Festival of Praise Sermon Notes

Festival of Praise has finally ended last week. It was the first I listened to Parachute Band performance and they are cool! =D Next year FOP dates have already been out and certainly I WILL BE THERE! =P

Rev. Mark Connor is a powerful speaker and I certainly love his humour too. Stil remember he is the guest speaker on my very first service at CHC...the presence of God is so strongly felt that day that I just know I have to come back to Him. And I am glad I am back now...yeah...hehe...lol

Anyway, just thought of sharing with you all the sermon notes for the 3 nights...in case you miss one and want to see what Rev. Mark Connor had preached...enjoy! *wink* =)

FESTIVAL OF PRAISE – DAY 1

Ingredients of a Healthy Church (01/08/2008)
By Rev. Mark Connor

Acts 9:31

“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”

Luke is focused on the atmosphere of the church.

1. Peace
2. Encouragement
3. Comfort
4. Fear of the Lord

#1: Peace -- Harmony / Unity

• Define peace with God
• Philippians 4:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

• Romans 12:18

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

• “Go” in Greek is just means GO!

#2: Encouragement -- Edify

• “Encouragement” in Greek means to “build up”.
• How to encourage others:

[A] Affirm what other has already accomplished.

• Look for the good in the other and speak it out!
• Eg. God was praising Jesus the day he was born, that is even BEFORE he had done anything yet!

[B] Add to what is already there

• We see one another’s potential.
• God look at us the way we are and the person we can be.
• Speak to the other person’s potential and possible future!
• In Ephesians “…speak the truth in love…”
• The sooner you find mistakes / weaknesses, the sooner you can correct it.

#3: Comfort

• God choose to bring us THROUGH the fire (not above / below).
• Holy Spirit will come only when we call.
• We can draw on God’s comfort.
• Eg. Call the plumber when you need to fix the spoilt tap in your house.
• Can we do better than Job’s friends?
• When you go through difficult times, you don’t need a theological debate.

#4: Fear of the Lord -- Reference of God / Respect to God

• When you fear God, you will be more aware that He is with us all the time.
• Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

• Eg. Drivers will change their way of driving when they see a traffic police car nearby.
• If we live with the awareness that God is with us all the time, we will make a smarter and better choice or decision in our lives.
• Acts 10

**Obedience is the ultimate act of worship.**

**Most Christians are educated beyond the level of obedience. ~John Maxwell**

**Ultimately, your church reflects who you are!**

FESTIVAL OF PRAISE – DAY 2

Growing Old or Growing Up (02/08/2008)
By Rev. Mark Connor

1 Corinthians 13:11

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

• Being child-like NOT childish!
• Keep that child-like attitude à the quality of behavior!

**Maturity doesn’t come with age, but come with the ability to take responsibilities.**

Exodus 32:21

“And Moses said to Aaron, ‘What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?’”

Romans 14:12

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

• “Responsible” refers to the ability to response.
• God held each one of us to be responsible for our lives.
• Think à what is inside your circle of control and what is outside?

**What you have control over, you have the responsibilities over them.**

**We are responsible to people NOT for people.**

#1: Mind

• Our lives are shaped by our thinking.
• Bring captivity to every thought.

#2: Will

• Give leadership to our wills / decisions.
• Realizing and recognizing what you need to be done.
• Exodus 8:9-10

“And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.”

#3: Emotions

• Emotions are indicators that tell us what’s happening.
• Do you replay the movies that you don’t like?
• Do you replay those sad moments in your life?
• You can choose to tune into positive or negative channels in your life.
• Joy is a CHOICE!

#4: Physical Body

• 1 Corinthians 9:27

“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

• Growing up is to take responsibilities and leadership of our lives (body, mind etc).

**Hurt people tends to hurt people.**

**God is calling us to be the THERMOSTATS in our world and in our local church.**

• Inside the house, a thermostat is something we set that dictates the temperature in a room.
• A thermometer simply tells us what the room temperature is.
• People are either thermostats or thermometers.
• You either gauge the temperature (thermometer) and gripe about the temperature, or you do something about it (thermostat).
• Christ wants us to live in such a way that our lives would set the tone in our workplaces, in our homes, and in our neighborhoods.
• Thermostats influence others for good and positively impact the social climate in which they are placed.
• When we take responsibilities of our own circle and make it healthy, the area outside our circle of control will also be influenced to move to the healthier level!

