Almost 6 months has passed since the Arrow Camp in June. Decided to take out my notes and go through it and was blessed by it all over again.

Pastor Benjamin:

"Whenever correction comes in our lives, God is aligning us, repositioning us for the next level."

The Benjamin Generation
Understand what God is doing in this generation, so that we can run and flow with what God is doing for us.
Rachel = Little Lamb
Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin.
He was initially named Ben-Oni (Son of My Sorrows)
Renamed Benjamin (Son of My Right Hand) by his father.

Typify the Lamb of God who died to give birth to the Benjamin Generation.
Jesus' death on the cross pay for our existence.
The Benjamin Generation was born because of the death of the Lamb.

Benjamin - only son named by the Father
Youngest son (the 12th son) = we -> we will usher in Jesus, the King of Kings
12 = Governmental Perfection
Benjamin is called to reign. We are called to reign. We are to rule and to reign.

When the Benjamin Generation rise up, there will be bread in the land.
Run with what God has called you.
God is calling to us: We are sons and daugthers of His right hand.
We are going to walk in the unearned, undeserved favour of God. This is our life.
We are marked by the favour of God.
When God raise a generation, God always put His favour on that person.
God always raise a man when He wants to do something.
When God raise somebody, He put His favour into his life.
Happenings will happen to them, happen for them and happen around them.
Don't have to strife.
Don't compete. Complete. Complete the team. No need for competition.

We will be given 5 times more food.
God is supplying spiritual food that is filled with His grace.
Only gracious diet grows champions.
When we are free from self-consciousness, self condemantion, we can really begin to perform. We can't perform because we are so conscious of ourselves.
God has given this generation gracious food, to free us to be who we are in Christ. Fearless, free from men's opinion.
Fear of men is a snare, a trap that stops us from performing.
Don't be self conscious of what we say or what we do.
Have a care-free attitude.
Feed on grace food.

5 changes of garment.
We wear clothes to protect ourselves, to look good.
God will give us clothing to make us attractive and protect us from the heat of the day.
This is the trademark of the Benjamin Generation.

Son of MY RIGHT HAND
Son = Relationship with Daddy God
God will never disown us, for we are begotten of Him and we will always walk in His blessings.
As long as God cannot change, we will never stop being His child. This is our identity.
Have a strong identity that we are His son.
It's not about the right answer, it's about our righteouesness we have because of Jesus.
Have a stronger consciousness of our righteouesness in Christ.
We are the righteousness of God in Christ!
There is nothing wrong with us today. All wrongs have been removed by Jesus at the cross.

Judges 3:12-30
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession of the City of Palms (Jericho).
So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

18 = Bondage
 
But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

Mercy of God. The moement we cried to God, He will bring a deliverer into our life.
Eglon = Fat, Round

Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)
And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.
So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat.
Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.

Entrails = s**t

Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
When he had gone out, Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.”
So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.
But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.
And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.
Then he said to them, “Follow me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.
And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

13 Judges mentioned.
When Ehud is judge, land had rest for 80 years.
When the Benjamin Generation rise up against the enemies of the land, our results will last the longest. We will see a double portion of rest in our lives.
Ehud, the only Judge who is a Benjamite.
Benjamite all left handed.
Left hand a type of weakness. Left hand is always weak.
How you will see deliverance in our lives is by the weakness in our lives.
As long as our weakness holds the word of God (doubled edged sword - Ehud used the doubled edged daggar).
When we take the weakness in our lives and see what the word of God promises, we will be able to kill our enemey.
Ehud put the daggar in his right thigh. Not just any word of God, it is the word of Christ, the Gospel, the power of God.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

When we are armed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, armed with the righteousness of God, we are who we are because of Jesus, no devil and no man can remove this in spite, despite our wrongs, we will see victory in our lives, we will see rest in our lives.
Thigh = power
We will begin to flow in the power of God.
We need to see the power of God flowing in our lives.
Dun play church.
See the real thing happen. When we begin to believe in the gospel.
How? In weakness. In our times of weakness, embrace the gospel.
When we are strong, successful, we don't see a need for God.
Hold on to the daggar of God, of righteousness. Out of it will come the power of God for us to kill the enemy.
His Grace is sufficient for me.

2 Cor 12:7
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

Thorn in the flesh = messgener of Satan
When we go through trials and testings (result of foolishness and weakness), this is the time we hold on to the following verse.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

If there is weakness in our lives today, that will become the greatest strength in our lives. God can transform all our disabilities into His possibilities.
What are we disabled by?
God can change our disability that it will not become a weakness.
If there is a weakness in your life, God can make it into your strength, His Strength.
This is how God work.
Ehud slay the enemy with the hand of weakness.
God uses our weaknesses.
What is your weakness today?
Let Grace embrace that.
His grace is sufficient for you.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
God is in the business of saving.
When we are weak, we qualify for His blessing.
Benjamin Generation = dependent on God's blessing.
Where sin abound, grace superabounds.

