My Miracle, His Catch

We had Combat Skirmish (laser tag) in the morning of 25th June 06. A total of 24 guys had great fun. It totally rocked. It truely brought the 'boy' out of us. It was an environment where we bonded, connected and had great fun. The pictures will testify that.

Indeed, this event was a net for the 'Great fishes'. After playing, we brought them to the Miracle Catch Sunday! Definately a good catch- I believe whatever the Lord blessed us with, its Good. I rejoice for I know it brings delight to God! I heard the oceans roar and the singers ROAR... I saw God moving. I felt the darkness tremble when all the saints came together for the miracle catch, then all the streams flowed as one river to wash away the brokeness of many! The Boys, I was consolidating came to church and also one of my guy's friend (Marcus) received Christ.

Prayer alone will not save the world. Preach the Gospel.

- Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke

The heart of it is really talking about also doing something about it. Prayer is our first recourse but it must be accompanied by faith actions. And surely God will BACK us.

I sowed in prayer and materialised the processes to accompany my prayers. From all the 3 events i've held; (1) Overnight Outing, (2) X-men Movie Catch and lastly, (3) Combat Skirmish; i'm blessed with TEN guys to consolidate. I SHOUT Hallelujah..! I Thank God with all my heart. Apart from Him, I'm nothing! I make my boast in Christ alone!

My heart echos what Pastor said. I feel MCS is just the begining of a new season. Lord, let Streets resound with singing, that We will bring Songs that bring your hope. We will bring Songs that bring your joy and We will dancers who dance upon injustice.
To God be the Glory!

Narash
Joshua's Subtribe

Special Thanks : Amos, Yufan, Daniel Lee, Samuel Lee (My photographer), and the rest who came.

Crossroads?

r YOU In a crossroad of your life?
Cant find answers to many things...
Just seek God, the answer maybe He's Just drawing you to know Him

12 on 12th May

It all started with a question of how to connect the church with the 12 friends we are going to bring on 25th June 06. Certain questions like of how to change the misconceptions that church people are boring were in my mind? My guys were facing troubles of bringing the people to church. I pondered over it. And then it occured to me: Why cant we bring the church (thats us) over to our 12 friends? Which gave birth to this idea.

Activities we planned: Kayaking in the morning, Bowling and pool by afternoon and an overnight fishing/camping.

It was rather fun. We kayaked for an hour. We played catching and just some leisure kayaking. We were relaxing at the beach. We were playing, throwing sandballs and splashing water around. It was when one of my BB Boy's (Dennis) specs fall into the sea. We were doing a seek and rescue! I was definately praying with much hope (So was one of my guys). I told God 'It has to be found in quickest possible time!' Soon enough a small boy shouted to his brother, "Look what i found, a specs!!!" I was overjoyed at the first look of the specs... Thank God! I thanked him for finding it and we went back to keep the canoes.

Somehow i was asking God if doing all these were worthwhile? The time and the money is it all worth it? When i overheard someone saying ' You sow sparingly, you reap sparingly!' Somehow i felt thats the word the Lord had for me.

I had small conversation with Kong Ming's friends at marine parade's KFC. But at the pool, we had to separated as my two BB Boys were too young. So i went to bowl with my BB boys (Clive and Dennis) and shortly joined by aaron and his friend, daryl. It was super funny, making clowns out of ourselves and having a real good time. At the pool side, Kong ming and Asaph connected with the Charles and Yao Qi (Kong Ming's friends) at some level. The heartbeat of this meeting is to make connections.

Unfortunately the overnight fishing got canceled at the last minute, due to some technical trouble. At that time, i wanted to cancel the overnight camping and go home. But they didnt want to. Then God reminded me 'You sow sparingly, you reap sparingly!'. There came Jed to save the day- He brought Risk and Returns! Thank God. Phew! By that time (1145pm), my third BB Boy Lewis had made a point to join us, even after returning from a trip to malaysia with his parents.

At 10 plus, my two Boys and i had already set up the tent waiting for Jed and Lewis to arrive. Later, we thought we can move the tents further near Macs. So Lazyly we carried the tent all the way there. Haha.. At where, we decided to pack it up and play Risk. We played for 7hour plus.. Risk is a strategic and prophectic game indeed. A little bit about the game: Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players. It is played on a board depicting a stylized political map of the Earth, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents.The strategy of Risk is to have the largest number of armies in the place where they will do the most good. One of the easiest ways to gain armies is to hold continents. 12units in a territory/country is the max. But this 12 must increase to build more 12s in other countries so as to Conquer a continent. Haaha you should play it!

