We Are Strong As An Army. W372.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

*Personal Study Tips: Wisdom Gives Life to Knowledge.

We learnt from pastor that in order to do well in our studies, we must stop saying negative things such as, "This time fail liao!", "Die lah!" but instead, confess positive things like, "I will have good results!" and "I am going to make it!"

That is indeed the first step to good results.

The next step is to of course, study!

Jas 2:20
"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?"

However, have you know of students who study and study but never seems to do well?

They are stuck to their notes the whole day, they keep doing past-years papers, make a whole pile of personal notes and can even recite their textbooks but their results is always nothing more than a pass.

I always hear many student saying this after a test or when the results are out,

"I know, I really know but I just don't know how to answer!"

Does that sound familiar to you? Perhaps, even you have said something similar too.

So what went wrong?

Ec 2:17
"For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it."

The problem with many student is not knowledge but they lack wisdom! According to the verse, wisdom gives life to the one who already have the knowledge! Knowlegde only excel with wisdom!

What is knowledge and what is wisdom?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary,
Knowledge information and understanding that you have in your mind.
Wisdom is the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.

Reading textbooks, memorizing and doing past year papers are important but all these just increase knowledge and not wisdom!

The verse also remind me of a Chinese saying, “读死书，读书死” (Which can be loosely translated that if all one does is to study from books, he will die studying.)

So how do you increase wisdom?

Jas 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

The first and foremost thing, as a Christian, you should pray and ask God for wisdom.

Remember this point well, what works for the spiritual will also work for the natural. The key word for this verse is "ask". Wisdom comes by asking questions and answering them!

Now, I don't mean asking question that will come out for exams. Questions like "What is the role of vitamin C?" and "How is a waterfall formed?" will just set you reading and refering to your textbooks, which is again just dealing with the area of knowledge. You need to ask questions that will set you thinking, thinking of more questions and multiple solutions to each questions then branch out to more questions again.

Lets have a look at an example of a good thinking process when studying.

"What is the role of vitamin C? It is helps to boost the body's immune system."
"So where can I obtain vitamin C? Vitamin C can be found in most vegetables and fruits, not forgetting vitamin supplements which you can get over the counter."
"What is the recommended amount of vitamin C a person should consume? Most food labels will recommend taking at least 500mg to 1000mg of vitamin C each day but there isn't a maximum amount stated."
"Have I read any articles or journals about vitamin C? Yes! Most articles will mention vitamin C with vitamin E and beta-carotene as anti-oxidants that could reduce free-radicals which causes aging and cancer growth."
"So where is vitamin C absorbed? In the small intestines together with digested food particles." "
"So how does the small intestine function? The small intestine blah blah blah..."

I will not go on further but that's the basic idea. The ability to think beyond what most people will consider the "standard" answer. Of course you don't answer your exam question that way but thinking in such a way make your brain work and help you to link up with other knowledge that you have previously learnt. It sets you thinking, explain things in greater and further details and gives a deeper understanding of the knowledge that you have learnt. From there, you will also gather new knowledge and greater insight, just by thinking and asking questions alone!

When you study, when you ask questions and answer them, You should never let the knowledge in your mind be isolated like stand-alone computers. Never make the mistake that "biology is for biology" and "physics is for physics"! Such method of study I like to call it "Micro-study" as it restricts the learner to just looking at every piece of information in a narrow perspective.

However, learn to understand that one topic can always be linked with another topic. One subject can also explain or give a different view of another subject. Let your thinking work like a network server where you can have access to many computers from one computer. Think of how you can link different pieces of information together and learn to look at one subject in many different perspectives. Ask questions about a question and answer them. I call this method of study, "Macro-study" as the learner see things in a wide, limitless view.

Sounds difficult? Well, no one ever said that studying is easy. The main point I want to stress on here is to ask questions, think wide, see things in different angles and perspective and answer the question and ask more questions once again.

Wisdom as you can see by now, is really a collection of the experience you have and the flexibility of it is how much you really use your brain.

There is a myth that study is easier for younger people and thus, it is less suitable for older people. In fact, people also try to prove this point by stating the fact that the brain decreases in size as the person age.

