26th Sept 2010
Two Korean Christian Musicians came to HGC and shared their testimonies and music.
The Lord's awesome presence came down and touched many lives.
Bro Goh age 44 - Saxophonist for Jesus
He comes from a poor family and was a non Christian.
At 14 he was playing saxophone in night clubs.
In God’s goodness he married a Christian wife and had a son.
A tragedy struck him when he was 35. He found himself bleeding through his nose and passing out blood. Within a month he went down from 70 kg to 48 kg. Upon admission into a hospital he went down to 38 kg after another 15 days. In that lowest moment of his life he attempted suicide but was not successful. He went home to see his wife and was confronted by the cross that hung on the wall. At that point God reminded him that when he was 14 he has made a commitment to God that he will serve Him. He immediately responded to God by going into the street to play his saxophone for Jesus. That same week he went to church and he was still bleeding. The next week he went to church and his bleeding stopped and he was able to pass motion. From then on he kept recovering and till this day he has not been on medication. The Lord miraculously healed him. Even now the doctors have told him that he cannot play saxophone. But with God’s help he has been playing beautiful music all over the places to glorify Jesus. This year he has conducted 160 concerts.
He shared that he regretted not serving God earlier.
He shared that when he was healthy he did not serve God and now in such a state he is serving God.
On that I shared that when he was strong and healthy he didn’t need God.
Now that he needed God, God can use him.
God will not use self sufficient, self confident and unbroken vessels.
Now that he is weak, God can be strong through him.
Goh felt such deep gratitude to God. He expressed that he desired to kneel before God more since he can’t kneel according to the doctors.
I was very touch when he shared that if God don’t bless him, he will still serve God.
He will serve God not because God will bless him.
He will serve God because he is so thankful to God for what He has already done for him in giving him Jesus!
Goh’s theme verse is Acts 20:23-24
(Act 20:23 NKJV) except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
(Act 20:24 NKJV) But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
When Goh played in church today the anointing of the Holy Spirit was released in a powerful and gentle way. Many lives were touch and many were shedding tears of comfort through the music and songs.
A final word from Goh is …God is the living God! He is so real!
Lino Pak – Drummer for Jesus
Lino is 28 years old and is Korea's number 1 drummer.
He played drums on TV shows.
He currently is the CEO of an entertainment co.
He manages many Korean musical celebrities.
He started playing drums at 8.
When he was 20 he was offered to play in Europe’s top rock band at a great renumeration.
However after praying at the prayer mountain, the Lord told him to reject the offer. He obeyed and gave up the offer. Following that he fell into many trials and the worst of it was that he went blind. He was not able to see for 8 months. He had no other help but to seek God and humbled himself and emptied himself before God. He stood firm in his faith in God and despite having severe pain in many parts of his body he offered his drum skills to the Lord. He now devotes much of his time to music in Youth Ministry.
His anointed drum playing has touched and set free many young people.
When Lino played in church today many felt a tremendous anointing released.
A sister was trembling all over being anointed by the Holy Spirit. Another sister felt the anointing and was stirred to dance before the Lord.
Lino played with such great intensity.
We can see that he gave his best, his all, with all his heart to glorify Jesus.
It’s a powerful testimony that the BEST MUSICIANS find worshipping God with their best, with all their hearts, the MOST FULFILLING, SATISFYING AND MEANINGFUL pursuit in life!
ALL GLORY TO JESUS OUR WONDERFUL SAVIOUR!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Missions Convention 2010
This year's Mission Convention was a powerful and impactful one.
The theme was REACHING OUT WITH GREATER IMPACT.
Our speaker is Pastor Christine Phang who together with her husband Pastor Tony Phang went to Kenya as missionaries in 1992 when they were 28 years old. The Lord used them in a tremendous way to raise workers for churches through the Bible School that they started there in 1992. The Lord also use them to start an orphanage that began with 7 street children and now has 800 children. Then in 2000 they started a church with 20 members. Today the church has some 400 members. in 2009, after more than 16 years in Kenya, the Lord called them back to Klang, to lead the Glad Tidings church.
Amongst many wonderful stories and teachings shared I would like to share the following:-
- God wants us to step out in faith. When we do that the signs and wonders will follow. If we don't step out the signs and wonders will be locked up. We don't need to pray for the signs and wonders. We just follow God and obey Him and the signs and wonders will follow us.
- Obeying God is never a sacrifice. It is alwasy a blessing, a great blessing. On the other hand disobedience is costly. Disobedience will cost you all of God's richest blessings. Ps Christine shared how their obedience to God to go to Kenya brought great blessings. There was the blessings of children. They went there with no children and the Lord blessed them with 2 beautiful and godly girls. She discovered that she was not able to have children but through the love, support and prayers of the saints God blessed her with 2 miracle daughters, Kathryn and Vicky. Some friends shared their concern that they must sacrificed much for their children's future. But Ps Christine shared that their daughters received the best education in a Missionary school there. Their teachers are from US and gave them the best. Today they are mature, wise, loving and bold. Most of all they have an intimate relationship with the Lord. To add to that I see that God has really blessed Ps Christine and her husband with a great church of more than 1000 members in Klang as their senior pastor. Surely they experienced Matt 6:33 in their lives. Surely there are great rewards in heaven as well. Only eternity will tell the impact they made in obeying God to go to Kenya and served there.