How do we let God's strength be made perfect in our weakness?
How to see change?
Key = name of Ehud
Ehud = I will give thanks and I will praise
When we face the weakness in our lives, start giving thanks, start praising God.
Praise and give thanks that God will be strong when we are weak, we can't but He can. We praise Him no matter what. This will kill our flesh.
Proclaim God is our victory, Jesus is our overcomer. Praise Him.
Ehud = United
when we begin to praise God, we unite with God.
His strength becomes our strength.
Everytime we praise the Lord, we will see our weakness transform and miracle happens in our lives.

Everytime in our weakness, praise the Lord.
We will see His strength made perfect.
Praising God raises us up from the mud onto the Rock.
We magnify Him when we praise Him.
God will shake the foundations that are wrong so that Christ can be established in our lives
Everytime we come to God in our weakness, God is delighted.

We are called the Son of His right Hand. God's right hand is His strength. God uses His right hand to hold our left hand. God will hold our left hand. God's strength is always holding our weakness, our left hand.

Praise brings strength.

In serving in ministry, a lot of times our weaknesses are exposed so that God's goodness can be revealed in our lives.

Perhaps this is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—  that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."

And in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Our God-given strengths can also become our weakness when we depend on our strengths instead of on the Lord's strengths.

It takes a mindset change to rejoice when our weaknesses are exposed, because God's goodness is going to be revealed in our lives. Jesus Himself showed Himself as an example:

2 Corinthians 13:3-4: "since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you."

It takes faith to rejoice when our weaknesses are exposed. And it takes faith to know that God's goodness will be revealed when our weaknesses are exposed.

God is good all the time.

A study I did some time ago. Really insipred by Pastor Brian Houston's message from Nehemiah 8.

{Mattithiah = "gift of Jehovah"
{Shema = "hear"
Right    {Anaiah = "Jehovah has answered"
Hand    {Uriah or Urijah = "Jehovah (Yahweh) is my light (flame)"
{Hilkiah = "my portion is Jehovah"
{Maaseiah = "work of Jehovah"

Ezra – help Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor.

{Pedaiah = "Jehovah has ransomed"
{Mishael = "who is what God is"
{Malchijah or Malchiah = "my king is Jehovah"
Left    {Hashum = "rich"
Hand    {Hashbadana = "considerate judge"
{Zechariah = "Jehovah remembers"
{Meshullam = "friend"

Jeshua = "he is saved"
Bani = "built"
Sherebiah = "Jehovah has scorched"
Jamin = "right hand"
Akkub = "insidious"
Shabbethai = "sabbatical"
Hodijah = "my majesty is Jehovah"
Maaseiah = "work of Jehovah"
Kelita = "crippled"
Azariah = "Jehovah has helped"
Jozabad or Josabad = "Jehovah has endowed"
Canan or Hanan = "he is merciful"
Pelaiah = "Jehovah does wonders"

Indeed the year 2008 will be a year of manifested blessings!

Psalm 133 (NKJV)

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!          
It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.

Do not forsake fellowship. Psalm 133 open with "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" That's fellowship to me, dwelling together in unity. Being in fellowship, dwelling together in unity or harmony, Psalm 133 likens it to like the precious oil upon the heard, running down the beard.

It just reminds me of church fellowship, coming together for services, caregroups, Arrow activities, hanging out together etc. Not just with our peers, but being with our leaders. Not just coming together for the sake of coming together, but actually dwelling together in unity, in harmony. That to me means a family. A family that you always yearns to return to. A family that you know you can be yourself. A family that you knows that there are people whom you can trust, people whom you know love you, people whom you know does and says things for your good, your growth and development. A family that really cares, a family that never lets go.

Also it reminds me of why we are called the Arrow ministry. We are being sharpened to be used in the hand of A Mighty Warrior. So a family sharpens each other too. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend.

The precious oil will flow from the top to the beard and to the edge of the garments. The anointing will flow, the blessing will flow. When we keep ourselves in fellowship in church, the anointing and blessing from our leaders flow from them to us.

Fellowship will also keep us safe. There is protection in fellowship. The Lord showed me a picture, of a herd of water buffaloes and a lioness. The lioness was waiting to hunt down its prey. As long as the heard of water buffaloes stay together in a pack, the lioness could only wait. But when a water buffalo stray far enough from the herd, the lioness will attack it. Reminds me that the verse:

1 Peter 5:6-8 (NKJV)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

It's a reminder to me not to forsake fellowship. Don't be like the water buffalo who strays from the herd, don't shun away from fellowship, don't keep yourself from fellowship, but rather keep yourself safe by making it a point to have fellowship and which better place than Arrow to have to such Godly fellowship.

Finally, when we keep ourselves in fellowship, verse 3 of Psalm 133 says that there God will command His blessing - life forever more! Woohoo! Doesn't it remind you of Deuteronomy 28:8? And furthermore this year will be the year where God manifest His blessings in your life, especially Deuteronomy 28 blessings! And I believe where we keep ourselves in fellowship with one another, with our friends from church in our respective institution. Not only will we have the anointing and blessing from our leaders, we will also be refreshed, for it is like the dew of Hermon, God promised that we will have His commanded blessing! LIFE forevermore! His resurrected life.

