“For we are God’s fellow workers…”1 Corinthians 3:9 (NIV)

What a great weekend of our church seminar we had! I am sure that one thing we all walked away with is that we have equal responsibility to serve God with the gifting & abilities He has given to us. In fact, we are His fellow workers! God doesn’t want to just think that He is our big Boss and we are merely His servants. It is clear that God also counts us as His fellow workers! We are His partners & co-labourers! When we serve Him, we not only do things for Him but also with Him! With that perspective & understanding, we are liberated to take a full ownership of our God-given tasks. The Father’s business is no longer only His, but ours.

By His will God can do anything. However, He has chosen to use us, His people to work alongside with Him to accomplish Hs plan in the world. In the days to come, we will share in the glory of the Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 2:14 (NIV)
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that we will continue to count our ministry and service unto God as honour and privilege and will never take it lightly throughout every stage of our lives. No matter how old or how young, my prayer is that we will continue to serve the Lord with everything we have.

May the Lord be your ultimate inspiration and motivation in everything you do.

What a wonderful worship night we had last Friday! I’m sure that those who were there were blessed by the Presence of God as He ministered to us. I pray that this event wasn’t just another great worship gathering but will translate into your personal everyday worship life before our God! God is moving and searching for those whose hearts are committed to him. He seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

Let us continue to encourage one another to live a worship lifestyle that reflects Christ in everything we do and say! And when we have an opportunity to meet in our church service or life group, let’s spur one another to draw closer and deeper into God’s presence. In His presence, we will find freedom and joy that transcends our understanding.

Thanks again for being part of the great night! Look forward to the great worship night again next year!

Worship is very important to every believer. True worship goes beyond songs and music. True worship got to be from our hearts and as directed by the Word of God (John 4:23-24). True worship must be God-centred worship. It is not bound by geographic location, styles of music, traditions and ceremonialism.

Worship is so premier and reserved only for God. Only He is worthy (Revelation 19:10). Worship is done for God, and God’s pleasure alone!

Worship is the heartfelt acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in the things we do. It is also a condition of your heart — a willingness to exalt God and yield to his will. Worship is an expression of love and awe to the God who gives us more than we deserve. Whether you express your worship by singing, playing music, dancing or in some other way, remember that you are called to worship God with your every action, every day of your life. God is holy, loving, and worthy of all our worship and devotion.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

To truly worship God, we must know Him and not be ignorant of His good and glorious nature. Worship is, therefore, to glorify and exalt God; to show our loyalty and admiration to our Heavenly Father.

There are times when God immensely reveals His presence in the assembly of His people. In the Word, it’s said that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). This clearly means that He dwells with us and makes Himself known to us as we truly praise and worship Him. He takes an ACTIVE part in OUR praise & worship of Him! We’re not just throwing up trite, empty words and songs into the air. When we praise and worship, we become partners with God in a process of great spiritual proportion–INTIMACY with our Creator. When we CHOOSE to praise and worship God, even when we don’t feel like it, or when our natural eyes don’t see what we believe for, God goes to work on our behalf.

God desires to be with us. And through praise & worship, we have a privilege of GETTING CLOSER to Him and experiencing the immense presence of God. Once we truly encounter Him, our lives will never be the same again.

This Friday (October 17) as a church we will come together to seek God’s face and GET CLOSER to the Almighty God. It will be a memorable night of divine encounter with a heaven exchange worship experience.

This event is NOT to be missed. See you all there.

Our Joshua Generation (JG) Advance in conjunction with Ablaze Leaders’ Conference (ALC) was fantastic! I could really see God move in people’s lives as we came together as one to be equipped & refreshed.

One of the key areas that was brought up was discipleship! This is a crucial issue that we all agree and believe that as a church we have to continue to pray and believe that God will help move in this area.

God spoke to me this morning about one of the things we can do together and it can start now. And that is effective discipleship can start now with one person at the time. It doesn’t have to be complicated. If every member is to decide to reach out to someone who is spiritually younger than them and is willing to commit themselves to help teach and nurture the young ones, we will be able to see more discipleship happening across the church! How fantastic would that be!

