TOMB to THRONE

LAST week on Good Friday, we remembered the sacrificial death of our LORD and Saviour on the Cross of Calvary for our sins and on Sunday we celebrated His Resurrection. To the world, this is the most outstanding events besides Christmas. They cry over the death of Jesus and continue to mourn on "Black Sabbath" and suddenly on "Easter Sunday" they celebrate it with decorated eggs and rabbits. Let us not be carried away from the true meaning of this celebration.

John 10:10 MKJV (Jesus said) The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The enemy of the Truth, comes to deceive the people in so many ways. Let us be extra vigilant and know for sure that the devil always comes to steal, kill and destroy our focus on Jesus, our faith in His saving grace and our lives. But, the good news is, Jesus come to us without an ulterior motive except to give us LIFE & LIFE, MORE ABUNDANTLY. Amen!

(11) I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (14) I am the Good Shepherd, and I know those that are Mine, and I am known by those who are Mine. (15) Even as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. (16) And I have other sheep who are not of this fold. I must also lead those, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.

(17) Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I might take it again. (18) No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down from Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. I have received this commandment from My Father.

Let's see

What happened to Jesus?

Jesus was beaten:

John 19:1 MKJV Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and flogged Him. (2) And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on His head. And they put a purple robe on Him, (3) and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they struck Him with their hands.

Jesus spoke out His authority:

(10) Then Pilate said to him, Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to crucify you, and I have authority to release you? (11) Jesus answered, You could have no authority against Me unless it were given to you from above.

Pilate recognizes Jesus's authority:

John 19: (19) And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. (20) Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. (21) Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews. (22) Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

Jesus was crucified:

John 19:(37) And again another Scripture says, "They shall look upon Him whom they pierced."

(40) Then they took the body of Jesus and wound it with linens with the spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury. (41) And in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one yet had been placed. (42) There, then, because of the Preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Jesus.

(I believe the Garden here symbolizes the Garden of Eden and the Cross where Jesus was crucified symbolizes the Tree of Life, whereas the New Tomb speaks about New hope through the death of Jesus that paid the full price for the death sentence that fell upon men for the sin caused by Adam & Eve) Read Gen 3.

Gen 3:3 MKJV But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

Yes, Jesus, the second Adam died a sacrificial death and rose again in power for each one of us. Truly we have Hope to rope in His glory. Do you Believe this?

What happened to us who believed?

1) Received God's mercy and were regenerated

1Pe 1:3-5 MKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in Heaven for you (5) by the power of God, having been kept through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time;

2) Received life and power to reign

2Ti 2:11-12 MKJV For faithful is the Word, for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. (12) If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

3) Received kingship and priesthood

(a) Rev 5:9-10 MKJV And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. (10) And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth.

(b) Rev 22:4-5 MKJV And they will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. (5) And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

What must we do now?

Act 2: (29) Men, brothers, it is permitted to say to you with plainness as to the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (30) Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne, (31) seeing this beforehand, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor would His flesh see corruption,

(32) God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses. (33) Therefore being exalted to the right of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear. (34) For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he says himself, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand (35) until I place Your enemies as a footstool to Your feet." (36) Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

(37) And hearing this, they were stabbed in the heart, and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Men, brothers, what shall we do? (38) Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. (40) And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. (41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day there were added about three thousand souls.

(Ref: Luk 1:32-33 MKJV He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David. (33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

(Rom 15:12 MKJV And again Isaiah says, "There shall be a root of Jesse, and He who shall rise to reign over the nations, in Him shall the nations trust.")

1) Believe in Jesus and receive His Resurrection Power over your life

John 11:25-26 MKJV Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live. (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

2) Look to Jesus who's seated on the throne - put your 100% faith in Him

Heb 12:2 MKJV looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

3) Be a witness for Jesus

Act 4:33 MKJV And the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power. And great grace was on them all.

Declare with me: God who raised Jesus from the Tomb to the Throne has regenerated me again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ to receive an inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled and unfading. As I died with Him, I shall also live with Him. I will sing a new song for God who has made me a king and a priest to reign with Him over the earth forever and ever. Amen!