Deuteronomy 28:8 (New King James Version)

“The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

The NOW word is so important....for it shows and proves that our God is REAL and He is truly a LIVING GOD.

 

I thank God that He is a God that sticks with you not only during yoru good, peaceful times, but also during your challenging and turbelent times! In fact, it is during our challenging and turbelent times that He became so real in our lives that it is so hard to understand by the human mind, that why Paul always mentioned....surpassing all understanding. Yes, God surpasses all understanding.

 

Yes, I am going through something, something unexpected, something challenging, something big. But I know that my God is with me and in fact He confirmed that He is with me through encouragements and exaltations through fellow breathen. They are so precious and so important as part of the body ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Through the Word, devotionals and even random messages that I pick out to listen to. God is definitely with me and will always be. He will be with me in my troubles. Thank you Jesus. It is because of You. Because You were forsaken at the cross, so that today My Father is with me, You neither leave me nor forsake me, in fact you give me the Holy Spirit to indwell me to teach me, to comfort me, to talk to me, to convict me.

 

I placed this trouble in my life right now under YOUR GRACE and I know that You will work all things for my good, for I know that You are a good God and You are good to me. Amen!

 

My NOW word these few days:

 

Psalms 91

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge

His truth shall be your shield and buckler

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night

Nor of the arrow that flies by day

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday

A thousand may fall at your side

Ten thousand at your right hand

But it shall not come near you

Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling

For He shall give His angels charge over you

To keep you in all your ways

In their hands they shall bear you up

Lest you dash your foot against a stone

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set His love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him

I will set him on high because he has known My name

I will be with him in trouble

I will deliver him and honour him

With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.

 

Isaiah 54:14-17

In righteousness you shall be established

You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear

And from terror, for it shall not come near you

Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me

Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

Behold I have created the blacksmith

Who blows the coals in the fire

Who brings forth a weapon for his work

And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

No weapon formed against you shall prosper

And every tongue which rises against you in judgement

You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

And their righteousness if from Me, says the Lord.

 

Isaiah 61:7

Instead of your shame you shall have double honour,

And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.

Therefore in their land they shall possess double;

Everlasting joy shall be theirs

 

I love the following verse, cos 9 (September) 23rd is my birthday. It seems that this is the verse God gave to me especially, never seen it before, but knew about from the random messages I heard. Praise the Lord!

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom

Let not the mighty man glory in his might

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord, exercising

lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

 

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guards your heart and mind, in the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

The song that My spirit been singing....

 

You are my Lord 

You are my Lord

You are my God

You're the only one

Who conquered the grave

 

In You I believe

Your love I receive

You will always be my King

 

Chorus:

You are my Lord

You're the Shepherd of my life

You are the lover of my soul

You are my God

Every moment that I live

Your mighty hand is doing wonders for me

 

Deuteronomy 7:17-24 (The Message)
You're going to think to yourselves, "Oh! We're outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We'll never even make a dent in them!" But I'm telling you, Don't be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail what God, your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt. Remember the great contests to which you were eyewitnesses: the miracle-signs, the wonders, God's mighty hand as he stretched out his arm and took you out of there. God, your God, is going to do the same thing to these people you're now so afraid of.
And to top it off, the Hornet. God will unleash the Hornet on them until every survivor-in-hiding is dead.
So don't be intimidated by them. God, your God, is among you—God majestic, awesome. GodGod, your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won't be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. But God, your God, will move them out of your way—he'll throw them into a huge panic until there's nothing left of them. He'll turn their kings over to you and you'll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you'll put an end to them all.

(New Living Translation)
Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the L your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will use this same power against all the people you fear.

And then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you!

“No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you. But the Lord your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed. He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all.

(New King James)
“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.

You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.

Whenever we are faced with a problem or a challenge, what do we say? Do we look within ourselves and ask ourselves, how do I solve this problem? This is too big for me. I believe, God wants us to stop looking within ourselves, comparing the problem with our abilities, but compare the problem with Him. And He is much greater than all our problems and challenges combined.

A quote from Pastor Prince, "Look within yourself and you will be depressed. Look outside you and you will be distressed. Look to Jesus and you will be at rest."

Yes, when we look to Jesus, we will be at rest. Put the problems and challenges in His hands, compare them with the finished work of the cross. Which is bigger? More likely, God will show you a picture of your problem IN Jesus at the cross and Jesus bearing that problem at the cross for you and God's consuming fire consuming the problem until it is no more and only Jesus is left hanging on the cross, victorious over your problem, which is now no more and what's more died with the non-existent problem, that it will not come back to taunt you. Then Jesus resurrect and gives you the resurrection power and the victory and where is your problem? It cannot be found at all, not even one trace is seen in Jesus. All Jesus gave you is His victory. That's the rest that we have.