However, studies have also showed that as a person gets older, the different parts of the brain also have better nerve linkage to each other and thus, despite the size of the brain decreases, the person is able to better reason and see things in a wider perspective. Which is why it is very common to see older people able to understand certain topics better than younger people. It also explain why a Varsity Degree is offered to people after a certain age.

But do you have to wait until you are old before you can "study better" or have wisdom? Not true. The reason why older people have more wisdom is because they have used their brain more than younger people over a longer period of time. In other words, if you learn to use your brain more, you can also improve the connectivity and function of your brain.

Thus the saying, "Practise makes perfect."

One way to increase wisdom is then to read widely, be up-to-date with new informations, to go beyond your textbooks and what is expected of you.

If you are studying Infocom, don't just read about I.T. but read also about healthcare and politics. If you are studying Healthcare, read also about electronic and world history. Read not just what you are interested in but allow yourself to be saturated with knowledge from different perspectives and disciplines. Look at information even if they oppose your belief. Seek to understand how other people think in differing views. Doing so, you will be able to answer many questions in many possible ways. That is how you can set yourslef thinking.

Thus, I am not really telling you how to do well in certain topics. What I am sharing is really a method that will help you to excel in not just your studies but also in every decision you make and in your future career.

If you want to have better result but see no breakthrough because you keep studying using an old method, try something new today! To keep doing the same thing and expect to have a different result is not perseverance, it is MADNESS!

ASK for wisdom today. It is going to ease your study once you grasp hold of it. Remember, it is not about IQ. King Solomon wasn't born with great intelligence in the first place.

GOD IS GOOD.

Benjamin @ 1:40 PM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

*Jesus Christ, Our Saviour.

Service Sermon 25-26 Mar'06
Preacher: Pastor Kong Hee

***

Jn 8: 1-12

The story begin here where Jesus was preaching and many people were crowding around Him to listen.

Along came some Pharisees with a woman caught in the act of adultery, creating a din and attracting attention to themselves.

First of all, who are the Pharisees?

They were the religious leaders of the Jews during Jesus' time. They were the priest of the Temple of God, the upholder of the Laws and the political leaders of Israel.

However, throughout the bible, we learnt that the Pharisees were corrupted. They cheated the poor, the needy and the widows. They created their own laws and called them "God's Law", they did not do what they preach and had many underhand dealings with the authorities.

They led the people by religious fear and lift themselves up in the presence of the people.

They were hypocrites. The people hated them, yet they fear them because they hold great religious and political powers.

The Pharisees symbolize modern day religious leaders who are often quick to condemn than to forgive, who try to justify their deeds with religious rules, instill fear in their followers in the name of religion and deny people the grace of God.

So back to the story.

Jn 8:4-6

The Pharisees held a grudge against Jesus as He had exposed their sins publicly many a times. They also saw Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of God, mixed around with sinners, which they thought was very wrong for God to do.

The Pharisees then tried to trap Jesus by bringing the adulteress to Him. They quoted the Law of Moses, saying that an adulteress must be stoned to death.

The trap lies here, if Jesus allowed the adulteress to be stoned, He will acknowledge the authority of the Pharisees and promoted their power over the people. However if He refused the adulteress to be stoned, the Pharisees could accuse Jesus of breaking the Law!

Jesus knew it was a trap, He kept quiet and start writing on the ground.

Jn 8:7-8

When Jesus didn't answered, the Pharisees thought He wasn't listening and repeated themselves again, demanding Jesus to decide the fate of the adultress.

Jesus told them, "That whoever is without sin can cast the first stone at her." He then continued to write on the ground.

Jn 8:9

At that moment, the conscience of the people were pricked. The oldest among the accuser left first, followed by the younger ones.

Even though the bible did not say what was Jesus writing, many theologians believed that He was actually writing the Ten Commandments. If anyone wanted to pick up a stone from the ground, they would have to look down and they will see what Jesus was writing.

As no one is without sin (Rom 3:23), the word spoken by Jesus and the Commandments written by Him would remind them of their sins, making them guilty. Thus, when everyone felt they were unworthy and when guilt and shame overcame them, they left. The longer one live, the more sins they would have commited, thus, the older ones left first, followed by the younger ones.

Whether we like it or not, we are all guilty of sins before the Holy God. Big sins, small sins, we are all guilty.

Jn 8:10-11

The only person who was worthy to throw the first stone that day was in fact, Jesus! Who is truly without sin.

