Redefining

I am reminded today that anything we do for God without His leading and power is like blowing at the wind.

All the words a person could say of themselves - no matter how skillfully crafted - can never do what one word from God can.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Rom 12:2

Heart with Excellence

On Sunday, around our worship team Evaluation table, we talked about engaging in worship so that the congregation are able to be encouraged and led by the way we connect with God on stage. It brought up the age-old question about keeping the balance between technical excellence and sincerity. The following points came up during our discussion:

• It is no testimony to the world when a band is out of sync, out of tune and out of touch with the congregation
• The worship team can be the thermostat for the rest of the service

On the other hand:

• Not everyone engages in worship by singing or playing music
• if we focus too much on 'looking' engaged, it can build a sort of fakeness, a spiritual facade that is actually more dangerous than honesty about how one is feeling
• God has all the perfect music in heaven He could want, and yet He prefers our worship
• God is more pleased with a sincere worshipper who is out of tune than a slick performer who does not engage their hearts with Him

If God wanted perfect performance, He already has plenty of it in Heaven and yet, He comes down into our little gatherings, sits with you in your car as you sing to Him and treasures those moments far more than the heavenly music around His throne. I have heard of cracked, off-tune voices that bring down the glory of God. Why? It is because He loves the music of our hearts when we engage in spending quality time in His presence: He responds to our hearts cry,a the music we make deep within our souls as we turn our eyes on Him and behold His majesty and goodness in awe.

The way we worship may not be through music. It could be, for example, through prayer, acts of service or gratitude. We should practice worshipping God in all these ways throughout our lives precisely because worship is not a pose or activity - it is a sincere offering of acknowledgement and adoration through a personal connection with God in whatever form that might take. All these acts of worship produce a beautiful harmony of music that is sweet to the ears of God.

 This leads to a question that God challenged me with, and that I now challenge you with: could you enjoy your time of worship with great music in a big Church as equally as when you are in a small group of people who all sing off-key? If our answer is 'maybe not!', it means we have not tuned our hearts to the key of heaven. We miss the point of worship if we rely on good music to connect.

I've written previously about we may end up worshipping the music rather than God Himself - and it is a very real danger in our secular, performance-driven society.

At the same time, it would be wrong if a band does not make the most of the skill they have been given, and hone it to the best of their ability. Not every band is world-class but I believe in stewardship of the gifts we have been given. If you are using some kind of skill in a worship team - whether it is musical or technical - neither look down on it nor serve it: use it to bless the Lord, and the people He loves. In order to do so, you may need to improve your technique so that you are more able to match what you hear inside your heart to the sound that reaches people's ears.

I have concluded that a band that stewards their gifts well does so as a testimony to the world to their sincerity and love for God. If they happen to be amazingly gifted and produce albums that not only compels the secular entertainment industry to respect them but also moves people closer to God, then that is their gift, their anointing and their lot, and this too is also a testimony. Music, after all, first comes from God. It is only logical that those closest to Him should also be some of the best at performing it. And yet, not everyone is gifted in this way. Every band has their gift and their place - but all are called to honour God and connect His people to Him. All are called to bring heaven down to earth, and God's presence to the needy. Worship teams are not your regular band: they are instruments of God connecting the divine to the earthly.

The heart comes first, but at the same time, we must steward our gifts well. If you are part of a worship team, I encourage you to reflect on where both your heart, and your skills are at when you worship God.

Source: http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ehow/images/a07/mh/nm/church-band-instruments-800x800.jpg

Let the Redeemed Say So

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the army. Psa 107:2
Speaker: Ps. Jasmine

You are redeemed! The redeemed of the Lord are then His temples where His Spirit dwells (1 Cor 6:19-20). As His temples, we are called to be instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13).

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who carry His presence (Rom 8:1) because you are justified by Jesus' Name; know for certain now that you belong to Jesus and He belongs to you - and not only this: He also makes you able to serve Him.

To serve Him is to carry out His mission for which you have been sent: to manifest the Kingdom of God to those around you and introduce Jesus to those who do not know Him. Your mantra becomes "share, live for Christ and see souls saved". Your mission field is first your family, then your friends, classmates and work colleagues.

