A MESSAGE FOR THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP : HARD LESSONS LEARNT FROM SAMSON

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1 ` ISSUE 147 September 2014 WRITE TO EDITOR CONTENTS FEATURE>A MESSAGE FOR THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP: HARD LESSONS LEARNT FROM SAMSON... CHURCH NEWS>CHURCH DEVELOPMENT AND SACRED WORK UPDATE... CHURCH NEWS>CURRENT DEVELOPMENT OF HOLY WORK IN NEW ZEALAND... INTERCESSION... ONE DOLLAR ONE SOUL..... Feature A MESSAGE FOR THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP : HARD LESSONS LEARNT FROM SAMSON Eld. Joshua Phoong At the time of the Judges (Judges 13), as Israel had committed evil in the sight of the Lord, the Israelities were delivered into and suffered at the hands of the Philistines for 40 long years, the angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, who was barren and had no children bearing glad tidings to her that she will conceive and bear a son, and that this child with be a Nazirite, separated from the rest of the people, who was to drink no wine, or eat anything unclean, nor shall any razor come upon his head. It was prophesized to her by the angel that this son (who will be named Samson) would be tasked to deliver the Israelites from the wicked hands of the Philistines. Thus it is recorded in the bible that as Samson grew, the Lord blessed him and the spirit of the Lord began to move on him. As a young man, purposed by the Lord, Samson was able to muster great strength and skill. After all, had the Lord not specially chosen Samson to be the vessel by which He would

2 deliver His people, chosen as one who would be separated from the world, to be a unblemished vessel as a Nazirite? And Samson, showed such early promise, he was skilled in riddles. As the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he tore the lion apart with his bare hands; later on, singlehandedly, Samson was able to defeat many of his enemies, even slaying a thousand men with the help of the jawbone of a donkey. But this man that God have purposed in His heart to be a strong leader for the Israelites unfortunately showed much weakness in his personal life and also in his faith and calling as a Nazirite. For a start, he ventured down to Timnah, which was a Philistine settlement and took for himself a gentile wife, a Philistine woman. Although he was instructed never to eat unclean food, he took honey from the carcass of the lion (although forbidden, hiding this secret from his parents). Personally though, he was never really good at keeping secrets in the hands of skilled women. From the Philistine wife he married, he succumbed to her constant nagging and weeping and told her the secret of the riddle he had posed. To the charming and seductive wiles of Delilah, he capitulated, revealing the source of his God given strength, and to what end, he was bound, mocked by his captors the Philistines and by Delilah, imprisoned, forced to hard labour, having his eyes gorged out, blinded and eventually, dying with his captors. A failure of epic proportions, though it started so well. And yet, why did Samson fail? Was Samson not specially chosen by the Lord? Did the Lord not work with Samson when he performed such great deeds? Was the spirit of the Lord not upon him when defeated his enemies? With this, we think and ponder about all of us of today s day and age. We must be ever watchful and steeled with the hard reality that all of us who are the servants of the Lord are not ourselves shielded from failure, neither are we protected from falling ourselves. As workers of the Lord serving in the forefront, we must know that the attacks of our enemy Satan will be more severe and vicious and our enemy will try and try again, working to exploit our weaknesses. We must also realize that failures and fall from grace will invariably be self-made, and as such, if we are cautious and watchful as what the Lord desires of us, such spectacular falls can be avoided. If we were to analyze the situation, Samson s parents, having been instructed by the angel of the Lord would have guided and instructed him on his calling and how he would have to set himself apart as a Nazirite. Looking at the strong objection of his parents when Samson wanted to take for himself a Philistine bride, we can be assured that his parents were one who cared and gave sound guidance, and yet, Samson chose to walk in the path of folly. He choose to walk in his own ways and not in the pathway of the Lord God who had already issued stern

