Why We Do What We Do:Part II The Power of Praise & Worship

Part I dealt with the 'Why'. Obviously there will be more of that in the later series. Today we deal with the 'What We Do' or What we are to achieve. More will be elaborated in the 2nd Quarter Meeting but let's look at 3 scriptures that I can recall off hand.

Scipture #1 - 1 Samuel 16:14 - 23 Evil Spirits Leave

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil ^b]">[b] spirit from the LORD tormented him.

¹⁵ Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."

¹⁷ So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."

¹⁸ One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."

¹⁹ Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." ²⁰ So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

²¹ David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."

²³ Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

Keywords: The Lord is with David. Plays well. Evil spirit would leave.

Scripture #2 - Acts 16:24-26 Prison Doors & Chains Are Loosened

²⁴Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. ²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

Scripture #3 - 2 Chronicles 2021-26 God Sets Ambushes Against Enemies

²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendour of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures for ever.

²²As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

²³ The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked towards the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no-one had escaped.

²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value— more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

That's the power of Praise & Worship, which we the Creative Dept are the guardians and executors! More will be explained tomorrow at the 2nd Quarter Meeting.

An Interesting Observation

The article below was taken from Dr. Benjamin George's daily devotion emails. Interesting observation about flocks leaving by the backdoor!

I AM SHOCKED THAT YOU HAVE SO QUICKLY TURNED FROM GOD, WHO CHOSE YOU BECAUSE OF HIS WONDERFUL KINDNESS. GALATIANS 1.6.



‘Those who enter through the front door of the church are few and noticed but those who exit through the back door are many and unnoticed!’ One may take it as a joke but church leaders are only quick to endorse it. The early churches also had such problems. But the significant difference is that while there were apostles and other leaders in those days who cared enough to notice these faults and failures of the believers and caution and encourage them, today, many who are deserting go unobserved and forgotten.



In many of the large cathedrals and churches of the major denominations there is only one main entrance and the congregation uses it to enter and exit. The priest or the pastor is there, especially at the close of every service to personally greet every member. That personal touch with the leader himself is appreciated and valued by the members very much. Even though it does not give much time for each one to a have long conversation with his or her leader, no one wants to miss that opportunity to meet and greet him.



Definitely it takes more than a handshake to know how one’s flock is faring. That is why the parish priests or the pastors make regular home visits. Sadly this is seriously lacking in the Evangelical churches of today. It was hoped that the problem could be solved by having Cell Groups but not so! The simple reason is that most Cell leaders are secular men who are unable to be as dedicated as ‘pastors or priests’ because they are too busy with their work and too tired to take care of the sheep under them!



The lack or failure on the part of the leaders does not give the freedom for you and I to desert our faith or our Lord or our church. In today’s text we have the above serious remark by the apostle Paul about such believers, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel”.



Why do Christians like you and I desert our Lord and our faith? The Word of God tells us clearly why. We love the world and the things of this world more than we love the Lord. They make little time with the Lord and His Word daily for they have no determination or desire to do so! Hence, it is always good to be forewarned. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 Jn 2.15-17).



Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, let me be not a deserter! Help me to love You more by daily reading Your Word and talking (praying) to You. Keep me from loving the world more than I love You, Lord!

Out of Proportion

I wonder if it's Pris head or the computer monitor?

Here's one of Joshua bespectacled shot

Faith: Let's Take The Task By The Horn

Rambabu evangelistic Easter meetings have come and gone. The dust is settling. Miracles have been performed, hearts encouraged, and souls harvested. After the official "rest day", which is monday, the church gets hectic again with the follow-ups and what naught.

We can all shout "Praise The Lord" equiavalent or louder than we did in Rambabu's meeting. But let me draw your attention to Pastor Aris opening statement for the crusade and share a perspective from my end.

God is Attracted to Faith, Not Needs
That was a striking statement by the senior pastor. God doesn't neccessarily respond to needs or sick people. He, however, will respond to faith for or faith that resides in needy and sick people. Many people are in the hospitals but miraculous healings don't take place there. Healings take place in gospel rallies where there is faith in the name of Jesus to perform the miraculous! Striking but it was the truth. Hebrew 11:1 says Without faith it is impossible to please God....and that He rewards those that diligently seek Him.

