Stumbled upon this Youtube video, and while Allen Hood of IHOP is speaking about the new Forerunner School in Chinese at the International House of Prayer at Kansas City, everything he says about the destiny of the Chinese church resonates with me. I believe the Chinese have been raised up by God for such a time like this; to join the mighty army of God to bring the Gospel to the nations, and ultimately back to Jerusalem. We need to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to us at this hour, and to be prepared, for it is the midnight hour. Amen.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Honouring our older brother
Two weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong for the Homecoming Conference, an awesome meeting of 20,000 believers (10,000 of whom are mainland Chinese) gathered together to worship God, and seek His heart for our generation. It was a tremendous time of worship, intercession, repentance, restoration and blessing among the 35 nations there. We laughed, danced, wept and marvelled at the work God did among us. I was truly blessed.
Perhaps it was because I was in a predominantly Chinese setting, whilst there, God gave me downloads in Mandarin. And one area He spoke to me deeply about is the role of the older brother. As I reflected on it, there was a realisation that Jesus is our older brother (Matt 12:47-49), we also have older brothers in nation terms.
It started one particular morning when worship was a struggle. It felt like I was in the outer court and unlike previous days, struggled to enter into the Holy of Holies. Until ... the worship leader sang Kadosh, or Holy, a Hebrew song. All of a sudden, it felt like we were led right into the presence of God. Then God gave me understanding about why this was the case. Israel, He said to me, is the eldest son and hence the vanguard. He said to me, as the oldest son, Israel possesses an authority we do not have. This is why there is a special anointing when the Jews stand with us in worship, or spiritual warfare. There is a special anointing when they bless us, their younger sibling, the Gentile nations. There will be a special anointing when they are saved, because God caused me to understand that his blessing on them will also be our blessing, and his favor on them will our favour. It made me deeply long for my older brother Israel to be saved, because I could totally see how much more the Gentile church will be truly blessed when they come to Christ. There will be a fullness we aren't yet seeing today.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' (Zechariah 8:23)
At the conference, we also took time to honour the Koreans. I had always been intrigued by the 1907 revival in Pyongyang, which The Lord spoke to me about some years back. But it was only two weeks ago in Hong Kong that I realised the implications of Korea's revival on the Chinese. At the conference, a Chinese pastor shared that she spent some time living in Korea with a host family. And since this Korean Christian family had daily 4am prayer meetings, living under their roof, she had to join them. At her first meeting, she met a Korean believer who was delighted to meet her. He told her, for the last 30 years, I have been praying for the rise of the Chinese church, and today, I am finally meeting a Chinese believer face to face. When she heard that, she was very moved in her heart. And so was I. At that moment, I realised that the Chinese church are coming into our destiny, that we are being saved, because our older brother, the Koreans, have been praying for us all these years. Korea is Asia's first missionary sending nation and they have been faithfully fulfilling the Great Commission in the nations and interceding for us. Having been to the Korean prayer mountains, I know the blessing and legacy that this nation has left behind. So wow, as a Chinese church, we honoured them.
Then last week, I had the privilege of dining with a Welsh pastor and his wife. They shared that many Koreans pray for Wales because the first Protestant missionary to Pyongyang was beheaded there. He gave his life for the gospel and as he was being killed for his faith, continued to hand out bibles to those around him. About 40 years later, Pyongyang 1907 happened. The blood of the martyrs ... Recognising their spiritual roots and the debt they owe the Welsh, today, many Koreans pray for God to revive the Welsh nation once again. That sharing blew my mind. If we, the Chinese church owe a debt to the Koreans for praying for us, we likewise trace our spiritual heritage back to the Welsh.
Closer to home, I now recognise that Malaysia is the older brother to Singapore. I now believe when God sends revival there, that we in Singapore will be blessed.
God has been moving in the nations and the connections over the last 150 years are incredible. As a Chinese believer, I now thank God for the faithfulness of the saints over the generations from nations other than my own. It was they who paved the way for us to come to faith. Thank you Daddy for older brothers!
