For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20)
When the people of God come together, songs are sung, laughters are heard, stomachs get filled and visions casted. Praise God for the amazing nasi lemak and "drumstick" tha entertained the growling stomachs of the many in attendance. many which arrived straight from a long day at work.
The leader of this group of people, RM Richard shared with them the mandate that God has given to them, ie.,"To Raise Godly Leaders". The group was also updated on the direction that Gracelife Church was heading, as well as, being made aware of the relevance of Church in our lives and our community.
Church needs to be effective in our lives. Lives need to first be transformed before the transforming of communities can be realized. One could embark on this journey of life transforming by being equipped and trained, serving and teaching others.
"I have learnt a lot from the classes as they are very practical. It is only in serving that you will grow. Those who do not serve do not grow at all and it is very hard to get them to do anything. I believe that when one lives out the Christian lifestyle, people will see it," says Phillip, a first timer at the Small Group Prayer Watch.
Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 3:12)
Richard's take on, "Living By Faith"
There are 3 types of faith. Faith to live by, faith as a gift and faith as a fruit. If our lives are not driven by vision, we will not know what it is to live by faith. In most times of our lives, we are not driven by faith but by sight and money. We can only know what to receive and reject when we are walking by faith. Before we can discover the vision for our own ministry, we first need to be faithful in another person's ministry. The issue is not availability nor ability but faithfulness. It is not about doing but being. We need to embrace the leader's vision (which is from God). We are to see the vision as our own as God sees the heart and not the work. We can change our hands by changing our hearts. We have to transform our lives before we can transform the communities. Anyone can do good deeds but to sustain good deeds we need to change our hearts first.
Have I embraced the vision that God has given to the Body or am I trying to be part of what they are doing? Am I being or doing? Transform your life, then transform the communities.
Scripture Readings & Visions
Ezekiel 5. A forewarning of what's coming.
Isaiah 63. Courage comes from God-given convictions. To be able to lead others with courage and without compromise, we must establish our relationship with God first and be convicted by His truths. Popularity with God controlled Moses' life, not popularity with people.
Daniel 3. We need to stand firm to the truth even to the extent of being "burned" and not to bow down to anything beside God.
Jeremiah 39. Everything changes after a period of suffering. The oppressed are set free; the poor become landowners. "The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will do to the city everything I treatened; I will destroy it before your very eyes, but I will deliver you. You shall not be killed by those you fear so much. As a reward for trusting me, I will preserve your life and keep you safe".
Psalms 27:4. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Psalms 91. We are to pray this for protection.
1. Narrow road, where many cars were jammed towards it.
2. A sword with the middle embedded with a blue precious stone.
3. A serpent that became a huge cobra. A sword that resembles the one above slashed the serpent into half.
4. A 1960's black & white scene.
5. Something like a forest, an animation of a tree moving like water with lots of arrows and a pillar that was blocking the arrows from hitting the target.
6. Flashes of images. Rising clear, blue water; snowcap peaks with melting snow; flashes of red colour; the number 1369 in yellow neon lights. Also saw images of animal like things crawling in the dark; a piece of metal with greenish crush and the water washing off the crust to reveal metal; blue sparks and yellow sparks of lights streaming upwards continuously from left to right and as the lights are joined in the middle, it then split into 6 streaming yellow sparks.
7.Flames that are small and flickering. The Lord will cause these flames to become blue flames that are so supernaturally hot. It is going to be a fire that is not of the people's own doing but it is something God has for a special group of people that God has called.
8. A single storey bungalow with dormitory like building on the background; a peach colored double-storey house; a night scene showing highways with yellow lights on both sides moving upwards and inter-winding with other highways. A book entitled CLAYPOT CLAY (gold plated) with pictures of mountain range behind the title. We need to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Clays that the Lord can use. Only then can we receive His blessing and peace.
9. Jesus appearing in our midst and laying his hand on Richard's forehead.
We are to pray for what's coming. Pray for the people to see the mercy of God and not to be fearful and stay away, but to draw close to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment