AUG08 Prayers Of The Saints (POTS)

AUG 08 POTS.

Pre POTS prayer meeting:
God To Me:
Pslam 27:8

Confirmation:
Pastor Wong announced Pslam 27 is to be used for tonight.

During POTS (Group Prayer):
Pastor Chin prayer for me and a 'New Assignment' from God is coming my way .... :)

Psalm 27:8 (Amplified Bible)
8You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

Psalm 27:8 (New Living Translation)
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

I've noticed that God has been sharpening my 'sensing' over these weeks ... times has come for me to truely Seek him for and spend time talking to him to receive instructions for my New Assignment.

Praise Be To God!

God's promise never fails!

I can go for GE08 .... God never fails in his promises! Praise the Lord!

When God gives us a Promise:
It usually requires:
- Obedience
- Faith
- Action

He enables us to do all the above through the power of the HS that is already dwelling in us. To me his WORD is the clear guiding direction and source of encouragement for me as in my previous post.

Very often its The Flesh Vs The Spirit. Romans 7 14:25 briefly describes this struggle between the spirit and the flesh .. but we should always remember that the Victory is already ours!

GE08? God Encounter or Greatest Error I made?

God's promise:
You will make it for GE08.
Hence I paid in full for the camp ... believing in Faith his promise for me.

Situation:
Few weeks ago my Boss rejected my leave application for GE08.

My immediate reaction:
To take MC or not to take MC for GE08?

To Do:
Option (1) Take MC and just go for the camp (The flesh)
Option (2) Trust in the Lord and seek approval again (The spirit)

After much struggle I choose Option (2) today.

In the Morning:
Mark: Option (1) is the best.
God:
Proverbs 10:23 (New International Version)
23 A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct,but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.

In the Afternoon:
Mark: Option (1) is the best and least troublesome.
God:
Psalm 131 (New International Version)
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

Proverbs 13:5 (New International Version)
5 The righteous hate what is false,
but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.

Mark: God you win!

I decided option (2) and minutes before seeking my boss i sought God and God re-confirmed:
Proverbs 3:5 (New International Version)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

Did i hear God wrongly when he said I will make it to GE08?
In two days I will know if I can make it for GE08 ... while waiting ... keep the faith and cast any doubt away!

War ... Victory ...

Been a long time since Got woken up in the middle of the night. At 2am plus, was awoken with some fear, uneasy-ness but prayed with confidence in tongues and was lead to read Psalms 83 and Psalms 98.

Psalms 83 - War/ Protection/ Victory
Psalms 98 - Victory / Praise

When u draw closer to God .... the devil will always try to oppose you .... however ... live on this earth in Faith that the victory is already ours!

Psalm 83:18 (AMP)
That they may know that You, Whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

Listening To Him

Last night was our second meeting with the youth group. Its was a good time of sharing and ministering to each other. However, I should have released what God had told to and not hold it back doubting him and waiting for confirmation from others.... not the 1st time this happened ......

Luke 22:31-32 (New International Version)
31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you[a] as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Our Faith and trust in God is something which is so very important. If we don't act or speak it out when God prompts us too... there's nothing much he can do ..... and we end up looking back regretting.

A thought ? A Prophecy? - May08

A thought ? A Prophecy? - May08
- Come 2012, the house that God has given you will be a place for spiritual retreat.
- Set apart a room for person X who will come from afar to establish his/her place in Singapore.

8By8 - 22 May 08

Our 1st meeting with potential youth leaders. Thank you God!
A very importantly step for my spiritual grow too - To mentor the youths and to be mentored too. I thank God for the opportunity for allowing me to grow spiritually. God I have no formal training watsoever .... but I trust that you will guide me through this mentoring process. Amen!
While praying our the youths
God:
You will pray for X
Mark:
Sure or not?
Pastor:
You pray for X
Wow!
With an open heart -> God speaks to Us/Prepares us in advance -> Being human we may doubt at times -> But God is always faithful in keeping he promises/directions for us. Have more faith in God!

Hebrews 12:1-2 (New International Version)
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

A word of encouragement for everyone ........

I shared my spiritual experience and received this email reply from one of God's mighty workers ..... its a real big encouragement for me and would like to share it with everyone as it applies to us all who are in the body of Christ. No doubt a short email ...but so much biblical wisdom in it! .... I bold those words which stood out to me. It may be something we all already know ... but so often fail to recognize and practice.


Rev. Doctorian dictates:
"Dear Mark,
I have read your email.
God is blessing you.
Continue to be faithful to him.
Manifestations of the Spirit happen in different ways to different children of God.
God has a purpose in your life. Also in your wife's life.
When you are husband and wife, God will show His Will in your life with unity of purpose, and peace of mind. Wait upon the Lord, study His Word, walk obediently in His Will, pray unceasingly.
God bless you.
Samuel Doctorian"

Be encouraged! :)

While Jogging with God ... #Lesson 1

Jog ... Jog ...Jog ...

