Updated : 27/07/2005

A Rebel Tamed
By Ricky Lim

I came from a poor family in Bidor. Poverty is no sin but terribly inconvenient and is no disgrace but no honour either. At a tender age of twelve I have to leave school due to my inability financially to carry on schooling. My father had passed away and being the eldest, I had to support the family. Soon I left town to work as a helper in a sundry shop in Tapah.

Raised up from a traditional Chinese family, I knew nothing about Christianity. We were so poor that so-called religion has no part in our lives. Survival is of paramount importance.

After seven years of working in a sundry shop, I decided to leave and to venture out on my own. With some capital from my older sisters, I opened my own sundry shop in Ipoh.

Then in 1967 I came to know a Christian girl and soon she became my wife in 1969. I believed her family gave her the blessings to marry me, a non-Christian, supposing one day my eyes will be opened to know Jesus. My difficult upbringing and determination to make it in life also attributed to their approval.

As years progress, running a sundry shop was getting more difficulty as more and more supermarkets and hypermarkets starting to sprout up. Soon I was looking to other businesses in order to ‘diversify’. I was drawn to the illegal four-digit lottery business as little expertise is needed. Then, I was looking for quick money and became a heavy punter or gambler. I was led to seek god or spiritual beings for favours – favour to strike the lottery and be rich. I was running from one temple to another. Not satisfied, I wanted to ‘own and personalised’ the idols and started to bring back these gods to worship at home. Very soon I had about 6 idols at home.

By this time, I have four lovely children. They all followed their mother to worship Jesus. They were disappointed and angry when I brought the idols into the home but they could not do anything about it. They remained obedience and submissive.

I became prosperous and things were moving well and I decided to venture into properties developments together with others while still running a sundry shop and the illegal lottery operation. Soon, we owned couple of developments until the 1983-85 financial crisis, we were wept out financially. Unable to meet our financial obligations, our pledged properties were taken over by the banks.

By 1987 I decided to close the sundry shop but continued on the four-digit lottery operation.

I continued to seek my idols for blessings including ‘consultation’ as to which particular four-digit to punt or bet on. Since I have a few idols, I would ‘consult’ each idol at random. Blessings fluctuated and at times when there were no blessings I would turned frustrated to the extent of beating the idols physically. Other times, I would pack up the ‘no-luck’ idol and sent it back to the temple and bring a new one back.

After several years and with no clear-cut luck or blessings, I came to my senses that all these are a waste of time and money. It turned out to be a wake-up call. Truly, when you are in doubt, be still, and wait. When doubt no longer exists, then go forward in courage. I then took a radical stance, I packed all the idols in a box and sent them all to the temple once and for all. Contradictory to what others said, there was no ‘spiritual attack’ whatsoever for my action. I also quitted the four-digit lottery operation.

What shall I do now as I have to support a family? During this time the economic climate was good and booming and there was a labour shortage everywhere. In 1993, I decided to set up a labour-supply business. I brought in foreign domestic helpers and workers to supply to Malaysian homes and factories. Business was good and slowly I became prosperous again.

Despite my newly gained wealth, life was empty, no joy and peace and I felt illusive. I then started to ponder about my future and what life is all about. Soon then after, I took another radical step after years of observing the joy and the peace my family had – I told my wife I want to accept Jesus as my God and be baptised!

My wife cannot believe it and I noticed she was full of joy. Soon, I started to attend church service regularly. Then slowly demonic attack overwhelmed me during my sleep. Many a time, I was pressed down by a black substance but I cannot see it. I would be breathless during the encounter. Each time I called upon the name of Jesus it will release me. Truly, the Holy Spirit in us is greater and soon after few more ‘attack’, it left me once and for all. Later, I underwent the baptismal lessons prior being baptised in 1997.

I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. I thank the Lord for transforming and leading me.

To God Be The Glory.

I come from a big family of nine siblings, a traditional Chinese family but no love in it. We hardly had time for each other. We did our own thing; quarrels were common and life seemed chaotic. I was a rebellious and disobedient child and longed to leave the family once I had completed secondary school. I had no love and respect in particular for my father and had difficulty communicating with him.