- We were greatly stirred by the compassion of Jesus flowing through Ps Christine in the way she gave her heart and all for the children in the orphanage. The Lord spoke to Ps Christine that she is to treat the children in the orphanage as her own children, and to do all that she would do for them as she would do for her own children.
- They experienced miracles after miracles of divine providence, protection, power and great fruitfulness.
- In their last assignment, God opened a door for Ps Tony to teach in a Christian university and that opened the door to minister to Pastors from all over Africa who came to study.
Many were challenged to rise up for Jesus and fulfill HIS GREAT COMMISSION!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wise or Foolish
Wise or Foolish - it's a matter of whether you have EXTRA Oil!
According to Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, the difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins was that the wise had extra oil and the foolish had no extra oil.
(Mat 25:3 GW) The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn't take any extra oil.
(Mat 25:4 GW) The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps.
That difference MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
It was a difference of being IN or OUT of the wedding feast!
It will make a difference between HEAVEN or HELL!
But how do you and I know that we have extra oil now.
Oil is necessary for light.
No more oil meant no more light.
Fire and light is absolutely vital in the dark, especially in the dark jungle or wilderness where wild animals roam in the dark to hunt their preys.
Spiritually we will be easy targets of demons when our lives have no more oil to burn.
WHAT IS OUR LIGHT?
If you have oil you will shine!
Jesus said in (Mat 5:14 NKJV) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So oil will give light and the light is our good works. Good works done with the love, hope and faith poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Ep 2:10 The good works are the righteous deeds of the saints that are described as being “arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” Rev 19:8 The righteous acts are described by Jesus as acks of kindness shown to the poor and needy , the “least of My brethren”. Matt 25:40
HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU HAVE EXTRA OIL
Using the conclusion that light is our good works done in His name, with His love and life to help the poor and needy, a way to measure whether we have extra oil is to see if your life still continues to shine forth love and goodness after you have done some good works. If after doing some good works you don’t want to have anything to do with helping others. Or you show impatience and selfishness towards people around you, then you have run out of oil. That is, you have no extra oil in your life.
A worst scenario would be if the call or opportunity to do good works comes before us and we totally ignore it or feel no urge whatsoever to do some charity. It meant we have no oil to begin with in the first place.
HOW DO YOU GET EXTRA OIL
Jesus seems to have a reserviour of oil in His life. He seems to be continuously doing good. Even when He gets weary and tired He will still be doing good to meet the desperate needs of the poor. A main key to Him having so much oil to shine even in the darkest and longest “night” is found in His prayer life. Jesus often rose early before dawn to pray and seek the face of God. Often He withdrew Himself from the crowds and busyness to spend time with the Father. Sometimes He would spend the whole night in prayer. At the Garden of Gethsemane (which means an olive press where olives are crushed to squeeze out the oil) Jesus prayed till His sweat became like drops of blood. Oil was virtually crushed out from Him. He was collecting so much more oil, so much extra oil to perform His greatest act of love, His greatest “good work” on the cross.
How do you and I get the extra oil? By spending time in prayer with God. By humbling ourselves in total submission to His will in our lives. By being filled again and again by the Holy Spirit.
WHAT THE EXTRA OIL CAN DO
Jesus had the extra oil, in fact He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to give His life as a willing, loving sacrifice, as a perfect and total ransom for all the sinners of the world. He collected so much oil that on the cross, He can pray for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him. He had so much oil that He did not revile back at those who mocked Him but blessed them. He had so much oil He saved one of the murderer crucified next to Him. He had so much oil that He took care of Mary, His earthly mother while bearing all the stripes and wounds all over His body. Extraordinary? Indeed! And it’s only possible because He had the extra oil!
In the same way when you and I have the extra oil we can forgive those hurt us, cheat us, abuse us, use us and curse us. We can continue to give to them, to bless them, to help them and love them. We can still go on being good and kind even when we ourselves are suffering and in pain. Even though we may get so tired, we will still continue to serve God and others in His name.
According to Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, the difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins was that the wise had extra oil and the foolish had no extra oil.
(Mat 25:3 GW) The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn't take any extra oil.
(Mat 25:4 GW) The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps.
That difference MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
It was a difference of being IN or OUT of the wedding feast!
It will make a difference between HEAVEN or HELL!
But how do you and I know that we have extra oil now.
Oil is necessary for light.
No more oil meant no more light.
Fire and light is absolutely vital in the dark, especially in the dark jungle or wilderness where wild animals roam in the dark to hunt their preys.
Spiritually we will be easy targets of demons when our lives have no more oil to burn.