When everyone who was unworthy had left and when Jesus was alone with the adulteress, He choose to forgive the adultress instead! The forgiveness of Jesus set the woman free of her sin!

However, sins cannot go unpunished. While Jesus had forgave the adultress, He was still under obligation to fulfill the Law.

God can never close His eyes to sin beacuse sin had costed him to lose this beatiful world He had created, sin had seperated the fellowship of God and man and sin had cost the life of His Beloved Son.

In order to fulfill the Law, Jesus will have to die in the place of all the sinners in the world. He is able to do that because He Himself is without sin, thus, He need not have to die because of sin but it give Him the right to die on the behalf of all the sinners.

Jesus forgave the adultress because He knew that He was already on the way to die on Calvary for all sinners.

***

Friends, Jesus died for you and I on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago. His love and His sacrifice is still remembered today. This Salvation is still available to all of us today. Big sinners, small sinners, Jesus already paid for the price. You need not feel condemned or guilty any longer. Jesus was resurrected and is alive today, to embrace you and wash you clean of all of your sins.

All it takes for you and I to recieve this gift of Salvation, is to believe Jesus had died for us and made Him our Lord and Saviour.

If you have yet to recieve Jesus, you may want to make a decision today to recieve Him. If you had once attended church but no is longer on fire for Jesus, you may want to rededicate yourself to Him once again.

If you are a believer, never forget the first love you have for Jesus and love others just like Jesus loves you.

If you decided to recieve Jesus, you can make a simple prayer to welcome Him into your heart:

"Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Today, I welcome you into my heart. Wash me clean of all my sins. I thank you for the scarifice You made on the Cross. From now on, You are my God and my Saviour. Amen."

GOD IS GOOD.

Benjamin @ 11:38 AM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

*Sermons Update!

The Prodigal Son
Service Sermon 11-12 Mar'06
Preacher: Pastor Kong Hee

Main verses from Luke 15: 11-32

The main point of this parable can be summarize like this:
No matter how bad you are, how far you have fall and how ugly you have become, God is always waiting for you to repent and He will always welcome you with open arms.

Yes! Indeed we have a God who is always ready to forgive and provide for us even though we can be ungrateful.

Let us look at The Parable of the Prodigal Son (aka The Parable of the Lost Son).

Prodigal means "wasteful", "wild" and "reckless" in Greek.

Just how horrible is the prodigal son in the parable? We shall understand that by looking at WHAT HE ASK FOR in Lk: 11-12.

The son asked for 2 things.

1. The prodigal son asked for his inheritance.
The typical selfish "I want", "give me" attitude. At the same time, it is important to understand that an inheritance is only pass down when the person dies. In other words, the prodigal son is indirectly telling his dad to go and die! Can you see how ungrateful he is?

2. He desires freedom at the expenses of hurting the very people that love him.
The prodigal son chooses to act irresponsibly without thoughts about the consequences or the feeling of his father. Even though the father knows that the prodigal son is making a wrong decision to leave home for a freedom that would lead to his destruction, the father still let him go because God gave all of us freewill.

God may try to lead us and guide us but He will not interfere with the decision we made because He gave us freewill.

Lk 15:13

From here on, we see that the prodigal son had choose to go into an alien world that is totally different from the one that was meant for him. He then squandered everything he had away recklessly and wastefully on wild, worldly pleasures.

Lk 15:14-16

Eventually, the prodigal son lost all his money and whatever properties his father had given him. When a famine sets in, the prodigal son was even forced to eat pig food to survive, thus losing his dignity and his friends.

Perhaps, people will always ask, why does a loving God allow sufferings in the world?

First of all, sufferings occur because this is a fallen world we live in. God then given us laws so that those who obey may not suffer. Laws are there to protect us. Just like if someone choose to break any traffic law, then he is risking himself to die in a road traffic accident.

Basically, the world is sick because they have choose to ignore the Living God, just like the prodigal son leaving the protection and ignoring the advice of his father.

Lk 15:17

At this point, the prodigal son finally came to his senses that he would be much better of even if he was just a slave in his father's house. Realizing the folly of leaving his loving father and wanting a freedom that had bonded him in such a mess, the prodigal son choose not to shift the blame to anyone but was ready to admit to his own sins and go home to his father.

