Next Quadrennial Theme:
A Church after God’s Own Heart

The 41st Session of the Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference was held from 22-25 November 2016 at Wei Kuok Hall, Sibu. More than 300 delegates joined this conference to decide on matters of the following Term.

The opening ceremony was held on 22 Nov at 9:30am. Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik was the guest speaker at the ceremony. The topic was ‘A Church after God’s Own Heart—Even When He Is Hidden’ which is also the theme for the Methodist Church in Malaysia for the next quadrennium.

The Bishop took his message from Isaiah 45, which was about the declaration of the last batch of Israelites before their return to their homeland. In verse 15, it says, “Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel.”

“God is a God who has been hiding himself doesn’t mean that God is not present or is absent from all happenings. This verse made me realize something about the occasion on the Road to Emmaus where the resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples. They didn’t recognize him at all because Jesus hid himself though he was present with them.

Often we only see the problems in our lives, the awkward situation in our country and the many historical phenomena until we tend to think that God is not present. However, we still need to believe that, though we can’t foresee our future, we know that God is always leading us. We have heard the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. He was sold to Egypt but God never forsook him. In the end God fulfilled His wonderful plan in the life of Joseph. Joseph believed that God would carry out the plan for him. Thus no matter what happened, Joseph put his faith in God.

Therefore we must firmly grasp that God holds the authority in all things. We have to acknowledge his thoughts and his ways surpass ours. (Isaiah 55:9) The Bible also stresses that God’s foolishness is greater than our wisdom. (1Corintians 1:25) Besides that, God has a purpose for all things, even the wicked are made for evil times. (Proverbs 16:4)

In order to be a church after God’s own heart in this crooked world, we have to have complete faith in God. We should also never be ashamed of the Cross, especially in our country. We should put our full trust in God who will open another door for us, for He can make the crooked paths straight!