3 warnings to his people not to take gentile spouses, who will turn our hearts away from that of the Lord. Samson was arrogant and nonchalant about the whole affair, choosing to brush aside the good admonishment of his parents. We are reminded in Prov 1:8-9 to heed the instructions and teachings of our parents, which are precious, especially those which will keep us within the glory of the Lord. Open ourselves to the counsel and advise of others and not just let our such good counsel be drowned out by our own ignorance and stubborn pride as we know that in a multitude of counselors there is safety (Prov 24:6) In addition to be obstinate and arrogant, Samson had very little esteem or regard for his calling as a consecrated vessel of the Lord, which was meant to be holy and set apart, and he choose instead to trespass against the Lord and to disavow his calling. Samson committed an act of sacrilege as a Nazirite as he consumed of honey from a nest of bees built on the carcass of the lion which he had killed. It was an unthinkable and a thoughtless act, given his status as a Nazirite (Lev 11:27). From the start he transgressed and sought trouble for himself by venturing into gentile (Philistine) lands and cities like Timnah and Gaza. Not only did he venture into such lands, his presence was one which was more of a permanent feature, and was attracted to Philistine women and their way of life. In them such women, he saw their physical beauty and a means to satisfy his lusts and desires and thought little of the way of the Lord. Let us not forget that we must not keep company with gentiles especially when it concerns matters of the world, for we were warned by Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 15:33 that evil company corrupts good habits. Again in 2 Cor 6:14, we are told not to be yoked together with unbelievers who walk in the path of darkness. Rather than to shun away from the gentiles, Samson chose instead to deliberately seek out their company, and in his Philistine bride and the temptress Delilah, he chose the wrong company, and it is they which ultimately caused him to fall from grace and his calling. When faced with temptations in the form of Delilah, rather than to flee and completely shun away from it, Samson, chose to embrace it head on. He thought he would have the strength both physically and mentally to overcome anything that came his way. Samson thought (wrongly) that he will overcome and be victorious over it, and although he was able to initially resist revealing the secret of his strength to Delilah, he eventually succumbed to the wiles of Delilah, and fall he most certainly did. We must be reminded always that even if our spirit is willing, the flesh is infinitely weak, and will fail us. In Rom 12:3, we have been warned not to think too highly of ourselves but instead to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. As such, never be over-confident or to be too self-assured in ourselves, for it is through the grace of God that He has kept us in the faith.

4 Another point of observation, it appeared that Samson was a solo-operator and chose to undertake many important tasks alone. When he went to Timnah, he ventured alone. When he was at the marriage feast, he was also alone. When he fought his enemies, he fought them alone. Of course, he was alone when he was in the company of Delilah. We know, in the Church, it is never good to be alone. Who would help and assist us, encourage us, admonish us, motivate us be there for us when we face such dire troubles? In Eccl 4:9-12 we are told than when we are alone there is no one to help us when we fall. On the contrary, if we have a true companion in this journey of faith, we will have someone who can lift us up when we fall. As a personality flaw, Samson was very impulsive and was stirred up to anger very quickly. He acted hastily, always on impulse and through emotions and did not think through any of his rash actions, only to regret them. Whenever he felt deceived or hard done by, he reacted impulsively and in a over the top manner and resorted quickly to violence and anger. These actions brought him much trouble. If only he had been able to calm himself down and think over his actions before reacting, perhaps it would have produced different results and the end would not be the pitiful end as we know it. In the wise words Prov 15:18, a wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention. These weaknesses and failures of Samson are not unique to him but common to all of us as man in the flesh. Now that we have been warned of such matters and the hard lessons which have to be learnt, we must resolve and conduct ourselves in a manner so as not to partake in such failure and suffer the same fate as Samson. Submit ourselves to the Lord and we will be able to resist Satan (Jam 4:7). TOP Church News Church Development and Sacred Work Update Submitted by USGA Hallelujah, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would like to share with our readers some recent developments in the holy work of the USGA and among the churches in the United States. Brooklyn and Flushing Two houses of prayer have branched out from Queens Church in 2013: Brooklyn and Flushing Houses of Prayer. By the Lord s marvelous guidance, the church in the New York area has