Lk 15:20

The father waited everyday without fail for the prodigal son to come back. The moment he sees the son returning in a distance, he didn't even wait for him to come but the father ran out to embrace the son, who is physically dirty and smelly and emotionally beaten. The father chooses to humble himself and welcome the son with all meekness and gladness instead of punishing him.

Lk 15: 22-24

The father choose to put away every sin the prodigal son had and even gave him power and authority, which is signified by putting the signet ring on the son's finger.

In the past, slaves don't wear sandals. One of things that the father did was to gave sandals for the prodigal son to wear. This is an assurance that the son is already forgiven and he never live as a slave in the house. An assurance that the son has a place in the family and in the father's heart.

The father also killed a fatten calf to celebrate the return of the prodigal son. This signifies that the father will once again provide for him.

This is a beautiful picture of how God is loving towards every repentant sinner. No matter what a sinner has done, God is always waiting for him to repent and He will embrace the sinner just as he is.

When a sinner repents, God will celebrate in heaven with the angels and he will forgive the sinner, give him authority and provide for him. God indeed delights in the prosperity of His servant.

***

Living Out God's Best for You
(CGI Sermon 09/03/06)

Mark 10:27
Amen! With God, all things are possible!

Indeed, God has great plans for each and everyone of us but it is up to us to ask God for it.

Now in order to start living out the life that God wants for us, we must first understand 2 truth about God.

1. Nothing is impossible with God!

Mt 19:26, Luke 1:36-37, Gen 18:13-14

God is repeating Himself in all these verses, nothing is impossible for Him! Hold on to this promise, change whatever negative perspective with God's perspective!

"Die lah, this time surely fail one."

"I think this time gone case liao lah."

"My mum is very religious, she will never come to chruch."

"My friends loves wild parties, I think they will find church boring."

Sounds familiar?

God said that with our limited mindset, it is not possible for certain things to happen. For example, some people think they are not clever enough to do well in their exams, some people think they can never make it big in life, some people think their family and friends can never be saved.

Truly, what you think is what will happen! Your thoughts are like self-fulfilling prophecies and many people will seek to ensure that the bad things they think will happen will indeed happen!

Stop living such a defeated life! Put on the mind of God! See things through the perspective of God! If we are limited, God is unlimited! If we can't make certain things happen, God can make all things happen! Indeed, With God, all things are possible! Amen!

With this, let us move on to the second truth.

2. Whatever God says will be done.

Isa 14:26-27

God has a purpose for each and everyone of us and no one can stop it!

So what has God promised you? Has it being fulfilled? Delay is not denial. Everything have a season and time. We may face struggles as we wait for our breakthrough, for God to fulfill whatever He had personally promised us. Never give up!

Gen 18: 13-14
God promised Abraham that he will have a son and he will be a father of a great nation. How long did he wait for Isaac? The nation of Israel and this Gospel wouldn't be around if Abraham choose to give up and stop believing in God!

Gen 45: 4-8
God gave Joseph a dream that he will one day be someone great and his family will even bow down to him. How long did he wait? What did he go through before the dream was fulfilled? He was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave, convicted of a crime he never commit. However, he held on to God's promise and became the 2nd most powerful man during his time and saved the world from one of the worst famine ever!

So next, there are 3 things we need to do.

1. Expect God to do something new in your life.

Isa 55: 8-9

God's way are higher than our ways! Don't stick to your usual ways, try something new, step out of the box!

If you have always being doing poorly in your studies, change your study method. Try something new!

If you always find yourself in lack, change the way you manage your money. Try something new!

If you always fail at reaching out to your friends, change the way you reach out. Try something new!

If you keep failing and you still continue to do the same old ways to handle the situation, that is not perseverance, it is madness!

Be open to new things. Don't be afraid when God moves.

2. Exchange your "low" life for God's high life.

Mt 10:38-39 Heb 2:6, 7, 9

As disciples of Christ, Jesus told us to take up the cross and follow Him. Without the cross, there will be no crown of glory.

In order to embrace the high life of God, we have to first give up our old life. Simple as that. It doesn't takes a lot to let go of your old life, it takes ALL you have!

When your hands are full, you have to put down whatever you are holding if you want to recieve something new.