We wraped up in the morning. All in all, i would say 12on 12 May was a sucess. For we definately made connections with all those who came. I learnt to treasure whatever time you get with a person, as it may never come again. If i was to say that this meeting was important but reluctant to spend money on those who came, then really is this meeting important to me? I must sow in tears. Those who sow sparing, will reap sparing. Whether or not its painful to sow, it must done. Its a question of 'if I'm willing'?

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.- Luke 12:34. Time and money are treasures. Definately these treasures are invovled in the sowing process. Time and money can be spent! Simple indicator to know what we treasure- What we usually spend our time or money on? Computer games? Sports? Reading? Shopping? Hanging out with frns? GF/BF? Gym? Handphones? Game catriage? PSB? Clothes? Ear studs? Cars? Definately you wont do/buy it unless your heart is set on it. If you invest your money(treasure) on a new game/hp/investment or whatever, you will spend the time exploring and getting the best out of it.
You spend time with someone, you are spending that part of your life with that person. Time will pass, Money will go up and down. Yet opportunities comes like thief. Be watching! Pounce and sieze it. There may not be a second chance. Yonder!

So what do you really deem as treasure in your life? And is it in line with God will for you? A simple question that requires a deep reflection.

C.S. Lewis on the Deity of Jesus

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Citation: C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity; submitted by Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois.

2 Birthday Boys, my Guys and My Brother Ivan

So it was Aaron, Joash and Jasper's(who couldnt be there with us.) birthdays.. We took photos, ate chips and cakes. Posing for the camera was Chin Hou, Aasph, Shaun Moo (visiting), Kong Ming and Ivan (My G12 Brother).. Btw i bought Aaron and Joash honey sticks from coffee bean intentionally. I felt God wanted to bless Joash with His sweet anointing and also tell Aaron to come and taste the goodness of the Lord. Yea!

BOTC2

BOTC

BB ADVENTURE QUEST

These are the photos from Adventure quest.
The Boys in the team: Lewis, Clive, Richard and Si yao. They run, cycled and Rappelling. Strong and Daring. They combined with 23th and 31st company. It was a totally a blast. We have attained the silver honour roll again for the Boys’ Brigade Adventure Quest this year.

Well its also thanks to 23th's race experience, knowledge and resources which brought us thus far. Without 31st coy we couldnt have formed a relay team. And indeed with the crucial help of Jed and his endless connection, this was possible. Thank God for that wonderful opportunity and beautiful connections, He provided!

Breaking Da Vinci

A pastor's response to The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and the doubts it raises.
by James Emery White, guest columnist


The DaVinci Code has been atop The New York Times bestseller list and Amazon.com since it was released three years ago. Not even the release of a new John Grisham novel knocked it off. It inspired a one-hour ABC News special. Now it's a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks.

At first glance the plot isn't anything that stands out above normal mystery fare. It starts off with the murder of a curator at the Louvre in Paris, leads to a trail of clues found in the work of Leonardo DaVinci, and the discovery of a centuries-old secret society. It's a page-turner. But that's not what has grabbed our attention. It's that the clues of Leonardo's work and the mission of the secret society revolve around the Holy Grail.

This Holy Grail is not put forward as what we traditionally think of as the Holy Grail, the chalice that Jesus used during the Last Supper. The novel identifies the Holy Grail as the bloodline of Jesus and suggests that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus and the mother of his child. And because she bore descendants, she is, in fact, the Holy Grail. After the crucifixion, she fled with their child to the south of France where they established the Merovingian line of European royalty, which then became the basis of a secret society to preserve that bloodline and to protect the secret until it was time to make it known to the wider world.

Along the way, author Dan Brown also suggests the church invented the deity of Jesus, and it's all been covered up primarily by a secretive Catholic group known as Opus Dei. Let's consider the claims Brown's novel makes:

Were Jesus and Mary married?
The Bible says Mary was a devoted follower of Christ, liberated from a terrible torment by Jesus. She gave the rest of her life to serving him and his cause. She was present at his crucifixion and burial, and was the first person Jesus appeared to following his resurrection. She was a remarkable woman, honored throughout Christian history.