5 experienced a vibrant growth. Through the financial and prayerful support of many brothers and sisters, these two prayer houses were eventually able to find and purchase their own places of worship. Congregation of Brooklyn House of Prayer Congregation of Flushing House of Prayer

6 North and South Carolina Thanks to our Lord s grace and the love of many brothers and sisters, our members in North and South Carolina have recently purchased a place of worship in February. Soon they will begin holding worship services at this location. Building for worship in North Carolina Music Camp This will be the 8th year that the Southwest Region holds the annual Music Camp. Since its inception, this event has attracted young brothers and sisters within and outside the region. Each year the attendance continues to rise. With the contribution of many gifted and dedicated instructors and counselors, children as young as elementary 2 as well as youths have learned how to serve through music while enjoying a week of praise and fellowship Southwest Region Music Camp

7 Theological Training Program This year the USGA will begin a new class of theological training program, with two students from the UKGA and two from the US (including one audit student). One of the students will be serving in the USGA as an Religious Education specialist upon successful completion of the training. We thank God for calling these workers to serve full-time in the ministry. New Church Building in the Dominican Republic As part of her responsibility to support the sacred work in Central and South America, the USGA has been actively sending workers to these regions of the world, including the Dominican Republic. To provide a better facility for the members in the Dominican Republic and visiting workers, the USGA funded the construction of a new church building, which began last year. We are in great need of Spanish speaking workers to join the ministry to Central and South America. May God inspire more workers to serve in this ministry. Brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic Evangelical Video Content The USGA Department of Literary Ministry, in collaboration with the IA Department of Literary Ministry, has been actively planning for and developing a series of evangelical videos. Whereas most of our online content in the past has been written content, we would like to expand content to include more videos in the future. The four series of videos that are in planning and production are 1. Introductory feature videos. 2. Evangelical short messages. 3. Overview of our basic beliefs. 4. Testimonies.

8 TOP Screenshots of some of the videos in production Church News Current Development of Holy Work in New Zealand Thank God! After seven years of hard work, the third chapel in New Zealand was established in East Auckland. The first service was held on April 16 of this year and the dedication of the church is expected take place on October 12. From now on, True Jesus Church has three locations for service in New Zealand: Auckland, Christchurch, and East Auckland. Currently, the New Zealand churches have two combined holy works annually, and an annual meeting is held in mid-year to discuss the coordination of holy work among the three churches for the following year. The 2015 New Zealand Holy Work Coordination Meeting is scheduled to take place on June 29 in East Auckland. A Student Spiritual Convocation is scheduled to take place in Christchurch from July 7 to July 13, and a Youth Spiritual Convocation will be held in East Auckland from November 17 to November 21. Motivated by the desire to strengthen the fellowship among brethren and provide timely distribution of spiritual food, the Christchurch Church has added a special session after every Sabbath service (from 10 to 11 a.m.) since August There are six groups for the session: evergreen fellowship, cadre fellowship, truthseeker class, translation/interpretation class, English Bible study, and daycare class. Each group has its own topic for sharing. The members