3. Recieve the anointing of God.

Ps 23:5

God wants to anoint our mind with the Holy Spirit. He wants our minds to be renewed and guide us along in our walk with Him.

1 Jn 2:20

When our mind is anointed, we can hear from God and know what He wants for us. Indeed, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, everything that God has for us will be reveal by His Spirit.

As healthy believers, we are always growing. Only unhealthy individuals stop growing or fall back. So as we move on in our walk with God, always expect something greater from Him at every new seasons of our life. Let's live the HIGH LIFE! Amen!

GOD IS GOOD.

Benjamin @ 3:08 PM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

*I think this is the missing clip everyone's talking about...

Yup. I uploaded a missing KBox outing clip. I think this is the one everyone's asking for. Hahaha.

Now I am quite free, I will do my best to upload all sermons by Sunday night or lastest Monday every week so you will have a lot of time to meditate on the word before the next CG or Svc.

As for the reason why I will only upload after Sunday night?

1. I don't want to reveal the this week's messages to people who have yet to attend CG or Svc. This blog will never become a reason for people to skip CG or church by revealing the message before hand. We will not want to kill the sense of expectancy by being spoilers too.

2. I need time to type the sermons. (Obviously). Hahaha.

And other then the video and the sermons, we are all waiting for one more thing. DESMOND's mission trip testimonies! Photos! Videos! Upload whatever you have! Tell us everything you had seen and done in Malang! Hahaha.

GOD IS GOOD. :)

Benjamin @ 12:25 AM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

*Video, CG, Svc, ACTION!

Being some time since I blog. I was really busy with all the presentations and exams preparation since last week. Now as I take a breather, I will be blog about last week's CG sermon and Svc sermon since Desmond will be away this week for mission.

Let us all keep Desmond in prayer, Amen!

And in case you wonder where is Eunice when you don't see her this week, she is having holiday at KL with her family from this Thursday till next Wednesday or Thursday.

So coming up first on this post will be an edited version of Alex's Gag. Do enjoy. Hahaha.

Follow by:
1. The CG sermon
2. The Svc sermon
Do meditate on the word and may it bless you. :)

***

Alex's Gag (Edited)

***

The Man with the Withered Hand
(CG Sermon 02/03/06)

Lk 4:6-19

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is not for us to rebuke people but to preach the Gospel and share the Good News, to bless and not to curse.

Now in order to feel the power of the Holy Spirit, each of us have to first step into the realm of the spirit.

In Mk 3:1, the word "withered" actually means "shriveled up, burnt or dying" in Greek.

As with the man with the withered hand, we also tend to "withered" when we shrink back from our problems or challenges.

The fact is that everyone will bound to have problems and challenges in life. The way we deal with them will determine whether we will enlarge or shrink. If we allow ourselves to mentally shrink, we will diminish and move back from where we are.

The good news is that God assured us that there is a solution to every problem out there and it takes someone with a good attitude and courage to find it.

Here is a favorite verse we are familiar with in the Good News Translation.
1 Cor 10:13
Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

Keep this promise in mind and face every challenges with the glory of the Lord! Amen!

So another thing truth we want to face is that, the church is not a perfect place, not until imperfect people like you and I become a part of it.

There is still sick people in church, there are people who will bound to make you angry in church. Once in a while some usher will still come your way and irritates you.

Nonetheless, the church is like Noah's Ark. With so many animals in the Ark, it had to be very smelly inside. Imagine having step into animal droppings every time you walk around. Then in the night when you want to sleep, imagine all the night dwelling animals start to make all kind of noise.

Noah's Ark is not an ideal place to stay so to say. It is not like your leisure cruise where you can enjoy the sun and the sea. However, what Noah's Ark did, it kept it's passenger safe from the terrors of the flood water around it.

The flood is like the world out there and Noah's Ark is like the church. No matter how bad things can get in church, it is still much better than the world out there. Better alive in the smelly Ark than sleeping with the fishes.

Which brings us to the point, that just like the man with the withered hand, people need the LORD!

The church has being portrayed as the Body of Christ and continues the work and ministry of Jesus today. Different part of the body play different roles and today, we will just look at the different aspect of the upper limb.

1. The Arm represents God's Salvation

The church is portrayed as a powerful arm that reaches out to the lost out there. However, many churches have a withered arm. They find it hard or refuse to reach out to the unlovables or the needy.

