yeah baby! this is the sermon for yesterday!!!!!
how many of us grieve at things that grieves God? how many of us say "no" to God when God wants us to change our weaknesses? i guess not all of us and definitely not me!!! it shows how hardened our hearts are! while all of us ARE inperfect, God wants to MOULD US into people of character and maturity!!! it makes us complete!
also, God is really so so so amazing!!!! wanna know more? go to www.imeem.com and search under the song "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin. it tells us how awesome God is. from the sun to the stars, from where the lightning bolts should go to the colours of falls. God is amazing, Creator of all, amen! :) after all, no one can account for the 9++++trillion LIGHT YEARS wide universe. awesome, eh? spend some time with God the awesome Creator because we are SMALL and God loves us so so so much!!!! :) :) :)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
legalism
legalism. i just wanna tell you guys that God isn't Someone who needs you to be perfect. God isn't gonna make you memorize rules and life applications and make sure you apply every single one of them. it's not religious, not a law-centred God.
of course, we do not sin because it's contrary to God's nature, who's holy. but i'm just wondering if you feel frustrated, tired because you live life like a checklist?
did not swear, check. did not entertain lustful thoughts, check. not prideful, check.
NO NO NO! WWJD! if Jesus was around, He will abolish such ideas of life because it's tiring and NOT fulfilling! i felt so frustrated because i couldn't stick fast and complete to every single sermon. no i definitely can't. but true freedom is found when your emphasis is on a relationship with God.
when you tell God your day. tell God how that person jumped queue. how you're gonna flunk your exams. how you dislike that person.
yes. abolish that checklist. and live by faith. live by your fellowship with God solely. it's not about values or principles you live by. Jesus after all died for you, period. don't add anything else because that's being self-righteous. live by the faith that God has forgiven you and you're a child now and forever.
of course, we do not sin because it's contrary to God's nature, who's holy. but i'm just wondering if you feel frustrated, tired because you live life like a checklist?
did not swear, check. did not entertain lustful thoughts, check. not prideful, check.
NO NO NO! WWJD! if Jesus was around, He will abolish such ideas of life because it's tiring and NOT fulfilling! i felt so frustrated because i couldn't stick fast and complete to every single sermon. no i definitely can't. but true freedom is found when your emphasis is on a relationship with God.
when you tell God your day. tell God how that person jumped queue. how you're gonna flunk your exams. how you dislike that person.
yes. abolish that checklist. and live by faith. live by your fellowship with God solely. it's not about values or principles you live by. Jesus after all died for you, period. don't add anything else because that's being self-righteous. live by the faith that God has forgiven you and you're a child now and forever.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
desperation
hello people, yining here!!! :)
on saturday, we watched this movie called "Second Chance." it's about this white pastor called E going to this area where the blacks live. that area's filled with prostitution, drug addicts and you name it. and there's this church at the area called "Second Chance." it's planted by the white pastor's father and the white pastor is the pastor of this church in the white area called The Rock. the pastor of Second Chance is called Jake.
i just wanna tell you that the movie is about The Rock church being so commercialized and putting such a heavy emphasis on ministry that they forgot the very essence called Jesus Christ and His church. the church IS made up of people. and this movie tells us a lot about humility where this guy was willing to wash the feet of another coz he offended him[both are best friends.]
i'm now gonna ask you guys:
what do you come to church for AND how you see it?
i wanna tell you guys that Church is the Body of Christ. it's the people, not the building. it's building awesome and honest and godly relationships.
how desperate are you guys? desperate to hear, desperate to come to church, desperate to love God. what do i mean by desperate? i push your head into water and you'll be struggling for air. that desperation. i don't know if you guys pray that God'll make a way for you all to come to church and your problems.
talk, confess it to God coz God knows. your heart. where is it?
anyway, you guys have mid years[or most]. so this is my prayer for you guys.
