I attended Jesus Culture 09 on 15th Jan - 17th Jan, and it turned out to be as much as i expected and more.
The emphasis of the three days was Power Evangelism, which was how Jesus walked his life. The life of power is supposed to be embraced from the very beginning, when a person accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, in other words, once we are saved, the supernatural realm is opened to us. Then why is it that people have become Christian for so many years, yet their lives do not shine the power of the resurrection? It's a matter of making a conscious decision, to step out into the supernatural (normal for a Christian), just as Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water.
Quote from William Branham (1909-1965): "Christianity is 100% supernatural." So true.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." So, during the conference, the speaker demonstrated the power of God, through healing.
He called out sicknesses from a list prepared earlier - sicknesses such as asthma, sports injuries, deafness, stomach problems etc. And he told peopel to stand up if they had any problems that he called out. After they stood, the speaker asked them to test the sicknesses to see if it's healed, and it was amazing. The man with a broken knee since 10+ years ago could suddenly walk straight, the asthmatic girl who once was not able to run for more than 20 metres was able run around an entire Church building, the man whose left lung shut down 4 years ago felt the incapacitated lung ease its way back to normal functioning. I witnessed 40+ healings on that day, and I'm sure there were a lot more, because of the next paragraph...
During his message before the healings, I felt tingles in my whole body. These tingles felt good, and body-shaking. I didn't know what it was until he asked people with sports injuries to stand up. I stood up for my lower left back. He asked us to test, so I got out into an aisle and did aerobics, and it felt very, good. God also healed me of conjunctivitis that day. I know because I've had it before a few times, and it doesn't just go from very red to nothing in 10 minutes, without any eyedrops or rest, one of which is a pain, and the other is a waste of time. This is my testimony.
Just in case you're wondering, the power of God displayed through healing miracles is not uncommon or unusual. You should be grateful and thankful for them, but get used to it.
Try, searching something along the lines of "God healing miracles testimony" in a big search engine, and you'll see that the idea of Christianity being 100% supernatural is to be embraced 100%.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
My Brisbane Experience
I never knew plane tickets were so cheap. Joyce invited me to Brisbane, and my first reaction was: YES! All the locals tell you that there is nothing in Brisbane, but how wrong they were! The Brisbane experience opened my eyes.
Joyce showed us, from her New Zealand trip picture album, a photo of a magpie in a cage at a city zoo. I thought it was hilarious and I couldn't get over it for two days.
What have we here?
This photo was taken in the city centre by an Austrian tourist also curious about why there are large birds walking on the biggest street in the city. The local people all said that the ibises are an annoyance. But how is that possible? They are so big, so low-flying, very easy to catch, and furry. And friendly!
Another novelty about Brisbane is the walking Information Centre, who wears a big "I" hat on his/her head. This is a new concept to me - the information specialists actively seek people who need information. Also, streets in Brisbane are much cleaner. I couldn't find a piece of anything floating about in the city. Oh yeah, I think those walking "I"s also walk around to pick up rubbish (haha).
Clothes dry really fast in Brisbane. A drip of water from the clothes line dries up in less than 5 seconds on a normal day. Works the exact opposite way as an aircon unit - sucks the coolness out of everything. This is why all the shops in the city have airconditioning, because customers would 1) go to them, and 2) stay in them. During my walks around the city, I had to take refuge in a shop for a while to cool off and dry off, after every 50 metres of footpath. This reminds me of when my brother tells people that it takes 15 minutes to walk to the station from my house, but I always butt in and say 20. Then he would tell the people that it's 20 minutes only because I take a 5 minute break halfway (haha).
So anyway, Brisbane is hot, hot, and couldn't be hotter otherwise i would need to stay home all day. Imagine Malaysia. But the advantage of Brisbane's weather is that it is not deceptive, unlike Melbourne, where i would go out in a certain way and regret it (usually when it becomes hot). Brisbane is kind, it is very easy to predict.
I was recently telling my dad that his hair would look very nice if he styled it in some way. Perhaps either spike it up or gel it and make it look wet.
And oh, once again, what have we here?
The Chinese characters means, my dad's name. Therefore, I couldn't have been more precise about his hair.
Two Chinese people watched me take this photo, and i overheard them call me a tourist - and quite right, to take a photo of a hair salon.
One of the great highlights for me was attending Hope Church Brisbane, three times in a week. While we were praying at the start of the prayer meeting, which wasn't your typical prayer meeting, a guy in the front row stood out, got the mike and said: "I just begin to sense, that... i just sense that... there are many Samuels in this place..." Right on, that. To sum it up, the Hope Church Brisbane prayer meeting was not typical. It was full of energy, fire, a bit of power, momentum, and there would have been at least 150 young adults in that place, and i dare say that their church was not big sized either.
The Hope Church Youth Service was incredible. There were about 80-90 people in a hired university room. Here is an extract of a letter to the Church leaders:
<<------------------ Start Extract ------------------>>
Generally: - I was/am very impressed with the leadership structure, the mentoring structure, and the structure for growth, which brings about momentum. - I was/am very impressed with the impartation of teaching, and good Church culture from the top of the leadership team, to the lower tiers, to interns, which flows onto attendees. E.g. The leaders' hearts were committed to and desired for whoever belongs to Ablaze to grow strong in the Lord. - I was/am quite impressed by the commitment that was generally shown by big and small leaders, who knew a portion about and practised putting God first in their lives by giving up time, for example. - I was/am quite impressed by the hunger the congregation showed at the Prayer Meeting and at Ablaze. - I was/am quite impressed by the young adults girls who have kept and keep themselves pure, and seek the Lord before seeking a relationship leading on to marriage.
