A few weeks ago, our pastor and visiting pastor preached on tithing. The sermons were very clear on what God expects His children to do. I went home to read Malachi 3:10 over and over again. The simple reason for this extensive research was that I had difficulty tithing. Imagine 3 different scenarios of people with different income group and tithing:
Category A : A person with just enough will end up struggling to make ends meet.
Category B : A person with enough, say an income of rm10K/ month, will have to tithe rm1K/month which could be used for an annual oversea holiday for two.
Category C : A person with more than enough will practically be giving away a brand new car based on a year of tithes.
I am in the first category as I have 3 grown up kids. I thought to myself, how am I suppose to tithe when I have just enough? Can I be exempted from tithing? Perhaps God can excuse me since He owns all the money in the world. These are the questions that lingered in my mind. But on one occasion, I heard a talented young man talked about tithing. The message really pierced into my heart and convicted me of the need to be obedient to God’s command on tithing. With God, nothing happens by coincidence. Another church member challenged me. Tithe first and pay yours bills later. Act in faith and be obedient. God is no debtor of man. I submitted my pledge form and tithe accordingly 2 weeks ago. Within a week, the window of heaven opened and the blessings poured out. When we honor God, He will surely not withhold anything from us. I had an expensive bicycle that I wanted to sell. I advertised online and prayed very hard but to no avail. But when I obeyed God, a person drove all the way from Penang and bought the bicycle. Praise the Lord!!
A year ago, I was up here giving testimony on how God protected me when I had an accident in Penang. I submitted my insurance claims and the owner of the workshop told me to expect at least 5 years before getting my claims based on his own experience with this particular insurance company. All hopes were dashed. But last Thursday, I received the cheque by mail. I know for sure thatGod’s hands were at work. Amen!!
As you know, God answered my prayers and gave me a job in Alor Star two months ago. It was with a pharmaceutical company of which I had no experience before. I knew it was going to be tough and the company’s expectation was high. As with any sales job, the customer will prefer to see you visiting them a few times before purchasing from you. Same goes for clinics as the sales personnel turnover is very high. I couldn’t reach my target in January, which is acceptable as I am still new in this industry. But in February, the company started to pressure me as the sales in the first three weeks was bad. But when I obeyed God’s command to tithe, sales started to come in. A pharmacy that I have never visited before called up to order. On the same day itself, another private hospital gave me a huge order.
With God all things are possible. All that we need to do is to obey Him and act in faith. All glory be to God.
By Chew Kim Seng I would like to share with you 2 stages of my life - before and after I became a Christian.
When I was young, my family practised the traditional Chinese religion. We worshipped various gods. However, I used to question whether there was a God. If there was a God, then who was the true God? I wanted to worship Him.
To be on the safe side, I prayed to all gods I heard of with the hope that one of them was the true God. In spite of that, there was still emptiness and desperation in my heart. I searched for the true God but found no answer so I read and asked around but no one could help me.
One day a teacher from Penang came and taught in my school. The school principal suggested that we get her help in our studies. When we discovered that she was a Christian we requested for Bible study. From the Bible study, I got to know Jesus. He came from heaven to suffer for our sins. The Bible said that whoever trusts in Him would be forgiven of his sins and would live with God for eternity.
The Bible also recorded Jesus' miracles. The blind saw; the lame walked; water turned into wine and the storm obeyed Him. I was convinced that Jesus was the true God whom I was looking for. He died for me on the cross and three days later He rose from the grave. He is the only way and no one could go to God accept through Jesus. The Bible said that if I accept Jesus I would be saved and become part of God's family. I knew that no one else could do this for me. Hence I finally accepted Jesus with open arms.
After accepting Jesus into my life I have the assurance that I have eternal life. However, I was not very faithful to God. I didn't believe everything the Bible said. I thought the teaching of the Bible was not applicable in my life. Nevertheless, through life's experience I was proven wrong! The BIble is the truth! It is the Word of God. It is very applicable in all aspects of my life.