WHAT IS OUR LIGHT?
If you have oil you will shine!
Jesus said in (Mat 5:14 NKJV) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
(Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So oil will give light and the light is our good works. Good works done with the love, hope and faith poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Ep 2:10 The good works are the righteous deeds of the saints that are described as being “arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” Rev 19:8 The righteous acts are described by Jesus as acks of kindness shown to the poor and needy , the “least of My brethren”. Matt 25:40
HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU HAVE EXTRA OIL
Using the conclusion that light is our good works done in His name, with His love and life to help the poor and needy, a way to measure whether we have extra oil is to see if your life still continues to shine forth love and goodness after you have done some good works. If after doing some good works you don’t want to have anything to do with helping others. Or you show impatience and selfishness towards people around you, then you have run out of oil. That is, you have no extra oil in your life.
A worst scenario would be if the call or opportunity to do good works comes before us and we totally ignore it or feel no urge whatsoever to do some charity. It meant we have no oil to begin with in the first place.
HOW DO YOU GET EXTRA OIL
Jesus seems to have a reserviour of oil in His life. He seems to be continuously doing good. Even when He gets weary and tired He will still be doing good to meet the desperate needs of the poor. A main key to Him having so much oil to shine even in the darkest and longest “night” is found in His prayer life. Jesus often rose early before dawn to pray and seek the face of God. Often He withdrew Himself from the crowds and busyness to spend time with the Father. Sometimes He would spend the whole night in prayer. At the Garden of Gethsemane (which means an olive press where olives are crushed to squeeze out the oil) Jesus prayed till His sweat became like drops of blood. Oil was virtually crushed out from Him. He was collecting so much more oil, so much extra oil to perform His greatest act of love, His greatest “good work” on the cross.
How do you and I get the extra oil? By spending time in prayer with God. By humbling ourselves in total submission to His will in our lives. By being filled again and again by the Holy Spirit.
WHAT THE EXTRA OIL CAN DO
Jesus had the extra oil, in fact He had the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to give His life as a willing, loving sacrifice, as a perfect and total ransom for all the sinners of the world. He collected so much oil that on the cross, He can pray for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him. He had so much oil that He did not revile back at those who mocked Him but blessed them. He had so much oil He saved one of the murderer crucified next to Him. He had so much oil that He took care of Mary, His earthly mother while bearing all the stripes and wounds all over His body. Extraordinary? Indeed! And it’s only possible because He had the extra oil!
In the same way when you and I have the extra oil we can forgive those hurt us, cheat us, abuse us, use us and curse us. We can continue to give to them, to bless them, to help them and love them. We can still go on being good and kind even when we ourselves are suffering and in pain. Even though we may get so tired, we will still continue to serve God and others in His name.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
90% Thanksgiving 10% Request
90% Thanksgiving 10% Request, this is what our prayer life ought to be, says Dr Juan Carlos Ortiz, the author of the book DISCIPLE, who was speaking at the dawn prayer meetings at the Korean Open Church in Ampang. I attended the prayer meetings which starts at 5 am every morning and was greatly blessed by the teachings. He stressed that GOD has already given us everything in Christ. He has also given us His Spirit to be with us, to be in our hearts, to help, teach, guide, counsel us to live an abundant life. He said that much of our prayers are useless because we ask God for what He has already given us.
From the teachings I asked the Lord for the following:-
From the teachings I asked the Lord for the following:-
- That I will give thanks more for what HE has already given me in Christ.
- That I will seek to know and appreciate more of all that GOD has already given me in Christ in His Word so that I can live in them fully and thank God for them.
- That the Lord will give me wisdom to use, to apply and live out all that He has given me in Christ
- That I will spend more of my prayer time to know Him more and more intimately as my Father and my friend
- That I will be filled with the Holy Spirit continuously and be empowered to live the Christ life fully
- That I may know and submit to my Lord Christ, the Head of my life
- That I may know who I am in Christ as a member of His Body
I'm reminded of a very important verse
(1Co 2:12 NKJV) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
O precious Holy Spirit help and teach us to pray aright!
Definition of Evil
Evil is the absense of Good! Says Kelvin Lim of ChangeYourWorld during the Tour in Sunway Convention Centre on Saturday 4th Sept.
Therefore to overcome evil in our world and make a difference, we need to do good.
All it takes for evil to continue is for good man to do nothing!
We, Christians have Christ, the "GOOD & PERFECT MAN, dwelling in us.
Let's arise and live out His life of goodness!
Let's do good. Let's care for the people around us. Let's love by helping, by contributing, by giving, by speaking kindness.
Jesus said, (Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Therefore to overcome evil in our world and make a difference, we need to do good.
All it takes for evil to continue is for good man to do nothing!
We, Christians have Christ, the "GOOD & PERFECT MAN, dwelling in us.
Let's arise and live out His life of goodness!
Let's do good. Let's care for the people around us. Let's love by helping, by contributing, by giving, by speaking kindness.
Jesus said, (Mat 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
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