Do we do nothing? No, we do what we can in the natural to overcome the problem, but draw our strength from the mental picture of Jesus' victory over our problem for us, remembering that as we deal with the problem, we are dealing with it on the ground of victory, on the ground where the problem is non-existent in Christ. We will deal with problems with no stress at all. We will deal with problems with ease. That's how we grow I believe.

“For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Deutronomy 7:2 (NKJV)

When God is with you, you will lack nothing. Whatever we need to conquer our problem, God will ensure that we are equipped and given what we lacked to overcome our problem.

Seek Him. Spend time in His word. Pray and talk to Him.

"Life is about letting God use you for His purpose." Rick Warren

This line struck me. Actually the whole passage read this way, "Many people try to use God for their own self-actualisation, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God and not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for His purpose, not your using him for your own purpose."

How many times have I actually use God for my own self-actualisation? Many times, numerous times, countless times. I used Him to get this and that, I used Him to have favour in this and that, I used Him to get me delivered out of troubles. Has He been faithful? Yes..Have I been disappointed? Yes, there are numerous times when God did not seem to come through for me. Was God unfaithful? I don't think so. So wassup? I don't know. There are certain challenges that I have been believing God for for years and yet the breakthrough does not seem to be coming.

Revelation. That was what I lacked. Revelation of Jesus, revelation of His word. For what purpose? Not for my breakthrough, not for my material needs, not even for my ministry needs, for the sole purpose of having a personal relationship with Him. A walk with Him.

I came to this realisation, this revelation. As long as my eyes are on the material, I will never be satisfied, I will never be content. I will always be in the rat race. Get out of the rat race! What's the goal of the rat race? Where is the finishing point of the rat race? There is none! Why buy things that I don't need, with money that I don't have, to impress people that I don't even like?

But as long as my eyes are on Jesus and His finished work on the cross, I will be content. It is simply this, "Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." God is faithful, if I seek Him, He will never shortchange me. The desire of the righteous will be granted. Whatever material desire that I have, whatever dreams that I have in my heart, God will grant me these desires.

What does it mean to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness? There are so many ways to interpret this, but at the end of the day I believe that it is to have a personal walk with Him, it is to give Him and His word priority in my life. How often have I failed in this? Cos again, I also realised, this is the thing that I am supposed to DO, this is the works that I have to do, this the REST that I have to labour into.

And eventually, He will cause the other things to come after me and overtake me. I have needs, focus on Him, not for the fulfillment of the needs but to know Him more, that need will be supplied according to His riches in glory by Him. Eyes on the bless-or, not on the blessings. Eyes on Jesus, His death and His resurrection.

"You cannot arrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God - and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end." Rick Warren

Time to embark on this journey with Him. Time to find out His purpose for me in this work and time to allow Him to use me for this work.

"Without God, life makes no sense." Andrei Bitov

So true....right now, I can't imagine my life without God.

Ephesians 1:11-12 (The Message): "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone."
(New King James): "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory."

Colossians 1:15-18 (The Message): "We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body."
Matthew 16:24-26 (The Message): "Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?"
(New King James): "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

I was really blessed by Pastor Joshua's message last night at Bible Study. Fresh revelations of God's goodness! God is good, regardless of my circumstances for He is GOOD, He is GOODNESS personified. Woohoo! Yeah!

The Holy Spirit also opened my eyes to the verse in Nehemiah 8:10: the joy of the Lord is my strength. What Pastor Josh said is so true, it is NOT our joy in the Lord that is our strength, it is THE JOY OF THE LORD that is our strength. The thought of GOD REJOICING OVER ME that gives me strength. Tremendous! I was so blessed by that statement.

It is like what Pastor Prince said, look not into the inside, look on the outside, look at the finished cross. When I looked inside, there is nothing. My joy does not hold water, even my joy in the Lord cannot cut it, cos I, ME, MY and MINE are involved. It is beholding the LOrd's Joy, it is beholding the cross, the manifestation of His goodness, HIs love and even His joy that gives me strength, that cause me to run against a troop and leap over a wall. Yeah!

And I really like what Pastor Josh shared at the end of the sermon from Zephaniah 3:14-17, what does it mean by the Lord quiet us in His love. The Amplified Bible said it so beautifully. I decided to check with the NLT and Message translations of this verse...

My Lord Jesus will calm me with His love (Perfect love casts out fear), He will make no mention of my past sins and right now He is rejocing over me, thinking of me and singing. Wow...I can't imagine that frankly but it's TRUE!

Zephaniah 3:14-17

New King James Version

Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Amplified

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem [in that day].

[For then it will be that] the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands sink down or be slow and listless.

The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

The Message

So sing, Daughter Zion! Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem, be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel's king, in charge at the center.
There's nothing to fear from evil ever again!

Jerusalem will be told: "Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion, don't despair.
Your God is present among you,  a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.