Revelations 12:11 tells us, "[the saints] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

On a practical level, we overcome when we do not live for ourselves but for the One who died for us, and rose again, and stand in the power of His blood. Yet, we are also conquerors by identity because we are co-heirs with Christ, who has put all His enemies under His feet. If you know that you are a conqueror, then you will not be affected by rejection or the opinions of people and will continue to carry out your mission with faithfulness and His power.

Jesus is always with you. You ARE an overcomer. You will be a great minister in His Name. And God has called you to be you - not anyone else. You do not need to meddle in other people's mission fields or try to minister the way someone else does. You need to do it the way God has already equipped you: that is where you will be the most effective.

How do we introduce Jesus? When someone finds a great restaurant, or new singer or game that they admire, they recommend it to friends and rave about it. Let's introduce Jesus to our friends and rave about Him!

You are beloved servants of Christ. You are not your own (1 Cor 6:19). Your life and your body is for the Lord to serve Him (1 Cor 6:12-13). So be alert throughout your day and be available to share, encourage and introduce Jesus to others so that they may have a living, powerful hope, and see God's light in this dark world.

Camp 2012 S5: Loving Obedience =>Christlikeness =>Power

Loving Obedience => Christlikeness => Power  - Melissa Yong
Camp 2012: The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me, Session 5

Acts 19:13-17 gives an arresting account that goes like this:

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying,
"We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."
Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
The the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of Jesus was magnified.

Bear in mind that the Bible is not just a bunch of made up stories - it inclues historical accounts of events that actually happened, many having being verified by contemporary historians, manuscripts and archaeological findings.

This passage tells us something that is very key to living and demonstrating the power of God: we must resemble Jesus. How do we get there? First of all, you need to understand that the nature of Jesus Christ was birthed into you when you accepted Him as Lord and Saviour; you are ABLE to be like Him! Next is obedience.

Loving Obedience
There are different levels of obedience: there is reluctant obedience, dutiful obedience, and obedience borne of love for the Lord and the desire to make Him smile. We all need to start somewhere but we all need to come to the point of loving obedience: we obey because we genuinely choose and want to.

Obedience isn't just about keeping the 10 commandments; it is about keeping the heart of God's law, surrendering our own right to do what we want in order to live the way God has commanded. The one thing that ties the whole of His commandments together is love: love for God compels us to live sanctified lives dedicated for His purpose, not ours. This will in turn be demonstrated by love for others

A lifestyle of consistent obedience to God transforms us into Christ's likeness.

The Reason Why
Why does it have to be the progression from obedience to Christlikeness before we can wield the kind of power that Jesus had, that the disciples had? Because: 1) it is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God (Zech 4:6), 2) we are not of this world.


The power of God is not in effort, nor in intent. It is by His Spirit that people are transformed, made whole, relationships and lives restored. It is also by His Spirit that our new nature - that provides the access to God's power through identity as children of God, and through legal right as co-heirs with Christ - was created.

If we want any hope of operating in His power, we cannot live contrary to its nature - otherwise, we just get in the way of what God wants to do. The nature of the power of God is the nature of God himself: love, justice, truth, righteousness, meekness - and the list goes on. Jesus' Name is powerful but just wielding His Name like the seven sons of Sceva is not enough. The person who is submitted under authority has the authority of the person they are submitted to.

It is the difference between being one of James Packer's innumerable employees, and being his best friend or executive associate. The employee cannot say 'I know James Packer' or act in his interests with as much authority as his best friend or executive associates.

In the same way, many Christians know ABOUT God but have not made the time to know Him intimately and carry His presence. Many Christians haven't consciously experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in everyday life. How can we expect to see miracles everyday, face demons and display the Kingdom of Heaven if we don't really know it or its King ourselves?

The Purpose
The purpose of power is not for self-fulfillment, but for fulfilling the desire of our King to find and restore the lost, needy and hurting. He calls it 'reaping the harvest'. There are so many out there who need to be brought into His Kingdom in order for them to experience the fullness of life He meant for them to have. He has called you and I to bring in the harvest.

Let's commit to consistently and purposefully laying down the right to govern our own lives in order to bring it under the authority of Jesus Christ. As we do this, we will find that His unbounded power is waiting to be unleashed on the works of Satan and bring restoration to a hurting world.

