Metamorphosis - WORSHIP
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Dear pals,
From the December 8-13, I was at the METAMORPHOSIS conference organised by Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ. The tertiary students conference of the year.
Metamorphosis is transformation. It is changing of lives with the Word of God.
I hope to share some of the things i learnt during these 6 days and as i share i desire that you too will gain from it.
The theme for this year is "Transformed By Truth" with the theme verse taken from Romans 12:1.
The five topics we discuss every morning are Worship, Freedom, Prayer, Faith and Missions. I will give a brief summary on each of these on separate post to ease viewing.
i)Worship
It is NOT merely something Christians do on weekends in a church. It is not referring the sacrifice of animals as we saw in the Old Testament because Jesus came to die for us. Worship is in spirit and in truth, not just about the music and songs we play. It's an attitude, a willing sacrifice and intentional act. We worship in our day to day activities(eg. in our work/school), and let our bodies be a living(not dead) sacrifice unto God each day. All our actions can be an act of worship. What is the heart of worship? what comes to our mind when we worship God? what is holding us back to give all we have to the One who died for us? Are we guilty of worshiping other gods? Idols? Money, fame, pleasures of this world?
Who is our God? Is the worship we give Him acceptable just as Abel's scarifice was pleasing while Cain's not? We need to come back to the basics....the very heart of worship is not how loud the band played, how high some people jump, how hard we clapped our hands until it turned red or how well we can sing. It's all about Jesus.
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ii) Freedom
"I forgave to set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner had been me." Anonymous
This quote was found on the right margin in my conference handbook. How true is it.
The second morning we talked about Freedom. Freedom from bitterness and unforgiveness specifically. Of course there are many related topics under the title 'Freedom'.
Christ came to set us free. Anger and bitterness gives satan a foothold (fr Ephesians 4:26,27)
We cannot earn God's forgiveness no matter how well we behave. What caused bitterness? Perhaps our expectations are not met....perhaps we simply felt like a failure. Most common is when someone sins against us by doing something or saying something that hurt. Our natural reaction under the influence of sin is to get even with that person - revenge. We want to retaliate, to fight back and want 'justice' We felt justified to take revenge after all the bad things done to us by someone. We hold on to unforgivness and as a result, satan grips our heart; no wonder the Scripture says anger and bitterness give the devil a foothold, in other words an Entry Pass into our lives approved by ourselves- by our unforgiveness and bitterness of heart.
1 Peter 2:24 and Col 2:13,14 are two of the many verses that tells us the extent of God's forgiveness poured out.
Revenge is the Lord's. Not ours. We may felt justified to take revenge at times...the whole world seems to support our idea of getting back at the people who done us wrong.
The words that someone said to us will still linger in our minds for the whole life maybe. Then why is there a need to forgive in such cases as it seems to us there is no complete erasure of the wrong? Forgiveness is intentional, not just to set the person free and also to set ourselves free. Two person in such unforgiveness are seen as being chained to each other. Only when one initiates the forgiveness and also ask for forgivness can the chain be broken. We are not always wrong but also not always right. As we forgive, we needed forgiveness as well!
But forgiveness doesnt mean weakness and that no consequences will result to the avenger. The punishments will still be carried out if the actions commited defy the civil laws. A person can undergo 24 strokes sentence and half a life time of imprisonment and yet feel unforgiven. why? is unforgiveness that strong, stronger than the physical punishment? Yes, it is. Unforgivness imprisons human hearts. Forgivness in this sense is to release the person from his guilt eventhough he has to undergo the punishments. It means to say 'Even though what u have done to me hurts me deeply, i choose to forgive you because God forgave me in Christ Jesus.' Its on purpose, intentional and needs to be initiated.
Forgiveness is
-Cancelled debt
-Give the person to God
-Yielding our rights to God
-Yielding our rights to punish to God
-Extending mercy
-a conscious choice, not passive
At times, many of us see forgiveness as simply....'Aiya dun bother about him la...i just smile when i see him and try not to talk to him...i din offend him...so in a way i forgive him." That NOT forgivness but rather a putting aside of the situation to the back of our minds without dealing with it. The chain's still intact.
