Category: 羅珞琦傳道 | Pastor Lok-Kei Law

As it became increasingly clear that one must choose for or against Jesus, opposition to Him and to His kingdom hardened. Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath and the Servant predicted by Isaiah. This brought direct conflict with the Pharisees.

As I reflected upon the oppositions I have from following Jesus Christ, I only had some ridicules from a small number of my okios.  The opposition came when I tried to share the Gospel to my basketball friends.  Majority of my basketball friends are non-believers.  The ridicule came in the follow forms:

1. Why are you being so naive and so silly for believing a man made religious system?

2.  So you really give away 10% of your income towards the church?  You are such a foolish fanatic for wasting your money that way.  Will Jesus give you food when you follow Him?

3. Why do religious leaders use their power to abuse people?  Aren’t they suppose to be God’s servants?   (People’s perception of followers of Christ is negative because media covering scandals)

Overall, the opposition comes in the form of my values clashing the values of this world.  Jesus Christ did not verbally depend himself when he was accused.  He focused on doing God’s will of bringing healing and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.  Likewise, God is telling me to focus on bringing healing through pointing the love of Jesus Christ to friends.  I am to focus on reflecting the love of Christ by following the example of Jesus Christ (v.18-21)

Overall, my family and close friends are very supportive in my walk with Jesus Christ.  My wife is very supportive of my role as a youth pastor here in PGC.  My parents are very supportive in my role as a youth pastor and I am very thankful for that.  I experienced tremendous love and support from brothers and sisters here at PGC.

For the brother and sisters I serve, some face opposition from the parents.  The parents would not like to see their teens spending their precious time away from academic development.  Some face opposition from peers in the form of ridicule similar to what I faced.  Going to fellowship means missing out on group hang out on Friday.

I  learn and read about brothers and sisters in places with severe persecution.  Following Jesus Christ means alienation from family, loss of status, and even imprisonment and death.  The Spirit draws me to pray and give financially to support brothers and sisters.

Jesus has conquered Satan and death.  There is assurance of salvation for believers.  Why do myself and many believers feel defeated and hopeless?  This morning as I engaged in personal devotion, God brought me to Revelation 12:7-17.  I spent some time to reflect the image of the battle between Satan and God’s people.

The devil (Satan) is real.  He does exist.   Satan is alive in the end times.  Satan is alive today. Satan was alive since the beginning of human history.  Satan was there during the time Adam and Eve lived.  Satan’s goal is to keep people from coming to know Jesus personally.  He tempts and fools believers.  There are times I have fallen to the tricks of Satan.

Today, Satan is stumbling people from worshipping God through worries of this life, physical danger, emotional affliction, social injustice, and perceived intellect.  All people including godly saints have fallen to the traps of Satan.  Only Jesus Christ has not fallen to the traps of Satan.  Christ overcame Satan by his blood and the testimonies of believers (v.11)

Personally, I fell to the temptations of Satan in 2013 that hindered my relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have entertained with the following thoughts:

I will follow you better when our church grows stronger.  I will follow you better when my best friends come to Christ.  I will follow you better when the teens are on fire for you.  I will follow you better when I am not as busy with family obligations.  I will follow you better when I do better in ministry.

Every condition I think I must fulfill comes from the devil.  When I am left on my own without a strong devotional and prayer life, I would fall to the default lies from Satan.  When I received from God’s guidance and words of truth from brothers and sisters, I can ignore those lies and keep on meditating and working on things that builds up one another in Christ.  I will follow you Jesus by your grace alone!  I need brothers and sisters to remind me of this truth.

At the end, Satan will be banished forever because he knows his time is short (v12).  Until then, the battle against Satan is ever present.  As we approach closer to the end times, there are more challenges in life and more temptations to come.  We need to cling on to the Words of Christ tightly.  We need to intercede for our brothers and sisters in prayer.  Our only defence against Satan is our relationship with Jesus Christ.