Brown takes what the Bible says and adds to the tale significantly. A character states that Mary was married to Jesus and the marriage is a matter of historical record. That's simply not true. There is no accepted historical record whatsoever to that effect.

Are the Gospels wrong?
Brown claims the early church suppressed up to 80 alternate accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus and arbitrarily chose the four we have today in order to suppress accounts that elevated Mary.

As a scholar in systematic theology, I can say that no biblical scholar I'm aware of has any knowledge of 80 alternate gospels floating around from the 1st century. The four Gospels we have are there because they were credible. These four were universally affirmed as being authentic, eyewitness accounts of Jesus.

What Brown wants to lift up are those documents that began to be circulated much later. Those include one that claimed to be the gospel of Mary Magdalene, in which the author writes that Mary was loved by Jesus above all women, that she was a leader among the apostles, that she had been given secret knowledge by Jesus, and that the other apostles, particularly Peter, were all threatened by her. No scholar of note buys that; neither does the textual historical evidence of their dating support that.

Did the church invent Jesus' divinity?
One of his characters says almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false. Brown claimed the idea of the deity of Jesus was created out of thin air in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicea. Brown argues that in this council, church leaders wanted to consolidate their powerbase, create a divine Christ, and an infallible Scripture even though no one believed it up to that point in time.

Brown is right about one thing. In the course of Christian history, few events are more significant than the Council of Nicea. The Roman Emperor Constantine recently had converted to the Christian faith, and he called bishops together from all around the world, not to figure out what to believe but to affirm it.

The council resulted in what we know today as the Nicene Creed, a statement clearly affirming the Trinitarian nature of God and the divinity of Jesus. The Creed passed 298 to 2. Christians overwhelmingly from the beginning worshiped Jesus as Savior and Lord, and every major Christian writer and thinker leading up to Nicea from the earliest documents of the early church testifies to this.

Christianity will stand up under scrutiny
Let me add a personal, pastoral word about this. When it comes to books like this or any other medium that's out there, go to the sources. Read what the Bible really says. Look at the history of the early church. Check it out. If Christianity is true, it will stand up under any amount of intellectual or historical scrutiny.

The Bible warns spiritual seekers to be careful here: "Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned … I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:7-8, 11-12).

Somebody needs to break The Da Vinci Code, not for the reasons the author argues, but because the truth it distorts is so important to know. This distortion desperately needs to be revealed.

James Emery White is senior pastor of Mecklenberg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. This column is excerpted from a sermon, "There's Something About Mary," published in PreachingToday.com issue 257.

Looking back on my 21St

Be humbly, loyally accountable

1Peter5:5- Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

In the ampilfied bible, 1Peter5:5- Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)--[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)--[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.

In my reflection, i was asking the Lord what it means to give them due respect and yielding to their counsel? For i dont, God will resist me. At first, i got the word "ACCOUNTABILITY''. To be subject to the elders, what does it mean...

What does 'Be subject to' mean: 1. To make (as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior 2 : to make liable.

What does Amenable mean?
Definition: responsible
Synonyms: accountable, answerable, chargeable, judgeable, liable, subject..

So if we are not, then its Antonyms are true: Irresponsible, not responsible, unaccountable, unanswerable. This will add up to me being Proud. Oh no, but immediately asked God to forgive me. Yes, truely if you'r not accountable to your elders, God will resist you. Therefore we are not under the Grace He gives to the humble. Realising this, it convicts me to come under close accountability with my spiritual father. Before i didnt know, i'm being proud. I thought i was shy, no opportunity, i can handle it, not the right time, deal with God alone but the bible (In King james vrsion) says Submit yourselves unto the elder. This offended my mind, only to reveal my proud heart.

Second word was "LOYALTY". Submit yourself to the elder and be clothed with humility. This is tough if it doesnt come with loyalty.What if oneday you disagree with the elder, but will you choose to submit? Will you be clothed with humility? Satan's heart turned disloyal and God opposes him. Out of heaven, he went. Satan's pride caused him to fall. We must keep humble, and whatever cares we've to cast it upon the Lord. Its becaused the Lord cares.
The devil is preying, for one to devour. At the same time, God is looking for that one man who will go for Him. Being proud or humble- I've made my choice. How about you?

