Favour: Given and Grown
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Favour is what wisdom produces.
We cannot wrestle or strive for favour; favour is given. Samuel’s story of receiving favour starts even before he was born, when his mother Hannah dedicated him to the Lord. Samuel had no choice in the matter; he is the result of someone else’s sacrifice. What he received wasn’t a result of his deeds, but rather a reflection of the Father’s grace.
Samuel grew up in the midst of an environment where those around him rebelled against God, and where the one who was supposed to lead was also compromised. Despite this, Samuel never allowed his environment to become an excuse; rather, he placed his focus solely on ministering before the Lord. Favour is received when we set our eyes on His presence despite the circumstances around us.
Samuel’s choice to stay near the ark allowed him to hear God’s voice; something that even the high priest was unable to do in the moment. Proximity is important; because of Samuel’s closeness to the presence, he was able to hear His voice. As Eli slept soundly in his usual place of rest, he could not hear. God also challenges Samuel - He chose not to reveal Himself even as Samuel mistakes Him to be the voice of Eli. God trains Samuel to recognize His voice. The result? He became recognized as a prophet of God, a man who definitively knew God’s voice. That is favour!
Favour also leads us to people. When we are given favour with people from God, we gain the grace to influence their hearts where no one else can touch. Favour with men has to be grown. Just as Jesus sat with His teachers in the temple and asked them questions, when we sit with others, we want to get to know them and who they are. Learn to ask good questions to those around you.
What does this mean for us now? We now have a generation desperate to understand what they live for. The truth is, the only way we figure out who we are is to figure out who we belong to. Our identity is rooted in the Father; when we come to know who God is and what He says about us, He enables us to walk in the favour and mission that He has assigned to us.
So, the key is this: what is our usual place, and what is our ark? Eli’s place was familiar but farther from the presence of God - Samuel intentionally placed himself close to God, and in return was given both favour from God and eventually, with people. Where is our usual place, and how do we close the gap between us and God so that we intentionally place ourselves closer to Him? For some, maybe it looks like replacing our phone with the Word first thing in the morning. Maybe it looks like listening and praying with our children rather than simply praying for them. Maybe it looks like turning off the TV during dinner, and instead ministering unto the Lord as a family together. What would it look like this week to move closer to the ark?
Lord, may we learn to steward favour from You so that we may touch the hearts of those around us. May our focus be on Your glory and presence, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. Through Your favour, may be be able to walk in the unique mission that You have assigned to each and every one of us.
We Have a Perfect Father
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalms 103:13
We have a perfect Father, and the Word is full of examples of how He shows His everlasting love and kindness to His children.
He sees you
Hagar was a slave with no status in the world she lived in. She was without a voice or a future that she could call her own. When Hagar fled and went into hiding while pregnant, an angel of the Lord appeared to comfort her and gave her the name for her son, Ishmael, meaning the God who hears. Her response is to name God, “‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” (Genesis 16:13).
God wants us to experience HIm for ourselves so that we know we don't have to fight to be seen. I don’t have to defend my own case because He is the one who sees it all. A person who has not yet discovered that the Father sees them spends their entire life trying to be seen by everyone else. They need the approval of others. A son or daughter that knows that the Father sees them is free to see and care for others. They stop performing for the crowd and instead look for the ones that the crowd would miss.
He names you
Names are given by parents to give identity. Identity is not something we earn or prove, it is what the Father gives us. He calls you son and daughter before you even have the chance to do anything to deserve it.
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba Father.’”
Romans 8:15
The spirit He has given us is what causes us to cry out and call Him Abba. He has placed that reach for intimacy in us from the very beginning.
He’s given you everything
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:3
The Father emptied out heaven’s treasury for us. He gave us the most valuable treasure in heaven, Jesus. If He is willing to offer us that precious gift and grace, what would He withhold from us?
He gives you Family
You get a Father and a family. The Lord’s prayer specifically starts with “Our Father,” not my Father. We were never meant to walk alone. The Lord gave us this priceless gift of family, and we have the ability to keep giving this gift freely to others.
He runs to you
Adam and Eve created distance between them and the Father when they sinned, but the Father’s pattern from the very beginning is to close the gap between us. Just like in the parable of the prodigal’s son, the Father is not ashamed of our filth. Instead, He waits and watches for us, filled with compassion and love, and the moment He sees us turn towards Him, He runs to us with arms stretched wide, ready to embrace.