FESTIVAL OF PRAISE – DAY 3

Living in the Light of Eternity (03/08/2008)
By Rev. Mark Connor

Psalms 39:4-5

“LORD, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah”

• James 4
• No one knows how long is the length of time between your birth date and your death date.
• What is it like to live your life everyday with the aspects of your eternity?
• What we value and therefore affect how we make our decisions.
• Where do we get our values from.
• 1 John 2:15-16

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.”

• Romans 12:2

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Values of the World:

1. Entertainment à Pleasure to life (Hebrews 11:25)

“…choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin…”

2. Possession à Lust to buy (1 Timothy 6:7)

“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

3. Prestige à Pride of Life (Mark 10:31)

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

1 John 2:17

“And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

3 Things that have Eternal Values

#1: Knowing God

• Not just knowing Him but to be his friend.
• Spend quality time with God.
• 1st Commandment: Mark 12:30

“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

This is the first commandment.”

#2: Love People

• 2nd Commandment: Mark 12:31

“And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

• The way you treat people matters eternity.
• Jesus treats everyone with a 10.
• You treat people on how much value you see in them.
• Learn to treat people the way Jesus does à Put a 10 on everyone!

#3: Invest Your Time, Talents and Resources in the Works of God.

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

• It is in serving that you will find life.
• Eg. The selfish exercise: Open and close your both palms as you lay them shoulder-length apart in front of you. -- Do you realize how silly you are by putting out your hands and keep asking?
• The church and God’s work is NOT a one-man show!
• Be a participator and NOT the spectator.
• Matthew 7

**2 Questions to ask yourself before you die:

1. What did you do with Jesus?
2. What did you do with your life?

Note: These are not salvation questions but questions for God’s reward.

Thinking With Excellence

Thinking With Excellence

by Pastor Tan Ye Ping

2 Peter 1:5-7

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."

7 Stages of Spiritual Development

1. Virtue
2. Knowledge
3. Self-Control
4. Perseverance
5. Godliness
6. Brotherly Kindness
7. Love

Virtue in Greek (Gk. Arete) means excellence.

What is EXCELLENCE?

Definition: Excellence is to exceed a given standard that is ordinary, average, terrible or unworthy.

#1: Excellence is to be superior in quality.

• Have a purpose in our hearts to produce quality work
• Never to compromise
• The call of God is always a call to excellence and never a call to mediocracy
• When you compromise disorder, disorder invites MORE disorders!

Song of Solomon 2:15

"Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes."

#2: Excellence is to obtain greater in quantity.

• John 15:16 says:

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

• Be willing to pay the price for success

Psalms 126:5-6 says:

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

A) Demand on your HEART

Proverbs 4:23 says:

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."

• Having a large emotional reservoir keeps you going by overcoming the disappointments in life
• Overcomers are people with excellent attitude and positive thinking

Life is full of dirt shoveling on you, and the key is to shake off the dirt and learn to step on it and pull yourself higher to the next level.

B) Demand on your TIME

• Time management is equivalent to events management

C) Demand on your MONEY

• If God can give you vision, he will give you provision

Luke 16:11 says:

"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

• Don't just live for the present, but for the future!

#3: Excellence is to transcend your job description.

Matthew 5:41

"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."

• 1st mile is the call of duty
• 2nd mile is to go beyond the call of duty
• Love only begins after the demands of duty have been met.

Romans 13:8

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

#4: Excellence is to outdo yourself each time.

• Customer satisfaction => Exceeds expectations

Ephesians 6:5-8

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."

• Setting high expectation -- Professionalism
• Going for perfectionism -- Extreminism

10 words to think with excellence

1. "Liberty" instead of "Laws". [Galatians 5:13-16]


2. "Service" instead of "Systems". [Matthew 20:25-28]


3. "Spirit-centred" instead of "Self-centred". [ Zechariah 4:6]


4. "Love" instead of "Legalism".


5. "Faith" instead of "Fear". [2 Timothy 1:6-7]


6. "Concern" instead of "Control".


