5:02 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
8:33 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
4:19 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. Deuteronomy 9:7
There were 10 trials in the wilderness, and the Israelites failed them all. After they failed the 10th test at Kadesh Barnea, the Lord said, “They have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice” (Num. 14:22). Here are the 10 tests:
(1) Murmuring against God. The Israelites accused God of deceiving them into a trap so that the Egyptians could kill them. There is always a tendency to blame God in the midst of crises.
(2) Bitter water at Marah. The Israelites murmured at the bitter water. Every believer will be tried by bitter experiences and disappointments.
(3) Hunger. This represents economic times of testing. We will all experience times of shortages and lack during which our faith in God will be tested. Our faith in God will then be tested.
(4) Gluttony. By taking more manna than they needed for the day, the Israelites willfully disobeyed the Lord.
(5) Thirst at Rephidim. Thirst speaks of dry and boring experiences. The Israelites murmured again.
(6) Idolatry of the gold calf. Inordinate desires and lusts must be conquered. Anything that replaces our reliance upon God is idolatry.
(7) Complaining about misfortunes at Taberah. Complaining about adverse circumstances doesn’t help us to find favor with God.
(8) Unthankfulness. The appetites of the Israelites were not consecrated to God. They detested God’s provision of manna and gorged themselves with quail.
(9) Criticism of leadership. Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses, the man who saw the face of God.
(10) Unbelief at Kadesh Barnea. The Israelites were right at the border of the Promised Land. The 10 spies all agreed that it was a good land, but that the enemies were too great. They infected the whole congregation with fear and unbelief. They had failed the 10th and most important test. Finally, God said, “You will not enter in.” No teacher ever creates a test for the purpose of trying to fail the student. Every test should be a stepping stone for greater glory. Instead, Israel made each of their tests a stumbling block into defeat. The Holy Spirit was always around to show God strong on their behalf whenever they were met by difficulties. But they didn’t lean on Him. Let’s remember the Scriptural exhortation: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb. 3:15).
11:21 PM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
7:18 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
January 2007 — Testimony shared by Kenny Low in City Harvest Church
Hi Church, I’m Kenny and this is my wife Serina. I’m the principal of CHEC and O School. In the last few years, God has been teaching us how to reach out to professional dancers in the entertainment industry.
In 2003, I was involved in a series of outreach concerts in Asia. We engaged Ryan Tan to be the dance director and choreographer for those events. Ryan is a very experienced and well respected dancer in the entertainment scene. I remembered the first concert we did in Hong Kong. I saw Ryan sitting by the side of the hall looking grumpy, with his jacket hood covering his face. While, hundreds of people were touched by Pastor’s preaching, he was completely disinterested with God and the church. Yet, I felt in my heart that somehow, the Lord will someday touch him.
Throughout the 8-month long tour, I shared the same hotel room with Ryan. As much as I was eager to lead him to Christ, I purposed in my heart not to preach to him immediately. I felt that he will be hearing enough preaching and altar calls through the 50-over gospel events that we were doing. Like what we’ve learnt in the Caring System, I began by befriending him and showing interest in his life. I read the comics that he read, listened to the songs that he listened to, attended his dance classes when we were back in Singapore, and even helped him out in his business by introducing more students to him. As we spent time together, Ryan began to open up and shared with me more about his life.
Serina:
After working with him for a year, Kenny and Ryan had become very close friends. At our last stopover in Australia , when Pastor Kong was giving the altar call, Ryan lifted up his hands to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He had even told Kenny that he was prepared to get saved in the meeting and that he actually went to buy a Bible before the meeting itself! After he said the sinner’s prayer, Ryan had tears flowing down his cheeks. We saw a different Ryan from the one that Kenny had seen originally in Hong Kong eight months earlier. God had truly touched his life. He is genuinely converted and was water baptized two months later in the river Jordan during our Israel tour. The moment he got out of the water, he was powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit.
The miracle did not stop there. After Ryan became a Christian, he began to help us with the Easter production. He brought in one of his students Carol as a dancing assistant. By that time, Ryan had become more on fire for the Lord. He was actively reaching out to his other friends about how Jesus has changed him. It was in the backroom at the Singapore Indoor Stadium where Ryan and Kenny first shared their testimonies with Carol and planted a seed of faith in her heart. A few weeks later, the dance ministry staged a dance during a Weekend Connection service. Ryan invited Carol to attend that service. Pastor Kong’s message about “Dreams” touched Carol’s heart and that day, she too gave her heart to Jesus.
Kenny:
Shortly after that, Ryan and Carol invited one other dancer to church. His name was Daniel. During that period of time, Daniel was facing a family crisis at home. Both Ryan and Carol began to share their testimonies on how their lives were changed in this church. They decided to show their care by pooling in their finances to help him out. They knew that Daniel loves to dance. So they asked him to perform during the recording of the 2005 Cross album. Daniel was very impacted during that time because he had never seen so many people so passionate and excited for their God. Soon after, they invited him to watch another dance performance at our Emerge Conference. Daniel was deeply touched by the presence of God and the message. As a result, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior as well. When Daniel was serving his National Service, he was unable to attend cell groups and services regularly. However, the cell group continued to show care by giving him Bible studies during his off days. Six months later, Daniel was fully integrated into the church.
But the love and care didn’t stop there. Ryan, Carol and Daniel began to reach out to more dancers in their circle of influence. So far, they have brought 17 other dancers to church, nine of them have accepted Christ and we are in the midst of integrating them into the church.
Through these very creative and talented individuals who came to City Harvest, the vision for O School was birthed. Today Ryan, Carol and Daniel are full-time instructors in O School. The ministry of O School is unique, we provide employment for young talented dancers, we raised bursaries to help youths finish their schooling, and we are giving them healthy role models in the area of dance. In just nine months, O School had crossed 1,000 in membership, we had done dance programs with 15 institutions, touching more than 900 students interested in dancing, and performed to over 10,000 people. I believe many more lives will be influenced for Christ as we shine for Him among these people.
Serina:
Being the salt and light in the world is not so difficult. It is not hard-selling the gospel or pestering people to become Christians. Sharing the love of God is simply showing care, love and interest in other people’s lives. By doing that, we change the world — one person at a time!
Guys(: I want to let u know that all of us can share the love of God and make a difference in other people's lives!(: We don't need a preacher to do that! All of us can play our part!(: Remember the "15 min Revolution" and the "Love Revolution" DVD? We are all empowered to make a difference!(: People need the Lord!(:
Love,
Mel(:
9:17 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as theOne who serves.”
God is not against us desiring greatness. Because our God Himself is a great God, every true believer has the seed of greatness implanted in his spirit. We dream dreams and see visions of ourselves achieving significance and purpose in life.
In Luke 22, there was again a dispute among Jesus’ disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus didn’t rebuke them for their aspirations. What He wanted to prevent was their succumbing to pride and selfish ambition. Realizing their striving, Jesus once sat a little child down in the midst of the disciples, saying that in the kingdom, the great are like children—humble, trusting, and teachable (Matt. 18:4). Now that their concern for status surfaced again, Jesus elaborated the principle that the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of all (Luke 22:25-27).
This standard still works today! The greatest in our society are people who serve the sick, the needy and the wounded. These are great because they have given themselves to serve others. Jesus Christ tops the list. He is the greatest of all because He gave Himself for the sins of the world (Phil. 2:1-11).
There is a very practical outworking of this principle of greatness in our everyday world. Those who do serve the most may often become the most famous and prosperous people. But when you do a study on many of them, glory and riches are usually not their motives. Rather, the recognition and esteem of others seem to be the inevitable fruit of their self-giving, childlike service to mankind.
One pastor once said that every Christian is shaped for service, using the word “SHAPE” as an acronym. “S” stands for spiritual gifts. “H” stands for heart’s desire. “A” stands for ability. “P” stands for personality. And “E” stands for experience. When you put them all together and get into “SHAPE,” you should have a good idea
8:30 AM, & i live by faith and not by sight for you