Father, please keep showing us your deep love for us. Our hearts cry out to you, Abba, we long for a greater depth of intimacy with you.
Happy is the One Who Finds Wisdom
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Wisdom is a person.
It isn’t just something we possess or collect throughout life; rather, walking in wisdom is to be in relationship with God, and walking with the mind of Christ. Wisdom is a divine partnership which we only gain access to when we choose to get closer to Him and open our eyes to what He has to say.
Wisdom allows us to reign.
The purpose of wisdom is to enable us to have authority over the circumstances that happen around us. When God gives us wisdom, it allows us to have influence and serve His purposes in love and humility, even in a world that values dominance, greed, and power. For example, when we reign in wisdom for finances, our resources can work for us rather than against, no matter the amount of resource we have. When we have wisdom for our relationships, we are able to discern and conduct ourselves in a manner that empowers us to serve and thrive among others rather than being victims of the relationships that surround us. Wisdom enables us to set the tone - no matter the situation, environment or people that we find ourselves amongst.
We get wisdom by asking God.
We have access to wisdom when we posture ourselves to seek Him and His word. Jesus, through His blood and the cross, has enabled us to have access to relationship with Him. If we lack wisdom, seek HIM! Simple as that. We need to pursue wisdom; it is a prize that we must run after, and also teach the next generation to prioritize. King Solomon chose wisdom over power or favour when asked by God for anything he desired. In the same way, may we learn to lay aside what we desire for wisdom. In turn, when we train well for wisdom, it enables us to use what God has given us to benefit rather than harm those around us. God only entrusts those he sees are wise.
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Lord, in a world where we are taught to pursue happiness and fulfillment of self, may we recognize that true happiness comes through the pursuit of You, the person behind wisdom. May we begin to turn our ears towards You and allow You to work within us. May You mark us with your wisdom so that we can partner with You as we step back into our families, communities, roles, and relationships in this coming week. May we find other wise companions to pursue wisdom together. May we reign in wisdom!
The Fall and Rise of the Fortunate
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Lord, we want the fullness of Your Kingdom. We want the fullness of Your Holy Spirit. Make us ready. We make room, we ask you to break through our ceilings of the old and of the limited. Fill us with the fullness of overflow.
May we overflow from the centre. May we be found not just in the room of Your presence but at the centre of that room. Being at the centre will cost me something. It will cost my attention, it will cost the affections of my heart, it will cost my control - it will cost my “I am”. The I AM’s invitation to the centre requires me to come away from the window, this place of periphery where I can be in the room with one foot out, where I can hear the voice inside while still peering outside. Your invitation is to stay close.
Father, but when I fall, thank you for the fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, grandpas and aunties and friends who come down, cover and embrace me. For those who leave their post to get close, who say to my spirit, “there is still life in you!” For those who throw their arms around me - let me take your shame, there is no blame. Like Paul did for the young man Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12). Like the Father did for His prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
The ability to find life is what breaks cycles and heals generations.
Help us to stay close to the centre. In hungering, in serving, in sonship. May we be filled with Your Holy Spirit. Only then can we see and speak life to our community. Where there is LIFE… that is where Your Spirit can land and rest.
Lord, we don’t just want to feel the warmth of the room, we want to be in the centre of Your fire. The fire of Your Holy Spirit that pours down to the centre of our humility and lowliness. Make us ready for Your outpouring in this hour.
Spirit of Wisdom
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,”
Ephesians 1:17
As we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, allowing the Spirit to fill us, we are responding to the invitation of wisdom for us to be transformed.
Many times we feel that we have stumbled through things in life. How did I get here? How did I find myself in the place where I am? There are biblical principles of sowing and reaping that show us the cause and effect of how our actions and choices can build up or create destruction. Wisdom is understanding how we ended up where we are based on these principles. Wisdom allows us to see how to refrain from repeating destructive paths and how we can purposefully “stumble” on success.“Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.”Proverbs 1:23
Wisdom is an invitation. It comes at a turning point when we respond to the rebuke of the Lord. When we repent, He promises to pour His Spirit of wisdom on us. When He comes on us, He transforms who we are. Through this, we get access to Jesus speaking in us - this is the essence of wisdom, the person of Jesus.