Perhaps it was because I was in a predominantly Chinese setting, whilst there, God gave me downloads in Mandarin. And one area He spoke to me deeply about is the role of the older brother. As I reflected on it, there was a realisation that Jesus is our older brother (Matt 12:47-49), we also have older brothers in nation terms.
It started one particular morning when worship was a struggle. It felt like I was in the outer court and unlike previous days, struggled to enter into the Holy of Holies. Until ... the worship leader sang Kadosh, or Holy, a Hebrew song. All of a sudden, it felt like we were led right into the presence of God. Then God gave me understanding about why this was the case. Israel, He said to me, is the eldest son and hence the vanguard. He said to me, as the oldest son, Israel possesses an authority we do not have. This is why there is a special anointing when the Jews stand with us in worship, or spiritual warfare. There is a special anointing when they bless us, their younger sibling, the Gentile nations. There will be a special anointing when they are saved, because God caused me to understand that his blessing on them will also be our blessing, and his favor on them will our favour. It made me deeply long for my older brother Israel to be saved, because I could totally see how much more the Gentile church will be truly blessed when they come to Christ. There will be a fullness we aren't yet seeing today.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' (Zechariah 8:23)
At the conference, we also took time to honour the Koreans. I had always been intrigued by the 1907 revival in Pyongyang, which The Lord spoke to me about some years back. But it was only two weeks ago in Hong Kong that I realised the implications of Korea's revival on the Chinese. At the conference, a Chinese pastor shared that she spent some time living in Korea with a host family. And since this Korean Christian family had daily 4am prayer meetings, living under their roof, she had to join them. At her first meeting, she met a Korean believer who was delighted to meet her. He told her, for the last 30 years, I have been praying for the rise of the Chinese church, and today, I am finally meeting a Chinese believer face to face. When she heard that, she was very moved in her heart. And so was I. At that moment, I realised that the Chinese church are coming into our destiny, that we are being saved, because our older brother, the Koreans, have been praying for us all these years. Korea is Asia's first missionary sending nation and they have been faithfully fulfilling the Great Commission in the nations and interceding for us. Having been to the Korean prayer mountains, I know the blessing and legacy that this nation has left behind. So wow, as a Chinese church, we honoured them.
Then last week, I had the privilege of dining with a Welsh pastor and his wife. They shared that many Koreans pray for Wales because the first Protestant missionary to Pyongyang was beheaded there. He gave his life for the gospel and as he was being killed for his faith, continued to hand out bibles to those around him. About 40 years later, Pyongyang 1907 happened. The blood of the martyrs ... Recognising their spiritual roots and the debt they owe the Welsh, today, many Koreans pray for God to revive the Welsh nation once again. That sharing blew my mind. If we, the Chinese church owe a debt to the Koreans for praying for us, we likewise trace our spiritual heritage back to the Welsh.
Closer to home, I now recognise that Malaysia is the older brother to Singapore. I now believe when God sends revival there, that we in Singapore will be blessed.
God has been moving in the nations and the connections over the last 150 years are incredible. As a Chinese believer, I now thank God for the faithfulness of the saints over the generations from nations other than my own. It was they who paved the way for us to come to faith. Thank you Daddy for older brothers!
Monday, July 15, 2013
純潔的心 A Pure Heart (with English subtitles)
Beautiful, beautiful song by City Harvest Church.
Praying that God would give me a pure, undivided heart - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8)
Praying that God would give me a pure, undivided heart - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8)
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Powerful combinations in the Spirit
Recently, The Lord has been teaching me about powerful combinations in the Spirit, where 1+ 1 is more than 2. These combinations are like dynamite in the hands of God's children; powerful weaponry in the arsenal He has given us. Here are the three combinations He has given me revelation about recently:
1. Prayer and fasting. We often pray, but without the fasting, and The Lord has been convicting me to live a fasted lifestyle. It takes discipline but there is also an intense delight in being in the presence of God. The Lord has reminded me often of Isaiah 58 on the benefits of fasting. One of them is the answer to prayer. "Then you shall call, and The Lord will answer. You shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am."