Specifically: - I was/am very impressed by the free flowing worship lead by OO. Non-ritualistic, very heartfelt from OO. During the worship, it sounded like a whole band was present, nevermind not having drums/keyboard/bass/electric. - I was/am very impressed by XX. I completely forgot what she said on stage that Ablaze, but I remember the way she delivered. No one, without experiencing God regularly, can speak like that. No one can be "taught" how to speak like that.
<<------------------ End Extract ------------------>>
At the end of the letter I wanted to add this: "The welcoming was very average. People did not make enough effort to make me feel very welcome. I had a few awkward-for-the-other-party moments in conversation, and at times i felt like i was the one who had to initate the talking. But, even so, and even so, i want to go back to your Church anyday. I say with 75% truth that "i would fly to Brisbane when your Church has 4 meetings in one week, and i'm very seriously"."
Of course, I didn't add the "your people are not very welcoming". But how good it feels to add it to the letter in this post now.
The XX referred to in the letter, i found to be very attractive. She made a few decisions in her life that reflected her commitment to God's calling. The way she spoke on the night told me that she encounters the Lord regularly, and that she has a seeking heart. HOT.
Joyce showed us, from her New Zealand trip picture album, a photo of a magpie in a cage at a city zoo. I thought it was hilarious and I couldn't get over it for two days.
What have we here?
This photo was taken in the city centre by an Austrian tourist also curious about why there are large birds walking on the biggest street in the city. The local people all said that the ibises are an annoyance. But how is that possible? They are so big, so low-flying, very easy to catch, and furry. And friendly!
Another novelty about Brisbane is the walking Information Centre, who wears a big "I" hat on his/her head. This is a new concept to me - the information specialists actively seek people who need information. Also, streets in Brisbane are much cleaner. I couldn't find a piece of anything floating about in the city. Oh yeah, I think those walking "I"s also walk around to pick up rubbish (haha).
Clothes dry really fast in Brisbane. A drip of water from the clothes line dries up in less than 5 seconds on a normal day. Works the exact opposite way as an aircon unit - sucks the coolness out of everything. This is why all the shops in the city have airconditioning, because customers would 1) go to them, and 2) stay in them. During my walks around the city, I had to take refuge in a shop for a while to cool off and dry off, after every 50 metres of footpath. This reminds me of when my brother tells people that it takes 15 minutes to walk to the station from my house, but I always butt in and say 20. Then he would tell the people that it's 20 minutes only because I take a 5 minute break halfway (haha).
So anyway, Brisbane is hot, hot, and couldn't be hotter otherwise i would need to stay home all day. Imagine Malaysia. But the advantage of Brisbane's weather is that it is not deceptive, unlike Melbourne, where i would go out in a certain way and regret it (usually when it becomes hot). Brisbane is kind, it is very easy to predict.
I was recently telling my dad that his hair would look very nice if he styled it in some way. Perhaps either spike it up or gel it and make it look wet.
And oh, once again, what have we here?
The Chinese characters means, my dad's name. Therefore, I couldn't have been more precise about his hair.
Two Chinese people watched me take this photo, and i overheard them call me a tourist - and quite right, to take a photo of a hair salon.
One of the great highlights for me was attending Hope Church Brisbane, three times in a week. While we were praying at the start of the prayer meeting, which wasn't your typical prayer meeting, a guy in the front row stood out, got the mike and said: "I just begin to sense, that... i just sense that... there are many Samuels in this place..." Right on, that. To sum it up, the Hope Church Brisbane prayer meeting was not typical. It was full of energy, fire, a bit of power, momentum, and there would have been at least 150 young adults in that place, and i dare say that their church was not big sized either.
The Hope Church Youth Service was incredible. There were about 80-90 people in a hired university room. Here is an extract of a letter to the Church leaders:
<<------------------ Start Extract ------------------>>
Generally: - I was/am very impressed with the leadership structure, the mentoring structure, and the structure for growth, which brings about momentum. - I was/am very impressed with the impartation of teaching, and good Church culture from the top of the leadership team, to the lower tiers, to interns, which flows onto attendees. E.g. The leaders' hearts were committed to and desired for whoever belongs to Ablaze to grow strong in the Lord. - I was/am quite impressed by the commitment that was generally shown by big and small leaders, who knew a portion about and practised putting God first in their lives by giving up time, for example. - I was/am quite impressed by the hunger the congregation showed at the Prayer Meeting and at Ablaze. - I was/am quite impressed by the young adults girls who have kept and keep themselves pure, and seek the Lord before seeking a relationship leading on to marriage.
Specifically: - I was/am very impressed by the free flowing worship lead by OO. Non-ritualistic, very heartfelt from OO. During the worship, it sounded like a whole band was present, nevermind not having drums/keyboard/bass/electric. - I was/am very impressed by XX. I completely forgot what she said on stage that Ablaze, but I remember the way she delivered. No one, without experiencing God regularly, can speak like that. No one can be "taught" how to speak like that.
<<------------------ End Extract ------------------>>
At the end of the letter I wanted to add this: "The welcoming was very average. People did not make enough effort to make me feel very welcome. I had a few awkward-for-the-other-party moments in conversation, and at times i felt like i was the one who had to initate the talking. But, even so, and even so, i want to go back to your Church anyday. I say with 75% truth that "i would fly to Brisbane when your Church has 4 meetings in one week, and i'm very seriously"."
Of course, I didn't add the "your people are not very welcoming". But how good it feels to add it to the letter in this post now.
The XX referred to in the letter, i found to be very attractive. She made a few decisions in her life that reflected her commitment to God's calling. The way she spoke on the night told me that she encounters the Lord regularly, and that she has a seeking heart. HOT.
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