For everything is possible through Christ who is within us.

God is in control of everything in my life. He alone knows me best and everything that happens to me is for my benefit.

He IS the God of the immeasurably more. He can give much more than what I can ask.

Living a life that chases after Him and is centred around His will for my life is the most exciting and most rewarding life I can hope for.

With Him by my side, there is nothing I need to worry about, not money, not relationships, not situations, nothing. He has promise to take care of all that. All I need to do is follow His word and commands and do as He says.

Period.

Once you've tasted heaven...

... it's very hard to come back down to earth.

I'm starting to realize why people who live with certain conveniences today find it hard to give up. For instance, once you find driving so easy and convenient, it's quite hard to return to biking or walking (for me anyways). Once you've driven a BMW, Kancils seem so clunky. Once you're used to excellent services and facilities, it's hard to settle for anything less.

Personally, I find it hard to handle having no internet at home after the fast connections I had in Sheffield. It's hard to go back to mundane routine once something exciting has happen. It's just difficult to settle for something less when you have experience and know that there's something much, much better out there.

After the great experience I had in Hope City, it's hard to settle for anything less than that. I found a church where the congregation is fully motivated to advancing His kingdom in everyway. Powerful sermons, life changing events, exciting worships and genuine Christians who live only for the King. After that, I can't go back to laid back Christianity, Sunday Christianity, not believing that God can do anything we ask and more, living life my own way, quiet worships. It's just something I'm not willing to do. God is the same everywhere so the sincere Christians should worship Him and do things in His name everywhere. The events might differ from place to place as well as the execution but the passion behind it should be the same. If that's not true, I think I'll need to move...

Blogger's Block

Nothing to write.

the only thing worth notice is that i'm settling down well and Man Utd seriously need a new strategy.

Powerful Testimonies (2 Feb 06)

It’s surprising how the biggest testimony and biggest influential thing that we have is our life story. Time and time again I’ve heard and experience first hand how people relating their own stories can connect and bring people to Christ. Some of the most powerful stories I’ve heard comes from how people have manage to come through crisis through God’s hand in their lives. Truly, it’s not the strong that shall be saved but the weak.

Throughout my life, the constant message that people, self-help books, media and community has been conveying is one of being self-sufficient. Another way of seeing it is being strong enough to stand on my own 2 feet. I’ve come to learn that that’s the devil’s teaching.

Christianity teaches exactly the opposite. God says NOT to stand on my own to feet but to lean on to Him and depend solely on Him for everything; salvation, daily needs, health, strength to face the world, etc. the Bible is full of stories of ordinary men who achieve success, victory or greatness not through their own strength but through God. In fact, these people only achieved success, victory or greatness when they trust completely in God. Moses did 10 wonders in Egypt but it was God who gave him the wonders. The Israelites only manage to conquer Jericho when God was in charge of the army. Gideon won an amazing victory (300 men vs an army of thousands!) when he obeyed everything that God told him to do. In fact, this line continues even into the New Testament. When Jesus sent out his 12 disciples, they brought nothing with them except the clothing on their back. They didn’t even bring food or water! As far as I recall, I don’t remember reading anywhere in the Bible that Jesus carried food and water wherever he went either.

From all that I’ve learnt, I realize now that it’s not those who have everything that will be saved; it’s those who realize they need salvation that will be saved. The people who realize they have sinned and deserve death; they will be the ones who will becomes the most powerful Christians.

I think the hardest part about Christianity is the fact that it’s not about the facts or commandments, it’s about how well our relationship with God is. Within the Bible and even today, some of the most powerful men of God I’ve read or seen draw their strength direct from Heaven. They have a personal relationship with God. That is why it is possible for us to memorize every scripture in the Bible and follow all the commandments but still not know the God who loves us and saved us. For if simply accepting that there is a God and following all the commands laid out, that will not differentiate Christians from any other religion. Other religions also teach good moral values. Heck, atheist also have good moral values. Knowing that there is a God out there is also not enough. Anything or anyone can be a God. We can always believe in a pink unicorn God as well. What’s the difference?