Father, i thank You for lester, victor and yeeliang. Father i pray God all of us will never get tired of You. but God, we will be desperate! Father we are desperate to hear, we are desperate for You to work in our lives! Father, we wanna love you all more. give us strength God! Father i pray You bless us! Father we honour You and if we don't, help us to! in the most mighty name of Jesus', amen!!!!!!!!
guys! all the way!!!!!!!! remain in Jesus coz God's faithful and gooooooodddd!!!! :)
on saturday, we watched this movie called "Second Chance." it's about this white pastor called E going to this area where the blacks live. that area's filled with prostitution, drug addicts and you name it. and there's this church at the area called "Second Chance." it's planted by the white pastor's father and the white pastor is the pastor of this church in the white area called The Rock. the pastor of Second Chance is called Jake.
i just wanna tell you that the movie is about The Rock church being so commercialized and putting such a heavy emphasis on ministry that they forgot the very essence called Jesus Christ and His church. the church IS made up of people. and this movie tells us a lot about humility where this guy was willing to wash the feet of another coz he offended him[both are best friends.]
i'm now gonna ask you guys:
what do you come to church for AND how you see it?
i wanna tell you guys that Church is the Body of Christ. it's the people, not the building. it's building awesome and honest and godly relationships.
how desperate are you guys? desperate to hear, desperate to come to church, desperate to love God. what do i mean by desperate? i push your head into water and you'll be struggling for air. that desperation. i don't know if you guys pray that God'll make a way for you all to come to church and your problems.
talk, confess it to God coz God knows. your heart. where is it?
anyway, you guys have mid years[or most]. so this is my prayer for you guys.
Father, i thank You for lester, victor and yeeliang. Father i pray God all of us will never get tired of You. but God, we will be desperate! Father we are desperate to hear, we are desperate for You to work in our lives! Father, we wanna love you all more. give us strength God! Father i pray You bless us! Father we honour You and if we don't, help us to! in the most mighty name of Jesus', amen!!!!!!!!
guys! all the way!!!!!!!! remain in Jesus coz God's faithful and gooooooodddd!!!! :)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
personal responsibility
hey guys, yining here. i wanna address some issues here.
1) you gotta take personal responsibility for your own walk with God
realistic speaking, you can't feed off my relationship with God. you can't get close with God just because yining/any other Christians are close to God. it's between you and God. i repeat. you and God and nobody else.
how to take personal responsibility? easy. do your qt and come to church. it may seem like a systematic and religious "formula" but it isn't because God is a sovereign, faithful and LIVING God and seeks to have a personal relationship with us. qt and church are one of the most basic ways God can choose to speak to us. you may realize[or at least i do] that those days we don't turn up are days God will/can choose to speak to us the MOST.
2) the house of God is not just a place you come when it's convenient for you. it's a place where believers gather to fellowship and worship with one another and God
i understand. some of us have life's tasks and commitments. school work etc etc. not enough time etc etc. i want you guys to remember that one of the most favourite lies of the devil is that it's alright to skip church once. after all, i have perfect attendance. it won't hurt, God will understand. i'm busy and have no time.
that is a HUGE lie because you're making excuses for yourself, trying to justify the reason for you not coming to church. guys, God sees our hearts and coming to the house of God isn't about just coming at times we feel happy or are free. when we "seek first the kingdom of God, everything else will be added on to us." God HONOURS people whom HONOURS Him.
guys, remember. God is a faithful God and He honours us.
Romans 3:2-4 "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all!"
God wants a relationship. not a religion.
1) you gotta take personal responsibility for your own walk with God
realistic speaking, you can't feed off my relationship with God. you can't get close with God just because yining/any other Christians are close to God. it's between you and God. i repeat. you and God and nobody else.
how to take personal responsibility? easy. do your qt and come to church. it may seem like a systematic and religious "formula" but it isn't because God is a sovereign, faithful and LIVING God and seeks to have a personal relationship with us. qt and church are one of the most basic ways God can choose to speak to us. you may realize[or at least i do] that those days we don't turn up are days God will/can choose to speak to us the MOST.
2) the house of God is not just a place you come when it's convenient for you. it's a place where believers gather to fellowship and worship with one another and God
i understand. some of us have life's tasks and commitments. school work etc etc. not enough time etc etc. i want you guys to remember that one of the most favourite lies of the devil is that it's alright to skip church once. after all, i have perfect attendance. it won't hurt, God will understand. i'm busy and have no time.
that is a HUGE lie because you're making excuses for yourself, trying to justify the reason for you not coming to church. guys, God sees our hearts and coming to the house of God isn't about just coming at times we feel happy or are free. when we "seek first the kingdom of God, everything else will be added on to us." God HONOURS people whom HONOURS Him.
guys, remember. God is a faithful God and He honours us.
Romans 3:2-4 "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all!"
