Sunday, December 30, 2007

Living Out the Will of God

I must give credit where it belongs ... this message is from a sermon I heard from Grace Assembly of God church in Tanglin Road Singapore yesterday, by Pastor David Lim.

Misconception:
God's will is a smooth, blessed path.
Reality:
God's will may involve bearing a cross.

Misconception:
A coincidence, an emotion (feeling), a prophecy.
Reality:
Do not oversimplify God's will.

Misconception:
Find THE mate and you will be complete.
Reality:
1 is a whole number. THE mate, 1 in 3.5billion people?
Rigidity hinders openness to possibilities.
Marriage is not a magic formula to happiness, it takes patience, work and grace.

Misconception:
Find THE job and you will be fulfilled.
Reality:
Many have 3 - 10 vocations in their lifetime. Be flexible.

Finding out the Will of God is important. LIVING OUT the will of God is more crucial.

I. It is more important to know Him (Relationship) Than to Know What is the will of God

We are made in the image of Christ, we are His masterpiece, our lives should reflect Him to others and to ourselves. God's will for us is to be Christ-like.

Commit your ways to the Lord, trusting Him releases our faith! (Ps37:5-6)

II. Grow by Your Choices

God may not reveal destinations or persons. God may not reveal where you will land up eventually or the persons you should choose in certain junctures in your life.

In life we make choices, right choices or wrong choices.

Right choices through good decisions - Glorify God!

Wrong choices. - well, we can trust God, God is sovereign and God can work in these situations and turn them around for our good.

Choices build character: integrity, patience, Christ-likeness.

III. Life Changes, Prepare for it! (Flexibility)
a. Spiritual quotient - renew the spirit daily (2Cor4:16)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

b. Emotional Quotient - Relationships, maturity, communication (1Cor12, 1Cor13)

c. Intellectual Quotient - Renew my mind (Romans 12:2) R u a victim or a victor in life?
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

d. Financial Quotient - defeat debts, greed, wrong values
Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

When your blessing comes, your spirit man must be mature enough to handle the blessing, otherwise the blessing handles you.

When we see some people receiving the blessings from the Lord, they are too pre-occupied with their blessings and they stop serving the Lord sometimes altogether.

Eg. becoming wealthier and busier growing the wealth (greed?), got married and hence no time for God, have children and even lesser time to serve the Lord, etc.

e. Physical Quotient - Train the body (1Cor9:27)
No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Take care of our body, the temple of God. Exercise to keep fit. Be disciplined to stay healthy. So that we can serve the Lord longer.


IV. Bloom where you are planted. (Claim the Now!)
a. Flourish now. Don't long for the far away. Claim the NOW!

Don't always say when I become a worldclass musician then I would ... enjoy the now!

Ps1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Ps92
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

13 planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,

15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."


b. ALL of life is a holy calling.
Being an employee, an employer, a businessman, an entreprenuer, a son, a daugther, a sister, a brother, a daddy, a mommy, a hubby, a wife,a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, a ministry worker, an usher, a singer in church, a pastor, etc ... and the responsiblities and chores that comes with it ... IS A HOLY CALLING. Yes, even washing dishes is a holy calling!

c. Minister in your anointing
Serve the Lord in whatever areas you are good at. Be it visitation, prayer, sharing the Word with others, encouraging others, giving money, blessing others with a good meal, making cakes and pastries for others, giving to missions, to ministries, church buildings, administration, holy communion elements preparation, etc.


I must say that even the most manual tasks are ministries. Especially the manual mundane tasks. In the eyes of the Lord, the eyes, the mouth, the skin, the hairs, the sole of the feet, all the parts of the body form the whole body! No task is unimportant in the Body of Christ. and we share THE SAME reward!

Romans 12:
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,

5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;

8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Col 3
23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

d. Your ministry will make a way for you.
If God closes a door, He opens a window.
and What a Window!
Don't let set backs set you back in the Lord.
God specialises in using set backs to spur us on to greater works in HIM and for His glory!