Isa 51:5, Isa 59:6

We have the assurance that no matter how far away we are away from GOD, His arm can always reach us.

2. The Hand represents God's Healing Power

Mk 16:16-18

As we pray for the sick, we also lay hands on them.

3. The Finger represents God's Power over Demons

Lk 11:19

There are demons out there that torment people. However, God uses His finger to cast out demons and set us free!

Mk 5:2-13

Religious zealots are faster to accuse than to bless. Base on their own knowledge of God's law and their own standards, they will judge people, condemn people and even curse people more than having compassion for them.

Mk 3:3-5

Coming to church is not just coming to hear a motivational speech. We are called to step into the realm of the spirit and do the work and live the live of Jesus. Simply put, going to CG and Svc is to go to where Jesus is! Those who came with a hunger will see their life truly changed.

To step out from where we are, God wants us to do something that we never do before. Just like the man with the withered hand, Jesus asked him to stretch out his withered hands even though it is not possible to do so. However, the man obey and he was able to life up his hand and saw it healed right before his very eyes!

Every healthy living thing will grow and progress. Therefore as a healthy growing Christian, we must never stay where we are but we must keep on moving ahead of our vision.

Lk 5:17

In conclusion:
We must be whole in our walk with God for a touch from heaven is what will truly change our life. When we step forward to Jesus, we are stepping forward with our whole life!

"Following Jesus doesn't cost us something, it cost us EVERYTHING!" ~Dr. Ulf Ekman

***

Reaching Out with Love
Service Sermon 4-5 Mar'06
Preacher: Pastor Kong Hee

First of all, in CHC, we don't believe in cold evangelism. We don't go around preaching to people on the street or knocking from door to door to shaft the Gospel down people's throat.

Everything we do is really out of love or lack of love for the people around us. We have to reach out with love because people don't care how much we know until they know how much we care.

Jesus showed the love of God everywhere he went. In fact, Jesus bless people more than he preaches!

Mt 8:1-3

In Jesus' time, lepers were considered an outcast. They were labeled unclean and they have to proclaim their uncleanness everywhere they go. In fact, they can even get stoned because of their leprosy. With sores all over their body, it is already enough to put people off for people will fear that they will get infected if they come near them.

However, Jesus didn't come to judge or condemn the leper. In fact, Jesus reach out to him and accepted him.

As Christians, we are walking bible. Our life, our words and our deed manifest the Word of God over us where people can see and sense.

Mk 5: 21-24

Even though Jesus was busy with all His outreach, He was still willing to make a trip to pray for Jaimus' daughter.

Along the way, many critics said Jaimus' daughter was dead and ridicule Jesus for making a futile trip and attempt to pray for her. However, Jesus wasn't bothered with all the critics. He choose to ignore them and went on to pray for the girl. When He did so, He went in alone without any fanfare. He did everything with much meekness and gentleness.

Mk 5:35-43

As Jesus revived the dead girl, He didn't even try to take the chance to preach the Gospel. Instead, He was more concerned that the girl may be hungry.

Mk 6:33

Once again, Jesus was concerned about the hunger of the thousands of people who were following Him. We can see that Jesus always seek to meet the needs of people first.

As we seek to reach out to people, God will always want us to do our best and He will do the rest.

Remember that we can always give without loving but we cannot love without giving! As we have learnt in previous sermons, we are to bless, to fellowship and to meet their needs before we preach the Gospel.

Jn 8:1-11

Religious people are always quick to judge and condemn. However, God called us not to condemn but to encourage.

Jn 8:20

Jesus reached out to people who are discouraged, people with poor self-esteem.

Jn 9:1-11

Very often, religious Christians tend to judge people by their sicknesses or their disabilities. They will say things like, "He is suffering from cancer now because God is punishing him for his sins. " or "Serve him right for being crippled. It is a retribution from God."

However, we know that our God is a God who loves us. He wants to heals us so how can He causes diseases? Jesus made it clear that no one is at fault when bad things happen. After all, this is a broken down world we live in so bad things do happen.

That is why when Jesus reach out to people, He didn't just try to meet the spiritual needs of people. He also meet the physical need of the people.