New Living Translation

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster.
On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,“Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid!
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

This fascinating letter was written by a Christian father to his Christian son in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. A recent movie, "Gods and Generals," the epic screen adaptation of Jeff Shaara's best-selling novel, portrays the piety and consecration of various Christians, among whom are the famous Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson of Northern Virginia. A much deeper and detailed account of the Christian character of the Northern Virginian Army is found in the excellent book, "Christ in the Camp," by J. William Jones. Contained within this book is the letter you are about to read. If only we had more wise and loving fathers in this present evil world... (we can be and we are made to be such fathers, may we see more of such fathers in New Creation Church in the days to come!)

July 17, 1861

My Dear Son:

It may have seemed strange to you that a professing Christian father so freely gave you, a Christian son, to enlist in the volunteer service. My reason was that I regarded this as a purely defensive war. Not only did the Southern Confederacy propose to adjust the pending difficulties by peaceful and equitable negotiations, but Virginia used again and again the most earnest and noble efforts to prevent a resort to the sword. These overtures having been proudly spurned, and our beloved South having been threatened with invasion and subjugation, it seemed to me that nothing was left us but stern resistance or abject submission to unconstitutional power. A brave and generous people could not for a moment hesitate between such alternatives. A war in defence of our homes and firesides-of our wives and children-of all that makes life worth possessing is the result. While I most deeply deplore the necessity for the sacrifice, I could not but rejoice that I had a son to offer to the service of the country, and if I had a dozen I would most freely give them all. As you are now cheerfully enduring the hardships of the camp, I know you will listen to a father's suggestions touching the duties of your new mode of life.

1. Take special care of your health. More soldiers die of disease than in battle. A thin piece of damp sponge in the crown of your hat during exposure to the hot sun-the use of thick shoes and a waterproof coat in rainy weather-the practice of drinking cold water, when you are very warm, as slowly as you sip hot tea-the thorough mastication of your food-the avoiding of damp tents and damp grounds during sleep-and frequent ablutions of your person, are all the hints I can give you on this point. Should you need anything that I can supply, let me hear from you. I will do what I can to make you comfortable. After all, you must learn to endure hardness as a good soldier. Having never slept a single night in your whole life except in a pleasant bed, and never known a scarcity of good food, you doubtless find the ways of the camp rough; but never mind. The war, I trust, will soon be over, and then the remembrance of your hardships will sweeten the joy of peace.

2. The rules of war require prompt and unquestioning obedience. You may sometimes think the command arbitrary and the officer supercilious, but it is yours to obey. An undisciplined army is a curse to its friends and a derision to its foes. Give your whole influence, therefore, to the maintenance of lawful authority and strict order. Let your superiors feel that whatever they intrust to you will be faithfully done. Composed of such soldiers, and led by skilful and brave commanders, our army, by the blessing of God, will never be defeated. It is, moreover, engaged in a holy cause, and must triumph.

3. Try to maintain your Christian profession among your comrades. I need not caution you against strong drink as useless and hurtful, nor against profanity, so common among soldiers. Both these practices you abhor. Aim to take at once a decided stand for God. If practicable, have prayers regularly in your tent, or unite with your fellow-disciples in prayer-meetings in the camp. Should preaching be accessible, always be a hearer. Let the world know that you are a Christian. Read a chapter in the New Testament which your mother gave you, every morning and evening when you can, and engage in secret prayer to God for his Holy Spirit to guide and sustain you. I would rather hear of your death than of the shipwreck of your faith and good conscience.

4. As you will come into habitual contact with men of every grade, make special associates of those whose influence on your character is felt to be good. Some men love to tell extravagant stories, to indulge in vulgar wit, to exult in a swaggering carriage, to pride themselves on their coarse manners, to boast of their heroism, and to give utterance to feelings of revenge against the enemy. All this is injurious to young and impressible minds. If you admire such things, you will insensibly imitate them, and imitation will work gradual but certain detriment to your character. Other men are refined without being affected. They can relax into occasional pleasantries, without violating modesty. They can be loyal to their government without indulging private hatred against her foes. They can be cool and brave in battle, and not be braggarts in the absence of danger. Above all, they can be humble, spiritual, and active Christians, and yet mingle in the stirring and perilous duties of soldier life. Let these be your companions and models. You will thus return from the dangers of camp without a blemish on your name.

5. Should it be your lot to enter into an engagement with the enemy, lift up your heart in secret ejaculations to the ever-present and good Being, that He will protect you from sudden death; or, if you fall, that He will receive your departing spirit, cleansed in the blood of Jesus, into His kingdom. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Commit your eternal interests, therefore, to the keeping of the Almighty Saviour. You should not, even in the hour of deadly conflict, cherish personal rage against the enemy, any more than an officer of the law hates the victim of the law. How often does a victorious army tenderly care for the dead and wounded of the vanquished. War is a tremendous scourge which Providence sometimes uses to chastise proud and wicked nations. Both parties must suffer, even though one may get the advantage. There is no occasion, then, for adding to the intrinsic evils of the system the odious feature of animosity to individuals. In the ranks of the foe are thousands of plain men who do not understand the principles for which we are struggling. They are deceived by artful demagogues into a posture of hostility to those whom, knowing, they would love. It is against such men that you may perhaps be arrayed, and the laws of war do not forbid you to pity them, even in the act of destroying them. It is more important that we should exhibit a proper temper in this unfortunate contest, because many professed Christians and ministers of the Gospel at the North are breathing out, in their very prayers and sermons, threatenings and slaughter against us! Oh! how painful that a gray-headed pastor should publicly exclaim, "I would hang them as soon as I would shoot a mad dog."