Come From Behind Wins

As I prepared to pounce on some of those momentary lapses of athletic poise (not unlike some of my own lapses, of course), someone commented to me on the performance of the Swiss woman who had been in the number-two position in the snowboard race for the gold medal. I recalled that she was at least 50 meters back when the American athlete decided to "hot-dog" it (play to the crowd, as they say) and fell. The replay shows the Swiss snowboarder flying by to the finish line (and the gold) as the American frantically tries to get back on track.
Go back five seconds before the fall when the American was so far out in front. Why didn't the Swiss boarder relax and settle for the second place silver medal? What made her keep pushing so that she was in a position to capitalize on the sudden fall of the leader and take the gold? Character, I guess.

"We live our lives under the discipline of uncertainty," wrote Fred Mitchell, an English missionary leader of 60 years ago. "We never know what emergencies may be approaching, what (opportunities) may be ripening, what chances may be on the way, what temptations (may be lying in) ambush ready to spring unawares."

Mitchell's words came back to me as I reflected on the sudden reversal of fortunes that brought the gold rather than the silver to the Swiss snowboarder. By not letting down, by demanding the best of herself—even when she was in second place—she put herself in position to benefit from the surprise.

The perseverance of the athlete in second place who understood uncertainty is the better story, much better, I think, than the disappointing hubris of the one who'd been in first.

-by Gordon MacDonald

Something I've experienced in a race. There's nothing like a come from behind Wins. I will expound on my reflections.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

Lord Move, Or Move Me.

Where Am I heading?

What is my Calling?

God, what's your Destiny for me?

What am I doing?

What I'm doing does it count for eternity at all?

Faith is not simply Mental affirmations nor Positive experiences of God but as beliefs and feelings that lead to Response and obedience to the word of God.

No taxi but a Big Red Tractor!

Not a taxi but a Big Red tractor Stopped. It was rather a bad day at work. And was made to stay back. Yes, by that time i missed all the shutter services that brings me out of camp. Time was passing and was being bombarded by my Sgts. After all that, i was very late for the leaders meeting. I was so mentally drained. Truely speaking i was thinking Life is unfair, God is GOOD. As i was leaving the camp, I prayed for taxi. When a taxi appeared, my heart was filled with delight but it didnt last for long. Someone infront (my blindspot) stopped and took it. My heart sank. But i continued to pray. I started to walk. I was walking and reflecting on what my Sgt said and also finding for a taxi. Time was running. I was getting late.

I msged Joshua Teo- informing him i don't have much cash and should i even come as its taking so long! By that time, i was feeling even under. But i prayed, i'll submit Lord and i need a taxi. yES, taxis passed me but none stopped. That made things worst, but i still prayed. Then at 8.45pm, at the traffic light a big red tractor stopped. I thought what he is doing, so i looked up. There he was signalling me to come in. Huh? Me? Come In? Sure or not? Got to be kidding me? But anyway i got in fast, as there traffic lights go green. I was in the big red tractor. The malay uncle asked where i was heading to and explained that taxis will not stop there. We talked little. One of the few questions he asked "Do you smoke?" Well i replied "No" and he said "Thats good!". After sometime he said he will drive me to Boon lay Mrt. I was overjoyed. It is because i can draw money and take taxi to rush down. Thanked God. Later what he told me came as a pleasant surprise: "I am goona pick my friend up and then i shall drive you to Bukit Merah." I was touched and immediaely Thanked him. Thats how i ended up at bukit merah without paying a single cent.

And still God provided a way through it all. Truely i THANK GOD. For He showed me, He is a God who gives over and abundant. More than that He is a God whose ALIVE, who answers our calls. Great is His Name.

You are ONE Kind.

Different?

.

Looking at the picture: What does it mean to be different? What is 'Corporate Blindness'? Whereby people give generously, in hope of returns! Whereby people dont give, having excuses of guarding their cash from embelzzlers. Sometimes, we are like the black ducks. Walking past the yellow duck.. What if the yellow duck, represents someone who is need. But how many times do we see the people in need, with needs around us? Are our EYES open? What Does our HANDS want to serve? Are we too high and mighty that we dont see those low and in poverty?