I must confess that as I type, I have fresh insights from the Spirit and verses, these fresh insights and verses that are not in the sermons are included in the above.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Let's fulfil some Singaporeans' Christmas Wishes today!

The Boys' Brigade Singapore is helping many Singaporeans fulfil their wishes this Christmas.

Check this website out http://www.bbsgb.org.sg/fulfill.html for gifts you may want to buy to bless them.

Deadline was 20 Dec, just read about their story from http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20071220/tap-318427-231650b.html .

But there are still quite a number of unfulfilled wishes.

I am sure we can make a difference this Christmas ...

Categories: Children, Elderly and Family

Give and it would be given unto you, a good measure, pressed down and running over ...

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Sons of God live by the Spirit

Gal5
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

13 You, my brothers, were called to be free.
But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;
rather, serve one another in love.

16 So I say, live by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires
of the sinful nature
.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Romans 8
13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,
you will live,

14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

15For you did not receive a spirit
that makes you a slave again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of sonship.
And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."


Looks like there is still a choice we need to make everyday to live by the Spirit and not to let ourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

The yoke of slavery comes into effect if we choose to subject ourselves to acts of the sinful nature, the flesh, and there is law against such things.

But there is hope in that we can chooose not to indulge in acts of the sinful nature or acts of the flesh.

We can only choose to overcome this by the spirit and not by the flesh. Perhaps in constant communication with our Abba Father (the Father of our spirit).

If our troubled heart has not found the peace yet, or we run out of words to pray, or do not know how best to pray for our situations, we may engage the Holy Spirit in our prayer by praying in tongues.

For when we pray in tongues, our spirit prays and the hindrance of our canal mind and limited understanding and experience is removed.

When we pray in tongues, we engage the supernatural, we engage our Abba.

When do we stop praying? Perhaps until we feel the peace that surpasses all understanding filling and guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus steps in.

Notice not in Lord Jesus but in Christ Jesus, means in the Anointed Jesus, in the Messiah Jesus.

Notice only when we are IN Christ Jesus that our hearts and minds are guarded by the peace of God, not in our will power, not in our bank accounts, not in our education, not in our jobs, not in our parents, not in our spouse, not in our children, not in our ability, not in anything or anyone else physical which we put our security in but in Christ Jesus and in Christ Jesus alone.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:7
7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (NIV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)
7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. (Amplified Bible)

Notice it is spirit not flesh.

Therefore I can conclude that if we live by the spirit, we can put to death the misdeeds of the body by the spirit and only by the spirit. We cannot put the death the misdeeds of the body by the flesh or our own will power, we can only do this by the spirit with the help of the Holy Spirit within us.

Sometimes, don't we hate the words discipline and self-control, perhaps we don't have such traits in us, but praise Jesus, He has, He will put these inside of us, we can rest easy in Him. Then we can see the power to live a victorious, prosperous and peaceful life flowing in our lives everyday.

Yes, we only have the here and now, live in it. Enjoy Jesus.

Our prayer for everyday could be ...
Ephesians 1:17
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Monday, December 17, 2007

Keeping Ourselves in the Lord

On Keeping Ourselves in the Lord


Hebrews13

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have,
because God has said, "Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."

6 So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The Lord has been talking to me about the prodigal son ... the younger brother
who went away squandering his inheritance and came back to the Father empty handed

well, thank God he came to his senses and came back to the Father's house
under the protection of the Rich Daddy
having all his needs taken care of
and his rights and power of sonship fully restored
not a word of condemnation from the Daddy
only kisses after kisses, hugs after hugs
the lost son is now found!
and there is such celebrations in the household ...
what a celebration that the older brother could hear the sound of dancing
even in the distant ...

people only refer to non Christians coming to the Lord when they narrate this story

but this is also for Christians ... esp Christians who think they are godly
and think they have it all ... but yet they are still so fruitless and unsuccessful ...
doing things their way ... without depending on God to help them at all ...

in our age and culture, we like the word independance
this is not so in the Father's business and economy

He wants us to be totally dependant on Him

His wisdom, His lordship and His guidance and His provisions

most of all His favours, His grace, His lovingkindness and His gently mercies

they are ours to enjoy here and NOW ... not tomorrow, not another day ...

not when we were just new Christians ... but now ...

keeping ourselves in the Lord also means keeping ourselves in the Lord's house ...
not straying away on our own ...

for there can be no protection unless we are in Christ and in Christ alone ...

only those who are conscious of the fact that we are IN CHRIST reigns in life ...