We were told to jot on a pc of paper in our own privacy a list of people we choose to forgive and commit to the Lord. We may not need to approach the person directly because some people offend us without realising it. It's between us and God. When we think abt the people whom we need to forgive, one by one name the person and the way in which they sin against us and release them from our anger, hatred and bitterness. We dont take revenge anymore, we forgive and hear for yourselves the sound of loosened chains.
We forgive because we have tasted the forgivness of God in Christ. We choose forgiveness because unforgiveness is satanic and hinders us in our walk with God. Satan wants you to be chained down by every possible way and bitterness is one of his many tools. Dont be fooled, start loosening your chains. -
iii) Prayer
In Revelation 5:8 , it records for us that our prayers are aromatic incense to God....pleasing to Him.
If God is so powerful, He knows it all before we even start praying...so why do Christians pray?
Just like parents loves to hear their children's voice so does our Father in heavem longs to hear us speaking to Him personally. Prayer is a relationship, NOT a chore.
For someone whom i love, I find it enjoyable to talk to her over the phone despite of the fact that we just met before that! Why do I do such a thing? Is it because the phone bill is free? Nope...but because i love the person so much that i longed to communicate and keep in touch with her.
Likewise, we enjoy talking to God in prayer because He loves us and we love Him. Its a relationship, not something we must do as if a chore. I never enjoyed doing household chores. Our tendency to pray tells us how much we love God and what priority we place God in our lives. Prayer is something we like to push aside when our schedules are up tight and we feel tired...the same goes with QT. Does that sounds familiar to you?
Prayer is NOT a tool we use to make ourselves feel good. Though feeling great is the result. It is done based on relationship with God, not a duty we have to die-die perform.
Prayer is also not seeing God as a vending machine. We read out our wish list and we want God to carry them out. Although we can tell God our needs and situations.. We need to ask and expect to receive according to God's will. Thats Christian prayer. We do not view God as someone who simply sits there and offer lottery and wealth when called upon an do nothing else. In fact God is far more powerful to do just that. Do we come to God only when we felt our wallets are thin and our health going downhill?
3 hindrances to Prayer
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1. Our uneasiness
Be yourself. Just the way you are when you pray. Use words close to your heart and speak to God. Be it broken english or mandarin or any languages you can express, use it to speak to the One who loves you.
2. Our woundedness
We often wonder if God hears. After praying for so long...the situation seems the same. Not moving? Or perhaps we are to hurt in some areas of our lives that we just cant seem to open our mouth to pray. Unforgiveness is also one of the hindrances to our prayers. Unconfessed sins, bitterness against God and other sins are also road-blocks to our prayer life. We can speak to someone whom we don love, blamed and have done something wrong against.
3. Our wrong focus
We focus on the situations or on the God we pray to? God must be the focus of out prayer...not the prayer itself.
Prayer is a relationship between God and us. It is a powerful tool to destroy demonic stronholds, it can change things. It is one of the weapons that satan fear most and he will try his best to stop us from praying.
Campus Crusade for Christ has this saying "I stand the tallest on my knees" -
iv) Faith
The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 is dedicated to the subject on Faith. A word commonly heard in Christian circles...."you must have faith in God etc " What does the word Faith actually mean? Merely a Christianized form of the word Trust?
To me Faith is something foolish. Faith is to hang on to something and staking our lives on it when we do not see it. The world today preaches 'seeing is believing' ..'what you see is what you get' and this has made the term FAITH an unscientific because faith very often do not require sight. Hebrews 11 shows us examples of several biblical characters that simply follow God when He called them without arguing and wanting tangible evidences from Him. When God called Abram to leave his home to a place He has prepared for him as his inheritance didnt know where on earth is that place. Abram dont even have a map to see where God is bringing him to. God called, Abram obey and went. Later in life, Abram(now known as Abraham) was given a son Isaac in his old age, God told him to sacrifice Isaac to him. How on earth he managed to do that? For me...i cant bear to kill my own son especially during a period in life when i know 'i cant do that anymore'. By the same faith, Abraham offered Isaac on the altar and his faith has been proven once again and God replaces Isaac with a ram.
a. What is biblical faith?
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1).
b. Why is faith so impt to God?
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
The righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).
