Monday, March 28, 2011

The reminder of The Promise from God


(Photo taken from Alden's camera)
A beautiful rainbow which stretch across the Horizon! That was the sight and experience i saw in the evening on the way to dinner! And as i saw that amazing rainbow, it reminded me of how Rainbow's are a sign of God promises! And what strike me was it was an assurance of my recent thoughts of the revelation of The PROMISE that was given to us which would aid us in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

"4
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about." Acts 1:4

And that Promise which was fulfilled in Acts 1:8,"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

That promise was the Holy Spirit!

John Piper said this, " The promise of this extraordinary power—this extraordinary experience of the fullness of God—is given, Jesus says, to enable his witnesses to take the gospel to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8), or, as Luke 24:47 says, to all the nations. But we have not completed that assignment yet. Therefore I do not think he has withdrawn the promise yet either. If the promise was given to empower the church to complete the Great Commission, then the promise is valid till the Great Commission is complete, and the witness to Christ has been planted among all the unreached people groups of the world. Therefore, I conclude that the power promised here—the extraordinary experience of being "clothed with power"—is for us. And if we love the glory of God, and if we long for his kingdom to advance, and if we have compassion on the lost and hurting people of the world, we will increasingly want this power and we will seek this power. "


(Photo taken from Jason Balota's camera)

The Double rainbow which i did not see, but is seen here! What a beautiful sight of God's majestic reminder to us of His Promise! =)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

What really is The Great Commission?

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)"


After a recent discussion on a the Great Commission with my camp comm, it made me realised that maybe I do not fully understand it totally to actually teach it or share it. When i thought I have so internalised it during my involvement in my campus crusade days till today. And those uncertainty had compelled me to a whole week of constant reading up, praying, reflection and discussion with other Christians just to find the Truth & Meaning behind the Great Commission as i believe is so much more than what we know of just evangelism & discipleship.

My sharing is adapted from readings & sermons from reknown writers such as John piper, Rick Warren, Dr Bill Bright, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones and one from a very reformed view by Rev Brian M. Schwertley.

Bill Bright founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ and probably a person who is an epitome of the Great Commission said this...


"If I had the privilege of writing a news story about the greatest events of all the centuries, one of the most important would be a meeting on a mountain near Galilee where a small group of men were given a global strategy for carrying God's love and forgiveness to a lost and dying world. On this mountain these men received that greatest challenge ever given to mankind, to which I referred, by that greatest Person who ever lived, concerning the greatest power ever revealed and the greatest promise ever recorded."

As each of us develops a personal strategy, God can use us to play a vital role in helping to fulfill the Great Commission.
It all boils down to this simple equation:
GOAL - PLAN + ACTION = DREAM
GOAL + PLAN + ACTION = REALITY


Taking from Bill bright equation, this is how i would translate it...

GOAL (To Fulfil The Great Commission) + PLAN ( The strategy of carrying out disciplership & evangelism) + ACTION (With the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we carry out our plan in action being that witness for our Lord)= REALITY (The Restoration of God's Kingdom & Where The Great Commission is complete, and the witness to Christ has been planted among all the unreached people groups of the world)

You do not have to design your own strategy; you are simply discovering the plan that God has already designed.

Read the full article here to graspe the entire thesis of Bill Bright vision of the Great Commission.

All this gave me a bigger picture with renewed revelation & insights of not only the essence of the Great Commission but also the follow up of what happened after that commission, especially in Acts when the power of the Holy Spirit came in the picture which i will talk about next.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8”


Extract of Sermon from "You Shall Receive Power Till Jesus Comes"- John Piper


An Illustration from Lloyd-Jones
Let me use an illustration from
Martin Lloyd-Jones in his book Joy Unspeakable to describe the difference between common Christian living and what happens when the Holy Spirit "clothes" a person with power or "comes upon" a person with this unusual power.

He says it is like a child walking along holding his father's hand. All is well. The child is happy. He feels secure. His father loves him. He believes that his father loves him but there is no unusual urge to talk about this or sing about it. It is true and it is pleasant.

Then suddenly the father startles the child by reaching down and sweeping him up into his arms and hugging him tightly and kissing him on the neck and whispering, "I love you so much!" And then holding the stunned child back so that he can look into his face and saying with all his heart, "I am so glad you are mine." Then hugging him once more with unspeakable warmth and affection. Then he puts the child down and they continue their walk.

This, Lloyd-Jones says, is what happens when a person is baptized with the Holy Spirit. A pleasant and happy walk with God is swept up into an unspeakable new level of joy and love and assurance and reality that leaves the Christian so utterly certain of the immediate reality of Jesus that he is overflowing in praise and more free and bold in witness than he ever imagined he could be.

The child is simply stunned. He doesn't know whether to cry or shout or fall down or run, he is so happy. The fuses of love are so overloaded they almost blow out. The subconscious doubts—that he wasn't thinking about at the time, but that pop up every now and then—are gone! And in their place is utter and indestructible assurance, so that you know that you know that you know that God is real and that Jesus lives and that you are loved, and that to be saved is the greatest thing in the world. And as you walk on down the street you can scarcely contain yourself, and you want to cry out, "My father loves me! My father loves me! O, what a great father I have! What a father! What a father!"

What Happened at Pentecost
I think this is basically what happened at Pentecost. And has happened again and again in the life of the church. They were so filled with the fullness of God—they were overwhelmed with the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of Christ—that they began (as
Acts 2:11 says) to speak "the greatnesses of God." Their mind was full of a fresh, new, breathtaking vision of God and their mouth overflowed with prophetic praise—sons and daughters, old and young, slave and free.

I believe that this kind of experience is what Jesus meant by the "witnessing" in Acts 1:8 that will be able to extend the gospel to the end of the earth. "You will receive this power . . . and you will be my witnesses." You will no longer be merely advocates who can prove like a good lawyer that Jesus rose from the dead. But under the influence of this power—this experience of the Spirit of the risen Christ—you will speak with the unwavering assurance of one who has tasted and knows the reality so immediately that all doubt is gone. You move from being an advocate of Christianity to being a witness of the living Christ. You move from simply deducing Christian truths from valid premises to proclaiming them boldly as experienced realities. This is the power and the witness that will take Christ to the end of the earth.

My Personal Account:

Reading that illustration from Martin Lloyd-Jones and John Piper adaptation of it really reminded me of my personal account of how God changed & transformed my life after my first personal experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at my first youth ministry camp on 9 December 2005. If not for that initial encounter of that empowerment of that Holy Spirit, and prophesies that were prayed over me that very day. I would never understood what Being that Witness for Christ really meant. I would have missed all the opportunities to share that beautiful Gospel to the friends & people I met along my path from my St.Gabriels sch mates, Catholic Junior College (the first 3 mths in 2006), to Temasek Design School (2006-2009),Mission Trip to Selangor (2007), Internship at White Space Living (2008), Days in the Army(2009- 2011), I would have never had that opportunity to be trained & equipped, to internalized & carry out that Great Commission from my involvement in TP Campus Crusade for Christ (2006-2009),to see the power of God becoming a reality in my life and outpouring of His Love & Unspeakable Joy in my heart and how that conviction overflowed to the many others that was place along my path.

And most of all, it was only that very day I can say the verse from Romans 8:16 to be a reality in my life as well. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." As I had this deep utter and indestructible assurance, so that I know that I know that I know that God is real and that Jesus lives and that we are loved, and that to be saved is the greatest thing in the world.


References:
John Piper
John piper sermons derived from Martin Lloyd-Jones Theology


Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ Founder)

AllAboutGOD.com

Rev Brian M. Schwertley (A Reformed view of the Great Commission)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Wesley YM Sec 1-3 Camp- Being Filled to Overflow!

