Be Still and Know

Many of us in our pursuit of "finding" God be it in the midst of a financial difficulty or a broken relationship, or any other matter like a trying period or even out of a simple wanting for more of God, often overlook a simple method that God wants His children to remember.

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Be still, and KNOW that I am God. Psalm 46:10

We know from Scripture that God is omnipresent, being everywhere and existing in all things (Psalm 139:7–10).

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And it’s only when we come to a place where we can accept and understand that God isn’t hiding in some place far from us waiting to be discovered or that we have to "do" something in order for us to be connected to Him – only then will we be truly able to discover the Presence & the Person of God Almighty, living in each one of us & manifesting Himself, His Nature of Abundance & Joy, through the magnificent creation that each and everyone of us are!

Now that’s quite a mouthful for us to swallow, so let’s break it down.

Firstly, I know that some of you will say "but but but.. The BIBLE SAYS, the pure in heart shall SEE God!! Or or or… TASTE & SEE that the Lord is good!"

Who are the pure in heart? How do you have a pure heart? We know by now that all of us, ALL of us have failed God (Romans 3:23) and that we humans above all else have wicked hearts (Jeremiah 17:9).

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God knew that we would NEVER be able to qualify for any of His blessings yet alone to even be able to SEE Him, but out of His extreme love for us, He sent His perfect Son to become our sacrifice ONCE & FOR ALL to make us perfect.

How do we have a pure heart? By knowing what HE did for us at the Cross.

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The definition of the word “Know” according to dictionary.com is

“to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty”

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When we can be still & Know God, we will begin seeing God’s Goodness manifest around us. When we begin to Know that God is living in us & living through us and is present all things, we will begin to be in sync with His divine Presence that’s in us and around us.

When we begin to Know God, we will begin to become that which God is to those around us, and others will begin to SEE & TASTE & HEAR the voice of God – IN YOU, because YOU ARE that perfect Presence of Yahweh portraying & manifesting His beauty & His love through His amazing creation WHICH IS YOU!

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So brethren, what are you trying to manifest today? What is it that you need "God" to do for you which He HAS ALREADY given you the power to do?

… as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17

… Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…  Genesis 1:26

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Start experiencing and feeling the Presence of the Lord in your lives, in your surroundings, in everything that you do, and once you begin Thinking like Him, Speaking like Him, Behaving like Him, You BECOME Him to yourselves and to others.

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:19

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Be Blessed, Sons & Daughters of the Most High! And as you manifest Greatness in your lives, remember that it’s all for His Glory in Jesus’ Name

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This post was inspired by a dear sister who was in need – may you find the strength of the Lord manifesting in your life & causing you to rise up above all odds to the true destiny which God has called you to (: Be Blessed

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Salvation

Salvation comes from the word ‘Salvage’ (Gr. word sozo) which is to “cure, recover, remedy” – in other words, simply to bring something back into a state of RESTORATION.

 

Now Salvation is not something that can be earned or something we can “do”, but something which we “receive” simply  through FAITH & REST –

(i) Believing & Confessing what Jesus did for us on the Cross (Rom 10:9), and

(ii) Resting on the Finished Work of Christ (Heb 4:1-3)

 

 

Salvation is a state of BEING -

(i) Knowing your Righteousness

- by His Blood & NOT by your own efforts – Gal 5:4) -

In the Old Testament, the burnt offering was made to ‘transfer’ the righteousness of the animal onto the offeror and vice versa, thus giving him or her ‘right standing’ before God (Eg. in Lev 16:15-16)

Likewise Jesus took our place at the Cross once and for all in order for us to have right standing before the Father (Heb 10:11-14)

 

(ii) Working out of ‘rest’

“work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” as Paul writes in Phil 2:12 is not something you have to DO, but something that God DOES in your life, and this can be found in the next verse, “for it is God who works IN YOU both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Learn how to flow freely with the Holy Spirit, and move TOGETHER with Him as He gently inspires you.

 

(iii) Position yourself as God leads you in order to experience the ultimate purpose of Salvation = GROWTH

 

Vertical Growth:

Grow in your relationship with God

Grow in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Loving God wholeheartedly (Mt 22:37)

 

Horizontal Growth:

When you experience God’s love, you will learn how to love others

When you experience God’s Power, you will know how to Minister to others

Loving People Fervently (Mt 22:39)

 

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:31

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Emmanuel

I want to share with you a really beautiful song by Hillsong Worship that I heard yesterday, but before that, I want to do a short message on the meaning of the word “Emmanuel”.

Now most of us already know that Emmanuel means God with us. But as I was meditating upon this last night, the Holy Spirit began to show me a very interesting perspective of how this word can impact our lives mightily.

 

So I was pondering over this and the Lord asked me, “If God is with you, doesn’t that also mean that He is for you?”

And that immediately reminded me of Moses in Exodus 33:15, when he told God, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”

 

And it dawned on me that without the Presence of the Lord in our lives, we are truly powerless. But here God tells us that He is not only with us, but He is also for us!

And I want to leave you with three beautiful Scriptures that you can confess and speak out into your life every single day, and I pray that it would be a Rhema to you, giving you boldness and grace each day, just as it did for me

 

Be Blessed  this Christmas  Season !!

 

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, who can be against us?

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Isaiah 54:17

No weapon formed against you shall prosper

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Romans 8:38

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

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God’s Ways lead to Great Prosperity

Recently I’ve been studying a lot on the subject of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit that brings about financial abundance. And today I want to share with you a short excerpt from Isaiah 55 that I really believe will stir up a new vision of faith in you for your breakthroughs.

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Isaiah 55:8-9

⁸ “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
⁹ “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
      So are My ways higher than your ways,
      And My thoughts than your thoughts.

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When we in our human wisdom try to accomplish the supernatural by natural means, the results would always be devastating. Yet even in our fallen state, men have come up with such great inventions and methods over the last two millenniums. But when we need a supernatural breakthrough in our finances, we need the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:16)

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So as humans, we always have the tendency to either rush ahead of God, or to expect God to do what we want in the way that we think is best, instead of waiting on the Holy Spirit for direction. (Habakkuk 2:1)

And this is exactly what the Lord told Isaiah, that His ways and His thoughts are always higher than ours! For needless to say, being our Creator, He obviously knows the best possible way to bring us our breakthrough, and most importantly, what He is trying to teach us during that process.

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Isaiah 55:10

“ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
      And do not return there,
      But water the earth,
      And make it bring forth and bud,
      That it may give seed to the sower
      And bread to the eater,

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Everything comes from God. Period. (John 1:3) The Bible even says that every good and perfect gift comes from above! (James 1:17)

God knows how to provide for His children. He’s been doing so since the fall of Adam, and we’re still here today. Jesus lived the model life of how any human should ever live. And to begin with, He lived a life of great prosperity.

God is not just wanting to provide for us, but He wants to bless us exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask for, think of or imagine in our minds (Ephesians 3:20), so that we will be blessed to be a blessing unto others, becoming ourselves a great name and a great nation, that in us, nations – not just individuals – but nations will be blessed! (Genesis 12:2-3)

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2 Corinthians 9:8 tells us that God will make all of His grace (His power) to abound toward us, that we will have all sufficiency (meaning more than enough) for ourselves, yet with an even greater abundance for every good work!

And that’s how much God wants to bless us. “Seed to the sower” above talks about giving unto the Kingdom of God, which we won’t discuss today, but in a nutshell, it simply means that even for our offerings and alms, God is the one that gives us the seed to sow, and on top of that, “bread for food” as some translations say, meaning God will never neglect our own needs especially when we sow.