7. "Devotion" instead of "Duty". [Exodus 17:2]


8. "Giving" instead of "Getting". [2 Corinthians 9:6-7]


9. "Example" instead of "Explanation". [John 13:13-15]


10. "Breakthrough" instead of "Bondage". [eg. Jesus turned water into wine]

I prayed for my friend today after I realised how much her life had been changed. I wished there were more things I could do for her.

Go girl for I know you can make it through your trials... :)

Weekend service with F.I.R.!!! =D

F.I.R. had come over the weekend to attend my church weekend services...woohoo! :DD I manage to film a small part of their performance, as well as their very own testimony of how they come to know Christ and their changes after being a Christians. Oh manz this is all so powerful!

Yet due to the limited memory space on my card and some technical problems experienced with uploading the video clips here, this is just a small part of the whole process though...hope you guys enjoy it! :)

F.I.R. Guest Performance @ Saturday service!

F.I.R. Testimony - Part 1

F.I.R. Testimony - Part 2

Watching FIR performing live in front on the stage is really great. And to hear testimony given by them on how they came to know Christ is even so so much better! :D Truly, hearing testimony from someone with authority, popularity, or simply someone you know is so much more stronger than to hear it from a total stranger.

I believe for a celebrity like FIR to stand in the stage and share like any other christians will not seem to be a easy thing. I mean, the more popular you are, the more prejudice you could be exposed to. It feels really comforting and encouraged to see them on the stage like that. And to see the crowd responding to the altar call...wow... :))

SERVANTHOOD

by Rev Kong Hee

John 13:3

"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God."

1. You got to know your power -- WHAT God has given you.
2. Your position -- WHO you are in Christ.
3. Your purpose -- WHERE you are going.

John 13:4-5

"So Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."

• Jesus Christ becomes the servant of all.
• It's the lowest service job to wash the feet of the weary travellers.
• The fact that Jesus had to do this himself is because none of the disciples are willing to take up this job at that time (to wash one another's feet).
• God is not against greatness -- God wants us to achieve greatness by serving one another.
• At the end of the day, is God going to praise you for the title you gain or for what you have done, your willingness to serve others?
• Servanthood is Jesus' way of showing his love.

3 Things On Servanthood

#1: Servanthood is the key to PROMOTION.

Philippians 2:5-7

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

• Servanthood is to do with attitude.
• "Bondservant" refers to a slave.

Philippians 2:9-11, 12-15

• God gives you the ability/gift you have to let you shine in the world.
• Joseph turns from a slave to become the chief of staff.
• [Daniel] has ability to serve in the king's palace. (Daniel 1:1-4)

**Do you have the ability to serve?**

#2: Servanthood is the key to AUTHORITY.

Luke 9:16-17, 19

"Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them."

• Later on, God called them good servants and gave them not just city, but cities to take charge of!
• Dr Janto, who started serving in church as an usher for over 10 years, is an associate professor of Harvard Medical School, as well as a physician to ministers and generals, and even Suharto!
• Our member Dr Francis Seow put aside his own duties and went to help out at the tsunamis crisis in 2004 for 3 months long, even though at that time he just started his own practice at the Mt Elizabeth Hospital.
• At the tsunamis crisis in 2004, there are about 30 doctors and over 37 nurses and hospital staff took unpaid leave to help out in Indonesia.

#3: Servanthood is the key to DESTINY.

Genesis 24:18-20

"So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels."

• Just for the information, 1 camel drinks up close to 53 pails of 20-litres of water.
• To draw water from the old well, you will need to climb up and down 50 steps each way with your pail.
• Rebekah help this total stranger to fetch him water...and even for ALL of his camels!

Genesis 24:22, 53

"(verse 22) So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold,...(verse 53) Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother."

• Rebekah was richly rewarded for her great servanthood.
• She has also been chosen as the bribe to Isaac, the son of Abraham, because of her willingness to serve Abraham's servant and even to his camels.

**You got to know how to serve God --

Do you give a thirsty man water or bread?**

Fear

Fear (23/02/2008)

by Pastor Ulf Ekman

Isaiah 41:10

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Mark 4:35-41

• Fear is in our spirits.
• There is an influence/atmosphere/culture of fear.
• We need to tackle and analyse our fear.

Genesis 3:6-13

• As a result of first rebellion, fear comes into Adam and Eve.
• They feel ashame and scare because they ate the fruit they are commanded not to.