Jesus gave each and every follower the Great Commission to fulfil in our life time. It is the Great Commission, not Suggestion. It’s what we are living for not just another task in our lives. The GC should be a part of our everyday life. I believe God doesn’t just save us so that we will just be waiting to go to heaven. There is a God-give purpose that awaits for us to fulfil after we’ve received salvation. We are here to make a difference in people’s lives for God’s glory. And one of the key ways to do that is through Discipleship – helping someone mature in Christ and become a true Christ follower and disciple maker of others.

Are you doing anything that help contribute to the work of discipleship today? Are you willing to lay down your cause and take up the cross to obey Jesus’ Great Commission? We have one life to live and if we miss out on what God wants for us, that would be so wasteful.

Let me encourage and urge you to consider to step up and become a true Jesus’ Disciple Maker.

Acts 13:36 (NIV) - “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep”

This is a must watch! Very great response (well-said) by Ps Mal Fletcher - The frailty of the massenger does NOT negate the authority or truth of the message!

Throughout today, I have received a few emails enquiring about the news on Mike Guglielimucci, the composer of the song, “Healer” we have recently been singing in our church. Some concern that we probably wouldn’t be able to sing this song in church anymore (or for a long time). Some concern that the creditability of this song has already gone down the drain. I understand and appreciate how hurtful it can be when you really believe in the lyrics and the testimony of the author behind them and now realise that it wasn’t true and authentic.

I (and perhaps you too) was challenged to view this matter in light of worship and as worship ministers. Can we still sing this song to worship God? Is it OK that we sing the song which was perhaps composed with a ‘manipulative’ motive?

A good question we might want to ask is that “Can God really use deceit for His purpose?” “How should we feel about that?”

Phil 1:15-17 (NIV)
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

I love when Paul said “What Does it Matter?” as long as Christ is being preached whether false motives or true!!!! And because of Christ being preached, he rejoiced! So should we! With that, I believe that God can use anything for His good purpose and to draw man to Himself. Just like when God used Pharaoh’s hard heartedness for His redemptive plan of the Israelites. God didn’t harden Pharaoh’s heart but made use of the fact that Pharaoh chose to harden his own heart before God for his purpose.

What about the issue of Integrity in our worship? Shouldn’t worship leaders, ministers, musicians or song writers have lives of integrity as they minister to God and the church?
Yes, in all and all our worship to God must be authentic and straight from our love and obedience unto God.

It’s true that songs have a way to connect people to the truth and the heart of God and even the authors. And that’s why we can be reminded of the song writers when we sing them. I supposed in this case when we sing that God is our healer, we might ask ourselves “Hang on, the person who wrote this song lied about his life!” So Is God a Healer? Can He really heal? Should I still believe that He heals? Etc.

Remember man may fail, but God will NEVER fail. His character stands firm through all ages!

The failing of an imperfect song writer declaring about God’s healing power would NOT make God’s healing touch any less real.

King David was probably one of the greatest worship leaders in the history. But he was also a murderer and adulterer. God still used him mightily for His plan and purpose. In fact, we are singing many of his songs till today!

Why?

What matters most is the truth of God that we sing and proclaim – His unchanging character, His steadfast love and faithfulness in which we can always trust!
It was once said that

“the authenticity of worship resides NOT in the composer of a song, but rather in the heart of the singer”. (Batsirai Chada)

So as we sing a song to worship God, it is our HEART that He hears – more than the beautiful lyrics or the wonderful song composer’s skill.

So as for me,

I still believe that God is my Healer
I still believe that God is all I need
I still believe God is my Portion
I still believe God is more than enough for me
Jesus, He’s all I need!

To me, nothing has changed about these lyrics. They are still very true. Ultimately it is the heart that sings them, that owns them, that makes them real.

However, in my opinion, for the sake of some young ones in our midst, we may need to be careful of using this song for a season.

