Reflections on Cleansing Stream Retreat Bangkok, 19-21 Aug 2011

Reflections on Cleansing Stream Retreat Bangkok, 19-21 Aug 2011

" The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" - Walden, 1854. 

Some call it resignation, emptiness, meaninglessness; others call it depression, oppression, stress. There is a whole spectrum of such diverse emotions, from mild to severe. I've learnt that these are called by other names - a spirit of fear; a spirit of guilt, shame and condemnation ; a spirit of an orphan heart; a spirit of poverty and lack. and even a spirit of death.

How did it happen? Let's go back to the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. After God has created and set the universe in place, He created the animals, the birds, the fishes, and then came His Masterpiece - man and woman. While all the rest were good, man and woman were "very good.". The woman was designed to be "a helper comparable to him." Thus  God instituted marriage and decreed that "they shall become one flesh". God gave man and woman dominion over the Garden of Eden and over all the living things that are in it. 

There was only one thing man was commanded not to do - Not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. In doing so, it leads to the knowledge of sin. Before, man and woman did not know what sin was. There was perfect unity between God, and the man and woman God created, for His pleasure and glory.

We all know how the story develops from here. The man and woman took of the "forbidden fruit" and this destroyed the relationship between man and God; work became a curse instead of joy; sin crept in and spread its influence across humanity. And so, the man told God "  I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid ( spirit of fear ) because I was naked ( spirit of shame ) and I hid myself ( spirit of condemnation ) Gen 3:10

God, who is all loving, did not leave the man and woman in the lurch. He promised them a redemption plan in His very own Son, Jesus Christ, who would come to earth as a man, and be a substitute to take away the penalty of sin from man. Jesus has come to restore, to heal, to reconcile. He said " the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come, that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Jn 10:10. The thief is also called the "father of lies". It is a brilliant strategy for someone who has already lost the battle, but will continue to take hostages wherever and whenever he can, until the final showdown. This, he does, by playing on the mind, the emotion, and the will of man and woman by twisting the truth. Common examples would be to get man to blame God for bad things that happen, making man feel like a failure, or its opposite, making man a god unto himself.

And so it has succeeded to the extent it has deceived - among people who do not know Jesus Christ, and also among those who do - but believe the lie that Jesus Christ saves, but lacks the power to do much else.

Nothing is further from the truth. Jesus came to do these things:- to spread the good news ( the gospel ); to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind ( to heal the sick ) ; and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Lk 4:18-21. We have a choice - to come to the Lord for cleansing, daily, continually. It is a picture of a pebble in a flowing stream which is not stagnant; as the waters flow without stopping, the pebble is being washed and is kept clean as long as it stays in the flowing stream. Take the pebble out of the stream and put it somewhere else, or when the stream stops flowing - it will not stay clean anymore.

This is the effect of the cleansing stream - "when you enter, He removes what has bound you. When you enter, He releases what has weighed you down. When you enter, He heals areas of hurt and woundedness. When you enter, He renews what has been lost or stolen."

Two days of outreach by team Singapore, team Hongkong, and team Shanghai, led by Pastor Chris Hayward and hosted by UCC. Pastor Chris shared a testimony on how his own daughter was delievered from severe depression that was life-threatening. It lasted for more than 4 years and he struggled with feelings of defeat and hopelessness. At one point, he had to restrain himself from punching the specialist treating his daughter when asked " would you be prepared to accept your daughter in her present condition?" It was the lowest point of his life, and he could not bring himself to look at the photo of his daughter as she once was - vibrant, beautiful, full of life, looking up to him with eyes of love. Throughout the period of her illness, she could not lift up her head or look at anyone in the eye, and her bodily functions were gradually shutting down. Pastor Chris cried out to the Lord and the Lord spoke to him, saying "I see and love you just the way you are." He then went back to his daughter, stooped down, hugged her and said " Daddy loves you just the way you are." She did not respond nor looked into his eyes, but retreated silently into the shadows. Not long after, there was a breakthrough - she came up to Pastor Chris, and for the first time in years, looked straight into his eyes and said " Daddy, I want to get well..." She is now happily married with kids, to a man of God, and never looked  more beautiful. 

Benjamin also shared his testimony about how his father walked out on his family when he was a young child, and he was fostered out to an aunt who abused him. During the last days of his father's life, Benjamin was called to his father's bedside and forgave his dad, in the presence of the family members of his dad's second family. That was not all. At his father's funeral, during the funereal rites, Benjamin's aunt came to him and as he held her hands, he did something that was not humanly possible - he spoke forgiveness over this aunt and all the things she has ever done to him in his childhood and adolescence. It is a story of betrayal, abuse and redemption. This is the love of Christ, and the heart-beat of God. " By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us..." 1 Jn 3:16

There were few dry eyes in the congregation after the sharing. During ministry time with the Anointers, Thai Interpretors and Intercessors, we felt the power and the presence of the Lord. Tears flowed freely, and the cleansing stream flowed alongside, washing away the dust, the grime, the dirt. And so, the body of Christ stood in unity, " in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and not to be entangled again with a yoke of bondage..." The Thais, Hongkongers, Singaporeans, Shanghainese and all over the world united in body and spirit and in prayer, to take back what has been stolen by the thief. The thief is subtle; he steals bit by bit. Often, the symptoms of emotional and psychological dis-ease would have been present long before they show up physically. But in the cleansing stream, anything that the enemy has stolen, killed or destroyed, the Lord  can redeem, resurrect and restore.

I returned home to Singapore with the image of the visually stunning worship at UCC and how the whole congregation of several hundreds came up during the altar call, of the many hearts restored and lives renewed. It has been an awesome and glorious experience. " Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore. Ps 133 1-3 Amen.