This evening, we had a simple Christmas gathering and dinner together. We were particularly glad to have Michael's friends, Shawn and Wendy, join us. They are young working adults, originally from China and have been educated and are working in Singapore. They are bright and energetic and have a great future ahead of them. Only, they do not yet know the Lord.
Rosev and Joshua shared their personal testimonies and it was clear how God was evident in their lives. Kah Lin and Sharon led us in a time of worship and some songs in Chinese were specially selected too. Then, we went round to share briefly how God was good to us in 2008, and interestingly, in hindsight, as Joshua also commented, we all articulated different angles and perspectives on the reality and goodness of God in our lives that actually culminated in sort of a wonderful collective testimony and proposition to Shawn and Wendy, or perhaps better put, 'sown a seed in their hearts'.
Let's continue to believe in and tap into the desire and power of God to save. As we begin to contemplate on and pray for revival in our land and beyond, let us first start with praying for our loved ones and friends, including Shawn and Wendy, to come to the saving knowledge of our great and wonderful God.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
12 Dec 08 (Week 3 on the theme "Prayer & Intercession")
This evening, we had the pleasure of having Sharon's mum, Susie, join us and share with us her fascinating testimony, the revivals in the 80's in Borneo and the subject of spiritual warfare. Most of us have read or heard about Susie's phenomenal encounter with the Lord at Siar Beach, Sarawak, and were particularly glad to have her join us in person.
Susie shared about how the Lord delivered her from the influence of evil spirits early in her walk with Christ, and how she was subsequently led into the deliverance and spiritual warfare ministry.
In recounting her experiences, Susie certainly drove home the message of how real the spiritual realm is and how we must absolutely increase in our knowledge of spiritual things and learn to function in the spirit or live spirit-led lives. I have attempted to summarise the key aspects of Susie's approach to battling in the spiritual with the help of some specific passages of scripture:
Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the (a) belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the (b) breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your (c) feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the (d) shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the (e) helmet of salvation and the (f) sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
(3) Taking Up Authority
Matthew 18:18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
(4) Remember that the Battle is the Lord's
2 Chronicles 20:15 He (Jahaziel son of Zechariah) said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."
Susie shared about how the Lord delivered her from the influence of evil spirits early in her walk with Christ, and how she was subsequently led into the deliverance and spiritual warfare ministry.
In recounting her experiences, Susie certainly drove home the message of how real the spiritual realm is and how we must absolutely increase in our knowledge of spiritual things and learn to function in the spirit or live spirit-led lives. I have attempted to summarise the key aspects of Susie's approach to battling in the spiritual with the help of some specific passages of scripture:
(1) Knowledge of the Real Battle
Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places."
Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the (a) belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the (b) breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your (c) feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the (d) shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the (e) helmet of salvation and the (f) sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
(3) Taking Up Authority
Matthew 18:18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
(4) Remember that the Battle is the Lord's
2 Chronicles 20:15 He (Jahaziel son of Zechariah) said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."
Lord, we humbly pray that You will come and teach us Your ways and sensitise us to the things and way of the Spirit.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
5 Dec 08 (Week 2 on the theme "Prayer & Intercession")
Intercessory Prayer for Revival
Kah Lin
1. Intercessory prayer is the underlying constant and catalyst of all revivals.
2. Revival begins with me - i.e. in the heart of each praying individual, a personal revival.
- The words of the hymn "Cleanse Me" declares "Oh Holy Ghost, Revival comes from thee: send a revival, start the work in me".
- The Lord delights in the prayer of the upright (Proverbs 15:8).
- The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).
3. Blended Prayers - Points from C.H. Spurgeon's sermon "Golden Bowls Full of Incense" [Article can be found in 'Useful Resources']
- Revelation 5:8 is about the "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints".
- Let it be filled with the blended prayers of the saints.
- God is pleased for "united prayers possess the power of harmony as beautiful as that in music".