Now, let me draw your attention to a particular statement brother Rambabu made on Good Friday. He said that God had already begun the process for healing and encouraged a couple to come for saturday and Easter sunday meetings. Here's the bummer. Wife was paralysed and on a makeshift recliner. My interpretation of that: he was stirring their faith and cheering them on towards God and healing. And that is what a healing evangelist does. They preach the gospel to inspire faith in Christ Jesus. And in the atmosphere of faith, God confirms His Word by signs and wonders. Now the natural man would have wanted a complete healing without effort. It's called Maggi Miracle. And God sometimes work in that manner. However in this couple's case, it was REALLY a test of faith. It was like the evangelist was putting huge obstacles in their search for healing! I couldn't imagined myself in the husband's place. I would have to endure the shame/pity/stigma/etc of getting help to transport a paralysed wife to and fro from church. Not once but 3 times! I would imagine it would be a big obstacle if I was not a believer. And to do that for all 3 services without any sign of improvement or healing? Wow.

Guess what? She DID come. All 3 services. Maybe with the help of church members. I don't really know, but she did come. Someone was or some people were determined enough. It can be argued it could have been faith or maybe just desperate human determination.

The Aftermath...History is still being written...
I do not know whether they received complete or partial healing. But just by their attendance of all 3 meetings, that should count for something. If they were not believers, that's about as much faith you're going to get. Now what? God has the power to heal and save but He responds to faith. Let's assume the couple has shown their faith. Healing process started. Church believes in God's will to heal and save. Church must now show her faith to complete the process. Here's my paradigm shift: In order to complete that circle of faith, and the healing process, there must be a continuous effort to build/maintain faith in the couple's heart. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Someone's gotta go and continue sharing God's word till faith overflows and moves the hand of God! Which brings us to another faith obstacle. This time the visitation team will have to show their faith. If there was partial or no signs of improvement, how much faith do the church members have to GO and minister the word, AND persist on until the healing process is complete? Healing here refers to physical and spiritual. pun intended If I was in the visitation team, I would be scolding Rambabu for announcing the healing process but not finishing it!

What kind of doctrine is this?
Mine. Actually it's plain common sense, not doctrine. What do we hope for from the evangelistic meetings and the Be Contagious campaign? Souls added to God's Kingdom. To have souls added, there must be work! Lots and lots of visitation work, preaching work, etc! Bible says "Faith without works is DEAD". Miracles aside, work here would also mean charity, love, prayer, counselling, etc.

The next time someone says share your faith, consider the cost! I am sure after you weigh the cost you would be like the members of PCC visitation teams. This time tomorrow (tuesday), they will be out there sharing their faith and being the Lord's arm to those who need encouragement. Thier faith will be so strong that those needing miracles, whether big or small, will receive them because the circle of faith is completed.

Faith is being sure of things hoped for and certain of what is not seen. If you have faith for church growth, this WILL be a busy week/month for you! Go in God's strength! Let your faith take the TASK by the horn!

Tim.L

Note: Faith is not just about taking risk, or being daring or even being determined. It is believe base on the logos or rhema word of God.

Let's Get Excited

The poll conducted on Hillsong Conference can be concluded that a number will be interested to go if the cost was under RM1,000. Well, let's get excited! It is still too early to tell but I have spoken with Pastor Aris and the CWC is now looking into sending a delegation next year! Let;s start talking about it. Then let's start getting excited. Combine that with initiative and faith, and viola, where there's a will, there's a way. He who thinks, becomes. Ok lar...that's not original... it's my paraphrase of a Bible verse.

Please give suggestions on how we can achieve this goal for 2011 Conference in Sydney.

I Worship You As I Lay My Head to Sleep

What can I say, as my spirit quietens down and as I'm about to go to bed, as I reflect over the miraculous healings and salvation, Ah Lord God, you are but Beautiful....