In Mahesh Chavda's book "The Power of Prayer and Fasting", he speaks of why the disciples failed to cast out the demon in the story of the boy with epilepsy. The first is that they had unbelief. The second is that there are certain demonic strongholds that will not yield to secondhand authority.
He writes, "The church has seemingly been powerless to bring the family of man into victory and freedom even though we have been given the name and authority of the Son of Man for our use. We suffer from the same problems that plagued the disciples of Jesus in the first century....
"There is no way you and I can fulfill our divine call without the power of God. When we find ourselves ministering in a place where the whole atmosphere is impregnated with demon powers, we need more than delegated authority. We need to walk in a demonstration of power in the anointing that comes through fasting.
We must tap the power of the Spirit through the combination of prayer and fasting, and second, we will overcome in the largest battles in this generation only when we pray and fast together and unleash the incredible power of the body of Christ on its knees.
An avoidable part of the works of Jesus begins with prayer and fasting because these were the first works of Jesus in his mission to destroy the works of the enemy.
Fasting boosts the intensity and effectiveness of your prayer at least tenfold and often a hundredfold. As you fast and seek God's face, He will begin to plant an authority in you borne out of intimacy with Him that the demons will recognize and fear.
2. Worship and declaration of the word. This revelation came to me at a recent James Goll conference in Singapore. In the midst of worship, as my eyes were closed, I saw a vision of a young boy drawing; in the scene, what was troubling was that an evil being was unbeknownst to him, next to him. As I looked, my spirit was deeply troubled. Here I was in the midst of wonderful worship... why was The Lord showing me this picture? What did it mean and was it for me or a picture for the corporate body? All this time, James Goll is worshipping and leading us in worship. Then, he sings, "I love you, I love you," to The Lord. It was a high note and at that time, in my vision, hundreds of arrows were unleashed almost from out of nowhere to pierce the evil being. He stood no chance and was defeated. What was that all about, Lord? I asked. In my observation, James Goll did two things simultaneously. He was worshipping and declaring His love for God. That unleashed power and deliverance. On my way home from the conference, I asked God for a scriptural verse to back this up if the whole vision was from Him and boy, was I excited when He gave me Psalm 149:6-9.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and
Two edged swords in their hands
To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples
To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron
To execute on them the judgement written!
What did these warriors have? Two things. High praises in their mouth and a sword in their hand.
Hallelujah. Praying that God would teach me how to war this way. With worship and word.
[I learnt later God does have a bow. Habbakuk 3:9 says of God, "You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows.]
3. Gentile and Jew in unity. This revelation came to me last Sunday at service. Our worship leaders led us in a wonderful time of worship first then halfway through passed the time on to Karen Davis of Carmel Congregation to continue in the time of worship. As the two worship leaders (one gentile, one Jew) stood side by side on stage leading us in worship, I felt the anointing of God, the presence of God, the pleasure of God go up a notch. It was like dynamite was being released. It was so awesome. It was worship at a level I had not experienced before. There is something about unity that attracts God and there is something about unity between our older brother (the Jews) and us that especially attracts Him. I love it!!!
1. Prayer and fasting. We often pray, but without the fasting, and The Lord has been convicting me to live a fasted lifestyle. It takes discipline but there is also an intense delight in being in the presence of God. The Lord has reminded me often of Isaiah 58 on the benefits of fasting. One of them is the answer to prayer. "Then you shall call, and The Lord will answer. You shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am."
In Mahesh Chavda's book "The Power of Prayer and Fasting", he speaks of why the disciples failed to cast out the demon in the story of the boy with epilepsy. The first is that they had unbelief. The second is that there are certain demonic strongholds that will not yield to secondhand authority.