Camp 2012 S4: Redefining Success

Redefining Success - Jonathan Poh
Camp 2012: The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me, Session 4

Success is not in what you do; success is knowing your identity in Christ [and living it out]. The following three 'P's illustrate what His Church looks like, and the calling which we have been given.

Pursue His Presence
Pursuing God's presence is the greatest and most principal thing. The fruits of such a lifestyle establishes our foundation, grounds us in His love and is our primary calling - Psa 27:4. It is in His presence that we find the most fulfillment, and the centre of God's heart for the Purpose He sends us to accomplish.

Pursue His Purpose
Purpose helps define what you do and who you are.
Purpose comes out of intimacy with God - Matt 28:17-19

Pursue His Power
John 14:12 says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
Power is needed to complete the Purpose God created us for.

Ekklesia - it is a Greek word that is translated in the Bible as 'Church' or assembly. To the Greeks, however,  it connoted a group of people who governed a people and made laws - like a parliament. To the Romans, it was people who infiltrated and transformed spheres of society to change them and make them like Romans.

Christ-followers should be reaching the "seven mountains of influence" in society and transforming them into areas of integrity, godliness, justice and truth - like the Kingdom of Heaven. And it doesn't end there - we are called to disciple the nations: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations..." (Matt 28:19

If you want to be a person of significance, it is important to re-align our definition of success with God's: it is knowing and living out your identity in Christ. Pursue His presence, purpose and power with all your being.

Just Step Out

Sometimes we wait for God to act before we do; but this isn't always the way God works!

I listened today to a message where a guy called Ray Vander Laan explained social, geographical and historical background to passages in the Bible in a Focus on the Family series called 'That the World May Know'. He explained that because of the nature of the Jordan River, once you step in, you're in, possibly over your head!

He brought out an important point that I want to share with you today: if the priests of Joshua's time had said, "I'll wait here till God parts the water, then I'll step in," they would have never entered their Promised Land. The Bible says in Joshua 3:15:

"as those wo bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city beside Zarephath.
So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho."

God acted as He said He would when they stepped into the river, not before. It requires faith and total commitment - but that's exactly what God responds to. Just as in Daniel's day when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were willing to go all the way into the furnace because they refused to compromise on their obedience to God, God stepped in when the situation had gone to the stage where they would have been impossible to rescue (see my post From the Fire to see more on this).

Let's not be afraid to give God our total commitment when He calls you to do something: just step out in faith and obedience; He's waiting to show Himself strong to you. Step in and watch Him work on your behalf!

image sourced from http://trainingwithmatt.com/archives/908

Marriage in Australia

It's time to make your voice count for an issue that will affect the social fabric of Australia for the generations that come after us: marriage.

Australia is poised to make a decision about whether the definition of marriage should be revised to include same-sex marriage. The current definition is: "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life". This nation was built on Biblical principles - yes there have been mistakes about racial equality - but the Bible is clear about same-sex relationships:

Rom 1:24-27: 

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator...for this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

Likewise also men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 

1 Cor 6:9:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, not homosexuals, nor sodomites... 

Lev 18:22
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

Anyone who tries to prove that the Bible says otherwise twists the truth to their own hurt. God designed us in a specific way; perversion of our natural design causes physical disease, spiritual and emotional death. Every nation that built itself on Biblical principles has prospered; when these nations move away from their founding principles, they open the floodgates to the consequences of rebellion against our original design and grieves the heart of our Creator.

Let every Christian who has a heart for this nation now fight on their knees to move heaven and earth so that its people live in righteousness, blessing and power. And let the government know - because they want to hear from you!

Go to this website and complete the survey: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=spla%2Fbill+marriage%2Findex.htm

Camp 2012 S3: God Qualifies the Called

God Qualifies the Called - Rachel Poh
Camp 2012: The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me, Session 3

God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called. He is looking for people who just take Him at His Word and act on it. He wants people who put up their hand and say, 'Pick me!', then He will change you and mould your character.

Rachel shared how before she caught hold of God, she was a very quiet, shy person. Then, when she realised that God was more real than she thought, she decided to act on His words. When she heard that if she prayed for people, they would be healed, she decided to do just that.