God wants a relationship. not a religion.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
intellect vs Spirit-led faith
i read this book about overcoming spiritual blindness and God spoke about something so applicable in my life and walk.
i can confidently tell you all that i am spiritually blind. i try and comprehend, understand God based on my rational mind. and guys, i couldn't. i can also tell you guys that my eyes are fixed on the outside. on how much you do. judging how "spiritual" other people and i myself am by the amount of things other people and i do. .
when i think about my prayers before qt, there is definitely no relationship with God. i think of the stuff i pray before qt, 70% of them are nearly same. it's been a long time since i've been intimate with God. it's been a long time since i've poured my heart to God.
guys, i want to challenge you all[and myself]. do not determine God's existence based on science, your five senses and worldly philosophies because all this are for this material world. instead, embrace the Word of God, establish a transparent relationship with God and live by faith. i also challenge you all to spend more fellowship with God instead of busying yourself with the affairs around you. God is faithful and sovereign.
Father, i pray You'll open up our spiritual eyes and see that God, You are a sovereign God who never fails. Father, i pray God we'll love You so much more, everyday, bit by bit we'll love You. Lord, i pray we'll live by faith and not by sight.
i can confidently tell you all that i am spiritually blind. i try and comprehend, understand God based on my rational mind. and guys, i couldn't. i can also tell you guys that my eyes are fixed on the outside. on how much you do. judging how "spiritual" other people and i myself am by the amount of things other people and i do. .
when i think about my prayers before qt, there is definitely no relationship with God. i think of the stuff i pray before qt, 70% of them are nearly same. it's been a long time since i've been intimate with God. it's been a long time since i've poured my heart to God.
guys, i want to challenge you all[and myself]. do not determine God's existence based on science, your five senses and worldly philosophies because all this are for this material world. instead, embrace the Word of God, establish a transparent relationship with God and live by faith. i also challenge you all to spend more fellowship with God instead of busying yourself with the affairs around you. God is faithful and sovereign.
Father, i pray You'll open up our spiritual eyes and see that God, You are a sovereign God who never fails. Father, i pray God we'll love You so much more, everyday, bit by bit we'll love You. Lord, i pray we'll live by faith and not by sight.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sermon on the 13th April: TRUTH UNPLUCKED II
hey guys, yining here. since none of you turned up yesterday, i'm gonna post sermon notes here. i hope you guys will READ AND READ AND RE-READ till your eyes drop because you WILL forget it by mid-week.
Ps Daniel shared mainly 5 habits on how to weave the truth in our minds.
1)Use specific truths
simply speaking, it's simply using a part of Scripture that speaks into the lie of yours. so let's say you tend to be decieved by the lie that "it's alright to fall into temptations." then the Scripture to tackle it would be 1 Corinthians 10:13 "... and God's faithful; He would not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. and when you're tempted, He WILL provide a way out.." [emphasis mine]
people, the Bible should be the final authority in your life. don't resort to worldly truths because it might[or probably will] contradict God's Word and Himself.
2) Speak out the truth
this may sound little weird but we gotta VERBALIZE the truth. why? because the devil can't hear your thoughts like how God can! the devil or any other demons are still created beings. the volume does not matter; what matters is you speak the Scripture out.
eg. during the time when Jesus was tempted in the desert, he didn't just STARE at the devil or GLARE at him with the Scripture in mind. He always says aloud "IT IS WRITTEN..." this should serve as an example eh! :D
3)Personalize the truth
simply change the "hes" or "shes" or "wes" to "I". after all, the Scripture DOES applies to you!
4) Pray the truth
prayer is always very important. we also need to intergrate the truths in our prayer. if you have difficulties obeying the Word of God, simply pray it. something like "God, i confess that i've been struggling with a lie in my life and i pray God i'll be able to/i want to be/(any other requests) _________[fill in the blanks]"
5) Meditate on the truth
i guess you guys know people practising yoga often meditate with their mind blank. Christians however meditate with the Word of God constantly in mind. how?
(i) by simply choosing a verse and rehearsing it in your mind until you fall asleep. of course, you can meditate upon it anytime and anywhere. it simply involves step (i)
we can't make excuses like "oh, i JUST can't memorize any verses. ah old age, poor memory arh." that's really a lie because we can memorize our JC notes, song lyrics and our textbooks. we gotta remind ourselves that it's not the ABILITY, but our PRIORITY.
guys, emotions are poor leaders. don't let your emotions lead you. capture your thoughts and "make it obedient to Christ."
so that's all! of course, i have some other sidenotes but be proactive if you want them ya! :) i want you guys to make a commitment, eg. memorize a verse everyday or have a accountability partner[which can be yours truly] if we wanna grow closer in God, we gotta take personal responsibility. :D
Ps Daniel shared mainly 5 habits on how to weave the truth in our minds.