6. Providence has placed you in the midst of thoughtless and unpardoned men. What a beautiful thing it would be if you could winsome of them to the Saviour! Will you not try? You will have many opportunities of speaking a word in season. The sick, you may comfort; the wavering, you may confirm; the backslidden, you may reclaim; the weary and heavy laden, you may point to Jesus for rest to the soul. It is not presumptuous for a young man, kindly and meekly, to commend the Gospel to his brother soldiers. The hardest of them will not repel a gentle approach, made in private. And many of them would doubtless be glad to have the subject introduced to them. They desire to hear of Jesus, but they lack courage to inquire of his people. An unusually large proportion of pious men have entered the army, and I trust they will give a new complexion to military life. Let them search out each other, and establish a fraternity among all the worshippers of God. To interchange religious views and administer brotherly counsel will be mutually edifying. "He that watereth shall be watered also himself." And now, as a soldier has but little leisure, I will not occupy you longer. Be assured that every morning and evening we remember you, at the family altar, to our Father in Heaven. We pray for a "speedy, just, and honorable peace," and for the safe return of all the volunteers to their loved homes. All the children speak often of "brother," and hear your letters read with intense interest. That God Almighty may be your shield and your exceeding great reward is the constant prayer of your loving father.

Ro. RYLAND. (his father)

Proverbs 12:12

(NKJ) The wicked covet the catch of evil men,
But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

(AMP) The wicked desire the booty of evil men, but the root of the [uncompromisingly] righteous yields [richer fruitage].

(NLT) Thieves are jealous of each other's loot,
but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

(MSG) What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin, 
while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life.

This verse jump out at me today: the root of the righteous yields fruit. Wow!

2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in HIm.

Rom 5:17 For if by one 's man offense death reigned through the one, MUCH MORE those who received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

Rom 4:23-25 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

As Jesus is, so are we in this world. Has Christ risen? Yes! That means - we, who receive Jesus as our righteousness has been justified! We who acknowledged Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ! We who have received the gift of righteousness, we are righteous in Him!

Because we are righteous, Proverbs 12:12 says that our root will yield fruit! Rest! As we seek first His righteousness and HIs kingdom, all these things (the things we need and desires) will be added to us. As we hunger and thrist for His righteousness, He will fill us. Stay righteous conscious and whatever needs or desires we have, it will bear fruit.

The term 'bear fruit' is also interesting, suggesting that there is a right time and season. It also suggest that there is a time of preparation, a time of nourishment, a time of waiting and patience, a time of endurance and long-suffering. A tree planted in a orchard is subjected to the weather - we will experience rains, heat, strong winds, but as long as our roots are deep and strong in the ground, we are able to withstand it whatever that comes.

And as long as our roots stay rooted, we continuously draw nourishment from the soil. As long as we stay rooted and grounded in His love (Eph 3), we will know and experience parctically His love for us (read Amplified Ephesians 3) and we will be filled with God's fullness and power and the result is: He will answer us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, think, dream, desire etc (again read Amplified version).

Truly the root of the righteous yield fruit. Be patient, it will bear fruit. Think about it, do you like a eat a unripe fruit? Do you like sour oranges? Do you like non-crunchy apples? The season will come where you will reap a harvest! Be patient.

Ephesians 3:16-20 (Amplified)

May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--

What an awesome God we have!

Remember He has manifested His love for us at the cross of Calvary, the finished work of the cross, Jesus crucified at the cross. That's His love manifested in the most tangible form. His love has been perfected among us. Be reminded of  the measure of His love for us - As God the Father loves Jesus, He loves us with the same measure of love.

"Good things happen to those who know that God loves them." Pastor Prince.

A dear brother in Christ just got into an accident in Scotland, praise Jesus, he just suffered a fractured ribs. When I receive the news, a sense of gulit swept over me. I have not been keeping him in my prayers. Sense of condemnation kept rising up and the thoughts are so personal - I should have, if only I had....

But praise the Lord for good teachings...was just listening to one of pastor's sermon and he said (paraphrasing), don't allow the birds to build a nest on your head, ignore the thoughts and dun sign for the package. Ignoring the devil's devices and resting in Christ's finished work and pointing to the devil what Christ has done for me is one of the best weapon I can ever use.

Praise Jesus - God preserved my friend's life. A good reminder to always keep those dear to me in my prayers always and highlighting the importance of praying in the Spirit, for you never know for who the Holy Spirit is intercessing through you at that moment.

 

Genesis 1:26-31

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." and it was so.

Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good.

What have God given us?