The first time she set out to do this, she spotted a girl limping along in a car park with her knee in a bandage. Rachel explained that she had just found out that she could pray for people with healing and asked if she could pray for her. The girl did not seem very convinced but allowed her to pray. After the first time, the girl tested her leg and announced that nothing had changed. Undaunted, Rachel prayed again - but again, nothing changed. Disappointed, Rachel let her go. Later, she spotted the girl again walking normally without the bandage.

"Hey!" she called, "what happened?"
"Oh hey," replied the girl, "it's all good now so I took off the bandage. Thanks."Then she strode away.

Rachel was left scratching her head. She wasn't sure if the girl was actually healed or not. She looked for a second person to pray for. She found a second girl with her leg elevated and her knee under ice, obviously in great pain, and asked if she could pray for her. The girl assented.

Again, the first prayer brought no immediate change. Rachel prayed a second time, but this time the girl tested her knee with a very perplexed look on her face. She jumped up, flexing it without difficulty, then exclaimed, "What did you do to it?!" She too could throw away her ice.

Later on, Rachel found a guy who had injured his thumb so that the joint in his palm had ballooned significantly. Rachel laid her hand on the swelling and asked the Kingdom of Heaven to come upon it. As soon as she took her hand away from the boy's hand, she jumped back in astonishment - it had reduced in swelling by at least half. This was the beginning of a habit since to look for people to pray for and release the power of God on their behalf.

She shared how we could look for opportunities to do this in everyday life. One day, she was at a tram stop with a friend who seemed to have some neck pain. Rachel asked about it, and her friend said, "Oh, don't worry about it. It's just some mild pain - no big deal." However, Rachel encouraged her and the friend let her pray for her.
Rachel positioned her hands some distance from her friend's neck without touching it and prayed - nothing. She prayed again, and felt suddenly very warm, and her hands burned hot although she was not touching her friend. She thought perhaps that it was the weather.
When she finished praying, her friend's expression was of shock and surprise: "The pain is gone - and - my neck got really hot!" Rachel was amazed, "My hands got really hot!"

We serve a mighty, living God who is waiting to back us up with signs and wonders if we step out in faith! Will you be one of those who makes themselves available and just says, "Pick me!"?

Camp 2012 S2: God's Design + New Creation Identity= Purpose with Power

Camp 2012: The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me, Session 2
Speaker: Melissa Yong

We cannot live with strong purpose if we do not embrace our God-given identity. This applies both individually, and corporately. We are hindered from walking in the full power of the Spirit if we do not embrace BOTH God's Design AND our New Creation identity created in us the day we chose the Lord as our God.

We need to see God's design in all aspects of your life and embrace it.
Every part of you, down to the colour of your eyes was created for a purpose. Your family, socio-economic status as you grew up, the race you are - all of it is in God's design.

I talk often about a story about Amy Carmichael, a missionary around the turn of the century from India who wrote that as a little girl, she envied her mother's beautiful blue eyes. She would pray for blue eyes but wake up the next morning, disappointed. But when she became a missionary, she would one day find herself darkening her skin with pigment, putting on a sari, walking into the dark temples and carry out the little girls who were being forced to participate in sexual religious rites. They were being abused and often ill-treated, and it was she, with her brown eyes who was able to rescue them.

You might never know the reasons for all that you are and look like - but every single thing about you positions you uniquely for a role, influence and connections that no one else will have.

For those with tragic, difficult stories, I offer this: while we are not able to see the big picture, I propose that the mistakes and weaknesses of ourselves, and of our ancestors, as well as the work of the enemy have a big part to play in any brokenness or tragedy in our stories. God's great mercy is that He can use all of that brokenness to make something both beautiful and good to come out of it. Trust Him. He will both heal you and use your story to heal others.

We need to work on our character flaws in humility and obedience to God.
If we would turn to God about our character flaws, He will not only help you, but use the same struggles you have to become gateways to wisdom, experiences with the love and power of God, and enable you to relate to the people you were created to reach out to.