4. Prayer is spiritual warfare, thus we need to put on the full armour of God as we enter into intercessory prayer for boldness in sharing the gospel with the lost (Ephesians 6:11-19).
5. Prayer must be spirit led. Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
6. Objects of Prayer As a cell group, we can identify the main objects (topics) for prayer, eg. mission, our families, churches in Singapore, our government, other nations, etc.
7. A suggested prayer method - eg. by rotating prayer topics for each day of the week. Eg. Monday - missions, Tuesday - family, etc. [As Kah Lin shared on Friday, we will kick-start this movement with a dedicated prayer time for salvation of our loved ones on Fri, 26 Dec.]
8. Continuous surrender of our lives as we continue in our prayer life. Recall or sing often the words of the hymn "Living for Jesus". Link to this beautiful hymn under 'Useful Resources'.
Prayer & Action (by Lee Lin)
Lee Lin shared her experience of prayer and revival in her church in Kuala Lumpur, Utama Damansara.
Prayer, fasting and repentance are all essentials in revival.
The willingness and discipline of believers to come together in church for corporate intercessory prayer is necessary and vital!
The cell group that Lee Lin attended has reached out to the Orang Asli people by befriending, visiting them and assisting them with practical matters once a month.
Encounter of the Best Kind (by Susie Lim)
Susie shared her experience at Siar Beach (Sarawak) and how the Lord revealed Himself to her and the campers in words formed through clouds in the night sky. And also shared about the revivals that took place in her school and in the churches in Kuching in the '80s. She also shared about the reality and the intimacy of the Lord in her personal experience. (We will try to find a way to put Susie's book on the encounter at Siar Beach on this blog.)
Kah Lin
1. Intercessory prayer is the underlying constant and catalyst of all revivals.
2. Revival begins with me - i.e. in the heart of each praying individual, a personal revival.
- The words of the hymn "Cleanse Me" declares "Oh Holy Ghost, Revival comes from thee: send a revival, start the work in me".
- The Lord delights in the prayer of the upright (Proverbs 15:8).
- The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).
3. Blended Prayers - Points from C.H. Spurgeon's sermon "Golden Bowls Full of Incense" [Article can be found in 'Useful Resources']
- Revelation 5:8 is about the "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints".
- Let it be filled with the blended prayers of the saints.
- God is pleased for "united prayers possess the power of harmony as beautiful as that in music".
4. Prayer is spiritual warfare, thus we need to put on the full armour of God as we enter into intercessory prayer for boldness in sharing the gospel with the lost (Ephesians 6:11-19).
5. Prayer must be spirit led. Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
6. Objects of Prayer As a cell group, we can identify the main objects (topics) for prayer, eg. mission, our families, churches in Singapore, our government, other nations, etc.
7. A suggested prayer method - eg. by rotating prayer topics for each day of the week. Eg. Monday - missions, Tuesday - family, etc. [As Kah Lin shared on Friday, we will kick-start this movement with a dedicated prayer time for salvation of our loved ones on Fri, 26 Dec.]
8. Continuous surrender of our lives as we continue in our prayer life. Recall or sing often the words of the hymn "Living for Jesus". Link to this beautiful hymn under 'Useful Resources'.
Prayer & Action (by Lee Lin)
Lee Lin shared her experience of prayer and revival in her church in Kuala Lumpur, Utama Damansara.
Prayer, fasting and repentance are all essentials in revival.
The willingness and discipline of believers to come together in church for corporate intercessory prayer is necessary and vital!
The cell group that Lee Lin attended has reached out to the Orang Asli people by befriending, visiting them and assisting them with practical matters once a month.
Encounter of the Best Kind (by Susie Lim)
Susie shared her experience at Siar Beach (Sarawak) and how the Lord revealed Himself to her and the campers in words formed through clouds in the night sky. And also shared about the revivals that took place in her school and in the churches in Kuching in the '80s. She also shared about the reality and the intimacy of the Lord in her personal experience. (We will try to find a way to put Susie's book on the encounter at Siar Beach on this blog.)
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