之前，他喊道：“成了！父啊，我將我的靈魂交在您的手中！” (約19:30)  這「成了」是勝利的呼喊，因為神的兒子耶穌完全順從了天父的旨意。耶穌戰勝了撒但和牠所有的詭計。主的使命完成了。

我們讀到，在耶穌從死裡復活的那天，清晨，抹大拉的馬利亞和另一個馬利亞去看墳墓……主的一位天使對婦女們說： “不要怕，我知道你們尋找被釘十字架的耶穌。他不在這裡，已經照他所說的復活了。你們來看安放他的地方吧。” 快去告訴他的門徒，他已經從死人中復活了……，她們…又害怕，又十分歡喜，跑去告訴耶穌的門徒。忽然，耶穌向她們迎面而來，說：“你們好！”她們就上前，抱住他的腳拜他。(28:1-9)

是的，基督已經復活了。祂勝過一切試探、罪惡、死亡和撒但。讓我們都來敬拜祂，因為祂確實是神的兒子。祂已經為我們贖罪死了，又從死裡復活，使我們成為神的兒女。

“神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不至滅亡，反得永生。因為神差他的兒子到世上來，不是要定世人的罪，而是要使世人藉著他得救。信他的，不被定罪；不信的，罪已經定了，因為他不信神獨生子的名。”(約3:16-18)

主僕,
李耀全牧師

2022.04.02/03
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

We recently sang again the hymn “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Yes, it was also for my sins and all our sins that Jesus Christ died on the cross. In my previous article, I shared how this Lenten season for me has been a time of deep reflection, as I try to go deeper into understanding the suffering of Christ especially in the last week of His life. I see that Jesus at the end of His ministry was “tested” three times (Mt. 22:15-40), and this reminds me that when he started His ministry, He was “tempted” by the devil three times as well. I wonder whether there is any lesson we can draw from that.

As said, in looking back at the first temptations of Christ, I was struck by the fact that He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. I discovered a truth I had missed before, that is, the first temptations of Christ are all in the sovereign plan of God. Christ’s temptations also prepared Him to be the High Priest who understands our needs (Heb. 2:16-18; 4:15-16). Let take a closer look at the first three temptations.

The first temptation of Christ by the devil was right after the 40 days of fasting when Jesus was physically weak from hunger. The devil wanted to take advantage of Christ’s vulnerability and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Mt. 4:3) This temptation involves first of all listening and responding to the devil and yielding to the devil’s suggestion of Jesus satisfying His own physical needs using His power as the Son of God prematurely, contrary to the will of God. Jesus in His response simply quoted the word of God (Deut. 8:3): “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The first lesson we learn here is in all our own trials, turn our eyes to Christ and His Word.

The second temptation was when Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down…” by subtly misquoting the assurances found in Scripture. This is the second time the devil questioned the sonship of Christ. This test of the devil again involves making Christ listening and responding to him and making Him to display His authority, ahead of God’s plan for Him, as if Christ needed to prove Himself to the devil. Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut. 6:16) The second lesson we can take away is we must never blame God for our trials and learn to submit to God’s sovereignty.

The third temptation was when “the devil offered Jesus a shortcut to His Kingdom” (Wiersbe), avoiding all the suffering Jesus knew He had to endure. This was when the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. All Jesus had to do to enjoy all that pomp and glory, the devil said, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus responded by saying, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Deut. 6:13; 10:20) The third lesson is that we should never succumb to wanting to short-circuit our trials which are allowed by God, and focus on worshipping God, and God alone?

Some commentators have drawn comparison of Jesus by the devil with Satan’s temptations of Eve in the Garden of Eden. The first temptation was an appeal to physical appetite (Gen 3:1). The second temptation was an appeal to personal gain (Gen 3:4). The third temptation was an appeal to power or glory (Gen 3:5). Also, in each case Satan twisted and manipulated God’s Word.

Before Jesus began His ministry on earth, the devil wanted to test Jesus on His self-identity. Twice the devil explicitly started his temptation with these words: “If you are the Son of God…”and implicitly and more subtly by offering the devil himself as the ruler of the kingdoms of the world to be worshipped by Jesus. Jesus the Son of God became the Son of Man so as to be our Saviour and Lord. His Sonship was not taken away when Jesus came into the world as a man in all His humanness, tested by the devil. As said in the introduction, the author of Hebrews tells us, “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 2:16-18) Christ’s complete triumph over human weaknesses as a man in fact demonstrate that He is the Son of God.

The author of Hebrews goes furthermore and assures us that because Jesus was tempted just like us but did not sin, that Jesus is a high priest that can understand our weaknesses and give us help when we are in need. He says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:14-16) Christ’s complete triumph over human weaknesses as a man further demonstrates that He is our Saviour par excellence.

One final reflection, in the first temptations of Christ, we see that word of God can be misused and misrepresented by the devil in tempting us, but it can also be used powerfully in fighting back the devil in our temptations. Therefore, we must know the Word of God well to discern what is the truth and what is falsehood, and be able to use it in our spiritual warfare, for it is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17b)

Next: The first and last temptations of Christ (3): The last temptations

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Simon Lee