Being Filled yo Overflow- F2O has certainly been an amazing camp! Although being there mainly to serve as a mentors for this young youths, i certainly felt young again being able to be use by God to minister to this youths! First was encouragement was to my awesomeeee grp SARANG HEAYO which means I LOVE YOU in Korean. These bunch of enthusiastic youths certainly make me feel young and i was certainly encourage to see how they grew to openly share more as camp went from Day 1- Day 3! And now they are all talkingggg so much with each other over FB! hahha! never expect those Sec 1 & 2s to talk so much until after camp! =)

The other grp that i got to meet on the final night was my beloved Sec 3 youths, GELs! Manage to catch up with the 6 of them, and i remember how ENCOURAGED i was hearing their testimonies of camp and seeing how each of them has grown soooooooo much since i got to know them when they were just small sec 1 youths who hardly share much. FINALLY after waiting for 3 yearssssssssss, they have finally grown up! And now even some has step up to be leaders at the recent sec1-3 camp! =)

The Games!




The Mass Dance- "PROMISES"


The Final Night!
'
(The masss dance!)

(The start of the lighting of candles after Pastor Alvin sermon)

(The mentors praying individually for their grp)

(SARANG HAEYO!)

(SARANG HAEYO!)


Wesley YM Sec 1-3 Camp- Being Filled to Overflow!

Joan Jimenez's winner of 60 000 visitor award!

Congratulations to Joan Jimenez's from Philippines Campus Crusade for Christ to be awarded as my 60 000 Visitor to my blog! =)

Wells this post wld be dedicated to my fellow sister in Christ Joan, whom I have never met before, but stumbled upon my blog recently after a recent post that I posted on my blog when I was studying on the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

From what i know of her just from reading the first page of her blog, she is someone whom I believe is Someone who Truly Follows Jesus! I guess the amazing thing is just like me, she has a similar introduction profile page as my blog, shes someone who share's her testimony openly and encourage others who have yet to know the Lord! Wells I really hope that many out there in the World would be bless by her too as she desires to be that Witness to the people in her life in the Philippines! So Joan do continue to start more movements Everywhere so that Everyone will know someone who Truly Follows Jesus! =)


(The image of the proof of Joan being the 60 000 Visitor!)

The past winners!
So ever since 6 July 2009, i have a new winner 2 years later! =)

Simon Lin for the 10 000 visitor award!
Glenda Lau for the 20 000 winner award
Stacy louis Lorayne 30 000 winner award!
E______ 40 000 winner award!
________ 50 000 (didn't award any prize, miss it =( )
Joan Jimenez's winner of 60 000 visitor award!


Friday, March 11, 2011

The 60 000 Visitor Challenge is open again....

WHO WILL WIN THE 60 000 visitor to my blog this time????
Link to 6 July 2009, for previous winner...http://benlau89.blogspot.com/2009/07/chiam-winner-of-40-000-visitor.html

Current visitor count,
59 884 as of post) .... 116 more to go! QUICK TAGGG your counts!!!!

To be eligible!
Do TAG on my board your visitor count each time u enter! And if its the 60 000 count! REMEMBER to take a "PRINT SCREEN" and save it to a JPEG file and sent it to me to verify your win!

AND YOU STAND TO WIN SOMETHING GREAT FROM ME! =)


The past winners..
Simon Lin for the 10 000 visitor award!
Glenda Lau for the 20 000 winner award
Stacy louis Lorayne 30 000 winner award!
E          Chiam 40 000 winner award!
________ 50 000 (didn't award any prize, miss it =( )

(Flash back entry... Monday, July 06, 2009)


E_____ winner of 40 000 visitor award!



(The print screen taken by E____ Chiam on 23 June 2009 in the wee hours of the morning!)

(Flash back entry... Wednesday, September 03, 2008

(The photo of the 30 000 visitor challenge that made Stacy eligible for the award!!!)
(Flash back entry... Thursday, November 22, 2007)
THE WINNER OF THE 20 000 VISITOR IS...........
GLENDA LAU!!!! from wesley ym!.... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!


(the printscreen taken from glenda)

(Flash back entry... Tuesday, March 06, 2007
)
WINNER OF THE 10 000 VISITOR to my blog!!!!! this is also the 252 post!!!