They are there just like the YELLOW duck. Simply there, Obviously yonder. LOOK and are we willing to go that extra mile for that someone? A someone whoes eyes fill up with expectancy upon seeing you? Can we do something if we cant do everything possible? Can we? Do we choose to_____?

Btw the ducks were not harmed in the process of making. Neither does the author hates ducks, in actually fact he finds them cute...

Dont be a Mimosa, be a Mustard Seed.

Sending, the heart of God- Its not a task.
TOUCH N GO (God's Way). -Blessed to be a blessing.

Alter call- Many stay and cry but not going anywhere.

We like the touch part of God. He will touch you, so that you can Go.
Exo3: 7-10. "I am sending you". Its a covenental way of using man to touch man. Mark6:7. Calling- then sending. Matt9:37- to send out.

Are you willing? Willing to be sent? Isaiah 1:19-20- Willing and obedient. Is there willingness in your heart?
"Corporate Willingness"- We not only have to do things because we want to, but when your brothers want to, you Go!"
At the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. Heb13:7-15- A harden heart- Sinful, Unbelieving, turn away from God. Ezekiel 36:26-27- Where the 1st heart surgery was done! " I'll put my spirit in you and move you"

Heb 3:1. The book of hebrews is about the Jews who have come into a new way of life. The book is directing them not to return or stay in their old ways.
Send (meaning): Look at Jesus.

What moved Jesus? In Matt9:35-38- Compassion- saw the crowds. The word Compassion meaning- Gut feeling of concern.-Sympathetic spleen.- Bowels of concern.
Its not a superficial nice, pityful feeling.
Look at: Matt9:36, Matt14:14, Matt15:32, Matt20:34.. It all says 'He saw the crowds and He met their needs. Jesus as the son of Man saw alot of things. But he didnt just have compassion on them, He did something about it.

STOP when God stirs within you.

In Matt6:19-24- One way to check your heart is demonstrated in 2Ways- 1. What your eyes want to see? 2. What your hands want to serve?
Jesus saw the crowds- What his eyes saw.... He was moved.... He served.

S E E & D O ! Matt6:33-34 Where your heart is? Is it where the kingdom of God is? A heart that treasures the kingdom of God.

Matt5:3-10
Blessed are the Poor in spirit.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
FOR THEIRS is the kingdom of God. If God had a biased, its towads the poor(humility) and persecuted. In Luke 4:18-19, This was the declaration of Jesus' Ministry.
Ministry to the poor is not an option. Its what you and i must be involved in.

What must i do to inherit Eternal life? Luke10:25-35. Two saw the man and walked past. One saw him and had compassion. The Priest and the leivite- Their eyes were not open. But the samaritian's (business man of that time) eyes were open! The samaritian did not do everything. But he did something. He used his own donkey not others. And that matters.

In Mark10:17-27- ( he called Jesus- Good master) He didnt see Jesus as God, only as a teacher. In vrse 12: said wont it be difficult to enter. Whatever you are doing with God on your side.- You cant possibly do everything by yourselves.

Matt25:21-46. In Matt25 its talking about the closing of Jesus' ministry, last story, last teaching, serving the poor. In Luke too, its an open declaration for the Poor.

We think its doing the mission of God but its about the heart of God.
Words are inadequate- Its about the presence of God.

Its not about the Acts of kindness. Its about the presnece of God in you and i, in the midst of us. The scripture says 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' And so what it says is: If you did it for that person, You did it for Me" for Me here refers to for God.

Mighty Man for A Mighty God

Sanctification week. 2nd Day. 15th Feb 06. Training, the army of God.

We need Corporate Strenght.
Our MOTO: Psalms 21:7 : Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Training Manual: 1Sam 17:1-37.

CODE OF CONDUCT 101: Stop giving Excuses.
Vrse 25 The army was weak, becoz of excuses. Vrse33 People give excuses on your behalf.
Excuses from within, Excuses from others. In life there are many Good excuses, sounds vaild.

But Start Volunteering: Vrse 32-35. your servant will go....

CODE OF CONDUCT 102: Stop Hesitating
Vrse16.

But Start Engaging. Vrse 23-26.

CODE OF CONDUCT 103: Stop fearing Goliath.
Vrse 11. All listened to Goliath and feared him.

But Start Fearing God.
Vrse 36. Just like David did.