1)Use specific truths
simply speaking, it's simply using a part of Scripture that speaks into the lie of yours. so let's say you tend to be decieved by the lie that "it's alright to fall into temptations." then the Scripture to tackle it would be 1 Corinthians 10:13 "... and God's faithful; He would not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. and when you're tempted, He WILL provide a way out.." [emphasis mine]
people, the Bible should be the final authority in your life. don't resort to worldly truths because it might[or probably will] contradict God's Word and Himself.
2) Speak out the truth
this may sound little weird but we gotta VERBALIZE the truth. why? because the devil can't hear your thoughts like how God can! the devil or any other demons are still created beings. the volume does not matter; what matters is you speak the Scripture out.
eg. during the time when Jesus was tempted in the desert, he didn't just STARE at the devil or GLARE at him with the Scripture in mind. He always says aloud "IT IS WRITTEN..." this should serve as an example eh! :D
3)Personalize the truth
simply change the "hes" or "shes" or "wes" to "I". after all, the Scripture DOES applies to you!
4) Pray the truth
prayer is always very important. we also need to intergrate the truths in our prayer. if you have difficulties obeying the Word of God, simply pray it. something like "God, i confess that i've been struggling with a lie in my life and i pray God i'll be able to/i want to be/(any other requests) _________[fill in the blanks]"
5) Meditate on the truth
i guess you guys know people practising yoga often meditate with their mind blank. Christians however meditate with the Word of God constantly in mind. how?
(i) by simply choosing a verse and rehearsing it in your mind until you fall asleep. of course, you can meditate upon it anytime and anywhere. it simply involves step (i)
we can't make excuses like "oh, i JUST can't memorize any verses. ah old age, poor memory arh." that's really a lie because we can memorize our JC notes, song lyrics and our textbooks. we gotta remind ourselves that it's not the ABILITY, but our PRIORITY.
guys, emotions are poor leaders. don't let your emotions lead you. capture your thoughts and "make it obedient to Christ."
so that's all! of course, i have some other sidenotes but be proactive if you want them ya! :) i want you guys to make a commitment, eg. memorize a verse everyday or have a accountability partner[which can be yours truly] if we wanna grow closer in God, we gotta take personal responsibility. :D
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ali's Dad's wake
hey guys, yining here. i just came back from ali's dad's wake and it's really not what i expected.
when i looked into the face of ali's dad into the coffin and glanced around to see that everyone[okay not everyone la! but ya! :p] was hugging and crying, i felt twisted inside. death is terrifying. very. who wants to die knowing they'll go to hell?
yet God's good and His grace abounds so much in you and me and all of us. our passports to heaven is secured. but i think i wanna die knowing that i'm a few moments away from God and be GLAD about it. what about you all? you don't need to have the same perspective as me. but the crux here is that we live a life that brings glory to God. if we don't, what for are you living on this earth among the solar system which's among the billions of galaxies?
anyway, we visited peirong's mum and she's alright now. something to thank God for eh! :D :D and donric looks fine to me too!
keep the people around you in prayer. the times when you don't wanna pray are the times you BETTER pray. the busier you are, the MORE YOU OUGHT to pray. don't give up!
Lord, i pray You'll open up our eyes and enable us to see that You're our Lord and nothing else.
when i looked into the face of ali's dad into the coffin and glanced around to see that everyone[okay not everyone la! but ya! :p] was hugging and crying, i felt twisted inside. death is terrifying. very. who wants to die knowing they'll go to hell?
yet God's good and His grace abounds so much in you and me and all of us. our passports to heaven is secured. but i think i wanna die knowing that i'm a few moments away from God and be GLAD about it. what about you all? you don't need to have the same perspective as me. but the crux here is that we live a life that brings glory to God. if we don't, what for are you living on this earth among the solar system which's among the billions of galaxies?
anyway, we visited peirong's mum and she's alright now. something to thank God for eh! :D :D and donric looks fine to me too!
keep the people around you in prayer. the times when you don't wanna pray are the times you BETTER pray. the busier you are, the MORE YOU OUGHT to pray. don't give up!
Lord, i pray You'll open up our eyes and enable us to see that You're our Lord and nothing else.
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