Are we living in the fullness of this pouring out of the Spirit of wisdom, from the fullness of the resurrection of Christ?
We can unintentionally live with an orphan spirit when we dismiss the voice of the Holy Spirit. When He nudges us, but we respond saying, “I’ll do what I want to do. I don’t need your help,” we fight for our own significance instead of surrendering to the advocate that paid it all for us.
Transformation comes when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to the areas in our heart. Wisdom comes from the willingness to know and understand the heart of the Spirit and act according to His nudges.
If you feel like you don’t have as much of this wisdom as you would like, James 1:5 has good news: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”Lord, we ask for a greater measure of wisdom. We long to be sensitive to the nudging of your heart and the words you speak in us.
Pentecost: Plunging into the Depth of the Promise
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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To be a disciple, there is a non-negotiable rhythm throughout God's Word. The order of death, burial and resurrection is the divine pattern that He has set.
Baptism is the means by which God uses to turn death to life; it is the public declaration that we make to choose the path of life and become a new creation. Not only are we taken out of the world when we are baptized, but we are, from that moment on, purchased to God.
Throughout scripture we see the power of water and the promise that God has declared - anything that goes through His water that is not nailed to the cross WILL die. The flood brings destruction to sin and marks a fresh start for humanity, with the Holy Spirit appearing as a dove, signaling new life. When God takes the Israelites out of bondage in Exodus, he parts the Red Sea and drowns out all the powers sent against His people so that they may be free. The stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jonah, Peter and David all echo the pattern of God using water to turn death into life and resurrection. Water is what God uses to cleanse and redeem His people, and change the physical for His purposes.
When Jesus came, He asked to be baptized to humble Himself and identify with all of us, who need baptism to be free. When the dove comes on Jesus, it is a signal of transition, a passing of the mantle to become the High Priest; His baptism fulfills all righteousness and sets the path for Jesus to baptize His disciples with the Holy Spirit.
When the disciples are baptized on Pentecost, it is again an echo of the promise that God intended from Genesis - only this time, they were baptized with fire from Jesus. Water cleanses, but fire purifies. Fire sets us apart, opens our eyes to Him and signals His presence. When we are baptized, we don't just obtain life, but become life-giving. As the disciples were plunged in the depths of their heart and given new life, they then set forth to spread His fire to the world.
Holy Spirit, may you baptize us. May the headwaters from Heaven break open and engulf our hearts today. In this season of transition, may we recognize that we are not only being redeemed, but also sent forth; we are consecrated so that we may partner with You to spread Your fire to our city and break the strongholds of the enemy. May we receive the Holy Spirit so that we may release life to those around us. Amen!
Stay Through the Breakthrough
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Tension is good. Sitting in tension is good.
Tension is what Jesus chose to live in when He, having come from the place where everything is made new, came down to us. When He came down to a world that is broken, and so in need.
To each one who is sitting in tension, to each one who has questions (Lord, just help me understand!): You are in a good place. You are in a place that pulls on the heart of heaven. The offending of your mind is what comes before breakthrough. In the not knowing, in the mystery, how are we allowing Him to mature our spirits? Are we yielded enough to allow him to tune our spirits to sense where there is life? To shift our pursuit of the tree of knowledge (knowing what is right and wrong), to the tree of life?
This place of struggling with our flesh, this place of invitation to fully-yielded surrender is where the 120 disciples found themselves during the ten days between Jesus' ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Before He ascended, Jesus gave them (us) the Great Commission. And, He instructed them to wait (Acts 1:4 NKJV).
In the GO of sending, there is a WAIT.
In the promise of building, there is a STAY.
In our gathering, our TOGETHER-together is in accordanceto His WORD.
Before fire, there must be a sacrifice. Before receiving an outpouring, there must be a yielding to the Holy Spirit. This was the pattern the apostles had to learn before building the church, and it is a pattern that our God continues to teach us in the way He moves and comes.~
On your altar, oh Lord, may we be found lowly and humble. You give grace to the humble, and we so need your grace. When our minds are offended, help our spirits to stay engaged. When our flesh wants to leave, to just go, help us to wait. For, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). And when Your outpouring comes, may You find us a people You can stay with. May You find us a people You can find rest with.
Invited to Carry the Promise
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Happy Mothers’ Day!
God has used mums in the story of redemption to reveal aspects of His heart and nature.
