Week 31 (28 July - 3 Aug): Filled with the Fullness of God

On Saturday, Boon Hoe shared a message titled “Filled with Fullness” based on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21. Boon Hoe started by sharing that we are often trying to fill ourselves up, but it is more important to be filled with the right thing than to be full. As believers, we should be filled with the fullness of God. In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord judges his people for not filling themselves up with the right thing - “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” We may try to store up our own water (possessions, enjoyments, achievements, etc.) but it is futile – slowly but surely slipping through the cracks and never truly fulfilling us.

How then can we be filled with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19)? It first starts with knowing our identity in Christ and the authority of Christ. With the authority of Christ comes the power of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to grow and be strengthened spiritually.

Next, Christ is to dwell in our hearts through faith (v17). The NLT version says “Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.” Boon Hoe pointed out that having Christ dwell in our hearts is different from simply having Christ present in our hearts. For Christ to dwell, he must feel welcome in our hearts – just like how he frequented Mary and Martha’s home because they genuinely loved him through their hospitality and intentionality. Do we ask Jesus into our home, but then fail to offer him what we have, or tell him he cannot touch or use any of what belongs to us? Or do we have Jesus in our home, but also invite many other guests and fail to pay attention to Jesus? May we consider how to be better hosts of Jesus in our hearts!

What follows is the experiencing of the multi-dimensional love of Christ: Christ’s love is wide, extending to all people of all backgrounds. Christ’s love is long, eternal and enduring. Christ’s love is high, elevating us above this world. Christ’s love is deep, going beyond the depths of our sin and struggles that we bury away. What’s unique about this step is that it has to be done together with God’s people. On our own, our understanding of God’s love is limited to our experiences, our perspectives, our preferences. I think that we can begin to experience God’s love together when we (1) embrace God’s unique image in ourselves and each other, (2) exhort each other through truths and testimonies of God’s love, and (3) embody God’s love to each other – through forgiving sins that hurt us, giving although it takes personal sacrifice, rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. When God’s love is demonstrated through every heart, soul and mind in the community, the miraculous occurs - we are able to collectively know the love that surpasses knowledge! “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12)

Throughout the message, Boon Hoe used the image of a seed being planted into soil, growing roots and shoots, then becoming a tree bearing fruit. The last image was not just a solitary tree but a forest of interconnected trees. That is what we are called to be, a community where we invite Jesus in to dwell with us, a community where we experience the boundless love of Jesus, and a community that is filled to the fullness of God. If we struggle to believe that we can live up to this calling, we must remember that it is not us but God who who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine that works in us (v20), it is he alone that makes the seed grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). May we pray that God grows Talent Beacon into a forest with leaves that are always green and that never ceases to bear fruit.