Romans 12:1-8

• Do not be conformed by the spirits of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our mind.

"FAITH is the expectancy of something good, while FEAR is the lack of faith."

We fear because we are selfish.

• Love is defined as "unselfishness".
• Christianity is about God.
• Devil will pervert every gift you had and fear is just the door to it.

We may also based ourselves on what we can do and trying hard to prove ourselves that we are better than others.

• Because of this mindset, you will live your life with ups and downs.
• Your faith could be taken away because you based your belief in what man thinks!

Rebellion is pointing out the weaknesses in others and trying to make yourself look better than them.

Miracle of Jesus Walking On The Water (24/02/2008)

Matthew 14:22-33

• Walking on water is a supernatural act.
• So is the ministry of Jesus to do with supernatural.
• In this miracle, God supernaturally cures the fear inside Peter and his disciples who sit in the boat in panic.

"If we do not walk by faith, fear will become one motivation that will hinder us in our lives."

As Jesus walks on the water, he walks past the boat and goes on.

• We are to be his followers and follow him but not the other way for Jesus to follow us.
• It is not possible for us to receive the Holy Spirit while we are sitting still on the boat.

We cannot mix fear and faith too, just like water and oil.

• It will eventually hinder you with uncertainty.
• You will never go out of your comfort zone.
• You need a specific word from Jesus in order to jump out of the boat to walk with him.
• If Peter just jump out of the boat without asking Jesus, he could have gotten himself drowned.

Only 1 out of the 12 disciples jump out of the boat.

• It tells us that not all of us are keen of the supernatural side of God.

When you leap out in faith and expect circumstances to change...well, they don't change immediately.

• Jesus is not interested in changing the circumstances.
• He is interested in changing YOU!

So what it means by walking on the water?

1. Do nothing and simply trust in God in all situations and circumstances!
2. The temptation to stay in the boat is no condition or criteria for a future leader!
3. To let go of our fear.
4. Be prepared if the Lord speaks to us as there will be fear, but you will have to trust in Him so the fear will not come.

"When fear is out of my life, there will be no limitations!"

Fear of judgement.

• It happens when you thought you dare and yet in the end you are not.

"Truth will come in a pathetic voice that you either accept it or kill it."

Hebrews 2:14-15

• Jesus come to set us free from the bondage of the fear of death.

Peter becomes the leader in the future because Jesus has set him free of his fear.

Can you imagine the joy of Peter walking hand in hand with Jesus back to the boat?

Life Of Excellence

My favourite guest speaker -- Dr A.R.Bernard is here to preach again! The revelation that God has given him is always so prospective and powerful and deep...we are so so blessed to have him again with us! :DD

Considering if I should get this DVD, either for me or for mum & dad, and maybe a mp3 sermon for Christina too? Oh well...thinking only... :P

Holy Spirit (26/01/07)

Acts 9:31

"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord."

Note:

1. living in the fear of the Lord -- refer to our daily lives living in constant awareness and consciousness of the Lord.
2. strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit -- refer to Holy Spirit being our present administrator of the plan of God.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus calles to the Holy Spirit to fall upon him:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed..."

Jesus has shown himself in many ways before he leaves.

The 12 apostles follow Jesus, a man they are puzzled about, for 3.5 years

• they saw Jesus perform the miracle works of God that they have never seen before
• they probably be thinking: "Who is this man that prevail himself as God?"
• they live with him, dine with him, travel with him
• YET they still don't understand what they see
• because what they see is only the physical!

How do I made transition from tangible to someone you cannot see or touch anymore?

Acts 1:6

"So when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'"

• The disciples are still asking the same question: Will Jesus restore Israel?
• They still don't understand the kingdom of God & God's revelation.
• Jesus tells them that they will be witnesses & receive God's power ONLY when Holy Spirit comes upon them.
• Witness is someone whose story is so powerful and compelling that he will be put to questions and prosecution because of how convincing their stories can become.
• Hence, when you have transited, you will go into the culture NOT because you have the power but because you REPRESENT the power from God!
• Eg. When we pray, we always end off with asking "in the name of Jesus". This is because we are asking through the Holy Spirit as a representative of Christ.

John is loved most (the Gospel of John) as he is able to see beyond the physical.