Let’s continue to fix our eyes on Christ who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

Never cease to Praise Him (Psalm 100)

Some of us would have heard about the news on Mike Guglielmucci. Up till now, I haven’t heard any release of his personal statement on the matter. So I’m not sure whether we should confirm anything at this stage. However, there would have been many questions going on in many minds of the believers in Christ. If this is true, our response towards this situation is really critical. In all and all, we know that man may fail but God NEVER fails. He is always faithful and trustworthy!

Below is a great response to this news by Ps. Mal Fletcher who was quite prominent in AOG churches in Australia, especially with his ministry with Youth Alive in the 90’s and (I think) is now having a great ministry in Europe. He seems to be close to Mike’s family and knew him since he was young.

As you read the following, let’s believe that nothing and no one will ever change the nature & character of God! He is unchanging - the same yesterday, today and FOREVER! Stay prayful and feel free to share this perspective to those who may be affected by the news.

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This morning, I received a call telling me that a young minister friend of mine, a man who has influenced thousands of young people for good, has confessed to living a lie for the past two years.

Pastor Michael Guglielmucci had claimed to be battling a deadly form of cancer. He has now confessed that these claims were untrue. Even his mother and father - close personal friends of my wife and I - were unaware of the truth of the situation.

I have known Michael since he was a little boy and have always loved him - I still do. Our hearts, of course, go out to those closest to him.

Though Michael is not a household name, his music gift and speaking talent, along with his very charismatic personality, have made a major impact on many young lives, in a number of nations.

I write about this here, with some discomfort, because some regular readers of this editorial will know Michael and will be trying to understand the situation. I write also because the issues here are bigger than this individual case. From time to time, Christian ministers and leaders will fall. People of faith must be able to face the inevitable question: ‘How can this happen - and how should we respond?’

We must learn what lessons we can from these situations, for our own sakes and for the sake of the wonderful message of hope that we represent.

Perhaps the first thing we must take from the fall of a leader is the fact that the frailty of the messenger does not negate the authority or truth of the message.

Every faithful believer and church leader should continue to share the Christian message without fear or cant. Though God’s messengers may sometimes fail (and haven’t we all, though perhaps in less public ways?) the message remains as hopeful, reliable, trustworthy and life-enhancing as ever.

In fact, it is often only when we see the scale of human frailty laid bare before us that we can appreciate the true power of redemption.
And the failure of a particular key figure should not taint our picture of all Christian leaders. (In fact, I know personally that some of the people closest to Michael are among the finest Christian leaders you will ever meet.)

As Billy Graham poignantly noted some years ago, in reference to the moral problems of certain American televangelists, thousands of aircraft land safely at the world’s airports every day - but the only time the media will take an interest is when one crashes.

Secondly, we need to remind ourselves of the importance of keeping a close circle of friends and counsellors

; people who know us well enough to spot trouble before it arrives. Of course, this won’t necessarily prevent us from hiding our problems - human beings have a special talent for that.

But if we build around us an inner circle of wise and responsible friends, to whom we’ve given the right to speak honestly at all times, we can be open without losing our sense of dignity.

A third lesson, particularly for leaders, has to do with the dangers of seeking public affirmation.

Personally, I often find it easier to crave the love of the crowd than the love of God. At times, the crowd can seem quicker to respond and easier to find, while God can sometimes feel so distant. Yet, while the acclaim and affirmation of people are valuable - we can’t live without encouragement - our first calling is not to please people. We are living for something bigger than our own reputation. People’s deference to gift and talent can be both a blessing and a curse for a leader.

It’s a blessing because it breeds respect for the message and vision, which allows the leader to lead. It can be a curse because it can set the individual up for a fall - people start expecting leaders to be saints without flaws rather than flesh-and-blood human beings.

Finally, I think, when a minister falls we are presented with a marvellous opportunity to demonstrate the meaning of grace, that most precious of all divine gifts.

Many people will look at the fall of a leader or prominent voice and feel great disappointment and even anger. That’s to be expected. That, however, is grace’s opportunity to shine.
Grace signifies the inclusion of people who were previously excluded, which is the core of the Christian faith.