1. We have been made/created in His image - we looked like God. according to God's estimation, we are good-looking. Don't let man take that image and identity from us!);
2. We are made/created according to His likeness - We have His nature.
3. We have dominion over the fish of the sea
4. We have dominion over the birds of the air
5. We have dominion over the cattle
6. We have dominion over all the earth (over all living thing that moves on the earth)
7. We have dominion over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
8. We have been blessed by God. How? God spoke into our lives, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it."
9. We have been given every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth.
10. We were given every tree whose fruit yields seed, our food. (Sow the seed, don't eat the seed. Out of what we always eat, sow a part of it.)

Did Adam have to do anything to qualify for the above? No, it is all due to the great love that God wants to lavish on us. It is grace. Though Adam had surrendered the above to satan later, Jesus redeemed us and gave all of the above and maybe even much more to us.

It's time to live in and partake of God's reality of the above. Furthermore right now we have the blood of Jesus, the finished work of the cross as our qualifications. Live it. Lambarno it.

Pastor’s message on Thursday was awesome. The laws that God will write on my hearts and put in my mind in the New Covenant are simply laws that will teach us, guide us, enable us to do things that are to the:
•    Greatest glorification of Jesus in my life and
•    for the greatest good of the church.
In fact, right now I am not doing justice to Pastor’s message just simplifying it so much. There are just so much nuggets in the message. You gotta listen to the message!
Thinking and reflecting the message that was preached, I was brought to remembrance my rhema word from God for 2007.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5
The rhema word came to me towards the end of last year. At that time, I was driving and this words just came to me, “Without Me you can do nothing. Without Me you can do nothing.” I knew that the verse was from John and looking up, the above two verses jumped out at me immediately. I knew that God was trying to speak to me.
This year, I have to learn this truth that without Jesus, I can do nothing. When I abide in Jesus and Jesus abide in me, I will bear much fruits. This was timely as last year was a year when I realised that I have not been totally relying on the Grace of God. It was not easy for me to accept that, but I had to realise that I have been a branch that have been struggling to produce my own fruits and not drawing from the vine that I was in.
How then do I abide in Christ and allow Christ to abide in me? The Greek word abide is the same as the word dwell. So dwell in Christ and Christ dwell in me.
When I read further down to verse 9, I realise that it means to abide in Jesus: Abide in His love. This brought to rememberance Ephesians 3:17-20.
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
The key to God answering our prayers exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask in us being rooted and grounded in His love. It is us abiding in His love. We abiding in Christ, our true vine.
I love the Amplified version:
“May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—
Woohoo…Abide in His love for us.
Then what does it mean that Christ abide in us?
This is not original with me, it was Pastor Joshua who shared this with us and I was so blessed by it.
Reading verse 7 in John 15:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…”
See that? Christ abide in us, by His words abiding in us! So when we read His word, mediate on His word, listening to His word, reading His word through a book, praying in tongues, worshipping Him. What is happening? Christ is abiding in us!
And what happen when Christ abide in us? Read on in verse 7 and 8:
“…you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
When we abide in His love and His words abide in us, we will ask what we desire and it will be done for us. By ‘this’, the ‘this’ is referring to us asking what we desire and it being done for us! When that happen, God is glorified! When we ask what we desired and it is done for us, Jesus is glorified! And this is us bearing much fruit!
Abide in His love and let His words abide in you! And you know God has given us a foolproof way of having His words abide in us - PRAYING IN TONGUES!
It is so simple!
I feel so blessed already just by writing this blog. Praise Jesus! Thank you Lord!
Hope you are blessed!
Remember live a life that glorify Jesus and edify the church.

February 8 2007. Thursday Bible Study. This is a night that I will remember. A night when God double, no, triple confirm His word to perform the miracles that I need in my life.
Praise and Worship was tremendous. There aren’t the usual tears when I encountered the presence of God during worship, but just unspeakable joy, peace, sense of righteousness and boldness. Yes boldness rising up in me that gave me the courage to just come to God as I am, nothing, and just ask Him to work miracles in my life.
At that time, I felt God smiling at me and saying, “It’s about time.” You mean I have never ask God for miracles? Yes I have, numerous times. But that night was different, that night the faith that I have was different, it was a faith that truly stopped looking at myself, a faith that was totally on Jesus and His finished work. A faith that just trusted in His goodness, it’s no longer about me. A faith that says Jesus, it’s all You, all Yours.
The word preached and teached by Pastor Prince was awesome. Though it was the second time I heard it, that night something just dropped into my heart as the word goes forth. If anyone ask me what is the will of God, my answer would be simply this:
1.    My life to glorify Jesus.
2.    My life to edify the body of Christ.
Throughout the sermon, I just felt God telling me this, “The miracles you ask, it is done, that My Son, Jesus will be glorified in your life. And the people around you will know that I am your God.” It was awesome…can’t find a better word to describe the feeling I have. This is the double confirmation.
The third confirmation, after the offering song, Magnificent, Pastor Prince saw a vision: angels pouring pots of golden oil over us. In fact before this, he told us to ask God for whatever miracles we need in our lives for there is an anointing of God all over the church that night.
I knew that the challenge I have been facing will be over soon. Very soon I will see God’s manifestation of His miracle working power in my and Jessie’s lives. Very soon, there will be evidences that speak of His goodness in our lives.
Amen! Thank you Jesus!