9 will return to the main chapel at 11:50 a.m. for a prayer session with laying of hands. The afternoon service will commence later at 1:30 p.m. After this session has been implemented for half a year, the brethren s interaction and fellowship have become increasingly active, which is beneficial to the church in its holy work development and to the spiritual growth of individual members. Recently, the International Assembly sent Preacher Daniel Chen to conduct the Bible seminar and Fall Evangelical Services and Spiritual Convocation, where 87 members took the cup and one person received baptism. Ever since the East Auckland Church was established, the problem of overcrowding in the Auckland Church has been alleviated. However, the total number of attendees of service in both churches continues to grow. There is an average of a total of 50 to 80 people for evening services and 200 people for Sabbath services. During these Evangelical Services and Spiritual Convocation, there were 89 people who took the cup, 5 were baptized and 1 received the Holy Spirit at the East Auckland Church, and there were 139 people who took the cup, 5 were baptized and 1 received the Holy Spirit at the Auckland Church. Thank God, other than continuing to prosper the Gospel in New Zealand, the New Zealand churches have taken on the work of providing care for the brethren in Tonga and Samoa further to the assignment of the International Assembly for its evangelical ministries in the eastern regions. Despite a heavy toll on their human power, the three churches have worked together to carry on this assignment, for the love of God motivates all. May we keep praying for the churches in New Zealand. Photo of baptism taken at the 2014 Fall Spiritual Convocation at the Auckland Church (April 26, 2014) Baptist: Preacher Daniel Chen (second row, seventh from the left) Persons baptized: Chang Jian Jun (second row, fifth from the left), Wang Jian Zhao (second row, eighth from the left), Liu Li Li (second row, ninth from the left), Li Hai Shou (second row, tenth from the left), Li Ping Yao (second row, eleventh from the left)

10 Photo of baptism taken at the 2014 Fall Spiritual Convocation at the East Auckland Church (May 3, 2014) Baptist: Preacher Daniel Chen (front row, first from the left) Persons baptized: Zhou Yu Qian (baby at the front row, seventh from the left), Cai Si Hui (baby at the second row, middle), Zhang Yi Xun (baby at the second row, fifth to the right), Qiu Zuo Jin (second row, seventh to the left), Lin Mei Qin (second row, eighth from the left) TOP Intercession 1. Please pray for IA work assignment as below: Date Location Program Personnel 9/1-2 Hong Kong 18th EHDWM Meeting HKCB 9/7-10/26 Japan Evangelism/Pastoral/Volunteers training ZZ Chang 9/2-10/3 US TTP Class HH Ko 9/10-14 Autumn ES,SC (Vancouver) D. Liang 9/12-14 Autumn ES,SC (Montreal) PH Liu 9/12-14 Canada Autumn ES,SC (Calgary) Jonathan Chou 9/17-21 Autumn ES,SC (Toronto) PH Liu 9/19-21 Autumn ES,SC (Edmonton) Jonathan Chou 9/15-22 FOZ Pastoral Work/Training GH Chen/MT Kuo Sep. Ecuador Pastoral Work MT Kuo 9/5-15 Dominican Rep. 9/19-21 Germany Pastoral Work Training & Special Service (Hamburg Prayer House) Jason Hu Steven Shek

11 9/5-7 Austria Spiritual Convocation and Evangelical Service (Vienna) TK Chin 9/11-28 Russia Outreach/Training/Pastoral Work KF Chong 9/4-10/5 West Africa 9/11-10/12 East Africa Pastoral ministry/ Training (Ghana/Liberia) Pastoral ministry/ Training (Kenya/ Tanzania/Malawi) FF Chong/ Samuel Kuo TK Chin / Tony Kuo TOP You Could Help the Worldwide Evangelism Mission Simply by Contribution a dollar a day How You Can Help You are called to take action for the sake of worldwide evangelism and the spreading of the gospel with a dollar a day. If everyone could daily extend one dollar towards the International Assembly World Evangelism Fund, we could, together, accomplish the commission that our Lord Jesus Christ left behind. Your financial commitment will open up possibilities and resources that will lead us to save many souls. Please take time to fill out the offering sheet available at your local church, to pass this message on to loved ones and family, and to pray for God s ministry. May the Lord be gracious to you! To find out more about the dollar-a-day program and donation options, please contact ia@tjc.org or tjciatwn@ms25.hinet.net. May our Lord remember your contribution and bless you abundantly! TOP International Assembly of True Jesus Church 2007 Tel: Fax: Address: No. 180 Songjhu Road, Taichung City 40673, Taiwan tjciatwn@ms25.hinet.net Web: Members.tjc.org