We need to know our Identity in Christ.
You are Beloved (1 John 3:1)
You are Accepted (John 1:12)
You are Righteous (2 Cor 5:21)
You are Powerful (Rom 8:16-17, Rev 1:6)

Our Full Identity is BOTH God's Initial Design AND Identity in Christ
We only live out our FULL identity and potential when we:

• Accept God's design with thanksgiving. Acceptance of this leads transformation as we relax into what we were created to be.
  For example, Mum often talks about the transformation that occurred in her life when she found out that she was beloved by God. Previously, she had thought that she was ugly and felt rejected. After she found out her identity in God was as His beloved, and that this awesome, mighty God was at her side, she transformed from a painfully quiet girl who often cried into confident girl who was quite at home with telling strangers about the gospel and preaching in front of many people.
  Accepting God's design for our lives allows us to blossom.
• Walk closely with God in humility and obedience.
  When we walking closely with God, we get to know His heartbeat, His love for the world, and His pressing desire to make them whole. All of us have been given a passion: something we're great at doing and love to do. Connecting this to the heart of God gives us a purpose to our passion.
  When we then follow God in humility and obedience, we learn wisdom and walk in HIS power, not our own limited understanding.

Accepting God's design requires faith and trust, but it yields character transformation. Walking closely with God requires humility, obedience and some effort but it connects you to your purpose, and the power you need to get it done.

Daniel in the Plan of God

Daniel could have counted himself extremely ill-treated by God. He was violently carried away from his family, his country torched and ravaged, friends and family killed or separated from him - perhaps never to be seen again - to a foreign nation and uncertain future.

He could have tried to pretend to never be a Hebrew again since being one caused so much trouble in the first place. But from the very first chapter in the book of Daniel, we see him holding tightly to his identity as a Hebrew. The Chaldeans conquered each land with military force, then made sure that they would never rise against them by assimilating the vanquished into Chaldean culture until they lost their own roots and became just like the conquerors. This is what they tried to do to Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego.

Yet, they continued to observe the law of God - even when it was inconvenient to. They with wisdom and respect showed that they not only born of noble families, but noble in character also - which brings me to my next point: Daniel and his friends were brought into their position at the King's court precisely because of God's design in their family, appearance and skill-set.

Daniel 1:3-4 tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar instructed his eunuchs to find Hebrew young men from the King's line or noble families who were both good looking and smart. Daniel and his friends fit the bill to the T. They could have tried to deny their noble upbringing, or thought their smartness to be a curse because for these very things they were separated from their friends and families - but they accepted God's design for them. They could have rejected, railed and denied their captive circumstances, but they determined to make the best of them, and to honour God while they were at it.

So because of their acceptance of both God's design in their lives, and their identity as chosen people of God, they stuck fast to God, honoured Him and were empowered to interpret the King's dreams, move the Kings' hearts, and thus influence the nation's laws and destiny. O for more Daniels!

Daniel Chapter 5 tells us that Daniel became known as the one 'in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God'. Two different kings, in different empires made a decree that all should revere, and that no one should speak ill of Daniel's God because 'there is no other god that can deliver like this', and 'He is the living God, and steadfast forever' (Dan 3:29; 6:26-27).

This is the influence of one who is trusting, humble and obedient to the God who designed him and called him to be His child.

YOU are called to be like Daniel. Everything about you has a reason and purpose. Trust the Lord in all things about you, walk with Him in humility and obedience, and you will be able to live in the power of the Spirit of God and show the world that He is alive.

Camp 2012 S1: Living a Purposeful, Transformed Life

Camp 2012: The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me, Session 1 Summary
Speaker: Ps. Jasmine Yong

God has a great plan and purpose for each individual. The sum of our lives is to know Him and glorify Him forever.

When Engineers create a car or electronic device, they write a user's guide. When God created you and I, He wrote a manual - the Bible. God has given us life, and His manual needs to be followed to get the most out of it. When we violate the principles set out in the manual, we bring ourselves problem and pain.

Therefore, obedience is not only a good idea but essential to living our lives to the fullest, and most joyful possible.

Prov 4:20-22
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;
for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

When we connect with God's plan and manual for our lives, we will be changed into His image day by day. We will also be able to demonstrate the truth and power of God to the world. You are a demonstrator of God's salvation!