The difference is not in the fact that Jesus is real. Since Jesus walked the earth 2000 years ago, it’s not easy to say how real he is in that sense. After all, we only know dinosaurs exist because their remains are found in the earth. So if telling people that Jesus is real and alive in us isn’t enough, what is?

Not only must we know God of the bible, we must also know the living God. The most influence we can ever have on other people is through our lives. Do our lives reflect God living in us? Think carefully because there are ways where we think our lives reflect God’s will when it doesn’t. Becoming a millionaire does not mean God lives in us. Living a blameless life won’t display God’s love for mankind. Achieving great success also might not be honouring God. All these may be the product of God living within us but doing all this will not show God lives in us.

Others can only see how God truly lives in us when we sincerely give up our lives and let God take over. For when God takes over, 4 things will happen:

1. We will do things that the world thinks is crazy and/or foolish.
2. We will make enemies.
3. We will experiences highs and lows through life.
4. Our lives will become very exciting and fulfilling!

In a nutshell, we will become very different! We might not change completely or drastically but people will start to notice. They will realize that we are not the same as them, that we are different, unique. There will be something about our lives that makes others take notice and want. That ‘X’ factor.

I’ve seen people who live completely for Christ. Their lives are exciting and fulfilling. I’ve set a personal target to get what they have because I can see that their lives contain so much joy, so much laughter that truly, the world can’t take it away. They have a powerful ministry that will change the world. I can see God working in their lives and how much He can bless people who live completely for Him. Christianity is not living in the shadows. It’s not achieving the minimum to live by. It’s about living an awesome life that is the envy of everyone around us. It’s being able to say no to the bad things around us not because it’s bad, but because we have something much better than that. It’s about going to war against the devil and winning!

I will always remember what Pastor Russ Evans said at Audacious 2005. He said that he didn’t need ecstasy or disco to get high, he can get higher than that just by reading the word of God. That’s when I realize that for the biggest adrenaline rush, the greatest joy felt, the best motivation stories and the true path to happiness can all be found in His word. Living a life where God is in charge is the biggest adventure you can ever hope for. The challenge is whether you are willing to let go of everything else; your dreams, your personal ambitions, your needs, your wants, your career, your family even your life in order to obtain it.

The God Factor

In all my church hunting, I've realize that many of the churches are quite alike. Or rather, very little difference between one church and another. Yet, Hope City still stands out for me. I've often wondered why. Is it the exciting worship? Is it the atmosphere? Is it the work that they do?

I've come to realize that it's not really any of this. Yes, they're worship is different compared to other churches but the atmosphere is not completely different. And the works they do while some I've only known Hope City to do but majority of it is what almost every other church does too. So, what exactly is it that makes Hope City stand out?

The biggest difference I see between Hope City and other churches, is that the church is 100% commited to God. In everything that they do, they do it for God, believing that God is with them all the time and also, that God will bless their ministry and bring about a greater blessing than they can expect. They actively seek out the lost so that they are save, not to increase the church membership. They see youth as people, not another group. When they go out and do something for God, they don't wait for the situation to suit it, they just go out and get it done.

Most of all, I see that God is really with them always. They can connect with God 24/7. Everything that they do, I can see God's hands behind it. They don't care what others say, they are commited to do everything that God has asked them to do. Even if it annoys other people. In fact, they are not afraid of offending anyone. In a nutshell, as long as God says it, they will do it regardless of the consequences. They are, the new revolutionaries of God today.

I find their worship and sermons powerful not because of the message but because God is talking through them. You can say that everything that they do has God's fingerprint all over it. And this is one church I can genuinely say, it's excellent and every event they organize is awesome. In fact, going for Sunday service there was my highlight of the week.

In many ways, I wanted to live a life that mirrors the church. A life which is completely sold out for God and making him the centre of my world. To live every second of the day for him and not to worry about consequences or other needs. For I now realize that once I live for God, He will provide all my needs and take care of all the consequences. It's not just a theory, it's something that's real. Go see Hope City. Even with their no-apologies in-your-face approach, their ministry is ever increasing because that's how God wants us to live and because God is with them always.