Sunday, September 13, 2009

Rejoice! God Has A Plan For Us!

I am really pleased with how the Church Business Meeting went yesterday and really felt the Holy Spirit was with us. I wasn’t so worried the outcome as the Holy Spirit then leads us to vote accordingly. Siew Har was worried I was warming up but I was actually praying over and over again and rebuking all the evil spirits from amongst us and casting them out in Jesus’ name. So, when I saw how orderly everything went, I just looked up and thought to myself, “God, You are a prayer answering God”. Later, Henry and I thanked God in the car for His presence in the meeting and for so many members to move out from our position of complacency to fighting to what matters to God. We want to MOVE ON and do what matters to God. To save souls!

I was sitting near the mic ready to speak if anyone was going to upset God. I didn’t know when but thought I would just go with the Holy Spirit leading me. So many emotions flooded me as the meeting progressed but never terribly angry so I guess maybe that’s how God sees us too. In the end, I didn’t feel it was necessary. Praise the Lord! The Holy Spirit was with us!

What I wanted to share with FBC was that God has burdened my heart to tell you not to be inward looking anymore for there is much to do in God’s kingdom. God has also burdened my heart to show you that He is a God who is in control and that He has a plan for you. But after yesterday, I really feel deep down that things are slowly turning around, a sign that many of us are repenting. As a lukewarm church, He should have already spat us out from His mouth. For a long time, I have had this thought in my mind and to the words in Revelation 3:16:

“So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth”

Sue thinks we should have been zapped a long time ago. Yesterday, someone had a vision of a square and a tunnel within growing narrower and narrower showing how inward looking we are and God saying that we are very close to a calamity wherein He will spit us out from His mouth. It is not a coincidence that we are getting the same messages. But God is faithful and loving.

I’ve walked this journey with God for quite long now and only yesterday I realized that we as a church have the same problem. Complacency. We use all sorts of excuse not to serve Him. For a long time I have complained of our church being lukewarm but I could not nail down exactly what is causing it. It does not help that I did not know how to minister cell members properly and all their discouragements, hurts, chaos arising from this same sin was burdening my heart opening the door wide for more of the devil’s attack. It is only when Hamir, my neighbour, led by the Holy Spirit, prayed that our church not be inward looking and asked for the Holy Spirit to help me open my mouth to share this with others, that my eyes began to open. How wonderful it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It was during the first night at the hospital after receiving the “machine gun” scans and feeling of hopelessness, that I confessed my sins of always using fear as an excuse for not serving Him effectively. Also, our (Henry and I) focus was on the kids and not so much at Jesus and I also repented for that. Still, it is not until now that I realized that THAT is the spirit of complacency within me and within each and everyone of us. THAT is the message that God wants to tell us. He is slow to anger because He wants all His children to come to repentance. AND He is watching us very very closely now. Everything we do or what is happening around us seem to be connected to each other, there seem to be a lot of coincidences but it is NOT. It is God talking to us nudging us to repentance. Isn’t He awesome. Isn’t He loving. I seriously think that if we had seen another bout of fury yesterday, God’s fury would also be unleashed on us instantly. Lightning and all.

This is what the LORD says in Isaiah 48:18,

"If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river"

Because we have disobeyed God, there is no peace in church now. For many of our disobediences have opened our hearts for attacks by the devil. Over the years we have allowed the devil to build upon our sin of complacency leading to the rut we are in now. As I have cancer, so you are cancered. We are all in the same state.

In Proverbs 3:5, He said
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Just as God is patient in showing His anger, we too must be patient in this trial and trust God. Open your eyes to see that this disobedience has accumulated over many years and as a result, our sins have opened doors for the devil to take a stronghold in us. We are facing spiritual warfare.

But our God is a powerful God!
He who is in us in greater than he who is in this world.

He is a faithful God!
As soon as I repented my sin, He started to pull me out from the pit.

Our God is a prayer answering God!
He has begun his healing process and on 1 Sept, my scan results showed that the nodules are almost all gone. Even the spots on the liver have been almost completely resolved. In Amos 5:6, God said “Seek the Lord and live” As I sought Him, He has given me life, so too will He give FBC life as we turn back to Him.

We need to repent, let go our woes and let God take control of FBC. God has shown His miracle on me to you FBC so that you may believe that He is a God who is in control, that He loves us and will heal us. Now that the new council is elected, God will raise servant or servants amongst us to lead FBC back to being the Church that He desires. As I testify of His glory and goodness so too will FBC have the opportunity to do so soon. I believe since we are in the same state, my rhema is also the church’s rhema. God told me in Isaiah 58:8:

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;

In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told his disciples to “Stay awake and pray that you won't be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak."

Wake up FBC! You are being tested. Your disobedience has allowed the devil to use you. You want to do what is right but you can’t because you are operating in the flesh. Ask for fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. I am so glad to see from yesterday, that many of us have asked for the Holy Spirit to work within us.

Ps Tan Eng Lee gave me God’s word when he prayed and when he visited me at my home, he said from Jeremiah 29:11:

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.

I remember Ps Tan said he did not understand why this verse was meant for me as in wasn’t in the right context but now I know why, because, God’s words for me is also God’s words for FBC. Isn’t our God awesome.

In Haggai 2:9, it is written:

9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

We have much to wait for, we will see many miracles happen and there will be many blessings soon as healing will quickly appear. Come quickly, let’s return to God.

5 comments:

  1. Dear Liz,

    I can only say a big AMEN to your message. MH and I were sharing about the outcome of the meeting last night, we both felt really at peace that FBC is moving in the right way. The message shared by Eric moved me to tears, couldnt stop sobbing at the end of the sermon.I believe that God is truly working in the spirit of His body, the church. Like you said, I hope and pray that we will move forwards now, towards His light and to be set ablaze by His glory, as an individual and as a family of God. Love you....

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  2. Liz, thanks for your beautiful message. Yes, the Holy Spirit gave us the same message at the same time and it can only be from God and not a coincidence :) Praise the Lord for his love and mercy to us all. Continue to pray for the councils and all of us to be led by God in every decision we make for our own and as a church. Let not our own selfish agenda prevails but only God's. We must indeed spend more time in daily prayer.

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  3. Hello cousin,

    We are all continuing to keep you in our prayers and I am glad to see how the Holy Spirit is leading and teaching you the ways and understanding the will of God. Continue to meditate on Jer 29:11-14. I shared with you this very same verse a week before your 1/9 results as the Lord had impressed upon me to give it to you.
    On 1/9 nite as I was thanking and praising the Lord for your very much improved results, the Holy Spirit told me "the cancer is dying". Hallelujah! So dear cousin, continue to seek, surrender and trust God as you have been doing - your faith will healed you (Matt 9).
    He will deliver you. He will bring you back from captivity. Amen!

    ps will drop by one of this days and we can catch up. eg like I want to know what does the porcupine powder (part of your nutrition regime)do? See, I got follow your blog.....

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  4. Hi Cus, you make an awesome writer, might want to compile all yr blogs into a book one day....it would certainly lift the spirits of any soul reading it : ) Glad to know that all is well. Cheers.

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  5. The porcupine powder is highly recommended by Henry's mum's family. They just call it porcupine powder. We dare not want to ask which part of the porcupine! :) I've used it during dengue as well. Terribly bitter. Terribly expensive, like RM300- RM400 per tsp. I really have no idea what it is. I understand it removes toxin from the body.

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