Ties That Bind……Or Strangle?

“I heard he had invaded our turf, and now he stood before me. He was tall and skinny and every inch a hillbilly just like they said. I squared off in front of him and yelled,’ Get the h… out of here preacher man or I’ll kill you!’ He didn't move but stood calmly looking at me.

I was enraged! I spit on him and then slapped his face hard. Through clenched teeth I yelled again, ‘You deaf? Get the h… off my street!’ I pulled out my switchblade thinking, ‘There's no way he can really, really take it. This will get him moving.’

He smiled at me and said, “Nicky, Jesus loves you and so do I.”

I screamed and lunged at him with the knife, but it felt like some force held me back. I just wanted to kill him. I was so full of hate and violence. I'd been in lots of fights and hurt a lot of people and it left me feeling good.

He didn't flinch a muscle, but smiled again and said softly, “Nicky, you can cut me into a 1000 pieces and lay them all over the street, and every piece will cry out that Jesus loves you.”

I was completely freaked out. This man had a quiet strength that came from somewhere that I had never encountered before. I turned around and fled.”

The speaker is Nicky Cruz, who at the time was the leader of the Mau Maus, one of the most vicious gangs in Brooklyn in the late 1950s. The man he confronted was David Wilkerson, a minister from a small rural church in Pennsylvania who had come to New York City to work with gang youth.

Nicky Cruz describes himself at the time as an animal, without any morality. Why did he run from David Wilkerson? For the first time in his life, he had just been confronted with real love and it terrified him.

Nicky had no idea how to respond to love. He was raised in Puerto Rico by parents who were involved in witchcraft and Satanism. They constantly physically and mentally abused him, and he was routinely exposed to Satan worship, animal sacrifices, séances and all types of black magic. You might say he had family ties that had strangled the ability to love out of him.

Fortunately for Nicky, David Wilkerson was not easily deterred, and he continued to pursue Nicky with the love of Jesus. Eventually God's love overcame Nicky's anger and distrust. He said “Yes” to God and found in David Wilkerson the loving father that he had never known before.

I do not know if you come from a family with ties that bind you in loving relationships, or if like Nicky, you come from a family with ties that strangled love out of you. I do know that Father God is inviting you into a family with loving ties that bind His heart to yours. Romans 8:15 says it best. “For you did not receive the spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. By that Spirit we cry to God, “Abba, Father.”

Please join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM. We are continuing our current series on “The Victorious Church,” and my son, Gabriel Ahn will be speaking on "Vessels of Honor."

Pastor Che

Malignant Victory

Normally when we think of victory, we think of something beneficial, something that feels good. But can there be such a thing as a malignant victory? That is a victory that's not beneficial but malevolent, vicious, injurious and harmful to its own victors?

If you think for a moment, you will realize that when we say someone died from cancer, we are announcing a malignant victory. Cancer cells differ from normal healthy cells in several important ways. First of all, they are “rebels.” Instead of operating in an ordered and systematic way that allows for balance in the body, cancer cells break all the rules exclusively for their own benefit.

You might say cancer cells are completely selfish. They divide rapidly without any regard for how their numbers affect the needs of other cells. They refuse to stay localized and instead spread and invade other parts of the body where they don't belong, disrupting the body's functioning. And they consume the lion’s share of nutrients, creating their own supply systems and starving out normal cells. Left unchecked, they eventually destroy the body they have invaded, and in their malignant victory they also destroy themselves.

Like a cancer, malignant victories in human societies are always self-destructive. They are fueled by self-interest where one group feels entitled to the greatest share of benefits at the impoverishment of other groups. Rather than respecting the contributions of others through collaboration, one group seeks to dominate, creating a barrier between itself and other groups. This dominant group often usurps existing authority and operating rules in order to entrench its own power structure. Eventually, however, the systems created by malignant victories either collapse internally or are overthrown by revolution.

Human history is full of examples of societies destroyed by malignant victories. The collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union is an excellent example. Proclaimed to be superior to other forms of government, it managed to last only 70 years, in the end strangling on its own stagnant economic growth.

The current civil war in Syria is another example. President Assad represents an elite that has ruled harshly for decades, denying the majority many freedoms, and controlling their access to jobs, food, communication and sources of information. Instead of listening to the complaints of the majority and creating positive reforms, the elite has chosen to retaliate with force killing an estimated 70,000 and turning 1.2 million citizens into refugees. Everyone agrees that the current regime will not last, but in its bid for malignant victory, it appears determined to destroy the country that has sustained it for so long.

Father God cautions us not to engage in malignant victories. He warns us not to be dominated by self-serving interests. In Proverbs 16:25, He tells us, “There is a way which seems right to a person, but its end results in death.” Self-interest will always inevitably turn to self-destruction.

Instead, Father God encourages us to seek Him, and His priorities. He reassures us that when we do, we will receive everything we need and truly desire (Matthew 6:33). Father God has a strategy for true victory that is never malignant and gives abundant life to all. “Wealth and power come from You (Father God); You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” (1 Chronicles 29:12)

Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM. We are continuing our series on “The Victorious Church.” My message is “Ekklesia: God's House of Prayer.”

