Healing Begins 醫治開始

Here is a video presentation Pastor Kathy (UMBC) used in her sermon on the Homecoming Sunday (Sept 9, 2012).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1yKciSlT4

Healing Begins

So you thought you had to keep this up

All the work that you do

So we think that you're good

And you can't believe it's not enough

All the walls you built up

Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down

There's freedom waiting in the sound

When you let your walls fall to the ground

We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out

Everything that you hide

Can come crashing through the door now

But too scared to face all your fear

So you hide but you find

That the shame won't disappear

So let it fall down

There's freedom waiting in the sound

When you let your walls fall to the ground

We're here now

We're here now, oh

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides

With the dark inside of us

So please don't fight

This coming light

Let this blood come cover us

His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins, oh

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you're broken within

The light meets the dark

The light meets the dark

醫治開始

所以，你以為可以繼續這樣做

做你所有做的事

這樣，我們就認為你不錯

你不相信這還不夠

你所立的全部的牆

從外面看來只是玻璃

所以，讓它們全倒下

倒下的聲中有自由等候

當你讓你的牆全到下，

我們就在這裡.

[副歌]醫治從這裡開始

醫治從這裡開始

當你心靈破碎時，

光明與黑暗相遇

光明與黑暗相遇

害怕你的秘密透露

你所有的隱藏

此時會衝出這門。

但是太害怕而無法面對你所有的懼怕，

所以你隱藏，但你發現

這羞愧不會消失。

所以，讓它倒下

倒下的聲中有自由等候

當你讓你的牆全到下，

我們就在這裡，

我們就在這裡。

[副歌]

當恩典與我們內心的黑暗衝撞的時候，火花飛舞

所以，請不要抵抗這光明。

讓這血遮蓋我們

祂的寶血遮蓋我們

[副歌]

We Need God to Do This Work in Us Often

How would you be able to say “yes” when God commissions you to a task that will probably end with gloom and doom?  How would you remain faithful to a call that seems to have no hope?

Like those who have to work in a environment that grows increasingly hostile;

Like those who care for loved ones whose sufferings seem never-ending;

Like parents who witness their children straying down the road toward destruction;

Like God’s people who pray for the revival of their church for years only to see problems mounting and the situation getting worse;

Like the church that is supposed to be a witness for Jesus’ redeeming power, yet finds itself becoming less and less relevant in a society of unprecedented moral and ethical decline.

That was what Prophet Isaiah faced. He was called to be a prophet to the kingdom of Judah. But no matter how hard he worked, he knew that the nation would eventually be destroyed (Isaiah 6:9-13).  Talking about wasting time!

What would enable Isaiah to say “yes”?

First, a vision of glorious holiness of God!

¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.³ And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of His glory." ⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4)

Then, an acute awareness of his own uncleanness and sinfulness as a proper response to God’s glorious presence:

⁵ "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5)

Third, an act of cleansing and sanctification in his life:

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." (Isaiah 6:6-7)

Only then, Isaiah was able to receive God’s commission.

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

As the ambassadors of Christ with a great commission yet facing tremendous obstacles and challenges, we are desperately in need of the glorious visions of God’s holiness, the cleansing of Christ’s blood, and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

As weak and as easily discouraged as we are, we need God to do this work in us often!

May the Lord, in His great mercy, satisfy these desires of our heart!

Hosanna 和撒那

This is one of  my favorite worship songs. The lyrics is beautifully moving, yet profound. I translated it into Chinese and would like to share with those who plan to use it in a Chinese-English bilingual worship service. 

All glory to God!

Hosanna 和撒那

by Brooke Fraser (Hillsong)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGJdTpMUcU

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes
我看到榮耀君王

駕雲乘火從天降

全地震动

驚濤駭浪

I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing
我看到慈愛恩典

洗凈罪惡和憂傷

萬國贊美

全民歌唱

[Chorus]
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest [x2]
和撒那

和撒那

和撒那歸萬王之王

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith
我看到一代新人

興起為主而發光

全然忘我

信心堅強

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees
我看到復興降臨

唯有我主能成就

快來跪下

謙卑祈求

[Chorus]

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you

have loved me
來醫治潔凈我心

開我雙眼看    祢奇妙能力

教我如同祢愛我

來愛祢。

Break my heart from what breaks Yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity
破碎我心皆為祢

從塵土今世    我進入永恆

奉獻我全人單為

祢國度

[Chorus x2]

Hosanna in the highest

和撒那歸萬王之王

Give Thanks in Every Situation

Many times when life opens up opportunities before us, when we stand before the Promised Land, we often find ourselves hesitating: are we really ready to face the giants? That’s what I feel in my life now, as our church is in the process of moving to a new site for worship.

I wonder:

What kind of problems and challenges are we going to encounter? Are we equipped to minister to those whom God is about to bring into our midst?  Will we become a visible presence of God’s grace and power in an area that is becoming increasingly darker? Will our church and UMBC (the church with whom we will share the building) enjoy a vibrant, true partnership in the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Will our unconfessed sins, unhealed wounds and pain, or broken relationships eventually unravel or even break us as we face more challenges ahead?

The opening portion of Paul’s first letter to a church in Corinth that had plenty of problems of their own gives me hope.

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours. 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:1-9)

Located in a corrupt social and economic context in the first century Roman empire, the Corinthian church unfortunately was not able to live above the standard of the world around them. They were instead corrupt in many of the same ways as the surrounding society. There were sexual sins, quarreling, and litigation within the church. Some people insisted on their personal freedom at the expense of others. Even when in worship, there were arguments, discrimination, and pride.  There were also people who didn’t even believe in resurrection.

But Paul gave thanks to the Lord for a church that was seemingly hopeless! (1:4)

The reason? The grace of God in Jesus Christ gave them a life of victory and hope. Like Paul, we can give thanks in every situation because the grace of God in Jesus Christ gives us a life of victory and hope!  The name of the Lord is to be praised!

So now, given this hope from Jesus Christ, let’s:

1.  Praise God for His grace and give thanks for our own life, for our family, for our brothers and sisters, for our church, and for the partnership with UMBC.
2. Pray in humility to ask the Spirit of God to reveal the pride of self-sufficiency in your life. How do we know whether we are pridefully self-sufficient before God? By our attitude toward our families, our colleagues, our fellow Christians, and anyone we encounter in life.
3. Ask for forgiveness, receive cleansing, and then enjoy renewed intimacy with God.
4.  Pray in boldness for God’s glory to be revealed through us!