The end.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE, MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

As the old saying goes, “Do not judge the book by its cover.” Never underestimate anyone even if they are young, old, feeble or disable. Never undermine any person by the colour of their skin.

Many years ago, an Albanian Catholic nun who heard the voice of God, journeyed to a foreign land in pursuit to help the poor and needy. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At the age of 18 she left her parental home in Skopje, Macedonia, (the former Yugoslavia) and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India.

From 1931 to 1948, she taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta where later she became the principal at the same school. However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta had a deep impact on her. At that point of time, what she was getting into was against the odds. She had to wrestle with those who are in position and with different ideologies.

Nevertheless, in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to serve the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.

Years later, the world recognises the undivided sacrifices she made to meet the need of many helpless human beings in her own limited capacity and capabilities.

She’s none other than Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu or famously known as Mother Teresa who started Missionaries of Charity in 1950. She was bestowed the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979; received Bharat Ratna in 1980 and many other awards for the contributions she made towards human race.

Recently, a friend of mine send me an encouraging email after reading our ministry newsletter we send out to friends. He shared a little bit about Mother Teresa’s humility that taught the world the true meaning of love through charity.

The following is what I wrote back to him: “Dear brother, thanks for the reply with great encouragement. You are right about mother Teresa. Before I stepped into Gua Musang to be involve in the marketplace ministry, I had the opportunity to watch the same movie you did when I visited a friend in 1998 (actually, he was watching it at that moment, I just joined in). May be God wants me to see it.

The picture took me by surprise and there were tears in my eyes as I was engrossed in the details of the story. The Holy Spirit reminded me that what she did was not prominent in the eyes of men at that time but to God it is an act of love, being Christ-like.

That movie inspired me to take the challenge to do what we are doing now as a family (teaching English and Character Building programme to all races). God is our witness and help. Brother, thank you so much for reminding me of this movie and for praying for us. It means a lot to us.”

Dear friends, just as her selfless work among the poverty-stricken people of Calcutta became an inspiration for me and my family, so I believe it will challenge you to the core to make the difference in your society, nation and the world itself.

Mother Teresa ones said: "God admires us not for what we do but for how much love we put into what we do. Together let us build a chain of love around the world”.

Whatever we are called to do by God in the place of our assignment, though it may seem to be unrealistic, out of date or insignificant to human minds, it doesn’t matter, just continue to pursue the higher calling.

Jesus said in Mat 25:35-45 For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; (36) I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. (37) Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? (38) When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You? (39) Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? (40) And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me. (41) Then He also shall say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; (43) I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me. (44) Then they will also answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You? (45) Then He shall answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. (MKJV)

Declare this with me:

“Legends leave behind legacy, so will I by taking the challenge to make the difference!”

~Kumarathevan Balakrishnan

Ends.

KJ GENERATION RESOURCES newsletter

Shalom!

Dear beloved of God,

2010 was a great year for us as we experienced an extraordinary guidance and blessings of the Father in heaven.

We are totally amazed by God’s love and grace that He poured upon our lives as we ministered HIS word in different churches, seminars and camps.

But, the most exciting moments were when HE gave us supernatural wisdom to teach English in our training centre (KJGR) that focuses on character building programme.

Since we started this mission (to teach English & character building programme) in Gua Musang in October 2009, we have taught 55 students of various races including Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli and Pakistani.

They were age between 5 and 55 years old. Another 14 people attended the seminars we organised.

We are continuing our effort to be a blessing to the students that God will send to us this year. We have started our classes for 2011 and by the grace of God, we are continuously receiving new registrations. Praise God!

We truly appreciate if you could remember us in your prayers. We welcome you to partner with us, visit us or bring/send mission teams to teach English, character building programmes or any social concern work to touch and transform the community here.

LET’S JOIN OUR HEARTS & CONTINUE TO SERVE THE KING OF KINGS. GOD BLESS YOU.

with love & regards from His mission field:

Rev.Kumarathevan – Rev.Josephine

KJ Generation Resources

Gua Musang, Kelantan, Malaysia.

016-4734313 or 016-4687414

"GOD IS OUR ROCK & STRENGTH!"