6 So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

like my friend said just now, he told another brother who is in business,
"if you need business, why don't you ask the Lord to bring you?"

HE is the One who brings us the business, not us.

The people of the world cannot because they don't have Him ...
we can ... we have Him on our side as our Helper.

So blessed we are!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Feeling subject to bondage anyone?

If anyone is feeling under the water these days, there is hope for us.

Every hope is found in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.



Hebrews 2
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death
He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 and release those who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels,
but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.


1John 5
11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in His Son.

12 He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

13 These things I have written to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you have eternal life,
and that you may continue to believe
in the name of the Son of God.

4 because every one who is begotten of God
doth overcome the world,
and this is the victory that did overcome the world -- our faith;

4 誰一人一人は、神のひとり子であるため、
世界を克服しておられる、
これは世界を克服した勝利である - 私たちの信仰;
 
5 who is he who is overcoming the world,
if not he who is believing that Jesus is the Son of God?
世界を克服している彼は、誰が
そうでない場合、彼はイエスが神の御子であると信じるている人?

18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin;
but he who has been born of God keeps himself,
and the wicked one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world
lies under the sway of the wicked one.

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

1 Chronicles 4

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,

“Oh, that You would

bless me indeed, and
enlarge my territory, that
Your hand would be with me, and that
You would keep me from evil, that
I may not cause pain!

So God granted him what he requested.


John 22
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to them, saying,
“This is My body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood,
which is shed for you.


1 Cor 11
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.


why remember Him when we part-take of the bread ...
why proclaim his death ...

Hebrews 2
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death
He might destroy him who had the power of death,
that is, the devil,

15 and release those who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The Lord bless the sharing of His Holy Word.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Food that endures to eternal life

John 6:27
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Each person has been given a gift or gifts from the Lord to do something well.

Find out your talents and serve the Lord with these your talents.

This is one of the areas where we find food endures to eternal life.

I had always wondered why the painting Mona Lisa was so famous other than
it was done by Leonardo Da Vinci ... until one day I saw a documentary depicting
the artist's working on another very important painting. It was the Last Supper.

And I suddenly realised that Leonardo Da Vinci's legacy lived on even till today
and even the in today's terms oversized lady Mona Lisa is still captivating audiences
at the Louve Museum in Paris.

Yes, whatever you do for the Lord lasts and lasts forever ...
and sometimes if we do not even realise it ... it has become a legacy.

My gift maybe in the area of writing, what about yours?

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Direct Line with our Father Anytime!

Today in Yahoo's AP Videos, we see Jenna Bush calling her dad George Bush on Ellen Degeneres' show.

By the way, Ellen Degeneres Show is one of my favourites!

Jenna reminded me of how easy we can call our Father in heaven and we can get access to Him anytime of the day and He would never be mad at us calling Him.

So sweet of hear President Bush's greetings to his daughter
you should watch the video for yourself.

and imagine our Father in heaven telling us too ...

here is the link :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071205/ap_on_en_tv/people_degeneres_jenna_bush_3


Merry Christmas everyone!


P.S. position, position, position, it is all about our position in Christ! Praise the Lord!


1 Cor 1

30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Year of the Lord, Jubilee

Year of the Lord, Jubilee
In Aug 4th, 2004 a friend of ours requested me to pray for supernatural cancellation of his housing loans. I told him I would pray for him.

And that night the Lord gave me this scriptures in Leviticus 25 on the supernatural cancellation of debts in the year of Jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord.