Psalm 23:1 tells us that when God is our Shepherd, we shall never be in want, in other words, we shall lack nothing!

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Isaiah 55:11

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
      It shall not return to Me void,
      But it shall accomplish what I please,
      And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

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The Bible is the Word of God. Every promise given in the Bible for financial prosperity was intended for us as His children redeemed by the Blood of Jesus! And when we begin to confess His Word, it shall “go forth” into our lives, in our situations, into our businesses or whatever it may be that we are struggling with, and that promise will not “return to God void, but it shall accomplish” that which the promise states!

And God’s guarantee is in the last line:

“it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

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Isaiah 55:12

“ For you shall go out with joy,
      And be led out with peace;
      The mountains and the hills
      Shall break forth into singing before you,
      And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

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Isaiah 54:4 assures us that we will come to a place when we forget about the trials that we have walked through, because great will be our inheritance, great will be the blessing that the Lord will pour upon us, so great that in our joy, we will forget even the misery of our past!

Even the mountains and the hills that have stood before us once upon a time will bow down to us with songs of joy, and every single bystander that has seen us will rejoice and give the Lord praise. And this is found in the next verse.

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Isaiah 55:13

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
      And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
      And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
      For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

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Just a very quick study on some of the terms above.

“Thorn” as we know first appeared in Genesis 3:18 right after Adam sinned against God, and the ground was cursed for Adam’s sake.

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An excerpt of Versus 17-19 says:

“ Cursed is the ground for your sake;
      In toil you shall eat of it
      All the days of your life.

¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
      And you shall eat the herb of the field.

¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
      Till you return to the ground,

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Basically this talks about hard labour for the rest of a sinner’s life, where he has to toil in everything that he does till the day he dies, and even in his effort his produce would be so little.

Comparing the word “herb” above, which is something you have to bend down and pick up, in contrast with the three different fruits that the 10 spies of Israel brought back from the Promised Land in Numbers 13:23 –

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”… and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes… They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.

These are fruits that you simply have to reach out with your hand and pluck off a tree, no toil and hard labour required to do that!

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The reason I’m mentioning this is because back in Isaiah 55:13, the “cypress tree” represents a life of favour and blessing, where even though we need to put in the effort to stretch out our hands and do some work, our “work” will not be “toil”, but it will be of joy and God-ordained effort which doesn’t even seem like effort at all! And that is what grace truly is.

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There are some very interesting facts about the Cypress tree that the Old Testament gives us. For one, this was one of the chief trees of Lebanon (Isaiah 60:13) – We will have authority in the marketplace (Deut 28:10)

Cypress trees are evergreen (Hosea 14:8) – We will have increase from our ministries, vocations, businesses, finances etc. all the days of our lives

In 2 Chronicles 3:5, Cypress beams were used for roofing the House of the Lord – Increase from the Lord will never take us away from our first Love by neglecting Him in our “busy-ness”

In 2 Samuel 6:5, King David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on instruments made of Fir-wood, which comes from Cypress trees –      Our businesses and vocations will be like worship unto the Lord in the marketplace

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We won’t go through references for the Brier and the Myrtle Trees, but they are similar in context to the above on Cypress trees. And finally, our prosperity and breakthrough shall be to the LORD for a name, and it will give Him glory when the nations see us prospering for Him.

And that is the true purpose of prosperity, that in everything we do, God gets all the glory. I leave you with one last verse for today.

Be blessed.

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“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:18

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A Season of Hope

It’s finally October, the start of the final quarter of the year. And this usually marks the beginning of the Christmas season that’s coming in a month or two. And as I was pondering over this last night, the Lord brought to my memory a Christmas carol titled “O Come All Ye Faithful”, and as I began singing, I had this revelation that I’m gonna share with you today.

 

From the fall of mankind to the coming of Jesus Christ marked a period of hopelessness and despair for many, especially the people of Israel who barely had the faith to believe that God would send a Savior to redeem them.

Some even say that the Prophet Isaiah got so tired of the faithlessness of the people around him, that he wrote verse 1 of Isaiah 53, “Who has believed our report?” Just a saying though

 

 

The third stanza of this song goes like this:

Sing choirs of Angels, sing in exultation

Sing all ye citizens of Heaven above

Glory to God, glory in the highest

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Throughout history, we know that the Angels of Heaven who dwell in the realm of eternity have already seen the salvation of the Lord. Imagine if just for a moment we could stand in eternity and behold the salvation of the Lord, we would never ever have to worry about anything in this life, because we know that God has already given us the victory.

That is why Paul could tell us so confidently to be anxious for NOTHING! (Philippians 4:6) because he knew the salvation of the Lord.

 

And finally, let’s look back at the first stanza of this song:

O come all ye faithful,

joyful & triumphant…

This is the breakthrough that we are to expect when the salvation of the Lord comes. We are not trying to be faithful or joyful or triumphant, we are because that’s the victory that Jesus has won for us.

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I want to share a personal story with you. We all know that since June, we have had to go through a tremendous ordeal as a Church, but many of us along with City Harvest have been facing personal trials in our lives. And I am proud to be of them

Many areas in my life started going downhill since June, but time and again, God has always proved His faithfulness. But last Saturday sparked off a series of de ja vu encounters that led to a couple of major breakthroughs this week. I actually first remembered this song on Saturday evening on the way to Church, but I only received this revelation last night.

And God is always impeccable in His timing. A great man of God once said that the destiny of an individual is always tied to the destiny of the Church. And I truly believe that this is our hour, this is our time when we will see God work that miracle for our Church and for our lives again!

 

And I want to leave you with two words that the Holy Spirit gave me last night.

       Triumphant and Victorious

Let’s rise up City Harvest, let’s emerge triumphant and victorious once again.

Let’s rise up people of God, this is our time, this is our moment to arise triumphant and victorious for the glory of God!

 

This blog post is dedicated to Pastor Kong Hee, who has stood for City Harvest and for Jesus more than any of us could imagine. We love you Pastor

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Dwelling in the Light of God’s Glory

I would like to summarize a short sermon message on two trends that I found in the Bible that talks about how people fall into depression and at the same time a way to get out of it.

1 John 1:5 tells us that God is light and in Him there is no darkness, and today we’re gonna look at someone who went from the very light of God into the deepest darkness of hell just because he left his heart unguarded from bitterness and pride.

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Lucifer, as theological studies show us, was one of the highest ranking Archangels in Heaven before his fall. Some even suggest that he was God’s right hand man. A study of Ezekiel 28 shows us how his pride eventually led to his fall from grace, and it is believed that Lucifer fell first onto the earth, wherein the battle between him and Michael took place, wiping out the entire surface of this planet (Genesis 1:2).

Our study today is not on Lucifer’s fall; however I want to point out some key factors that resulted in his transformation into Satan, and how that can apply to a Believer’s life.

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When we talk about the devil and his demons, we often visualize terrible looking black creatures with distorted features and horrendous stenches depicting death and what possibly would be hell to the human mind. And we rightly do so, as there have been many, including me, who have seen visions or even encountered demons face to face in the third dimension.

But in order to further understand how these spirits who were once beautiful Angels living daily in God’s glory could become such lifelessly deteriorating beings, I want to give you a simple illustration.

 

Any dolphin lovers reading this Blog? These beautiful mammals are often found at the surface of oceans, jumping high into the sunlight and back into sunlit crystal-like waters, a beautiful scene of creation.