Subsequently, I faced serious problems in my life. I felt very frustrated and almost lost hope. After struggling for some time, I discovered that God was the only one who can help me. Only then did I take God seriously. I started to study the Bible diligently, looking for the answers to the fulfillment of life God promises. When you earnestly seek God, He will show you the way through His word in the Bible. Apart from that I also discovered the meaning of life and now my life has never been the same. The Bible is truly inspired word of God. Praise the Lord.
When my eldest son was driving back from Alor Setar to Penang, his car broke down. He asked AAM to tow his car back to Penang for repair. It was late at night. Thank God that his car broke down at the toll and not in the highway. A week later, my daughter went to Bali and upon arrival she suffered severe stomach ache. During her 4 days in Bali, she had bad abdominal pains. I was worried because I was so far away. All we could do was just pray and surrender her to God. We asked that God bring her back safely. Praise God that he brought my daughter home safely. The doctor said everything was normal. Suddenly a thought came to my mind that all these were happening because of a spiritual warfare. I had just attended a seminar about spiritual warfare. On the morning of my daughter’s arrival, my van got stolen. I phoned the police and asked my wife to talk to them. I tried to chase the thief. When I went back into the house, my wife told me that she was having a bad bout of bleeding. I prayed to God and continue to put my faith in Him. If my faith is not strong, I will continue to blame God.
On the morning my van was stolen, I messaged Pastor and he forwarded my sms to others for prayer support. Brother Kenny smsed me a verse to me; that God has plans to prosper me. This verse came to me 3 times. Earlier, Dr. Lee had shared in his sermon. Then it was shared in our CG meeting. I was greatly encouraged. On Monday I decided to go to Penang to take my son and 2 daughters. I felt God had led us there to pray for our children. At our Son’s place, I saw an idol left behind by an earlier tenant. Both my wife and I prayed to bind the spirits. Then I went to fetch my youngest daughter to visit my eldest daughter. We gathered to pray. While praying, my youngest daughter got a call from her lecturer who told her she had not received her report. That was the dateline. My daughter had earlier posted her report. We found out that the university staff had delayed in collecting the report. But a sister-in-Christ went to collect and handed in her report.
Thanks to all who have given me support in various ways. Your support and encouragement really touched me a great deal. All glory be unto God.
Friends, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This evening, I would like to share with you my testimony of how I became a Christian. I was very much exposed to Christians during my early childhood. I attended the Trinity Methodist Church Sunday School and Methodist Girls’ School Kindergarten. I completed both my primary and secondary education in a Convent School in Penang .
I was brought up in a non-Christian home. I had difficulties getting along with my family members and I was left on my own most of the time. I felt very lonely, miserable and unwanted then. Slowly, I became very bitter and began to blame others and even God for all the unpleasant things that ever happened to me. I never really had a friend and I trusted no one. I called myself a free thinker then and I refused to acknowledge any God that I know of. I could not accept the Gods that my family members were worshipping and even the God that my Christian friends spoke about. I could not get over the bitterness that I felt. I thought that no one really understood me and is able to accept me as I am. All the stories that I had read in the New Testament were just ‘fairy tales’ to me then. It sounded too good to be true. Is God really there? Can God heal me from the sufferings that I am going through? I had almost 1001 questions to ask about God.
All the questions were left unanswered until the year 1986, I was posted to a remote place in Baling called Kupang. A Christian brother who was a local there helped me to locate the school and even helped me to find a place to stay in Baling. It was almost more than two hours journey and throughout the journey this brother shared about how God has changed his life and how wonderful Jesus is to have died on the cross for our sins. I reflected about my sufferings in the past and I wondered about my future in Baling as a new teacher in a new surrounding. I pondered about the stories in the New Testament on how Jesus healed the sick, released the captives and even raised the dead.
Finally, I prayed the sinner’s prayer and invited Jesus into my life on the very first day I step foot in Baling. This was my turning point of my life. I received blessings upon blessings and I experienced the love of God. All the hurts, sufferings and bitterness were replaced by love and forgiveness. Just as God has forgiven me, I was able to forgive others and this is the most important thing that ever happened to me as a Christian.
Thank you for taking time to listen to my testimony. I hope that brothers and sisters in Christ will be encouraged to testify to others and support the activities for the Celebration of Hope so that many more souls will be able to receive God’s Blessings.