BLESSED CHRISTMAS 2010

Christ Jesus-the greatest love story,

Hosanna to the King of glory!

Rejoice O heaven and earth,

Immanuel! God with us to bring

Salvation and peace on earth;

Truth and grace revealed through Jesus Christ,

Messiah was born to give us life;

Arise and shine for your light has come,

Share His goodness and mercy to all mankind.

Amen.

Let’s celebrate JESUS the reason for the season. God bless you and your entire family and church abundantly. Shalom!

with LOVE: rev.Kumarathevan-Josephine & family

Gua Musang, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Mountains will be removed

LAST Friday (12^th November) as I was praying, the LORD gave me a word: “Move forward with the Movement (Spirit of God) within you then the devil will move away and the mountains will be removed.”

I shared this word of the LORD with my wife and later both of us in agreement declared the word. Few days later, on 15^th November, God inspired me to read Isaiah 49 and a certain portion especially from verse 15 to 19 truly spoke up and encouraged us.

Isa 49:15 Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.

(16) Behold, I have carved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are forever before Me.

(17) Your sons shall make haste; those destroying you and ruining you shall go out from you.

(18) Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather and come to you. As I live, says Jehovah, you shall surely wear them as an ornament, and bind them on as a bride.

(19) For your wastes and your deserted places, and your land of ruins, shall even now be too narrow to dwell there, and they who swallowed you up shall be far away.

On the same day, my family and I were traveling back from Penang to Gua Musang (north to the east coast of Malaysia) after a short break. It was raining and I was driving my car on the slow lane of the North-South Expressway.

My wife felt uncomfortable with the journey and suggested that we should stay one night in Ipoh before continuing our trip back home the next day to reopen our centre for registration for an upcoming English programme.

As we were approaching the Jelapang toll plaza in Ipoh (approximately 500 meters away), a 4 wheel drive pick up truck that overtook us suddenly skidded, screeched to a halt and overturned right in front of our car. The vehicle flung into a ditch on the left side of the highway.

I thank God that I was able to handle the situation by pushing the break immediately and navigate the car from ramming onto that vehicle.

It was like an action drama that caught us by surprise. Commotion in our car, we were calling out the name of the LORD but I did not panic. Praise God! We felt bad for the accident victim but couldn’t even stop the car to help because there is no emergency lane and there were many other vehicles following behind us.

Even though we were dazed from the incident, we quickly prayed for the victim’s safety and reported the mishap to a staff at the toll plaza who alerted the safety unit-patrol car to take immediate action.

At the moment, I remembered the word God gave the other day: “Move forward with the Movement within you then the devil will move away and the mountains will be removed.” We literally experienced the grace and the goodness of the Almighty. In fact we believe there are many more great encounters that will magnify the name of Jesus are waiting to be explored by all of us.

God saved us from that accident so that we can continue to move forward to be His witnesses and to fulfill the assignment He gave us. God as our supreme Redeemer always saves His sons and daughters from impossible situations. He who chooses us to be the light of the world wants us to bring glory to His name.

A little reminder to ponder:

* God will not forget us…no matter what.

* God has carved us in His palms…no one could ever erase it.

* God has built a wall of protection around about our lives…no demon can pull it down.

* God wants us to be visionaries…nothing can stop us to accomplish God’s vision.

* God will expand and extend our territory…no power can narrow it down.

* God will keep the tormentors and the devourers far from us…nothing can come near us.

Let’s move forward!

The end.

STRIPES OF GLORY

A shout for freedom fills the air

Pledge for the kingdom raises everywhere

One voice one vision

No passion no nation

Thunderous sound of prayer

Arises once again

To see Christ establishing

His everlasting king’s domain

Red, blue, yellow, white

The colour of our anthem

Blood, heaven, kingdom, peace

That’s the connection

Red - blood, Blue - heaven,

Yellow-kingdom, White - peace

Stripes of glory

Stripes of glory for me

And my nation needs salvation

Stripes of glory

Stripes of glory O God

My nation needs transformation

You shed your blood

To connect us to heaven

You established your throne

And bring peace to the nation

One voice one vision

No passion no nation

Malaysia! Christ in you the hope of glory.

@ kumar.b 28/8/03 penang