 

Then again, the deeper we go into the ocean, right to the very depths where sunlight can no longer been seen, we get creatures like these…

 

Just take a second to get over that obscene image, and basically what I’m trying to say here is that the further you move away from the source of light, the darker, more twisted and contorted you become. And that was the case for the devil and his demons.

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Now we’re gonna go a little deeper in order to understand how Lucifer ended up as Satan. Without getting into deep theology, just in a nutshell, when Lucifer was defeated on the earth, imagine how things would have turned out if he just accepted his mistake and asked God for forgiveness. But instead, he decided to hold on to his pride and his anger (Ezekiel 28:6, 16), and so God had to cast him away from His holy presence, ie: from His light (Ezekiel 28:8).

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Many of us go through hurt and offenses in life, or even make mistakes like Lucifer did. But when we choose to hold on to such hurts, or unforgiveness or even pride, our hearts start to move further and further away from God’s light, causing our inner man to slowly rot from within, becoming more and more twisted and contorted, and there is a verse in Scripture that talks about the kind of life one lives in darkness, ie: hell.

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Isaiah 66:24

And they shall go forth and look
      Upon the corpses of the men
      Who have transgressed against Me.
      For their worm does not die,
      And their fire is not quenched.
      They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

 

A worm is a peculiar creature that feeds on dead matter, and somehow multiplies or breeds in such environments. About two years ago, a friend of mine named Sophina Tan was sharing with me about how she saw a video of a dead rat lying in a street, and after several days, a worm was seen to be crawling out of the animal, and where the worm came from no one knows!

This is the consequence of living a life away from the light, the presence of God.

 

By harboring unforgiveness, bitterness and pride,

1. You grow further from God’s Light

2. You grow colder towards God’s love

 

Job 1:6-12 speaks for the first time since Genesis of a conversation between God and Satan, and we can clearly see how cold Satan’s heart has grown toward the Lord, though once being one of God’s closest servants.

And this is what happens when we harbor the negative in our hearts, we will come to a place where even if we stand before God’s holy presence, your entire being wouldn’t even be touched one bit by this God whom we once laid down our lives for, because that’s what a negative heart does – it blinds our vision.

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But I want to encourage you with the last example, of a man who possibly went through some of the greatest hurts,

the greatest offenses, the worst heartbreaks and betrayals any human being could have went through,

not to mention physical torture and even spiritual torments in hell for a day,

and yet guarding His heart every moment with a great positive attitude and a hope in God –

His Name is Jesus. 

 

Jesus probably must have had one of the worst human lives imaginable since young, being persecuted and forsaken by His own earthly family and hometown, and yet one of the best, being the wealthiest man to set foot on this planet after King Solomon, and working miracles that no one else in His time had ever encountered, to the point that the Jews put Him to death out of fear of loosing their popularity amongst the people!

Jesus showed an excellent attitude even at his final hour at the Garden of Gethsemane, where His prayer was still ever so focused on the will of God and not on His own desire (Luke 22:42). Was He afraid? Yes! Did He have second thoughts about going to the Cross? Of course He did. But did He press on all the way? We wouldn’t have Salvation today if He gave up back then.

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But the story continues even after His death on the Cross. Before the battle that He had to have with Satan in hell (Gen 3:15, Is 53:12, Ps 68:18, Mt 12:29, Luke 11:22, Col 2:15 & Phil 2:10), Jesus suffered the wrath of Father God in hell for our sins, and throughout His ordeal, He never gave up on God, and knew that somehow, God would deliver Him.

 

And fair enough, because of His great attitude and trust in the Lord, God came through for Him, and on the third day Jesus Christ rose from the dead, far above every principality and power (Ephesians 1:21) and is seated victorious at the right hand of God in Heaven.

We know that after His experience at the Cross, His physical body was already beyond repair (Isaiah 53:2-3), but when the Holy Spirit, who is  the Resurrection Power of God, came upon the body of Jesus, every single wound and bruise was completely healed, and life came back to His mortal body and Jesus rose from the grave.

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Friends, no matter what hurt, envy, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, whatever negative emotion that we may be carrying in our hearts today, if we give it to Jesus and maintain a great positive attitude trusting only in God, we will experience that same Resurrection Power of God in our lives, and no matter what dead situation we might be facing in our lives today, God is able to raise it back to an even greater state than it ever was before!

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To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27

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Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
      And whose hope is the LORD.

Jeremiah 17:7

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Rising up to your Calling

Firstly I just want to thank a good friend of mine, Lawrence Yeo for reminding me to read this Scripture, without which today’s blog wouldn’t have been written.

 

I want to share with you two things that will help you to rise up in your Calling from the Lord, and we’re going to look at the story of a famous leader of Israel.

 

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: ² “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. – Joshua 1:1-4

 

Here begins the ministry of Joshua the son of Nun, who after the death of Moses, was tasked to lead a nation of Israelites across the wilderness and into the promised land that God had prepared for them.

Joshua being with Moses since day one of the signs and wonders that Yahweh the LORD had worked in Egypt, he knew the stubbornness and rebelliousness of this people. And to make matters worse, getting through the wilderness was not going to be an easy task either.

 

But God, who sees the future as though it were the past (Joshua 1:3), gave Joshua an encounter that set his path for the rest of his years of leadership over Israel.

 

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. – Joshua 1:5

Here we see the Lord reassuring Joshua that he would never have to walk alone. And hearing the Lord promising Joshua of the same presence that followed Moses was not something to be taken lightly, when we look back at the mighty miracles that God performed through Moses!

 

But there are times in our lives that guilt and fear comes in, and we start to doubt whether God’s promises are still valid for your life, but let’s look at the Lord’s response to that:

Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. – Joshua 1:6

God NEVER forgets His promises, and though we may not always be faithful, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL!

 

However, God still has one condition that we have to meet:

 

Be strong and of good courage… ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. – Joshua 1:6-7

The words “that you may observe” in the original Hebrew texts reads as “shä·mar”, which is a verb translated as “to keep, guard, observe, give heed”, with some translations quoting “keep watch and ward, protect, save life.”

That is how much priority the Lord expects us to give to His Word!

 

Next Verse:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make YOUR way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8

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1. Never stop speaking the Word

Confess it daily, over your lives, your family, your finances, whatever it may be that involves your time and attention each day, speak the Word of God over it!

2. Always dwell in the Word

Even in times of trials and tribulations, Psalm 37:8 tells us never to fret! Dwell in the land of the Anointing, feed upon the Word of God and HE will bless you in even at the lowest point of your life (Ps 37:3-4).

 

You can chase after wealth and riches by your own might, and yes, you will find it, but it will either never last, or it will last and bear the wrong fruits in your life. Verse 8 doesn’t just talk about prosperity, it talks about having good success.

Proverbs 10:22 tells us that the blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. That is the kind of success that only God can bring into our lives, when we are diligent to seek Him in His Word.

 

So what does all this have to do with rising up to your calling?!

Final three verses for today:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

God simply reminds Joshua of what He said in versus 5, 6 and 7, and throughout the last nine versus, God mentioned three times, “be strong and be of good courage” or “very courageous” in the case of Verse 7, and this is really what God is like to us – God is our biggest cheerleader.

He is always there to encourage you, lift your spirits up and to keep cheering you on, to get to the destiny which He has purposed for you even before the beginning of time.