To grow in Corporate Strenght.
1.Start Volunteering: 1Tim4:12, Isa6:8

2.Start Engaging: Prov6:5-11

3.Start Fearing God: Prov19:23, Rev14:7

Build Mighty Men
2Sam23.- King David built Mighty Men.
In the new testament: Luke1:32-33. It says Jesus- He re-established the kigdom of david and beyond.

-BE A MIGHTY MAN IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
-BUILD MIGHTY MEN FOR THE LORD, AN ARMY FRUITFUL FOR THE LORD.

My thoughts
Reminded of Ps Seng lee's quote:You take care the depth of your life, and God will take care the breath of your ministry.

It takes a Willing man to be a Mighty man for God.
All it takes is God to build a Mighty Army for Himself through that ONE MAN.

God's my Valentine.

Sanctification week. 1st Day. 14th Feb 06. Gathering, the bride of christ.

Its interesting in Lev19:2- Even before the commandments, 1st thing God said: Be holy for I am holy. Even before the all the laws, that set of laws the govern holiness. "Be holy!" Its like trying to be God, himself. Holy? Holy is the Godness of God. The very essence of His Godness is Holiness. We cannot be Holy in ourselves but only in relation with God. Thats why its 'BE' and not become... In Eph5:25-27, it says Present this Bride- Holy and blameless. It is indeed a profound mystery.

Personal and Corporate Holiness. Corporate holiness has very much to also do with individual holiness.
But WHAT does it mean the church His Bride?
1. How are we prepared for His coming. (Matt25:1-13, Rev19:7) Alert, ready, watchful, complete, prepared, corporate attitude and culture.
2.How are we passionate for His love. (Songs of song, Eph 5) Eager, excited, anticipating, longing.
3. How are we pure before His eyes? (Gen2:25, Eph5:25-27) Transparent, naked, no shame, inner beauty, consecrated, holy.
4. Are we pleased to do His will? (Eph 5:22, 1Peter 3:1-6) Submission, willing and obedient, wanting to please, make happy.

His Bride has made herself READY. Rev 19:6-8.
Set ourselves apart to make ourselves ready: Whereby the groom will be excited about...

Is there such a thing as 99.9%HOLY? When dealing with holiness- Its either clean or unclean. No halfway one. Wah thinking about it, its impossible. In a sense, on our own strenght. But in Heb10:10, made us holy through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Unless its done under the cover of the cross- Dont try to be holy, -Revelation of the cross. Prayer Jesus prayed to the Father before being sent to the cross- (John17:13, Phil3:10-11)
Experiencing the cross, its not just about experiencing. A journery to understand, appreciate the cross. Its not a measure of our spirituality. The important thing is Is our lives Changed?
We were reminded to Take up the cross daily. (Gal 2:20)

We will not understand the immensity of the Grace until we understand the severity of sin in our lives.-Ps Khong.

My thoughts
You cant be holier. Its only Holy or not.

Encountering Jesus/ The Cross will cause a Life changing Experience.

Celebrating the Lord With A New Beginning

A Policeman caught a driver for not stopping at a junction. The driver told the policeman that for 20years he had not stopped at this junction. But the policeman fined him and adviced him. The next day ironically there was an accident at the very junction. And policeman went to the scene, he investigated. And that driver said "for 20years i've been following this man but today he stopped at this junction. He doesnt stop at this junction".

The question is Are WE going with flow of things, are we doing things over and over again?
New Begining. Everybody needs a New Begining. After all our God is God of new beginings. After Moses died- Joshua was given new assignment, new begining. Elijah was burn out and wanted to die but God provided food and a new begining. Peter denied the Lord 3times and went to fishing. He caught nothing. But Jesus came and restored him, giving him a new begining.

How to receive a New Begining for yourself/ourselves?
1. Forget the Past- Let it Go. Isaiah 43:18
We cant live under the weight of the influence of our past. We can not live with the burdens of the past. Our Thinking, attitudes can and are shaped by the past. And Forgetting the past means putting the past behind.

Dont dwell in the past.
A pastor named Eunice, had a son. And this son of hers died in a freak accident. She cried and cried over this lost. But oneday the Holy spirit spoke to her "Let it go!" Yes, she did. After that she just started writing new songs after songs.