Thursday, March 10, 2011

CROSSROAD TCHOUKBALL LEAGUE! First Round!

3 WESLEY TEAMS played@ our first Crossroad league on Sunday! We had 2 wins by the men's team and the tough fight that the girls gave agains the reigning champions!

WESLEY TEAM A: 47-30 The Going Church
WESLEY TEAM B :61-58 Bethesda Depot Church (One of the most trilling match where it was on par at some moments, a deja vu of last year match where we lost to them this narrowly)
WESLEY GIRLS TEAM: 21-31 The Going Church (GIRLS)



(The Wesley girls made up of "foreign imports from hwa chong"


(Wesley Team A, warming up before the game)


(Sharing with the going church before the match)


(Praying before the match)

(The WESLEY CHEER before the game!)

GAME BEGINS!


(Action time!)


Monday, March 07, 2011

45TH SIGNAL ANNIVERSARY DINNING-IN

45TH SIGNAL ANNIVERSARY DINING-IN


(The photoframe they gave us at the end with the 45 anniversary Signal Magazine)

(With my sword)





(we discreetly took a photo before the 2nd bulgle call)

(The Sword holders)


Jacob & Yvonne's Wedding

It was a Joyous occasion to see a crusade leader whom i respected a lot finally getting married! And it sure was a great day catching up with various TRP crusaders, some whom i have not seen for like 4 years? Such a HAPPY DAY! =)


(The newly wed couple sharing their thanks giving)

(An amazingly beautiful original song composed on Jacob & Yvonne story by Grace and her sister, and background music by the guitarist joon kiat and jerome)

(THE TRP CRUSADERS!)

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

YMOVE Mission trip to Senggarang 26-27 Feb 2011

Went up with the YMOVE comm to Senggarang, indonesia from 26-27 Feb 2011 on a short weekend mission trip!

Although it was just 2 days 1 night, it seems like we did alot! As immediately once we touch down at JALAN PINANG, book in our hotel at LESMINA, grab lunch. Had worship back at the hotel room, before we head across in a SAMPAN and landed at Senggarang.

Immediately once we reach the church.... it was back to back activities already...see below...















(walking down to the church at Senggarang)















(The Senggarang church)















(One of the doctors who went up with us was giving a quick brief on all the medicine and pills that we got to help dispense to the patients)

Dispense up to about 50 patients in the afternoon...















(DINNER BREAK!!!!!! Awesome kampung food)

Up to about 20 patients at night!

(Dispense to so many patients throughout the day until we got so use to the different doctor's jargon and pills! And we kept saying "BIGIT" which mean pill and "SEHARI" which mean times a day.)















(Doing stock taking at the end of the session!)


(The boys got really tired after the long day of runnning around)

Back to the hotel after like close to midnight (INDONESIA time) which was like 1 plus Singapore...

YMOVE MEETING
And as planned we had our Ymove meeting, with praying and sharing and discussion... And we were so tired that we nearly slept when we close in prayer. It was like nearly 2ish by then!

Sunday!

Started the morning with BREAKFAST at the village.. before we toured the kampong...







(LOVE! that we saw engraved at one of the huts)

We toured the village in the morning after breakfast..saw this kids playing)

Attended the church service, and it sure was quite memorable, they sang like HILLSONGS in malay and there were even teowchew songs. It was like the whole church was involved, as each grp went up on stage to lead a song or skit. There was like the children ministry, the malay community, Teowchew community, and a few more... and then it ended with us the SINGAPORE TEAM! Showing them this GOD's L.O.V.E SKIT! (watch the video! ..to be shown was tiff upload it!)


(The children ministry!)



(We started to feel bored after the looooooong day dispensing medicine, that once night time came we were all doing crazy things like this!)


(This is what happens after seeing pills and medicine the wholeeee day!)


The Worship @ Senggarang Church was definitely one of the memorable experience as we sang some hillsong songs even in malay... in this video, there was a black out half way, but they all continued to sang passionately for the Lord! =)


This was The Teochew Community presenting their song