 

And this is how the first chapter of this story ends:

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹ “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’” – Joshua 1:10-11

 

Joshua rose up as commander in chief in place of Moses, and his first words to the nation of Israel was to remind them of what God had promised.

And I pray that you will find the same strength that Joshua found in the Lord, and as you keep dwelling in His Word and living it in your daily life, may you rise up to your calling as well.

 

The Righteous Bride of Christ

Earlier this week in prayer, the Lord reminded me of Psalm 112, which is usually used to describe a righteous man. But the Lord showed me a different picture, one of His Church, the Bride of Christ. (2 Cor 11:2)

I’ve done a short illustration of Psalm 112 and how it relates to us in City Harvest, and I hope it encourages you to keep pressing on till we complete this race we have in Christ Jesus.

 

Psalms 112

Blessed is the Church who fears the LORD,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

For 20 years, we have walked in the fear of the Lord, obeying the Great Commandment and walking in His ways.

 

² Her descendants will be mighty on earth;
  The generation of the upright will be blessed.

In City Harvest today, we have almost three generations of people from the time the Church was founded – the adults, the youth, the children.

And we see all three generations loving God wholeheartedly, and loving people fervently, and great unity has always been among this congregation.

 

³ Wealth and riches will be in this house,
  And her righteousness endures forever.

In City Harvest today, we see some of the wealthiest and more successful people in society, and yet they are always people who are on fire for God, doing good works all over the world.

 

 

⁴ Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
  She is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

We are a city set on a hill, whose light cannot be hidden. We are known throughout the world for our faith and our love throughout the years.

And we have been the salt of the earth and the light of the world, always there loving and caring for the lost and the wounded.

 

⁵ A good Church deals graciously and lends;
  She will guide her affairs with discretion.

We have not only been giving to good works all over the world, but probably have one of the largest mission organizations in Asia, sending out thousands of volunteers each year to fulfill the Great Commission.

And yet, we have never once been clairvoyant when it comes to bookkeeping and being accountable to the relevant authorities.

 

⁶ Surely she will never be shaken;
  The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷ She will not be afraid of evil tidings;
  Her heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

For 20 years, we have stood through every obstacle and every trial that has came our way. And truly this might seem like another trying time, but if our hearts remain steadfast, trusting in the One who gave His own life for this Body, truly we will never ever be shaken.

Jesus gave us a promise, that He will build His Church and the very gates of hell itself would not prevail against us. (Mt 16:18) If God has given us such a promise, why should we ever be afraid? Let us rejoice in the Lord, for he who promised is faithful! (Heb 10:23)

 

⁸ Her heart is established;
  She will not be afraid,
  Until she sees her desire upon her enemies.

This is the attitude that Jesus expects from His bride, that our faith is established on the rock, on Jesus Himself, and we will stand through every trial until we see that no weapon formed against us will prosper!

 

⁹ She has dispersed abroad,
  She has given to the poor;
  Her righteousness endures forever;
  Her horn will be exalted with honor.

Again this talks about all the good works that we have been consistently doing year after year, and the Lord assures us that it will never be in vain, and that He will reward us in due season if we do not loose heart.

 

¹⁰ The wicked will see it and be grieved;
    He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
   The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Finally, this is how it has always been throughout the years, and it’s no different this time. God has set us as a beacon in the marketplace, a light that cannot be hidden.

If God has been faithful in bringing us this far, He is faithful to get us through any and every trial and challenge, till we emerge victorious, because with Him in us, we can do all things, Hallelujah!

 

City Harvest, 2 Timothy 4:7 is really a Word in season for us. Let’s continue to fight the good fight, and finish the race that God has set for us as a Church, always keeping the faith.

This is also a dedication for Pastor Kong, Sun and the Church Board, we will forever be indebted to you for all that you have done for us and for the Lord. We love you, and let’s keep going for Jesus!

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My Cup Runs Over

Many a time we find ourselves full of anxiety, worry and confusion. We feel so full of our own issues in life that we find our hearts burdened and it becomes difficult for us to connect with the Holy Spirit.

 

But the Lord teaches us a simple method in Psalm 23 on how to empty ourselves and allow the Lord to fill us.

 

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd;
         I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
         He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
         He leads me in the paths of righteousness
         For His name’s sake.
⁴ Yea, 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.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
         You anoint my head with oil;
         My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
         All the days of my life;
         And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
         Forever.

 

I wrote out the entire Psalm because my first point is about seeking the Word of God, for God’s Word always has the final say in our lives, not the world.

 

And secondly, let’s look at the second part of Verse 5:

You anoint my head with oil;
         My cup runs over.

Now wait a minute, weren’t we just talking about emptying our cups before the Lord? How then can it run over?

The cup in this Scripture can refer to many things from our finances, to our health, relationships, and even personal capacities.

But the perspective I want to share with you today is about our hearts.

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Only when we have emptied our cups, our hearts before the Lord, can he;

 

1. Anoint us with OIL

This is the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives. John 14:17 tells us that the Holy Spirit will be with us and in us.

But for many people, the Holy Spirit is only with them, because when you are filled with so many things that are of the flesh (including worry) the Holy Spirit cannot be in you, because He is as gentle as a dove, and cannot dwell in anything that is unclean or disturbed.

Pouring ourselves out to God allows the Holy Spirit to pour Himself into us.

 

2. Our heart overflows with the Holy Spirit

John 7:38

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

After emptying ourselves, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s anointing. This is the part where the Spirit doesn’t just dwell with us, but also in us.

And this requires time, as the Lord needs to work in our hearts, in our personalities, our characters, our lives. Only as we start to decrease and Jesus starts to increase (John 3:30) will we become more like Him, and be filled with a mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit just like Jesus was when He was on the earth.

The more the Holy Spirit pours Himself into us, the more we manifest His Presence in our lives.

 

I pray that as you continue to seek the Lord in Prayer, in the Word, and in Worship, may you find rest in the Holy Spirit’s comfort, and grow stronger each day in His Grace.

 

Established in Righteousness

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Hi everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve last wrote a post, but I’ve got a good word to share with you and I really believe it will help you to come to a place of great breakthrough.

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1 Kings 15:9,11

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹¹ Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David.

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Ever since the death of Solomon, many kings from David’s bloodline did not walk with the Lord as David did, causing Israel to live in sin for many decades. In the Scripture above however, we see Asa the son of Abijam rise up as a righteous king, one that walked in ways of the Lord like David.

Walking and living righteously can bring about three things in our lives that will take us to a place of great breakthrough, and this is explained throughout this chapter.

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True Righteousness

1 Kings 15:14

But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the LORD all his days.

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The versus preceding this passage talks about how Asa destroyed the idols in the city and even removed his grandmother as queen mother for making an image of a Canaanite goddess. However I want to emphasize on verse 14, where Asa did not remove the high places.

Being Righteous does NOT mean Being Perfect

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Asa heart’s was loyal to the Lord all his days, despite his imperfections. David is highly regarded by the Lord throughout Scripture despite committing adultery and murder.

Righteous Living comes out of Righteous Standing before the Lord

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Romans 10:9-10

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Righteousness is a Gift of God

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Being established in Righteousness means to be established in our faith that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. When Abraham believed God, it was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). When believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord, we are placing ourselves in the finished work of the Cross, thereby being righteous before the Lord.

And that is what it means to not be perfect, and yet to have a heart that is loyal to the Lord.

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Two blessings for the Righteous

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1 Kings 15:15

He also brought into the house of the LORD the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

Asa was making an offering to the House of God, but he did not only bring in his father’s possessions, but his own dedication as well. This shows that the Lord has been prospering him!