We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.(Romans 10:17).
Faith is a relationship with God.
c. What does amazing faith look like?
LUKE 7:1-10
Jesus is amazed by the Centurion's HUMBLE heart, BELIEVING mind and OBEDIENT will.
d. What is the next step of faith Jesus is calling me to take?
"When in doubt about which path to take, choose the one on which the shadow of the Cross falls - unknown -
v) Missions
"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. (Gen 12:2)
This is the verse that inspires Campus Crusade mission project aptly knownly as GEN 12II
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[1]
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:13-15)
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)
Missions is the heart of God. From Genesis to Revelation, its all about Missions. God pursuing Man. Jesus Christ our Lord went on a mission trip, and the mission field is planet earth. 'GO' is the word we as Christians hate to hear. The word GO seems offensive. It seems to drive and push us out of our comfort zones into an environment in which we are uncomfortable in and unfamiliar with.
For the Son of God to leave heaven's glory to filthy planet earth living as a human is far greater a sacrifice than ours?
5 points on why missions
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a. People need to be told about Jesus
b. God's heart is for the nations
c. God's purpose for my life to be a missionary
d. God's Love compels me.
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
(2 Cor 5:14,15)
e. God's purpose for YOUR LIFE?
"Every heart with Christ in it is a missionary, every heart without Christ is a mission field."
Are we involved in mission trips in our own church or Christian ministries? If No why not? what are some fears, doubts and hindrances stopping us from leaving our comfort zones to a place or nation out there in the world yet to hear about Jesus Christ? The Great Commission is about GO..
Jesus is sending us out as blessings to bless other nations. Missions is not about leaving countries, missions is about taking the gospel to a mission field. In other words, evangelism is a very important part of missions. You can be involved in missions through many ways. By giving to mission trips, providing them with resorces they need, praying for the missions teams out there in the mission fields and simply go and be a blessing yourself!
I have committed myself to be involved in missions. What about you?
You can find out more about how you can be involved in missions during the May-June holidays.
http://gen12ii.everystudent.com.sg/
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You were there at Metamorphosis? Oh I was invited for the Alumni Camp but I was caught up in my church youth camp so I cant...
so which campus are u from? Maybe you know some of the staff workers i know and some of my churchmates in Crusade too,......I used to work in the Crusade HQ for a while hehehe.... -
yep i was there. oh man...u missed the goodies. haha...was a great event. btw, from NUSOriginally posted by gasband:You were there at Metamorphosis? Oh I was invited for the Alumni Camp but I was caught up in my church youth camp so I cant...
so which campus are u from? Maybe you know some of the staff workers i know and some of my churchmates in Crusade too,......I used to work in the Crusade HQ for a while hehehe.... -
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Oh hmm...so do you happen to know Pris Quek or Vincent Goh? They are from my church....I was from CCC when I was in Poly times.. great organisation anointed by God.... well I wun say I missed alot becos God has a place for us at a certain time, I enjoyed myself ministering to the youths at my church youth camp but I believe CCC is a really good place to grow in God, continue the good work!Originally posted by NeonTetra:yep i was there. oh man...u missed the goodies. haha...was a great event. btw, from NUS -
hhmm...never hear before. maybe because they are not in the Meta conference team. ya i agree...its a great organisation and i enjoy serving God there. those things i posted above are things i learn from the conference.Originally posted by gasband:Oh hmm...so do you happen to know Pris Quek or Vincent Goh? They are from my church....I was from CCC when I was in Poly times.. great organisation anointed by God.... well I wun say I missed alot becos God has a place for us at a certain time, I enjoyed myself ministering to the youths at my church youth camp but I believe CCC is a really good place to grow in God, continue the good work! -
Hmm they did leh...they went for the camp and are from NUS...hehehe nvm NUS is big anyway....Good for you that you enjoy the camp...Originally posted by NeonTetra:hhmm...never hear before. maybe because they are not in the Meta conference team. ya i agree...its a great organisation and i enjoy serving God there. those things i posted above are things i learn from the conference. -
ok..haha...Originally posted by gasband:Hmm they did leh...they went for the camp and are from NUS...hehehe nvm NUS is big anyway....Good for you that you enjoy the camp... 