The fall of an individual leader is very regrettable, and wrongdoing will not go unanswered, but his or her past achievements are not wiped out for all time. Their credibility may be shredded, but God keeps the works of faith they’ve entrusted to him. Whether or not you know my friend Michael, I ask you to pray for his wonderful family, for the churches that are directly impacted and for the people who will be impacted most by these revelations. His family are facing great personal pain - and if we are people of faith, we would do better to use our words to pray for him and for them, than talking to friends about the situation at every opportunity.

What the future holds for Michael, no one can say right now. His ministry credentials have been revoked and he is, apparently, seeking professional help.

But with personal repentance, a fundamental change of heart and direction, comes a time of spiritual cleansing. The mind and emotions of a damaged brother or sister can take a long time to heal - and the healing is no less important than healing of cancer. In the end, there can be a new place of effectiveness for even the fallen ones, though perhaps not in the sphere they previously occupied.

If you’ve ever known a leader or prominent Christian who’s fallen, keep yourself from bitterness which eats away at the soul. Determine in your heart that should you meet, you would be able to say, ‘I’m praying for you and for your family. God has a great future for you and it is good.’

The Biblical God is the God of a second chance - with accountability, healing and gradual restoration.

Source:http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/Why_Do_Christian_Ministers_Fail/33139/p1/

Last service was awesome! God was so present and His power never failed to exceed our expectations! John’s left leg was extended - Aaron’s left jaw was healed - Rayshuan’s back was cured - and many more!

The Bible holds a number of records of God’s miracles which are still very much available for us today. Miracles are possible for those who dare to believe! God’s miracles are supernatural acts that happen in the natural world. God’s miracles provide us evidence that God exists. God is a supernatural person. God does not just operate within our five senses. With God being supernatural, God’s Miracles are manifestations of God being supernatural. God’s miracles in our lives manifest His glory and reinforce our faith. They bring Glory to Him and draw people closer to God.

John 2:11 - This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him

We too can have and experience a supernatural power from God. The source of power is already made available to us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us! This supernatural power is more powerful than sin, death, and ungodly influences in our lives. As long as we stay in relationship with God, we as Christians have the power to heal and overcome any situation. We no longer have to give in to the natural world of sin and death. God’s miracles demonstrate that there is the supernatural that transcends any and all natural influences in our lives. The same power which raised Jesus from the dead is within us!

Trust and believe God that we can be God’s miracle workers! Jesus was and He wants us to follow His path by pointing people to Christ through the demonstration of His divine power!

Let us continue to believe God for more and more miracles in our coming services!
God is with us!!!!

Praise God for a great special service last Sunday! I have received lots and lots of positive feedbacks from many people who attended the service. The Icebreaker was well done and received! I believe that a good rapport was created there. The visitors and the congregation were well connected which set a platform for the testimony, P&W and the message. We had 221 people attending the service and many lives were touched and healed by the power of God!

A huge THANK to everyone! We have another great opportunity this Sunday to encourage one another to invite our unsaved friends & families to come to “Beyond Your Dreams” special service! Let us believe God that He will mightily move this Sunday as we give a big push to invite people to the service. Also let us believe God for at least 5 salvations at our service this Sunday. Ps Lance will be giving an evangelistic message. So come prepared and be mightily b to blessed by that!

“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.”
— Acts 20:24

For the past few weeks, never in a long time I have been feeling so challenged by the ministry race marked out for me. When I looked around, all I wanted to do was to fix my eyes on what was ahead and the heavenward prize set for me.

Despite a few setbacks, I still believe that God is still in control and He is NOT through with me yet. I have been listening to the song, “Can’t Give Up” Now by Mary Mary. One of the lines in the song goes, “I don’t believe He’s brought me this far to leave me!”

I was so impacted by the fact that God will never leave nor forsake us. He has a good plan for us and will finish what He started. Everything is going to work out in His divine timing if we just keep preserving and holding on to the promise we have in Him.

I pray that you will be encouraged and strengthened by God’s mighty power in this coming. Remember to have courage to do what is right and move ahead with your God-given conviction. Do continue to pray for our Freedom services. Salvation is here!

Praying for you!