1. The Lord will bless you with Prosperity

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From verse 16 onwards, we see Baasha king of Israel coming against Judah. When we begin to prosper as children of God, people of the world would always come against us. But the key is found in versus 19 to 20.

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1 Kings 15:19

“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

2. The Lord will bless you with Wisdom

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1 Kings 15:20

So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel.

3. The Lord will bless you with Mighty Favour.

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It takes alot for you to convince the ally of your enemy to change sides and join forces with you! Such an accomplishment can only come about by the grace and favour of God.

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So brethren, just as king Asa found great favour in the sight of the Lord as did his father David, I pray that you will find your place as a righteous child of God by your blood-bought right that Jesus died to give you, and great prosperity, wisdom and favour come your way!

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For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
         With favor You will surround him as with a shield - Psalms 5:12

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Fountains springing into everlasting life

He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴ But He needed to go through Samaria. ⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

- John 4:3-5

It seems like just yesterday when we were counting down into 2009, and behold, a year just flew past like the wind! As we enter into 2010, celebrating a decade into the new millennium, I would like to share with you a familiar passage which I believe will really shape and impact the course of our lives this year.

 

Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

- John 4:6-7

As Christians, we are blessed with many great gifts, talents and abilities from the Lord to live a purposeful life and to be successful in all that we do, for the Glory of God.

But sometimes, we get too carried away by what we can do on our own (common grace), and we forget to rely on God, who is our source of strength. The “well” in verse 6 represents the Samaritan people’s livelihood and source of provision for their people

(John 4:12 – “sons” = inheritance, “livestock” = businesses)

We cannot serve God just by relying on our own abilities and resources alone

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Note:

Zechariah 4:6 goes a long way to show that common grace ALONE isn’t enough

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God, and faith in itself is a gift from the Lord (Romans 12:3 and 1 Corinthians 12:9)

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Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. – John 4:9

Ever since King Solomon’s death, Israel had been divided into the northern and southern regions, with Samaria being the capital of the north, and Jerusalem being the capital of the south.

So in the days of Jesus, the Jews were considered as first class citizens, and when they have to travel from Judea to Nazareth in Galilee, they would often take a much shorter route through the Jordan Valley. But Jesus took a long detour (John 4:4 – notice this small yet significant detail gets an entire verse for itself) for the sole purpose of going into Sychar in Samaria to meet this woman.

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In today’s society, this story represents the world’s view on us Christians. While almost every other religion has an object of worship that people can touch and see, Christianity has no fixed object in a fixed location at a fixed time.

We worship a God whom we can neither see nor touch* with singing and Tongues (known as a strange and unknown language to the world), and when asked about our beliefs, Christians often share about the love of God.

And what is the love of God? John 3:16 tells us that God loved His people so much that He would send His only Son to leave eternity for this earth to spend 33 years, finally ending with Him orchestrating His own death on the Cross, followed by His burial and resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God. Not exactly the type of redemption story you and me would write, huh?

*Note: With the exception of believers who have seen and touched the Holy Spirit (John 14:17)

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And to this, the general response from the world would be:

“but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” – 1 Corinthians 1:23

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Stumbling Block: This represents people’s fear of change. The Jews were to used to their religious ways and doctrines, that they were afraid to change their way of thinking and to accept something new.

Foolishness: Fear of the unknown. The Greeks in the days of Jesus were known to be some of the most intellectual people of their time, and to accept something that they could not comprehend with their own human wisdom was out of the question for them. (Read Acts 17:16:23)

Three reasons why people reject the Gospel:

Fear of change, pride and unbelief

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Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” – John 4:10

Many people refer to the “gift of God” in this Scripture as receiving salvation. Though this is in a sense true, I would like to look at it from a different timeline – one in which salvation has already been received.

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Why do I say that? Let’s look at the next few versus.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” – John 4:13-14

Being spiritual beings, all humans will have a void in their hearts that only God can fill. When Jesus talks about water that will make you thirst again, He’s referring to the things that people seek to gratify their souls and to fill that void, but it will only last for a while.

But when we drink the water that He gives, we will never thirst again. What then is Jesus referring to?

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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. – John 15:16

Now to theologians, this Scripture actually refers to the Holy Spirit remaining with us even when we are in Heaven.

So if salvation is something that we receive once and for all (Romans 6:10), why does Jesus say in John 4:14 that we will have a “fountain of water springing up into everlasting life”?

 

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38

The Holy Spirit is given to fill the void in the heart of every believer

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The second reason for why the Holy Spirit was given can be seen a little bit further in John 4:20-22

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Worship is one of the easiest ways for us to physically experience the love of God by feelings His Presence.

But we know that love is a language, and in order for us to communicate that love back to God, we need a means of reaching the spiritual realm of Heaven.

 

 

²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24

The Holy Spirit is given for us to worship the Father in Tongues

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There are many powerful effects of praying and singing in Tongues which we won’t go through in this article, but one of it is for us to worship God in the Spirit, singing mysteries of love and praise to the King of all Kings.

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I really encourage you my brothers and sisters, let 2010 be a year of the manifestation of the Holy Ghost in your life, as you learn to pray and worship God in the spirit, experiencing Him at a whole new level like never before.

 

”Speaking in Tongues is the doorway into the supernatural!”

– Rev Choong Tsih-Ming, Zone Pastor/Bible School Lecturer, City Harvest Church

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God Bless you and have a supernaturally anointed new year ahead!

Ruben Potter

The Word, The Spirit, The Light, The Life

John 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

Scripture introduces the Holy Spirit to us in the new testament as The Word. We know that God is the source of the Word, and Jesus was the Word made flesh. (John 1:14)

But the Holy Spirit is different in many ways, though an equal member of the Trinity, and we’re gonna study more about Him in this blog.

 

The Light and the Life

1. The Holy Spirit is GOD

John 1:3

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

 

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate creator, He is God, the one with no beginning and no end. Everything we see around us, all that is in existence right now came from Him and was made by Him.

Nothing comes into this earth and into your life without His permission, He is sovereign and He reigns over all things.

 

2. The Holy Spirit is our SOURCE OF LIFE

John 1:4

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

 

It is through Him that we live and have our being. (Acts 17:28) Again, everything in creation was created by Him, and is sustained by His power alone.

Light is basically a medium that allows us to either see visually or understand mentally something that previously could not be seen or understood. The fact that we can see and understand that we are alive is “light” or revelation.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
         And a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105

 

3. The Holy Spirit is our DELIVERER from darkness

John 1:5 (NKJV)

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

Darkness in the Bible is often associated to satan and hell. The light of God represents the very nature of God, which is His radiance and His light! The Glory of God is a manifestation of God’s unlimited supernatural power, which He, being the creator processes.

satan can never comprehend or understand this power, and he fears this power with all of his being because it’s the only power in all of creation that can destroy him. And the light of the Holy Spirit is the very force that will enable us to drive satan out of our lives daily.

Friends, stay close to the Holy Spirit and draw from Him daily, only He can protect you from the devil.

 

 

The Light is IN YOU!

Isaiah 60:1-2

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
       and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

² See, darkness covers the earth
       and thick darkness is over the peoples,
       but the LORD rises upon you
       and his glory appears over you.

The light of God being the manifestation of the Holy Spirit lives in YOU.

You are a vessel, a carrier of that great power (2 Corinthians 4:7) and when you have the power of God within you, no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17) and satan can never harm you with spiritual attacks.