This is one of my favourite sermons from Jerry Savelle.  He ended the sermon with the following and man....the anointing is strong even when you watched it on the computer screen.

In Genesis - He is the seed of the woman
In Exodus - He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus - He is our High Priest
In Numbers - He in the Pillar of cloud by day and fire by night
In Deuteronomy - He is the Prophet like unto Moses
In Joshua - He is the Captain of our Salvation
In Judges - He is our Judge

In Ruth - He is our Kinsman-Redeemer
In Samuel - He is our Trusted Prophet
In Kings & Chron - He is our Reigning King
In Ezra - He is our Faithful Scribe
In Nehemiah - He is the Rebuilder of the broken down walls
In Esther - He is our Mordecai
In Job - He is our Ever-Living Redeemer
In Psalms - He is our Shepherd
In Proverbs & Ecc - He is our Wisdom
In Song of Sol. - He is our Lover and Bridegroom
In Isaiah - He is the Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah - He is the Righteous Branch
In Lamentations - He is the Weeping Prophet
In Ezekiel - He is the Wonderful Four-Faced Man
In Daniel - He is the Fourth Man in the Fire
In Hosea - He is the Faithful Husband
In Joel - He is the Baptiser with the Holy Spirit
In Amos - He-is our Burden-Bearer
In Obadiah - He is Mighty to Save
In Jonah - He is our Foreign Missionary
In Micah - He is the Messenger with Beautiful Feet
In Nahum - He is the Avenger of God's Elect
In Habakkuk - He is God's Evangelist
In Zephaniah - He is our Saviour
In Haggai - He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage
In Zechariah - He is the Fountain open in the House of David
In Malachi - He is the Sun of Righteousness with Healing in His Wing
In Matthew - He is the Messiah
In Mark - He is the Wonder-Worker
In Luke - He is the Son of Man
In John - He is the Son of God
In Acts - He is the Holy Ghost
In Romans - He is our Justifier
In Corinthians - He is our Sanctifier
In Galatians - He is the Redeemer from the curse of the Law
In Ephesians - He is the Christ of unsearchable riches
In Philippians - He is the Supplier of all our needs
In Colossians - He is the Fullness of the Godhead bodily
In Thessalonians - He is our Soon and Coming King
In Timothy - He is the Mediator between God and man
In Titus - He is the Faithful Pastor
In Philemon - He is the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother
In Hebrews - He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant
In James - He is our Great Physician
In Peter - He is the Chief Shepherd
In John - He is Love
In Jude - He is the Lord, coming with ten thousand of His saints
In Revelation - HE IS THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

Woohoo!!!

Check out this little known interesting fact!

Is it true that shepherds sometimes break a lamb ' s leg to prevent it from wandering off?

It is not true that any shepherds break a lamb ' s leg on purpose.

What they sometimes do in certain sheep-raising nations is to "brake" a leg. This means they attach a clog or weight to the animal ' s leg, which keeps certain "rogue" sheep from getting too far from the shepherd until they learn their names, and not to be afraid of the shepherd.

Rogue sheep are those that won ' t stay with the flock--important to their safety. A single sheep that constantly moves out and away from the others is the certain target of predators, and often is at risk of wandering out of sight (over a hill, into the brush, etc.) in terrain where the shepherd is unable to count the sheep properly. Then the sheep would be surely lost.

Each shepherd looks after from about 1200 to 3000 sheep. When they ' re constantly moving, such large numbers are impossible to count with precision.

To keep track of such large numbers of sheep, they must be corralled, and then "passed under the rod," which means the shepherd has them in a narrow chute that enables each sheep to be counted one by one, and even marked with paint, charcoal, etc., for further work if necessary.

The leg brake is a temporary measure; a lamb with a braked leg (it ' s not a "broken" leg!) is still easy pickings for predators at night, because it can ' t run as fast as the flock when under attack, and shepherd usually can ' t see predators in the dark.

Praise Jesus we have a Shepherd who neither sleeps nor slumbers at night....A Shepherd who is our light in darkness....a Shepherd who will never ever allow predators to have the better of us....a Shepherd who constantly watches over us...a Shepherd who always responds to our cries for help...A Shepherd who truly cares and tends to us...

I super sian now...cos I spent one hour typing out a blog on praying tongues and when I decided that it was good to publish it...guess wat? I was logged out and my hour long of effort in typing the blog is all gone! Disappeared into cyber-air! Kaput! One hour of time spent all wasted!!! URRRGGGHHHHHH!!!! Now too sian to re-type everything. I guess I will just go and sleep and get ready for tomorrow...

Praise Jesus....wait..discouragement right? Let's close the door on it...SLAM!!!!! Praise Jesus...I will rewrite the blog tomorrow...Night!