2. Faith to perceive- It is now. Vrse 19.
We need a sensitive heart. NEW. What is NEW? God says 'I will do a new thing'. Not to repeat. New is something New and not something over and over again. And the word new in greek is 'Kairos Neo'. Meaning: Qualitatively different. For now we have 2Cor 5:17- Eternal life. Experience the Power of God. It maybe like 5steps forward and 1step back. Getting close to God (5steps) and fall in sin or mistakes in life (taking steps back) But it doesnt mean nothing has happened in your life. God in that has a lesson. He is building deeper and deeper in you.

Two meaning for the word: Time- Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the chronological order of time. Wherelese Kairos is the NOW time of God. Therefore We cant miss the Now time of God.

3. Fight for the prize- Get it Done! Rev21:6-7
Having a new begining- Its not only the start but God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. But you must be an overcomer. Overcomer! God's instruction is to overcome.
In Rev2-3. Looking at the Letters to Asia and other churches (Reve2:7, 2:11,2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:11-12, 3:21) 7Letters to the 7 churches. OVERCOME. Is the emphasize! God gives us a new start but How to continue it. The only way is to overcome. David in Psalms51:10,13- After repenting his sin before the Lord, David said: I'll teach. He was still in the fight for the prize. God restored him and King David fulfiled the purpose of God in his life.

Story: A pastor gather some people to pray for rain. As the pastor came, he didnt sense the prayerful atmosphere. But more to socialize. But at a coner, he saw a girl with a red umbrella. In her, he saw an expectancy. God spoke to him: 'Son, they came to pray but she came expecting an answer- Therefore It will be done!'

Lets Celebrate- The Gathering

The context of Hebrews: The writer was writing to the Jews. The jews had their own way of doing things like animal sacrifices, tabernacle worship and so on. He is writing to them to have change of mindset, that following Jesus is better the Way. In chapter 10, he's reminding them about the Sacrifice and that Issue is already settled no need revert back to old ways!

In Hebrew 10:19-25- Dont waver. It talks about the Certainity of our Faith.

People have a habit not to meet. They dont like gatherings. And therefore chances are they will give up the race. The writer's Concern for our Journey is expressed.

The Call to gather- Its a biblical calling to keep on meeting. For it is for own good. There's a spiritual dimension for the whole Gathering.

Why when we gather in His Name, something Extrodinary Possibilites happen? It because of the Unique purpose.

In His Name- The Gathering

There is Extraordinary Presence. (Matt 18:20)

There are many verses that say 'I am with you'. Not meaning that He's not there but when we gather it brings about the Extrodinary presence of God. There's something unique about Personal Grace and Coporate Grace grace. Coporate grace really talks about grace which is only there when two or more gathers. As we gather, we can expect an Extraordinary Presence of God.

There is Extraordianary Empowerment. (1Cor 14:23)

When we gather, God's gifts are released among us. In a book, Assemble together- By Watchmen Nee in 1945. He talks about the different type of gatherings/ meeting. A few examples: Gospel meeting, Breaking of the bread meeting, Prayer meeting. What should you to do in Gospel meetings? He goes on saying that for a gospel meeting to always bring friend/s. To correct and not to critizie. To sit beside your friend. Two friends: Sit inbetween them. More than 3 friends, get a brother or two or help. Ideal will be One christian next to one unbeliever friend. Explain terminology, to suplement what the sermon lacks. Observe the friend's reaction during the meeting and pray. Help the friend to accept the Lord if you see no response. Visit the person with another christian friend, once or twice untill the soul is saved.

Matt 18:19- Really it says that Some Prayers will answered only when two or more agree!

There's Extraordinary Grace. Psalms 133

As you come together- United - His annointing will flow.

From a parents perspective. God is pleased when He saw His sons living in unity. His grace flows. Grace- ITS Undeserve.

In vrse 32: This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. What is this profound mystery?? In Eph5:15-32: Passage is talking about Husband and wife. Gathering is like that of a husband and wife. Christ is the husband and the Church is the wife. As we gather not just as a Father looks at His children but also as a husband looks at his wife. The word "Church" in the passage can be replaced by Assembly/meeting. Its the same pure love as the husband loves his wife. And thats why there's an Extraordinary Grace. For our gathering gives God tremendous pleasure. Therefore as we gather, we MUST seek God's delight. Our gathering it contributes to the pleasure of God.

By: Pastor Eguene