 

 

Deliverance from darkness

 

This is the main reason why I wrote this blog, because I sensed in my heart that many of God’s children, even myself, have been facing spiritual attacks from demons and some of us have been gripped by great fear.

But I have a Word for you from the Lord this day, that He wants us to know that it is never His Will for us to live in darkness.

for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
       and your God will be your glory. – Isaiah 60:19

 

And if you are being oppressed by fear right now, I pray my brothers and sisters, for the Blood of Jesus to cover you, and to remind you of why Jesus came and died for you on that Cross, it was for this Scripture to be fulfilled and to be established into your life right this moment.

to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners – Isaiah 61:1

 

There are three things that will set you free from the spirit of fear and darkness, and that is;

1. TONGUES – Pray in the Spirit, demons tremble at the utterance of the Holy Ghost

2. SCRIPTURE – Read & Study the Bible DAILY, the Word of God becoming flesh in your life is the manifestation of God’s Spirit in your life, there’s nothing more powerful on earth

3. WORSHIP – Bring down the Presence of God, the river of life will flow into your spirit and set you free

 

“And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness”

– Romans 6:18

“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
¹⁸ And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.¹⁹ Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

– Luke 10:17-19

Living ‘in’ the moment, or living ‘for’ the moment?

1 Kings 17:12

So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

 

Often people live their lives to gratify the flesh for that moment, without thinking of the consequence of their actions that tomorrow will bring.

Then again, there are people who work so hard for their future, without taking the time to live ‘in’ the present.

Do these two scenarios conflict, or is there a balance?

 

In 1 Kings 17:8-15, we see the story of a Zarephathian widow and her son, who were facing a crisis in their generation, in the form of a famine, and how she chooses to handle the situation.

 

“And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”” – Verse 11

When the servant of the Lord asked her for a morsel of bread, her answer in verse 12 reflected on how she perceived the entire situation.

 

Your response to the present will determine the outcome of your future

There were three issues with the Zarephathian widow’s attitude that prevented her from receiving her breakthrough.

 

1. Lack of faith in God

“So she said, “As the LORD your God lives…”

When we acknowledge the servant of God, we acknowledge God Himself. (Matthew 10:40) And by this widow’s response, it clearly shows how much faith she has.

 

2. Living for herself

”and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son,”

The more you hold on to something, the more you will loose it. When we read about God’s supernatural multiplication in the Bible like the story of the ‘five loaves & two fishes’ in Matthew 14, we expect the Lord to do the same thing for us.

But by refusing God the very little that He asks from you, even if it could be everything you literally own, there is no way that He can multiply ‘nothing’ into ‘something’! You follow?

 

3. Focusing on the negative

”that we may eat it, and die.” – Verse 12

Again, when you respond to the present circumstances of your life negatively, you will reap negative results in your future. (Galatians 6:7)

 

Perspective

“Blessed is he who blesses you,
      And cursed is he who curses you.” – Numbers 24:9

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. – Matthew 18:18

“For he who is not against us is on our side.” – Mark 9:40

 

These three Scriptures are basic illustrations of the parallel perspectives of the human mind. Everything in your life is a result of what YOU perceive them to be.

I recently attended a course by a great coach and multi millionaire by the name of T. Harv Eker, and he said something that I felt was really in line with Dr. Yonggi Cho’s teaching on the Fourth Dimension.

Harv said that everything we have around us and in our lives, is a manifestation of what came forth first from the invisible world (Fourth Dimension) of our minds.

Your outcome is created by your perspective of your circumstances (also known as the PRESENT)

 

The Reason for the Third Dimension

Heaven has no space and time. (Psalms 19 – I will share more about this in future)

There are three main reasons why the Lord created the third dimension and placed us here.

 

1. To teach us patience

“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
         Do not fret… Do not fret—it only causes harm.” – Psalm 37:7,8

 

2. To teach us not to procrastinate

For God says,

   “At just the right time, I heard you.
      On the day of salvation, I helped you.”

   Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

– 2 Corinthians 6:2 (New Living Translation)

 

3. To teach us perspective

“He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:8

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. – Revelation 3:15-16 (New Living Translation)

 

Living in the moment

In closing, the point of the matter here is really about how we should live our lives for eternity. Our lives right now is really nothing more than a rehearsal for eternity.

How then do we live a life that balance the past, the present and the future? These are the words of King David on how he lived a balanced life and walked in God’s constant blessing.

 

Past

“Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” – 2 Samuel 7:18

Present

Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. – 2 Samuel 7:22

Future

“And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. – 2 Samuel 7:28

 

To conclude, I want to leave you with a psalm that has really touched my heart, and I pray that even as you enjoy the Lord’s blessings and council every single day, may you come to a place where this becomes your purpose in life, and the reason why we need to continue living our lives for God’s Kingdom.

“My soul yearns, even faints,
       for the courts of the LORD;
       my heart and my flesh cry out
       for the living God.” – Psalm 84:2

The Love in Worship

Just a thought…

Why do we worship God? Why do you worship the Lord?

What are some of the things that go through your mind when you worship Him?

 

Recently the Lord told me to meditate on a certain Psalm, and as I started to ponder over its meaning, I realized something…

Worship is a two way thing.

 

We worship the Lord because He is Holy and great, and He is worth all our praise and adoration.

Now Jesus doesn’t worship us, because we are created beings. However, in our worship of His greatness, He shows Himself strong to us by His Presence and through His divine intervention over our lives.

And when we put these two together, we see that there is a driving force in worship… and that is love.

 

Back to the question on why we worship God… do we do it out of fear, or out of want, or out of guilt? Or have we come to a place where we can throw aside everything else including our very own lives on the alter, and say “Jesus, I do it out of Love… for You”

 

I heard this song couple of months ago, and I just want to share it with you. To me, it’s a love song between me and my Savior, where in the midst of a very ‘busy’ and hectic earthly life, I just want to stop and remind myself of how important worship really is…

Because when I pause and look back, there’s only one thing that will ever matter… my relationship with my Lord and my Savior, Jesus, the Love of my life (:

 

This is for You Lord… I Love You, always (:

Anointed Authority

Psalms  84:1

How lovely is Your tabernacle,
         O LORD of hosts!

 

In the old testament, the tabernacle in the wilderness was the place where the Lord would appear in His glory and manifest His presence to the people (Ex 29:43, 50:34).

Later on in 2 Chronicles 5, where the cloud of God’s glory fell upon Solomon’s temple, the manifestation was referred to as Shekinah, and this term is commonly used in our day in reference to the mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit.

 

God’s Anointing comes with His Authority 

Jesus was the most anointed man who ever walked on this earth, having a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit in Him. And the reason for the effectiveness of His ministry was because of the authority that the Spirit gives to those whom He anoints.

Matthew 7:28-29

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

 

 

Anointed Authority can give us the following two results:

1. Effective Leadership

Matthew 7:28-29

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

If you are a leader in Church or in the marketplace, the only way to be effective is to move with God’s anointing and His authority.

In Jesus’ time, many of the Scribes and the Pharisees knew Scripture by heart, but they didn’t have a heart for Scripture. And so the people were sick of their hypocrisy.

  But when Jesus came, He was different because He had love and compassion for those He ministered to (Mt 9:36). God commands us to love people fervently (Mt 22:39) and Paul teaches us to bear the fruits of the Spirit, of which the greatest is Love (Gal 5:22-23 and 1 Cor 13:13). And when you minister having such a heart, the Lord will anoint you with His anointing and the Authority that comes with His anointing.