The Lord divinely designed women and mothers to play a major role at every significant turning in His redemptive story. Mothers in the kingdom of God carry an eternal impact, and have influence that stretches into generations.
Eve was the first promise bearer. God used her to show that motherhood would become the vessel for salvation. She carried the seed that would crush the serpent’s head.
Sarah laughed at God’s promises, but God used her womb, which was dead, to be the birthplace of an entire nation. The promise was given to Abraham, but it was carried and born through Sarah.
Naomi was broken and bitter, but she became the instrument that pulled an outsider into God’s redemptive story. Her grief did not disqualify her from taking part, but God wove it into the story of redemption.
Ruth teaches us what true loving relationships look like. Her willingness to stay, sacrifice, and to serve placed her directly in the lineage of Jesus.
Hannah interceded for a son just when Israel was losing their way. She pours out her soul in prayer and her travail brings forth Samuel, the prophet who would anoint Israel’s greatest king.
Her prayer is the seed for Mary’s prayer, and they echo one another through eternity.
Elizabeth was past the age of child bearing, yet God used her pregnancy to make sure Mary kept her baby. Without Elizabeth it would have been very difficult for Mary. Generations birth things that pave the way for each other. We are not in competition with each other, instead, two generations can carry God’s redemptive purpose at the same time.
Mary became the ultimate vessel for God’s promise to Eve. She was a young ordinary woman that was chosen to carry the living God. Her response to this, “Let it be unto me according to your word,” represents the most significant act of surrender in all of human history. She carried, she birthed, she raised, and she gave the saviour of the world. No one has loved and lost at a greater cost than Mary.
The mothers in God’s story reveal in the natural our call to carry and travail in the spiritual. Intercession is about carrying God’s burden, His heart deposited into us. May we step into this calling of carrying and bringing forth the things that are on the heart of God.
Lord, we say we are willing for it to be unto us according to your word.
The Sign of Jonah: Death, Burial, and Resurrection
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu, Pastor Richard Kao
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There is a fellowship with Christ that can only be experienced through suffering.
When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees to show a sign from Heaven, He points to the story of Jonah. The three days he spent in the whale's belly mirrors the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
As we know, dwelling within the stomach of a whale isn't the most comfortable experience. However, Jonah was transformed inside the whale. When he came out, he carried a new zeal that became the catalyst to overturning the destiny of an entire city.
Jonah was able to be a part of this just because he was called to it by God; in fact, he ran the opposite way from where he was supposed to be. Despite him turning away, he was able to be transformed because of his experience of suffering, and the revelation that He received in knowing that only through Him did he still live.
In the same way, the death and resurrection of Jesus is our testimony. If we experience and share in the suffering that He went through, only then can we begin to understand the magnitude of His love. Without the blood of Jesus, we would have no presence to experience for ourselves. Our faith rests on the foundation of the finished work that Jesus did on the cross.~
Lord, may you touch our hearts and make us more like Jonah. Fill us with a lifelong zeal for you that comes when we recognize the power of your resurrection. May you do the work within us in preparation for us to touch our city. May we fellowship in Your suffering so that You can transform us. Turn our feet to where you have called us even if we are fearful!
Leviticus: It’s All About Jesus
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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It's all about Jesus.
Everything. Is about Jesus.
Even in Old Testament books like Leviticus that may seem dry at first read but, as we look closer, reveal the wisdom and poetry of a God, of a Father who had a plan for redemption all along.
Leviticus 14:1-8 details the process by which a person diseased with leprosy is pronounced clean by the priest. In God's masterful wisdom, it is also a picture of the Gospel - of how Christ, our Great High Priest, cleanses us from sin. We are made clean through the cross (cedar wood) and through His blood (scarlet yarn). And it is through our faith and confession (hyssop) that we apply His blood to cover our lives.
Christ's death (the bird that is killed) and resurrection life (the live bird that is released) come together. Like the live bird dipped in water and blood, we are released to spread the washing of water and the covering of His blood over our families and communities, as we overcome the accuser - by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).
~Holy Spirit, open our eyes and stir our hearts to the profound affection of Your redemption of our souls.
Father, this was Your plan all along - that the suffering Lamb would release life and make a way for us to come home to You.
Jesus, perfect Lamb who was slain and raised to life, thank you. May we never lose the gift of tenderness and tears.
May we never become familiar with the Gospel.