Pastor Denis Lu was one of the pioneering members of Hope Kuching with Pastor Simon, in 1992. He is currently the Executive Pastor of Hope Kuching, and also oversees the Hope churches & centres in Sabah, Labuan & Sarawak. Pastor Denis graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in 1991. He returned to Kuching to be an English Lecturer at Stamford College and later became principal in 1995. After this, he went on to be an education counsellor for Taylor’s College before going full-time in September 2001.
Pastor Denis is married to Sister Chong Hai Eng and they have a 9-year old son, Azriel.
Watch Video Message by Ps Denis
Leaders Must Cultivate in Themselves the Mindset of Christ
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matthew 16:13-28
Introduction
Many times we use human thinking to achieve the work of the Lord. When we do so, we will fall into the trap of the enemy. Remember it was Jesus who rebuked Peter (whose mind was influenced by Satan) when he said, "Away from me Satan, you do not have in mind the things of God but of men!"
A few things we can note from this passage:
(1) Even godly people need to be careful to discern the source or origin of the thoughts within us,
(2) Leaders especially need to be careful because whatever we say or do will influence people (the disciples knew that Peter was in the inner core of 3, and thus more influential),
(3) Wrong thinking and attitudes must be corrected immediately so that we do not stray further from the mind of God.
Jesus told us that flesh gives birth to flesh, and the Spirit gives birth to spirit. So when we make time to be with our God, it must not degenerate into a work of the flesh where we fail to really meet with the Lord. Our quiet times must be times where our spirit is open to the Holy Spirit of God who leads us to address certain things in our hearts and minds, or things that He wants us to look into. That is why it is good to have a journal to write down the impressions that God gives.
We must humbly bring ourselves to the feet of Jesus with an open bible and a prayerful heart. God cannot and will not be rushed! Scripture tells us to be still and know that He is God.
Even if in our quiet time we did nothing else but be still, if our spirit come to a tremendous conviction that He is God: that will make all the difference to our day! Therefore, we must pray much and think much about the work of the Lord wherever we are located. We must conduct all that we do in a manner that is worthy of the good news.
You and I will know when it is the Spirit of the Lord that is at work within us because it will bring the similar results as recorded in Isaiah 61:1-3.
The Year of the LORD's Favor
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3
The poor will receive our words as good news, the broken-hearted will be healed, the captives will find freedom, and those imprisoned in darkness will be released into the wonderful light! We will minister comfort and joy to those who mourn and grieve. The people we minister to will become oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour.
Conclusion
And after we have done these, Isaiah 61:4 says it is these restored people who will rebuild their nations! "They will rebuild the ancient ruins & restore the places long devastated …"
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Isaiah 61:4
Praise the Lord!