Living at the Top

Take a moment and think back to the last time you experienced a success. How did you feel? While success is different things to different people, I think we can all agree that success feels great! For a moment, no matter how brief, we feel on top of the world, somehow more vital and alive than ever. Everything in life seems to be going our way. But no matter how much we may desire it, life is never one stretch of uninterrupted success.

That doesn't stop many of us from dreaming about living at the top, by seeking ways to maximize our experience of success. Countless authors have written hundreds of books on the subject of how to attain and keep success. Several classics come to mind such as, Andrew Carnegie's “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Napoleon Hill's “Think and Grow Rich,” and Stephen Covey's “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

If you read even a few self-help books on success, you quickly discover that there is a high degree of overlap in the strategies they suggest. Some of the most common ones are:

• Having a clear vision and purpose to motivate you
• Proactively setting and attaining goals
• Being decisive, able to make and see decisions through
• Overcoming fear and taking risks
• Respecting, appreciating, and encouraging the contribution of others
• Consistent follow-through, always keep your word
• Enjoy the journey and challenges on the way

No matter how successful people are, no one lives at the top all the time, for all of us experience highs and lows. But even if it is fleeting, we keep on striving to experience success again and again, to drink in the wonderful sensation of being on top and fully alive.

Did you know that God wants you to have a successful life? That He actually created you for living at the top? Jesus clearly identified that His purpose in coming to earth was to give us abundant life (John 10:10b). In many ways, the Bible is a book about how to be successful and fully alive.

So what are God's tips for success? You might be surprised to learn they are very similar to the ones listed above. For example, Father God tells us that we can't get to square one without a vision (Proverbs 29:18); we must keep our eye continually on the goal (Philippians 3:14); our word is of utmost importance (Proverbs 18:21); and we have to take risks, counting their cost (Luke 14:28).

The strategies are similar because they are universal principles established by Father God for our success. However, the Bible gives important keys to ensure success that you won't find in any self-help book. Father God never intended for us to attain and maintain success through our own self-effort, but by continually abiding in Him (John 15). And once we become His child, He places us in His family where we exchange respect, appreciation and encouragement with others as we mutually build our success together (1 Corinthians 12:12–26).

Self-help success strategies provide fleeting results at best, but Father God promises that His strategies for success last forever.

Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM to learn more about Father God's strategies for success. This is the second week in our current series on “The Victorious Church.”

Pastor Che

Spoils of Victory

Well the big day is almost upon us! Which team are you backing: Ravens or 49ers? The upcoming Super Bowl promises to be a great game, and fans on both sides are already claiming the championship. There is nothing quite so sweet as sitting on the edge of your seat through a close, well fought game and having your side seize victory in the final seconds!

It's a high that's hard to explain and we've all seen clips of joyous fans jumping, screaming, crying, dancing, hugging strangers etc., enjoying the thrill of the victory celebration. Unfortunately, we've also seen the controlled pandemonium of celebration turn ugly and destructive as fans careen out of control. How can the intensity of victory that feels so good, so easily turn into vandalism and violence that are the very antithesis of celebration?

We don't have to look very far for examples. Last February 1, 2012 at a soccer match in Port Said, Egypt, a brawl broke out between opposing fans and players. When it was all over the stadium looked more like a battlefield than a sports arena, with 73 people dead and over 1000 injured.

This past October 29, fans celebrating the San Francisco Giants World Series championship, rioted burning vehicles, starting fires and smashing store windows. The ensuing violence and vandalism resulted in over 3 dozen arrests.

And who can forget Brian Stow, the 42-year-old Giants fan, who was beaten unconscious and left severely brain-damaged after the opening game between the Dodgers and Giants in March 2011?

Team sports have been described as situations of “controlled aggression” in which as fans, we personally identify with the rivalry and the outcome of victory or defeat. Victory gives us a sense of competence and power, and defeat leaves us with feelings of vulnerability and loss. When our team wins, we want to leverage the power of our victory and “lord it over” those who have been defeated. We feel superior and entitled to these spoils of victory, but frequently the defeated fans resist us and fight back.

There seems to be a fine dividing line between power that wants to celebrate and power that seeks to spoil and destroy. World War II General Douglas MacArthur recognized this when he said: “Give me a man who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.”

Father God desires for us to experience a sense of victory when we face challenges in our personal lives. Romans 8:37 tells us, “The One who loves us gives us overcoming victory in all these difficulties.” But Father God is also aware of how the power of victory can have both a positive and negative attraction.

He cautions us against the spoils of victory in Proverbs 16:32, “The person that rules his own spirit is more mighty than the person who conquers a city.” Jesus gave us this instruction on how to use the power of victory, “The person who would be the greatest among you must become the servant of everyone.” True victory is displayed in using our power to benefit other people, rather than attempting to spoil and discredit them.

Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM. We are starting a new series, “The Victorious Church,” and we will be discussing how to walk in the power of true victory.

Pastor Che