When Jesus asked Peter of his identity, Peter recognised Jesus as the son of the living God while other apostles recognise him as prophets or Elijah.

• Flesh and blood does not reveal what Peter has spoken about the identity of Jesus as being the son of the living God...so who else?
• It must be from the Holy Spirit!
• And Jesus STERNLY warn them not to tell anyone about this. Why so?

When Jesus appears together with Moses and Elijah (whose deaths are still mysteries) on his sides, and his clothes become illuminated, the 3 disciples are shocked.

• God cannot reveal certain things to us because of how we react might be totally opposite and in the wrong way.
• And again Jesus STERNLY warn the 3 disciples not to tell anyone about this.
• Because if they tell now, they would not have the right and articulate way to represent Him.
• Represent Him only when the Holy Spirit comes or otherwise you may make serious mistakes!

We don't go to people to be religious and simply tell them to live like us.

• What we are supposed to do is to let them see the transformation in us, in which how we are changed to become a better person!
• And we are changed because our God is alive.
• Eg. Confucians won't have a problem with Confucius being dead.
• Our religion is to have a relationship with the person who is still alive and understand us.

Because it is not judged by the things we do BUT by the quality of the relationship!

Adam (27/01/07)

Genesis 4

• Man -- product of heaven and earth coming together.
• ie. Earth + God's breath = Adam
• Adam never experience the full capacity in him because he falls and being corrupted.
• Although he has fallen, he is not lost and at a state where people can redeem him.
• Because he still have a redeemptive value.
• So the whole gospel is about to redeem that value and bring it back to the places of its original state!

Even Adam is in fallen state, he can still have offsprings: Cain & Abel.

• The state is then passed on to the next generation and is manifested, both good and evil.
• Abel --> Does what God wants him to do.
• Cain --> Plan his way to God (eg. Offer to God what he wants and God accepts it instead). He himself determines what is evil or good, what is clean or unclean.

Even Cain is fallen, he still have the capacity in him. So he made his own city and put in his own elements [refer to Genesis 4]:

1. Raise livestock (Jabal) -- Industry (eg. food, clothes etc)
2. Live in tents -- Housing development (an alternative to living in caves)
3. Play harp & flute (Jubal) -- Arts & Entertainment (You need to first made the harp and tune the music!)
4. Forging tools made of bronze & iron (Tubal): Weapons (You need to first mine these elements, separate them, extract them and mould them!)

This is a society that is built on the abilities and capacities of Cain in the fallen state, BUT with God outside of its element! From above:

1. + 2. + 3. + 4. = Human Society!

Social Institution

1. Family
2. Church
3. Education
4. Politics
5. Economics
6. Arts & Entertainment

Even though nowadays we have these elements, we are still like Cain in a fallen state!

Kristos Kai Cosmos --> God is empowering us to bring us back into this fallen society and change it in order to make a difference!

God gets to each individual in different ways in order to redeem that value in each of us.

The question is not about WHAT am I here for but WHO am I here for!

• God saves you to redeem your value, and you could be that someone to help him redeem the value of someone else.
• In other words, God saves you to save someone else!

Kristos Kai Cosmos says no matter how beautiful this culture is, it is still fallen.

• But REDEEMABLE!
• We have to redeem that value in the culture!

God is a junk collector.

• We are the junks he is collecting.
• God pays a price, sacrifice his time to change us by putting in new elements in us or restoring the original values that we have.
• ie. A piece of junk may cost you only $5 to get it but when you clean it and repair it, it will worth more than $5...or even millions of dollars!

Faith

My new handphone SGH-F330!

It was a very good deal @ S$88...my cheapest phone so far. Moreover, it comes with a FREE S$20 Takashimaya voucher & 512 SD memory card...woohoo! :DD

First of all, I have a testimony that happened just now to share with you all! ;)

This week has been a hospital week where Terence was admitted to hospital because of his high fever (and still warded till now for further observation), as well as Tina's mum who is hospitalised for her usual problem in which there is water retention in her lung.

And to me, this week has been one of the busiest week for me ever where I get off work as late as 12am...I am it is finally over! :)

I went to visit Terence on Thursday and this afternoon with Lynn and Weng (Yehui and Rachel join us soon after). On Thursday, his condition was still pretty bad as his fever is as high as 39 degrees and there is machine draining the pus from his liver. Lynn, his girlfriend, was just so worried about him and I am concerned about her too.

