(Continued from part 1)

Not so present-day, but ain’t ancient!

These people have died but were in the 1900s, so quite recent. I read C. S. Lewis, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Elizabeth Elliot.

C. S. Lewis helped my thinking, Elliot gave me wisdom in my emotions, and Lloyd-Jones.. is good for everything! 😊

My fellow countrymen

When I first became a Christian in Singapore, I went to some of GRII (Gereja Reformed Injili Indonesia = Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church)’s catechism classes which was a good foundation. I didn’t go to church regularly yet, but occasionally went to hear Stephen Tong‘s talks at Newton Life Church (it wasn’t a Sun worship service, just a talk and in Chinese – so I didn’t even understand the whole thing, but must have gained something from it as I recall I kept going for awhile). Also, I remember I found his series on ‘Sanctification of Emotions’ to be insighful too (it’s also in Chinese 😅, n I think you may still be able to find the recordings somewhere).

GRII has produced some great ministers. The two I have gained the most from (and still listen to them, ‘thanks’ to Covid they now have YouTube channel) are Ivan Kristiono and Heru Lin. Very well-researched and solidly expounded teachings from each, and very engaging too. I don’t remember hearing from such diligence elsewhere.

One of the things I really appreciate about GRII is the sense of reverence they seek to cultivate in their Sunday worship. Watch one of their livestream and you may get what I mean (and the choir is beautiful and fitting in preparing your heart before God). I feel in Melbourne we’ve largely lost the reverence and even more the beauty that should be reflected in a Sunday service. We mostly remember God is the true and the good, but forget He is also the beautiful.

And also I’m impressed just by the fact their prayer meeting is at 6.30 AM, when many in Melbourne struggle to turn up on time for Sunday worship at 10 AM!

Some contemporaries I later came across

Paul Washer is one, he can be intense but good stuffs. Then those I heard through Ligonier Ministries, in particular R. C. Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson, and Alistair Begg.

R. C. died a few years ago. I first watched his series on ‘What is Reformed Theology?‘ and hasn’t stopped listening since. I find his teaching better than his preaching (so I’ll recommend checking out his teaching series on Ligonier. Highly recommended! 😃)

One other we may be familiar with in Australia is Martyn Iles of ACL (Australian Christian Lobby). I admire the rarity of qualities he displays. His role is extremely tough and environment very hostile, yet he remains firmly grounded, steadfast, clear, diligent and disciplined. Especially if you hear of his past, it helps you appreciate the courageous person he’s grown to be. I am always encouraged to see there’re young men like him even today in this generation who have been set apart that way. I can only imagine how draining it is to do what he does. This fine young man needs our prayers to keep on.

Here’s a brief 3-min thoughts from Martyn Iles on talents and gifts:

Lastly, I have to mention my own minister, John Huynh. Similar to others I’ve listed in the sense that he’s a very gifted preacher. Different in the sense that I see him up close (while others from a distance). I am not only told of grace in theory, but also shown how it looks like in practice. So, of all, I’ve been most impacted by him 🙂

Miscellaneous

Obviously the ones I mentioned so far are kinda in the same camp in the sense that they are mostly authors, theologians, missionaries and ministers (although they also have other roles as physician, mathematician, musician, philosopher..).

Here are two others I listen to today that are not quite in the same group:

• Jordan Peterson
  • I think there are many things about him that are commendable, and a much needed voice of reason in today’s world, especially on encouraging people to live responsibly.
  • It’s funny that someone said recently that Jordan’s message of ‘grow up’, ‘stand up straight’, ‘be responsible’, etc are the same kinds of things that we would have commonly heard in any neighbourhood bar in the 1920s. That just shows how far gone our society is since then, that such common sensical message now sounds refreshing to hear in this day and age!
  • He’s v well known by now, but for those who haven’t heard him before, here’s the very interesting interview that served to propel him to the global scene. Since then, he’s often and continued to be caricatured out of context. But noone can deny the number of lives he’s helped to mend and continued to do so.

• Dr. John Campbell
  • The most objective, competent, teachable, kind and caring, genuine and pleasant to listen to (that I’ve come across) in a world with Covid confusion.
  • I highly recommend listening to him on his YouTube channel too if you’d like to filter out Covid noise.
  • He was recently ‘fact checked’ by the BBC (wrongfully) for this informative and insightful clip that the mainstream narrative (not) surprisingly doesn’t talk much about. Here’s him talking about deaths in relation to Covid:

So, there you go — the people who have influenced my thinking and shaped me.

While none of them is perfect, when I do see extraordinary display of grace in them, it’s still easy to put people on pedestal. So, it’s good to remember that it is always God’s grace that works extraordinarily in their ordinary lives. Instead of being stuck in glimpses, the more we see His varied reflections in different people, the clearer we should see God’s character through them and the more we should be anticipating seeing Him.

Meanwhile, thank God for such examples and blessings that enrich us spiritually. And remember to look up, and remember to always look up. Do not lose sight of the cross! ✝