 

2. Confidence

Matthew 8:7 – And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Matthew 8:16 – When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

Matthew 8:29, 31 – And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” … So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”

  Jesus never doubted what He could do. When the multitudes came to Him, He healed them. He didn’t try to heal them, He didn’t pray about healing them, HE JUST DID IT. Even demons knew who He was (ie: His authority) and they pleaded with Him!

When we come to a place where we can realize the power that God has given to us in Matthew 28:18-19, we will have the confidence that Jesus had, where faith is more than just believing, it’s about knowing the power of God and His anointing in our lives.

 

 

In closing, I would like to share with you with the NIV translation of Psalms 84:1

How lovely is your dwelling place,
       O LORD Almighty!

 

When Jesus died, the veil before the holy of holies where the tabernacle of the Lord was kept tore into two, from top to bottom (Mt 27:51), and “top to bottom” tells us that this was an initiation from God, and not men.

Where then, did the glory of God go to when it had escaped from the holy of holies on the day of Jesus’ death?

 

I leave the explanation to the Apostle Luke, the author of the Book of Acts.

Acts 2:1-4

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

4 Patterns of Angelic Visitations

In the Gospel of Matthew, we see a familiar scene of the start of a believer’s new life, and the challenges that they have to go through along with the encounters they experience in their walk with the Lord.

 

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Emphasis given to the words “of the Holy Spirit”. As Christians, many of the fruits that we bear for Christ are of the spirit, and the things of the spirit are foolishness to the world (1 Cor 1:18-25), until the people of the world have had an encounter with the most High themselves.

 

This was the case of Joseph, after finding out that Mary was pregnant, and Scripture in verse 19 hints to us that the real reason that he wanted to divorce her was because he was;

1. “a just man” – Being righteous by your own efforts can lead to pride and boastfulness

2. “not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly” – He was ashamed of Mary, just as many people, even Christians, are ashamed of the Holy Spirit in today’s world.

 

But God never gives up on them. In verse 20,

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Notice that most of this verse in stated in the present tense, telling us that even while the spirit of unbelief is working in us, God is already making a way of escape by convicting people of how real He is.

 

And this is where we begin on how the Lord manifests Himself to us in four key areas of our lives.

1. In a time of Unbelief

This is the area where God always begins, in order to bring us into His Salvation (Mt 1:20). Even after we are saved, there will be trials that will always tempt us to forsake God, and it’s in this time that the Lord will show Himself strong to you, that you may never doubt Him again.

 

2. In a time of danger

Matthew 2:13

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When King Herod heard that there was going to be a new Messiah in Israel, he feared for his position as king, and planned to kill the child. Thus the Lord protected baby Jesus by warning Joseph to depart from the land.

 

3. To test your obedience and faith in God

Matthew 2:19-20

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”

We can see from verse 22 onwards that this was actually a test from God, because God’s original intention was for Jesus to go back to Nazareth and be raised as a Nazarene (Vs. 23)

 

4. God’s Divine intervention and deliverance

We know that God is faithful, and this is the final manifestation of God’s supernatural power we will receive, either in the form of an Angel or the Holy Spirit Himself.

Matthew 2:22

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

 

Now I want to cross reference points 3 and 4 to a familiar story in Genesis 22 on the reason why Abraham became the father of our faith and was found righteous before God.

 

(3. To test your obedience and faith in God)

The Test:

Genesis 22:2

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Abraham’s Obedience

Genesis 22:3

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

And it carries on all the way up to Verse 10.

 

(4. God’s Divine intervention and deliverance)

Genesis 22:11

But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
¹² And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

 

In our Christian walk, we experience encounters with God in many forms, not necessarily by literally seeing Angels, although some of us do have such encounters. All the earth is the Lord’s, and He uses His creation, be it people or circumstances, to guide us, warn us, guard us and make Himself so real to us.

 

And that is the ultimate purpose of the Holy Spirit.

So as we yield to the Lord and desire to solely walk in His ways, I wish you brethren that you will have encounters with the Lord of the highest kind.

Love, Pride and Forgiveness

LOVE

What is LOVE and where is its origin?

 

When we open our Bibles to the very first verse of the very first book, we find in Genesis 1:1 the introduction of Scripture: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

So we can see that before the heavens and the earth, GOD was already present. And the Bible tells us that He is alpha and omega, has no beginning, and has no end. (Rev 1:8)

GOD = BEGINNING and BEGINNING = GOD

When we look back at one of the very first few introductions of GOD in the new testament, we read in John 1:1 that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

WORD = BEGINNING and BEGINNING = WORD

WORD = GOD and GOD = WORD

 

Fast forwarding a bit, the first epistle of John, as theologians date back, was written when the Apostle John was in his older age, having walked with Jesus, experiencing His death and resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, and being involved in the growth and ministry of the first new testament Church, had this to say in 1 John 4:8 -

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

GOD = LOVE

LOVE = GOD

 

So having built our foundation on the origin of Love, which is in God, and God Himself, let’s now look at the purpose of Love.

Love in the Defensive

Jesus tells us to abide in His Love (John 15:9) and that His Love has already been perfected in our lives (1 John 4:12). And like a vine tree, being branches, we cannot grow on our own, which is why we need to cling on to the vine, which is the Lord.

 

Love in the Offensive

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” – Eph 6:17

In the context of the full spiritual armor of God in Ephesians 6, the Sword of the Spirit is the only “offensive” weapon that we are to “use” against the enemy.

From our study above, we can relate the Word of God to God Himself, therefore attributing “God” to “LOVE”. This is the second instance in which LOVE is used as a weapon! Against who?

 

The Victory on the Cross

The reason Satan fell from Heaven was not just for challenging God, there was a deeper reason involved, and that reason is simply PRIDE.

Pride simply comes about as a result of the lack of love. When you love someone unconditionally, you will never do anything to harm that person. What pride does is that it causes a person to think highly of himself, therefore causing selfishness and self-centeredness – even if it causes direct harm to the other party.

 

The Key to Humility and Forgiveness

Most often, pride comes out of unforgiveness. Jesus knew that the only solution to pride or to unforgiveness is simply LOVE.

That is why He chose to die on the Cross, when He could have done otherwise (Mt 26:53). It was His choice, because even if He chose not to die on the Cross, He would still be the Son of God today, as He was from the beginning! But He didn’t, and that is why you and I are saved and sanctified by the Blood of Jesus today.

 

The Cross has given us two victories today

1. The Blood of Jesus brings us forgiveness of our sins

2. The Blood of Jesus brings us back into a LOVE relationship with GOD

 

And this is our daily Christian walk, Loving God wholeheartedly, and Loving People fervently, the Great Commandment (Mt 22:37-38), and the pillar of our Church.

The Power of Love is even greater than simply living our lives on faith and hope (1 Cor 13:13). It is the driving force that will keep us going on for the Lord until eternity.

 

So how do we love one another? Jesus left us the perfect model – Himself.

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”” – Matthew 20:28

Giving a ROCK-SOLID Testimony

As Christians, we are the busiest ‘sales people’ in the world, always going out to win souls for the Kingdom of God. But if we want to learn the ‘secret’ to how the ‘top dogs in our industry’ do it, let’s look at one of the greatest Apostles that ever lived, and what he has to say in that matter.