Unexpectedly a wind blows .... A bunch of leaves started falling like a 'Golden Shower' ....

"So beautiful ... God if only I could catch one!"

Without quickening or slowing my pace ... I stretched my right hand a little ... even with my palm 3/4 closed ... this leaf flew directly into the center of my palm .... snugly ...securely enclosed within my palm.

"WOW! Thank you God!"

Like the wind ... Many Opportunities come and go our way ...

When we're walking CLOSE with God:

- He knows our hearts desires (just one leaf ) even though many doors (many leafs) may seem open for us.
- All it requires is that we take that step of Faith (stretched my right hand a little).
- In response to our Faith, making no mistakes, God opens that one prefect door of opportunity for us (leaf falling directly into the center of my 3/4 closed palm).
- We may not realize that the opportunity is from God (semi closed palm) but through continued trust in him (without trying to catch another leaf) we will soon realize in amazement that the opportunity is distinctively from him! (Palm opening to reveal that one leaf with a cross symbol mark on it! Look at the picture carefully ... I was amazed!)

Luke 11:9 (NIV)
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

A lesson on Chastening for me ..........

God @ 2:30 am:
Wakey!

Mark:
Okie

God:
Mr X. (Name kept for confidentiality sake).

At once I knew what God wanted to me do. Mr X and I had a dispute over certain issues in the past and the central issue had to deal with Attitudes, Actions and Money. We felt that both had a part to play thus neither should bear the total blame. That made the issue even more complex and accusations kept 'Ping Ponging' back and forth to the extent that our relationship turned sour and we were not on talking terms.

I knew God wanted me to humble myself and not only Show but Seek Forgiveness and Initiate Reconciliation. Being obedient, I made an agreement with God that I would email Mr X later that morning.

2 Corinthians 5:13 (NIV)
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Later in the morning, I prayed, committed to God the issue and email Mr X asking for forgiveness and requesting reconciliation. Somehow throughout the day, I didn't think much about the email I sent. In fact I should have been worried. What if he scolded me back and gave more accusations. How should I defend myself then ? ..... la la la?

Revelation number 1 just came to me even as I'm typing this .... and this was preached in today's sermon!
Philippians 2:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This morning, The Holy Spirit had lead me to pray and commit the issue to God before typing and sending the email out ..... and God's Peace guarded my heart and mind throughout the day .... ZERO worry was present about the issue. I feel, when we Submit & Obey God, it lets the HS do it's work in and through us (Repentance, Forgiveness, Reconciliation in this instance) ... all in line with God's will (God's Word) and moreover, our gracious God even showers us with the promises he has for us (Peace of God in this instance).

And guess what ... Mr X replied in the evening saying that he has already forgiven me and is also sorry for the mistake he made too. He even pointed out the areas that we both went wrong. Back then, we could never humble ourselves enough to see where the real problem was. What struck me most is when he said: "I still treasure our friendship." And guess what, we are even planing to meet up with some old friend soon. Praise the Lord!

This lesson for me from God has been so timely. Revelation number 2! You see, I'm currently reading Derek Prince's booklet on Testing. The key point is that we need to differentiate the situations that God puts us through and not moan and groan and treat all alike due to our pride.
Testing -> Calls for endurance (self-control) -> To build us up.
Chastening -> Calls for repentance of our sins -> To bring us back and closer to God.

The Bible, Books (biblical ones) ....etc ... whatever you feed your soul and spirit with ... God can use the knowledge gained for His Glory ... Our God is a Practical God ... he expects action from the head knowledge we have gained ... and all can be achieved if we simply Obey and allow him to lead and guide us.

:)

Talking to him ............ WOW!

God @ 2:02am:
Wakey! (I was awoken to the gentle shaking of my fingers)

Mark:
Yawn! .... God is that you?

This time I did something which i never did properly in previous experiences. I tested if the spirit was from God using 1 John 4 (v2). Often I would 'dive' straight into the battle ... trying to rebuke anything before even discerning if it was God. That left me more confused that ever ... but now, I knew for sure it was the almighty one.

1 John 4:2 (NIV)

1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

I tested the Spirit a few times and each time my fingers would shake as if in acknowledgment. I too had a kind of peace and joy within me ... fear was not present at all. Was glad and relief but being Kiasu ...spoke 1 John 4 (v4) ......... to play safe too :)

1 John 4:4(NIV)

4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

God:
Talk to me. Ask me questions that you have on your mind.