Eagerly I left home with a revolting and rebellious heart for KL for tertiary education. Indeed, a time of relief from the loveless home environment. Though rebellious and unruly toward my parents, I had stayed out of filial piety as it was difficult to break the deeply entrenched family tradition.

I graduated with a diploma in electrical engineering and started work in Singapore and later in Johore Baru. My desire was to run my own business. With some savings, I soon ventured into the office equipment supplies business. A popular Taiwanese song then, ‘To Win Is To Compete’ became my motto and inspiration. As time progressed, I became a bit successful and proud, believing only in myself for success.

At this time I started to court a Christian girl. I made it a point to tell her that I would not be a Christian. Nonetheless, to please her I would occasionally attend Sunday church service. She had peace, blessings from her Christian parents and a strong feeling that she would win me for Jesus one day. We courted for two years and got married in 1990.

My business continued to prosper and soon I was able to own a single-storey house. The business climate then was good, and credit was easily available. Soon I owned a shophouse. Being egotistic, greedy and ‘big-headed’, before long I had a burning desire to own ten properties.

In the meantime, my ‘prosperous’ life was torn between married life and business. Soon, without my knowledge, my marriage was on the rocks. I was spending my time in karaoke bars. I became a heavy drinker and many a time I came home drunk. I was getting addicted to these two vices. Indeed, ‘wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise’. There was no peace at home and I began considering divorce. At the same time, my wife cried out to her God and prayed for the marriage and for me. God heard her prayer.

At one Sunday church service I had a spiritual encounter. The preaching was on the subject of creation and it led me to go home to search for some answers. I had a Bible given to me by my god-daughter five years ago but I had never opened it. I flicked it open to Genesis – the first book of the Bible, where the story of creation is found. I read it with an open heart and God ministered to me. Truly, all creation bears God’s autograph. All I have seen with my eyes taught me to trust the Creator for all I had not seen. However, I was confused as to which god and who this Creator God is.

One day while travelling to Alor Star with my wife, I played a tape and heard a sermon. Preaching is to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable, how true! The preacher was quoting biblical principles to obey and love one’s parents. He went on to preach on love and obedience to parents while they are still living and not when they are dead and gone -- filial piety to living parents, not dead parents! That woke me up in my spirit despite the fact I had remained rebellious and unfriendly to my father.

Shortly, my wife led me to say a sinner’s prayer, and I accepted Jesus into my heart. My life started to be transformed and has never been the same ever since.

My urge to drink strangely diminished. I had a terrible haemorrhoids problem for sometime, and that also slowly healed after much prayer. My marriage gradually turned for the better.

Business too improved, and in 1996 I bought my third property, another shophouse. It was during this time the Lord ministered to me … what is the good of having acquired material possessions at the expense of losing one's soul. That was a wake-up call and got me to ponder further about my desire to own more properties. Let’s not spoil what I have by desiring what I have not, but remember that what I now have was once among the things I only hoped for. The desire for material assets slowly fizzled off. In the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, many lost their wealth and on hindsight, I give the Lord the glory of taking away that desire or else I would have possibly lost financially had I continued to hunger to own more properties.

God continued to minister to me in particular about filial piety – to love and forgive my parents. One day while visiting my parents, prompted by the Lord, I called and hugged my father to show him my love and respect. It was a great shock to the both of us. I asked for his forgiveness. He who forgives ends a quarrel. From the simple breakthrough, our relationship improved. I started to share with him about how Jesus had changed my life. However, my father had difficulty accepting Jesus. He is the eldest in his family and had to show filial piety to his dead parents. Accepting Jesus means to stop praying to them, and that would create animosity with his siblings. I believe the Lord will find a way out for him one day.

In 2003 I reaped a nasty medical problem of liver complications and hepatitis B due to my previous years of heavy drinking. Worry can do a lot of things to you; prayer can also do a lot of things for you. So my wife and I brought up my medical problem to the Lord every morning. Indeed, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Many others prayed for me when they found out about my medical problem. My sister-in-law prayed and saw a vision that I was being slowly healed. My church pastor also felt in his spirit that healing was taking place. God listens to those who take time to pray, and He speaks to those who take time to listen.

After much prayer, I felt the sensations of ‘poking needles’ slowly leaving my body. By November 2003, I was totally healed. A great burden was taken off my shoulder, and I am thankful to the Lord.

To God Be The Glory.