 

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

1. DO NOT rely on your own strength or understanding, but on the Wisdom of Christ

Paul the Apostle realized where power lies, and that power is not our human wisdom or abilities, but in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. (Ephesians 1:17 and Philippians 3:8)

 

1 Corinthians 2:3

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

2. RELATE to the people you are reaching out to

There’s no better way to put it than in Jesus’ own words in Mt 22:39, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

As Christians we are called to bear the reproach of our Lord and of those around us. (Heb 13:13)

 

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

3. Minister in the SPIRIT

One of the conditions for “Genuine Salvation” by world renowned Healing Evangelist Rev. Benny Hinn is that the new believer must have an “experience” with the Holy Spirit in order to be saved.

An encounter with God is always better than a thousand words of persuasive preaching, because one touch from Heaven is enough to last that believer for their entire lifetime, and that they will know that our God is REAL!

 

In closing, here’s an additional point that Paul mentioned that will help us greatly in learning how to move in the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

 

The root of our Salvation is always to Love Jesus and to acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, thus offering us forgiveness of our sins & eternal lives. (Rom 10:9)

We know that to love Jesus also means to love the Father who sent Jesus (John 16:27), and to love the Holy Spirit that dwelled in Jesus when He was on earth, and now dwells in us! (John 15:26)

Loving God = Loving the Holy Spirit

Mark 16:17

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Loving the Holy Spirit means to be unashamed of the manifestations that He brings into our lives, such as speaking in Tongues and carrying out Signs & Wonders.

When we do that, the Anointing of the Holy Spirit will increase tremendously in our lives (of course along with the amount of time we spend waiting on Him and in His Word) and with His Anointing, we are geared up to be effective witnesses for Christ, testifying the Risen Lord in SPIRIT & IN TRUTH.

It is well with my soul

Just a thought about this beautiful worship song we were singing earlier this week in Church, as I was meditating on the lyrics, I just started to see the picture of why many people fail to see the manifestation of God’s blessings in their lives.

Words from the chorus…

 

Jesus Loves me, calls me His own

To be called “His own” shows that we have an obligation and a responsibility as HIS CHILD, and like all earthly families, a child spends time with his parents. A child waits upon his parents. A child depends on his parents, sometimes even unconditionally and shamelessly!! But that is the closeness and the bond between a parent and a child.

And that is the exact same relationship that the Lord has called us into, whether in the area of spending time in prayer, or meditating on the Word, or even simply just the lifestyles that we live day to day, does it give glory or even acknowledge the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

 

Jesus Loves me, He makes me whole

When we receive Jesus into our lives, Salvation in His Name brings us wholeness in our spirits, for we are saved, and we no longer have that void in our spirits. Salvation in His Name also brings Healing to our physical bodies when we confess it and receive it by faith.

As Christians, when we partake in the Holy Communion, the bread that signifies the Lord’s Body brings healing and wholeness into our physical beings as well.

 

Jesus Loves me, Heart overflows

The Holy Spirit is like a River of Joy that flows out of God’s heart into our own, and when we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, Rivers of water will flow out of our bellies, and our hearts will overflow with the Joy of the Lord.

 

It is well, it is well with my soul

A soul is different from a spirit, whereby a soul actually signifies the thoughts and emotions of a person. Now most often our emotions are always tied with the things that we experience in our earthly realm.

For instance, money. The Bible strongly emphasizes that our emotions are strongly moved by our material processions, for it says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

But many people fail to understand that the Lord is not only concerned with our spiritual well being, but He is also in fact very concerned over our physical well being as well! (Read Mt 6:25-34)

But they key to having material blessings is not to chase after them or become obsessed with worldliness. (Mt 6:19-20)

Jesus gives us the key to having an abundance not just in Heaven, but here on earth. And going back to the basics, it’s all about the Parent-Child relationship that we ought to have with our Heavenly Father…

 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. – Mt 6:33

 

Be Blessed

Trust is an ACT, not a feeling

¹⁸ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
      From those who hated me;
      For they were too strong for me.

¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
      But the LORD was my support.

²⁰ He also brought me out into a broad place;
      He delivered me because He delighted in me.

2 Samuel 22:18-20

 

2 Samuel 22 holds a very popular psalm that King David wrote to the Lord during his kingship over Israel (Psalms 18). These few versus often describe the trials that we go through in our own lives, and the “Goliaths” that we face each day (1 Sam 17).

 

Characteristic of the Enemy: STRONG, “too strong for me”, and often we are tempted to flee from the battleground or like King Saul, to jump ahead of God (1 Sam 13). But God tells us in verse 19 very specifically when He will come to our rescue.

“They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
      But the LORD was my support.”

We know the promises of God. Most Christians often have their Bibles less than a foot away from them at all times, some of us even have PDA Bibles or online Bibles that we have access to any time of the day, BUT most of us forget what God is able to do and we go into panic mode.

But King David says, “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. – 2 Samuel 22:31

 

Once we trust in the Lord, verse 20 tells us that God brings us out into a broad place and that God delivered King David because He (the Lord) delighted in him (David)!

Now if we want to know what we must do in order for God to delight in us, let’s look at David’s own life and what exactly he did to please God.

 

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” – 1 Sam 13:14

There are two things in David which delighted the Lord.

 

1. A man after His own heart

Having a heart after God’s heart is not easy because it requires the laying down of one’s pride, desires and even lifestyle, for obedience to God must be unconditional.

There is an old song in our Church, that goes like this.

Create in me, a new heart, one that follows You… Place in me, a deep desire, to know You as I’m known… Set my feet, in Your ways, to be worthy of Your call… Draw me near, to You Lord, every single day…

And that’s what it takes to have a heart after God – complete obedience.

Trust is an Act of OBEDIENCE to the VOICE of God.

 

2. A man who kept His commandments

Throughout the history of King Saul’s reign, he repeatedly broke God’s commandments and was not at all remorseful of them.

In 1 Sam 13:11, Saul went ahead of the Prophet Samuel and offered up the burnt offering to the Lord, and when Samuel appeared, Saul pushed the blame to the PEOPLE, instead of being sorry.

In 1 Sam 15, Saul, having been given a clear and direct instruction from Samuel to “utterly destroy ALL that they have" (talking about the Amalekites that Israel were to attack), went against the Word of God and spared the best of the land for himself!

And yet again in verse 21, he blamed it on the people!

 

Now let’s look in comparison to King David.

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits adultery with Bathsheba, and in 2 Sam 12:7, the Prophet Nathan confronts David with a Word from the Lord, and look at what David does.

In verse 13, David replies “I have sinned against the Lord.” And following that is what is well known today as the Psalm of Penance in Psalms 51, where David comes before the Lord with a broken and contrite spirit and pleads the Lord’s forgiveness.

 

Friends, God does not expect us to live a perfect life without sin, which is why He gave us His Grace in Jesus to wash away our sin continually until eternity (Rom 5). But what God wants is a repentant heart, one that always strives to be one with God, that even when sin gets in the way, a faithful heart is not one that never falls, but it is one that will always get up and walk again when it falls.

Trust is an Act of OBEDIENCE to the WORD of God.

 

In closing, let me just summarize this post. Being human beings in this world, we will always face the temptation to compromise on our spiritual values and follow the way of the world. But Psalms 37 tells us,

Do not fret because of evildoers,
         Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
         And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.

 

Let us always remain steadfast in our faith, trusting the Lord BY Obeying His Voice and His Word, always remembering that when He delights in us, He will help at exactly the right moment, for He is God, and He knows how to deliver His people who call upon His Name.