I was overjoyed and told him about it. It was also because I too am in line for such blessings as I prayed for him. I am also a recipient of this wonderful Jubilee year blessings.

Three years have passed, one night in September this year the Lord reminded me of this passage through our pastor’s Bible study (yes, Pastor Joseph Prince).

September 12 2007 that night happened to be the Jewish Rosh Hashanah … their New Year … the Jewish day starts at 6pm in the evening … and in our church here we had the ram’s horn blown! What a blessing, what a joy, what a privilege, what a wonderful Saviour we have in our Lord Jesus Christ! What an accomplishment of our Great Lord … Lord we love You very much!

My heart leapt joyously when pastor said that this is 5768 in the year of the Jewish calendar and the Name of God Yahweh (YHWH) also has numerical value that adds up to 26, as the numerical value of this year 5768=26 … this is indeed the year of the Lord!

In that case, if 5768 is 2007 Sep 12 - 2008 Sep 11,
then

Sep 2004 - Sep 2005 was actually the 6th year where the bumper crops comes at the end of the 6th year … 3yrs supply of bumper crops … and
“THE ANSWER IS, ‘I WILL BLESS YOU WITH BUMPER CROPS THE SIXTH YEAR THAT WILL LAST YOU UNTIL THE CROPS OFTHE EIGHTH YEAR ARE HARVESTED!’
that means end of 6th year we get bumper crops

7th year : Sep 2005 - Sep 2006 was the year of rest … feed on the bumper crops

and

8th year Sep 2006-Sep 2007, Year of New Beginnings
feed on bumper crops at the same time start sowing again … a year of new beginnings … the bumper crops from the 6th year is enough to last till the new harvest is ready …

Aug 2007 - Aug 2008 year of The Lord … Year of Jubilee …
year of harvesting the new crops as well as sowing …
Lev25:13
YES, DURING THE YEAR OF JUBILEE EVERYONE SHALL RETURN HOME TO HIS ORIGINAL FAMILY POSSESSION; IF HE HAS SOLD IT, IT SHALL BE HIS AGAIN!

Our Lord Jesus has proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord, in the here and now … not another year, not another time, not past, nor future but NOW!

He has set ALL prisoners free, all people free from all bondages of any kind …
illness, poverty, depression, torment, slavery, debts, pornography, gambling, etc …

Jesus has restored us back to our original family possession what Adam had before the fall!

Now GET READY for THIS …

LEV26:9,10
I WILL LOOK AFTER YOU, AND MULTIPLY YOU, AND FULFIL MY COVENANT WITH YOU.
YOU WILL HAVE SUCH A SURPLUS OF CROPS THAT YOU WON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THE NEW HARVEST IS READY!

LEV26:11
AND I WILL LIVE AMONG YOU AND NOT DESPISE YOU.

LEV26:12
I WILL WALK AMONG YOU AND BE YOUR GOD, AND YOU SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

(In the New Covenant He is already our God, Living within us always since Day One!!!)

LEV26:13
FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
SO THAT YOU WOULD BE SLAVES NO LONGER; I HAVE BROKEN YOUR CHAINS SO THAT YOU CAN WALK WITH DIGNITY.

Egypt : land of bondage for the children of Israel in the past …

At the cross, Jesus has broken the chains so that we can walk with dignity.

Isn’t He beautiful? My Saviour Jesus …

Don’t we just love Him?

We are greatly blessed, highly favoured and deeply loved in the Beloved!

Come to think of it, does this mean that our flat and all other loans would be fully paid in the year of Jubilee too? Wow! Thank you Abba Father!

Yes, it is a gift from You and if it is a gift then it should be paid in full by You! Thank You!

I can't wait to get back to this blog and tell the whole world when these events come to pass, yes, it is a matter of time ... His Word is true.

Thank You Lord for supernatural cancellation of debts, debts free lifestyle and in the words of someone "financial independence" with plenting growing, ever-increasing and overflowing and plenty spill over, nourishing and blessing the people, and nations who are in need around us!
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Destined to Reign by Pastor Joseph Prince