On Saturday, his condition, compared to Thursday, has improved much better. We came at the time right after he has gotten his injection. He was in pain and drowsy condition. After about an hour, the nurse came to deliver his medicine and added an extra pill of Panadol as painkiller. We thought he should have feel much better after taking the medicine.

But we are totally wrong.

What scare us is that he told us he felt worse and even more painful after taking in the pills. So his mum, who was with him 24/7, went out to look for the doctor. Lynn asked him how painful he is feeling then, on a scale of 10. He gave us 7 as the answer.

Concerning for him and wanting to distract his attention from his pain, we decided to sing a worship song together. As we sing, the four of us truly felt the presence of God is with us. And miracles do happen. Right after we finish singing the song, Terence face looks much relief and less tense. He weakly told us that his pain has subsided and now he would give a 2 out of 10 as the indicator of his pain! You would never understand the joy among us at that time when we heard that. And to brighten him up further, we continue with our singing session with pop songs and oldies too in which his mum even join in with us!

My God is truly the God of healing...may all praises be to God! :D

FAITH

Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

What is faith?

1. Faith is the substance or foundation of things that you are hoping for.
2. Faith is a positive attitude of confidence.

So...what about confidence?

1. Confidence is the ability to hold your ownself in front of everyone else.
2. Confidence is not being rude, but is the assurance that you know God is with me.

God rewards those who have confidence in themselves.

Hebrews 10:35 -- "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."

We must also know this: FAITH and CONFIDENCE can be used interchangeably!

#1: Confidence is the attitude by which you conduct the work of God.

It is the confidence in you that moves God's power!

In Greek, the word "offended" is scandalizo which means "trip up, stumbled, enticed to sin!"

In Matthew 4, Jesus is being tested by the devil in the desert.

In the bible, the devil used the word "if" to test Jesus 3 times whether he is the Son of God. (Matthew 4:1-3, 5-6, 8-9)

Satan is trying to tell Jesus to prove his spiritual power. But Jesus didn't follow. Why?

If Jesus takes the effort to prove his spiritual power to the devil, it only shows that he is reacting to what the devil and the others think about him. It will show that he does not have the confidence to believe he is indeed the Son of God and is walking in doubt. And if that is the case, he will not be fit to be the Son of God!

So instead of proving to the devil, all Jesus did is just to prove to himself that he will and has indeed finished God's work that is entrusted to him!

Satan is a bible scholar --> You need to study well the word of God and have the faith to defeat the devil on the knowledge from the bible!

In nature, with every few good news, there will always come one bad news. This is to bring a balance in news reporting in today's media. As a Christian, the public will want us to prove to them if we are religious.

It is true that the moment you put your react to something, you give strength to what you act upon. For example, when you react to scandals or rumours, you are strengthening them and giving them the chance to be spread out. Vice versa, the moment you act upon something out of your faith, you are actually strengthening your belief.

Read Matthew 11:2-3, 4-6

When John in prison heard about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his disciples to ask if Christ is the the One who was to come. Jesus only tell the disciple to go and report to John what he heard and saw.

"And blessed is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth."

(Matthew 11:6)

You don't need to prove to anyone, not even yourself, because you have the confidence in the Lord!

#2: Faith comes by the word of God;

Confidence comes by the revelation from God.

Isaiah 9:27, 53; Psalms 32, 16; Hebrews 10; John 13:3

You got to know what God has entrusted in your life:

1. Your Position
2. Your Power
3. Your Purpose

John 13:4-5

"So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."

Confidence is to embrace humility and to bow yourself down among all so as to empower you to be a servant of all!

The only reason we work hard for God is not because we want to prove to others, that we are better or anything else, but it is because we love God!

John 13:14 --

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."

The reason why many people cannot serve is because they are not humbled enough and have no confidence in themselves. Yet, in the bible, we see Joseph has the amazing ability to serve. From Daniel 1-4, we see that Daniel "had the ability to serve in the king's palace".

To boost in our confidence, we need to have a secret place with God too.

Psalms 91:1

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

When your confidence is shaken, don't run away from God but run towards Him!