So keep in mind that winning is not hard selling the Gospel. The Kingdom of God will grow as we choose to serve both God and people. Amen!

***

So lets not forget that this week and next week will be our Friendship Connection! Invite your friends! Reach out to them the Jesus's way!

GOD IS GOOD! :)

Benjamin @ 8:11 PM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Sunday, March 05, 2006

*KBox Outing with W372!

Look at the crazy stuff we did during the outing! Hahaha.

I shall let the video do the talking for this post. So let's give our video crew (Benjamin) a big hand!!!

To bad you can't save the videos. But if you do want them, please look for me.
(Note: The original clips are in .3gp format and you will need Quicktime Player to view them.)

Bouns Video! ~~Penguins of Madagascar~~ Alex of W372!

Enjoy!. :)

Benjamin @ 12:38 AM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Friday, March 03, 2006

*Weekend with Rev. Ulf Ekman! 24-26 Feb '06

Finally got the sermon up! So let's start the messages from the first service.

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Preacher: Rev. (Dr.) Ulf Ekman
Title: Founder/Senior Pastor Word of Life Church (Ulf Ekman Ministry)
Country: Swenden

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Know the Time and Season (24/02/06)

Acts 1:6,7

It is very important to know the seasons.

Eccl 13:1

Timing is everything. Success comes at doing the right thing at the right time at the right place with the right person.

And timing is understanding the season. We must know and understand the seasons. When there is going to be a change in the season, we must prepare for it with a sense of expectancy. There is different things to do during different seasons.
E.g. You cannot farm during winter, this is when you should be maintaining your tools so when summer comes, you start to sow and harvest during spring.

Always seek to know more of the Holy Spirit for He is the one who will guide us into the different seasons.

Gal 6:7-8

The seasons take charge of you. We cannot try to control the season or the Holy Spirit but only to flow with it. And when we know the timing and learn to flow with it, God will bless us.

When you try to do any other thing when the time isn't right, you will find yourself frustrated.

Have you ever seen someone who is always doing/saything the wrong thing at the wrong time at the wrong place to the wrong people? Don't you feel like slapping them sometimes? Then don't become like them!

Jesus is the Lord of the seasons. So as Christians, we are called to be man of every season! When we are sharp in the spiritual realm, we can always be in peace and not troubled by the change in the seasons.

Changes is based on the decision you made. When you make the wrong decision, you will have bad changes.

Zech 10:1

Making the right prayer at the right time is important too. Ask for rain in the time for the latter rain. God assure us that He will move when we make the right prayer at the right time.

Prayer also prepare us for the change in seasons.

The Prophecy: Our church is moving on to the next season!

In the Middle East, there is a time of the Former Rain and a time of the Latter Rain. In between will be a period of Dry Season. Everyone will be looking forward to the coming of the Latter Rain as it will be the time for harvest.

The Former Rain represents the beginning of something in our life. The Latter Rain represents the Maturity. The Dry Season represent a time where everything slows down and times of trials and testings.

We are now in the Dry Season but the Latter Rain is coming! We must not give up now but be prepared when the Latter Rain comes. We cannot be caught unprepared when the harvest is ripe!

The Church is the Body of Christ. It is important that every member will flow together with the season or we will hold each other back. Let us all play our part, be sharp in the spirit, pray together and progress together! Amen!

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The Healing Mnistry of Jesus (25/02/06)

Mt 4:23-24, Mt 9:35

The ministry of Jesus is to
1. Proclaim the Gospel
2. Teach the Word of God
3. HEAL THE SICK!

God will see to it that the Church will always perform the ministry of Jesus. The Lord has called us to continued His ministry and even promised that we will do MUCH MORE! Therefore, we have no rights to dilute the ministry of Jesus.

Some churches don't believe in the supernatural. Some believe that healing is not for today. However, HEALING is a large part of Jesus' earthly ministry. It is really a great sin for churches to down play the ministry of Jesus.

Remember, God is the same yesterday, today and forever! He doesn't change! Which is why whatever He promised, whatever he had done before, we can believe and we can also do it. In Christ, we are also the anointed ones.

And the reason why God heals? It is because Healing is base on compassion. (Mt 9:36)
Remember, we are called to love people!