He writes, "The church has seemingly been powerless to bring the family of man into victory and freedom even though we have been given the name and authority of the Son of Man for our use. We suffer from the same problems that plagued the disciples of Jesus in the first century....
"There is no way you and I can fulfill our divine call without the power of God. When we find ourselves ministering in a place where the whole atmosphere is impregnated with demon powers, we need more than delegated authority. We need to walk in a demonstration of power in the anointing that comes through fasting.
We must tap the power of the Spirit through the combination of prayer and fasting, and second, we will overcome in the largest battles in this generation only when we pray and fast together and unleash the incredible power of the body of Christ on its knees.
An avoidable part of the works of Jesus begins with prayer and fasting because these were the first works of Jesus in his mission to destroy the works of the enemy.
Fasting boosts the intensity and effectiveness of your prayer at least tenfold and often a hundredfold. As you fast and seek God's face, He will begin to plant an authority in you borne out of intimacy with Him that the demons will recognize and fear.
2. Worship and declaration of the word. This revelation came to me at a recent James Goll conference in Singapore. In the midst of worship, as my eyes were closed, I saw a vision of a young boy drawing; in the scene, what was troubling was that an evil being was unbeknownst to him, next to him. As I looked, my spirit was deeply troubled. Here I was in the midst of wonderful worship... why was The Lord showing me this picture? What did it mean and was it for me or a picture for the corporate body? All this time, James Goll is worshipping and leading us in worship. Then, he sings, "I love you, I love you," to The Lord. It was a high note and at that time, in my vision, hundreds of arrows were unleashed almost from out of nowhere to pierce the evil being. He stood no chance and was defeated. What was that all about, Lord? I asked. In my observation, James Goll did two things simultaneously. He was worshipping and declaring His love for God. That unleashed power and deliverance. On my way home from the conference, I asked God for a scriptural verse to back this up if the whole vision was from Him and boy, was I excited when He gave me Psalm 149:6-9.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and
Two edged swords in their hands
To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples
To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron
To execute on them the judgement written!
What did these warriors have? Two things. High praises in their mouth and a sword in their hand.
Hallelujah. Praying that God would teach me how to war this way. With worship and word.
[I learnt later God does have a bow. Habbakuk 3:9 says of God, "You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows.]
3. Gentile and Jew in unity. This revelation came to me last Sunday at service. Our worship leaders led us in a wonderful time of worship first then halfway through passed the time on to Karen Davis of Carmel Congregation to continue in the time of worship. As the two worship leaders (one gentile, one Jew) stood side by side on stage leading us in worship, I felt the anointing of God, the presence of God, the pleasure of God go up a notch. It was like dynamite was being released. It was so awesome. It was worship at a level I had not experienced before. There is something about unity that attracts God and there is something about unity between our older brother (the Jews) and us that especially attracts Him. I love it!!!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Fly Away (Corrinne May)
Beautiful, beautiful song by Corrinne May, a Singaporean singer. Listened to her perform at the Esplanade just this Friday past, and was just so ministered to by her song. Corrinne tends to sing of her life experiences, and often brings God into the picture, which is really wonderful. Her voice is just spellbounding, and her music has such a wisdom to it. I especially loved this piece from her first album, called Fly Away. It's about a mother who allows her child the freedom to pursue her destiny (an autobiographical song, no doubt, for Corrinne May). So proud that she's Singaporean!!!
Fly Away
"When will you be home?"
she asksas we watch the planes take off
We both know we have no clear answer
to where my dreams may lead
She's watched me as i crawled and stumbled
As a child, she was my world
And now to let me go, I know she bleeds
and yet she says to me
You can fly so high
Keep your gaze upon the sky
I'll be prayin every step along the way
Even though it breaks my heart
to know we'll be so far apart
I love you too much to make you stay
Baby fly away
Autumn leaves fell into spring time
and SIlver-painted hair
Daddy called one evening saying
"We need you. Please come back"
When I saw her laying in her bed
Fragile as a child
Pale just like an angel taking flight
I held her as I cried
You can fly so high
Keep your gaze upon the sky
I'll be prayin every step along the way
Even though it breaks my heart
to know we'll be so far apart
I love you too much to make you stay
Baby fly away
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Identity and the prophetic
Over the past two days, I have been attending a conference on the prophetic. Last night, Steve Chua, a pastor from California spoke and his message left a deep impact.