Psalms 23:1-2, 4

• Jesus moves from the Lord, and from the Lord to us.
• I am not in fear because I am in relationship with Jesus.

Jesus will go to a place of solitude, prayer, and even fasting whenever his faith is being shaken. And that's Jesus's secret place with God!

Question: Do you have a secret place to nuture in the presence of God?

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ~ Psalms 23:4 ~"

Forgiveness

After service fellowship @ Holland Village Eski Bar!

From left: (2nd row) Chris Su, Baoli; (1st row) Me, Sing Yee, Florentine, Xue Fang, and Dennis.

The Ice Room was at -11 degree celcius when we were there...truly a CHILLING out session for us all. :P

Realised it was the 2nd service of 2008 and pastor has preached another powerful message during the service...praise God! I truly want breakthroughs and more changes in my life this year. So for a start, it's time for me to share again the wonderful message that I had learnt today -- Forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

What is real forgiveness?

1. Real forgiveness is unconditional.

• Forgiveness is always your initiative.
• You should forgive the person no matter if he asks for it or not!

2. Forgiveness does not minimize the seriousness of the offense.

• Proverbs 26:18-19
• Forgiveness is needed only when people intentionally hurt you.

3. Forgiveness isn't resuming a relationship without change.

For a relationship to be resumed, you must first have to have:

a) Repentance -- It must be genuine for the relationship to come back.

b) Restitution -- You make changes from your past so as to restore that relationship. (eg. You need to repair the thing you destroyed!)

c) Rebuilding of trust -- This takes a very long time to rebuild the trust you have for someone else if you ever get hurt from him/her.

4. Forgiveness isn't forgetting what's happened.

• The more you are trying to forget something, the more you are focusing on this very thing you want to forget!
• So change your focus on something else!

5. Forgiveness isn't my right when I wasn't the one hurt.

• You got to go back to the person who offended you!

Why should I forgive those who have hurt me?

1. God has forgiven me.
2. Bitterness will destroy my life.
3. Only when I forgive, I will be forgiven too.

"Life is 10% 'what happened' and 90% how we react to it."

Instead of blaming others, take ownership and responsibilities of your own life! You will never do something about your current situation until you see the VALUES of it in your life.

So what is the definition of values?

1. What is most important to you.
2. What you stand for.
3. And what you are willing to pay the price for.

Hebrews 12:16-17

Let illustrate with a simple experiement:

• When you filled an empty bottle with pebbles...is it full yet? No!
• When you filled the bottle again with gravel this time...is it full yet? No!
• When you filled the bottle later with sand...is it full yet? No!
• When you filled the bottle and poured in water...is it full? YES!

Question is -- What did you learn here?

Imagine you start with the water, sand, gravel and pebbles this time and place them in the bottle in this order...could you fit them all in? Well...of course NOT! If you never put the big rocks in first, you will never be able to fit them in at all! And for our lives, our big rocks consist of our families, friends, work, spiritual growth, studies...the things that hold important values and make up the big portion of our lives.

So is it really worth it to harbour unforgiveness and bitterness in your life?

Think about it...I believe eventually you will realise that there are certainly more things in life that deserve your focus and time on!

How to forgive someone?

1. Give up your right to get even.

• It is true that you HAVE the right to get your revenge. Yet this is not important!
• Romans 12:19 -- God will eventually help us to settle our score when the judgement day comes. So for our part, we shouldn't focus on getting even with the person who hurt you, but instead to let go of our right to do so.

2. Set boundaries.

• Setting boundaries does NOT mean to build walls.
• For here, your boundaries are walls with gates that will allow the good things to come in and the bad things to go out.
• You should not reject everyone else but to let those you trust to come into your life.

3. Respond to evil with good.

• Luke 6:27-28
• Return good to the evil and bless others.

4. Repeating these steps as long as necessary.

• Peter has said that he will forgive 7 times.
• Yet Jesus Christ said in the bible that we should forgive 7 x 70 times!

People always say to forgive is to forget. Instead of forgetting, we should remember how God can turn this hurt or pain in us into something even better. It is because of this hurt or pain, that one will come to realise what I have learnt and to make changes to it.

"I will forgive and remember how God has made this hurt of mine to become the key turning point of my life."