Mt 10:5-8

Jesus told His disciples "not to go the way of the Gentiles but go the the Lost Sheep of Israel". He was refering that the disciples should seek the HIGH WAY and not the ways of the world. We know Jesus is not saying that healing is not for the Gentiles because Jesus also healed the Samaritians and the gentile servant of a Centurian during His earthly ministry.

This verse also made it very clear that Jesus not only command His believers to preach and teach the Gospel. He commanded us to also HEAL THE SICK!

If anyone do not obey and accept everything that Jesus says, then he is not for Him. He is a REBEL!

The Gospel is the power of God. We cannot try to rationalize it and diminished it's power.

Remember, it is never wrong to pray for someone when he is sick. Most people are more than welcome to recieve a word of prayer in times of sickness.

So what the healing never comes? What if the person you prayed for died?
Well, it doesn't mean that God isn't healing just because you prayed and the person isn't healed. The problem with people is that they will stop doing something just because nothing happens. The fact is God's Word will never fail! If nothing happen for a time, all of it is just a TEST! Keep praying and eventually, you will see God move on your behalf.

Know that it is our duty to pray and to lay hands on the sick. Whether will the healing comes, it is all up to God. But the moment you stop trying, then you can be sure, GOD is not going to heal through you. Simple logic.

So in SUMMARY, why is healing needed?
1. Healing is the central of Jesus' ministry
2. People need healing
3. We are command to heal!

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The Calling Upon My Life (26/02/06)

Phil 3:7-14

The testimony of a man called Saul, who became Paul.

Everyone of us have a high calling in our lives and we will not want to miss it.

There are THREE things which we are called to:

1. We are call to be like Jesus.

As Christians, we are not called to do things all the time but to called to be like somebody, and that is Jesus!

We are to allow Christlikeness to manifest in our lives. In our speech , in our deeds and in our thoughts. We are to be fruits of Jesus.

2. We are called to one day live in eternity with Jesus.

Our lives here on earth is only temporary. It is only a preparation ground for us to get into a life of eternity in heaven.

Therefore, as we prepare ourselves on earth, we must always hold the right perspective; be heavenly-minded.

What is perspective? One may ask.
It is to see things at different angles.

So really, perspective is everything in life. Having the wrong perspective can ruin your life. Never ever be moved by the circumstances, especially money! A situation last for a while but a moment of wrong decision can affect your life. Learn to see things with the right, positive perspective.

3. We are called to bear the fruits of Jesus!

God is always preparing us for the next phase of our lives. We are meant to keep progressing and moving on. If anything is stopping my process of salvation and grownth, that thing will have to go away. It may not be something bad, (e.g. finding a girlfriend, buying a car etc) but it is just not the right thing to do at that point of time.

The thing is we don't end up reaching for something else and lose what is really important in our life; that is our salvation.

All our experiences, our failures and victories are God's way to prepare us and mold us into the person we are meant to be.

In CONCLUSION:

When the Spirit leads you, don't go against it but flow with it. Never let any circumstances, a closed door or money stop you. If the Lord has spoken to you, He will provide for you and see you through the situation.

Sometimes, an opportunity or an easy way out may come along. However, we are to be moved by the Spirit and not by what we see. There may be time when something good seems so close within our grasp but if the Lord is stopping us from having it and ask us to do something else, always remember that in God, we are bigger on our inside than on the outside. When God has something for us, it is always better than what we think we could have.

Perspective is a form of vision. What are you seeing today as you face your circumstances?

Benjamin @ 12:12 AM

GOD IS GOOD!!!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

*Sending Our Best Out to The Mission Front.

From the 6th to 10th of March 2006, Desmond will be going on a mission trip to Malang!

Where is Malang?
A City on the eastern side of the island of Java, Indonesia.

So what can I do back home while Desmond is away on mission trip?
Remember to keep Desmond and the mission team in your prayer.
Pray for their safety and success of the outreach over there.

A word for Desmond
You're the best and that is why you are sent!

Acts 13:2-3
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

All the best and remember to BLOG about your experience! Take as many photos and upload them when you come back!

We will all miss you and we will remember to pray for you.

GOD bless you! GOD IS GOOD!

P.S. I will upload Pst. Ulf's weekend sermons by tomorrow. Busy preparing for next week's exams and presentaions.

Benjamin @ 1:52 PM

GOD IS GOOD!!!