07th February 2014, which is the 8th Day of Chinese New year 2014, we resumed our youth fellowship. We had the youths from overseas to lead us - BIG Ivan Lee, Small Ivan Lee & Wilson Lee. WOW! All the 'Lee's HAHAHA!
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| SMILE! |
Anyway, the number of youths who attended that day was amazing! God has been good all these time! Firstly, we had Ivan to lead us in a game - electric shock! In which everyone is divided into two lines and all of them has to face the front except from the first two. Ivan will toss a coin and if it's head, they will start to squeeze the hand of the person in front of them and the last person will have to take the pen!
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| Get the pen! |
The pen is situated on a chair and whoever got the pen first will be the winner! Such an awesome game! Check out my instagram @Willollogy to check out the video that I've taken from the game itself! Thank you BIG Ivan Lee for such an awesome ice-breaking game!
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| Last Round! Get the pen from my hand then you are the winner! |
Apparently, the score was quite close! Match point is 5 and both teams managed to get 4-4 in which made the last round even more interesting. To make things more interesting, I sat down on the chair and began to hold the pen. The other thing that I did was I pushed the chair backward so that the person at the last had to run to get the pen! Apparently at the end, one group won of course! I won't say who but you know who you are! :P
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| Stole this photo from Wilson Lee's FB :P |
At the second part of the day, we had small Ivan Lee to act as an emcee and question the other two overseas youths about their life and their walk with God. Follow up with that, we had Wilson Lee to share with us about Experiencing God!
EXPERIENCING GOD
S God wants us to walk with Him + experience Him daily in our lives.
1 Cor 2:10 The moment we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in us to reveal God to us.
S Apart from the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand the things of God.
Jn 4:24
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jn 4:24 says that God is Spirit and we can’t see God through our physical eyes or natural senses.
1 Cor 2:14 Only spiritual people understand spiritual things.
- Spiritual people see the plan + purpose of God in their spirit.
- They can hear the voice of God + follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore we need to exercise + develop our spiritual senses if we want to experience + understand God.
OUR SPIRITUAL SENSES
There are 3 spiritual senses that we need to develop?
1. Spiritual EYES.
It is not our physical eyes. We all have natural eyes but we can’t see God with them.
S We need spiritual eyes to see spiritual things.
Rev 3:17-18 Here, Jesus was speaking about the Laodicean church.
They are Christians who say they are wealthy and in need of nothing.
S They attend church, are involved in ministry and evangelize ... but Jesus says they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.
S Why? Because their spiritual senses are closed toward God.
Many people’s spiritual eyes are blind, that is why they never see or experience God.
S God exists in their mind, but they have never experienced Him tangibly!
Paul loved the Ephesian church and prayed for the believers there. But what did Paul pray for the Ephesians?
Eph 1:16-18 Paul prayed that God would open their spiritual eyes so that they could understand:
a. The hope of God’s calling.
b. The riches of the glory of His inheritance.
c. The mighty power of God that is in every believer.
All these are spiritual blessings in the Spirit realm.
S But it is also for every believer who lives on the earth right now!
2. Spiritual EARS.
Rev 3 When Jesus spoke concerning the 7 churches in Revelation ... “Those who have ears, let them hear.”
S We need our spiritual ears to hear God’s voice.
2 Cor 12:1-4 Paul was caught up into 3rd heaven and heard inexpressible words.
3. Spiritual DISCERNMENT.
It is very much like “perceiving” ...
Lk 9:47
“And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him.”
Acts 27:10 Paul was able to discern or perceive a storm coming, a danger about to happen.
It is like the relationship between a husband & wife.
S After living together for some time, you can perceive or discern if your spouse is happy, or troubled, etc.
So the closer you walk with God, the more you will be able to sense Him in your spirit.
HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT RELATE TO US + LEAD US?
1. He quietly IMPRESSES.
We see this from Elijah’s example: the quiet whisper.
S This is basically when you just get an impression toward something.
S It could be in your mind ... or in your emotion.
Mk 2:8 NOTE: It was spiritual perception or impression.
Acts 14:9 How do you see faith? (It is through perception!)
[CGL, give your personal example: It can be about how you learn to discern people, the good and bad.]
2 Cor 5:16 We don’t regard “in the flesh” = We don’t just see the outward appearance.
S We learn to know people by the Spirit.
2. He PROMPTS gently.
Mt 4:1
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
NOTE: The Holy Spirit leads, He doesn’t drive!
This is when you “feel led” or you feel a “good prompting” by the Holy Spirit to do something!
- I’ve found that if I’m walking right with God (not self-righteously, or out of selfish ambition) ... very often, my desire is His desire.
[CGL, give your personal example: It can be about how you were prompted to call someone or reach out to someone.]
3. He STIRS us up.
Acts 17:16 This usually has to do with our feelings.
S The Holy Spirit lets us experience how God Himself feels.
Usually, it comes as a burden or sometimes a holy indignation.
Hab 1:1-2
“The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O LORD, how long shall I cry ...”
Lam 2:11 (Jeremiah receiving a burden from God:)
“My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city.”
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit gives us good burdens: they won’t break us ... they’re easy to carry.
S But they will stir us up to pray ... to intercede ... to do something for God’s kingdom.
[CGL, give your personal example: It can be about how you feel a burden for something and you prayed fervently and how God gave you an answer.]
4. He moves our CONSCIENCE.
Col 3:15 Let the peace of God “rule” = to be an umpire.
The “peace in your heart” is like an umpire, a referee.
S So the Holy Spirit can lead us through our conscience, the “peace” or “no peace” that we sense in our heart.
Now, the problem here is that our conscience must be kept clean + pure at all times.
S Otherwise, it can become contaminated + damaged.
S It can become seared ...
1 Tim 4:1-2
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”
! You read interviews with rapists, murderers, drug abusers, serial killers.
S Don’t they feel something the 1st time they do it? Yes!
But as they suppress that “voice” in their conscience ... with violent movies + mind-numbing music ...
S After a while, the voice in the conscience is gone.
S All they hear is: “Just do it---kill (3x) ... rape (3x)!”
5. He REMINDS us of Scriptures.
Jn 14:26 (Jesus:)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
[CGL, give your personal example: It can be about how you didn’t know what is right or how to counsel and you read the Bible and found a Scripture.]
ALTAR CALL
Have a practical spiritual lesson-cum-ministry for your members.
Lead the CG in a time of worship to usher in the presence of God.
- Then pair up your members and encourage them to hear from God + exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The members can be led by the Spirit ...
1. To pray for one another.
2. To share an impression they feel about the person they are praying for.
3. To share a Scripture for the person they are praying for.
Encourage everyone to try + assure them it is a practice session.
- Make sure you appreciate + encourage everyone for trying!