He spoke about identity - why it is important for us to know we are valued not for our function or calling, but simply because we are children of God.
Why is it important for us to be secure in this?
Because if we derive our affirmation and value and self-worth from our function, then we will end up taking the holy things of God (the gifts He has given us) and using them to build our own kingdom and not His.
He used an analogy which really brought this home to me. He said he used to dream that God would use him powerfully as a healing evangelist. As he preached in these massive rallies (stadiums packed full with people), the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. One day, God asked him if this dream of his wasn't for his own glory. "No Lord!!" Steve protested. "This would be for your glory." The Lord replied, "If this is for my glory, why do YOU have to be there?" It exposed his heart.
In the prophetic, if we derive our affirmation from the accuracy of our words and declarations, then we risk doing ministry for the praise of man. Ministry then becomes all about us, rather than about Him or others.
That is why I think God's priority is for us to know Him and his deep love for us, regardless of what we do and whether we perform or not. For us performance oriented Singaporeans, I really think that requires a deep heart work and a renewing of the mind.
I also realise why although I went on my Chiangmai silent retreat last year to enquire about the assignments He would give me this year, He had other plans. No, in the end, God hijacked my agenda. He spoke to me deeply about my identity in Him instead. I now see why. I was being my usual performance / task oriented self in wanting to find out the assignments. God just wanted me to know I am loved just the way I am. That revelation that He loves me deeply even when I fail made me cry.
In like fashion then, Steve exhorted us to love people for who they are, not their function or calling.
Journey with people's hearts, he said.
Make love the centre of revival.
Don't judge because when we judge people, we orphan them.
For a conference on the prophetic, it put first things first.
Love. His love for us. Our love for others. I needed the reminder!
He spoke about identity - why it is important for us to know we are valued not for our function or calling, but simply because we are children of God.
Why is it important for us to be secure in this?
Because if we derive our affirmation and value and self-worth from our function, then we will end up taking the holy things of God (the gifts He has given us) and using them to build our own kingdom and not His.
He used an analogy which really brought this home to me. He said he used to dream that God would use him powerfully as a healing evangelist. As he preached in these massive rallies (stadiums packed full with people), the blind would see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. One day, God asked him if this dream of his wasn't for his own glory. "No Lord!!" Steve protested. "This would be for your glory." The Lord replied, "If this is for my glory, why do YOU have to be there?" It exposed his heart.
In the prophetic, if we derive our affirmation from the accuracy of our words and declarations, then we risk doing ministry for the praise of man. Ministry then becomes all about us, rather than about Him or others.
That is why I think God's priority is for us to know Him and his deep love for us, regardless of what we do and whether we perform or not. For us performance oriented Singaporeans, I really think that requires a deep heart work and a renewing of the mind.
I also realise why although I went on my Chiangmai silent retreat last year to enquire about the assignments He would give me this year, He had other plans. No, in the end, God hijacked my agenda. He spoke to me deeply about my identity in Him instead. I now see why. I was being my usual performance / task oriented self in wanting to find out the assignments. God just wanted me to know I am loved just the way I am. That revelation that He loves me deeply even when I fail made me cry.
In like fashion then, Steve exhorted us to love people for who they are, not their function or calling.
Journey with people's hearts, he said.
Make love the centre of revival.
Don't judge because when we judge people, we orphan them.
For a conference on the prophetic, it put first things first.
Love. His love for us. Our love for others. I needed the reminder!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
I know that you are for me (Kari Jobe)
Beautiful song from Kari Jobe. This is so ministering!
If God is for us, who can be against us:)
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