Mark:
As I conversed with him ... at times I would receive a 'Yes' or 'No' in my Spirit or a physical manifestation by the shaking of my left of right fingers. Left fingers shaking would mean 'Yes' and Right fingers would mean 'No'.

Being intrigued with the physical confirmations (Left fingers shake - Yes, Right fingers shake - No ) ... I asked some rather 'useless' questions and he replied.

"Can pigs fly?"
"Can humans fly?"
"Can I put an ice-cream in the microwave and it still come out solid?"
...

More serious questions I asked and got answers .... some extracts:
"Is my grandma in heaven?"
"Will my family go to heaven?"
"Will I be able to go to church camp this year?"
"Is heaven real?"
"Are Angels real?"
"Will my wife go into full time ministry (i.e not back to the secular world)?"
"Will I have a child?"
...

We chit chatted and he answered my questions .... it was so enjoyable .... I even managed to go for a quick toilet break and come back so excited to continue our conversation.

We being only human, living in the flesh and it being my 1st 'chit chat' conversation with him .... God decided to answer most of my questions with a physical manifestation for each answer. However in faith I claim that I will soon be able to have such regular conversations without the need of physical confirmations. I guess you can say I'm aiming to be 'Sensitive to the Holy Spirit' instead of having the 'Seeing Is Believing' attitude which our flesh wants us to be.

I just want to encourage anyone who reads this blog (If anyone does ... ha ha) to know that your experience with God is unique. Don't try to copy or strive to achieve an experience that someone else had or is having. Each of our journey with God is unique. All our destinations are the same, however the journey (roads) that we take are different. Also, don't get too caught up in the sights and sounds along the journey but continue to walk with God as he leads and demands. Nothing more aptly says it for me (My journey with God- now and later) then in Psalms 32 which he taught me a few days back.

Psalm 32:7-9 (NIV)

(Protection, Refuge for me)
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

(Teaching, Guidance for me)
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

(Testing, Chastening ... and for me to know not to get too caught up in the experiences but focus on following him)
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

Mark @ 3:26am:
God time to Zzzzz .. Thank you so much for the conversation ...how can I give thanksgiving?

God:
Psalms 8.
(A wonderful and glorious Psalms .... to God be the glory!)

Fruit Of The Spirit ........... For ? :)

Mark @ 2:02am:
Wakey! Prayed, rebuked anything not of God then submitted to the Holy Spirit's leading.

God:
Galatians 5:23

Mark (Nicely tucked in bed):
Yup I know it talks about the fruit of the Spirit ...must I really switch on the lights and read the verse?

After a quick struggle, I humbled myself, obeyed the Holy Spirit and read Galatians 5, expounding on verse 23.
Galatians 5:23 (NIV)
23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In time, I had a very brief vision like was in a womb of some sort. Then I also briefly saw a very little hand with some fingers. Although not fully formed, I knew it was a hand with fingers. The queer thing was that the colour of the hand and fingers were not like that of a normal human but it was a bright luminouscent white. It was very confusing at first but I knew it was the hand and fingers of a fetus I had briefly seen.

This all didn't make sense at first, but soon I was impressed to pray the fruit of the Spirit (v22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control...) into what I knew would be our unborn child! God was teaching me to claim and pray these Christ-like attributes for my unborn child! Amazing! I then continued to pray for God to set apart our unborn child for his kingdom purposes. Soon v23 (gentleness and self-control) made sense. It was for me to claim and pray upon myself . These were part of the attributes I would need to exercise and nurture doing Wendy's pregnancy stages. I ended with thanksgiving and praying for protection for each stage of the pregnancy that Wendy would have to go through; that God's Favour, Protection and Glory would always surround this family and its new member!

Mark@ 3:02am
God ..... when ......... :)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Supernatural Worship?

Mark (woken up @ 2am):
Not again .... interrupted Zzzz .....
Is you (God)? The devil? Or just toilet time?

Prayed, rebuked the devil as precaution then went to toilet ... came back and prepared to Zzz. BUT just couldn't Zzzz. Prayed for wisdom and submitted to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

In time ... my fingers started to mimic the actions of playing a music instrument like the keyboard or piano. Left fingers moved to a rhythm ... right fingers moved to a rhythm, then both in synchronization to some sort of musical score (cords, notes etc) .... At first, I thought it was the devil provoking me ... but there was no fear and I felt the peace of God in me ..... a certain joy and excitement stirred within me. Although unsure of why this was happening, I enjoyed it and was in total control. I had the authority to stop the movements any time I wished. Each time I submitted to the Holy Spirit, the movements would continue. If I wanted it to stop, it would. Simply amazing!

Mark:
What is all this about God?

God:
Worship .... keyboard.

Mark:
Ermmm ... Are you sure? Impossible! I dunno how to play the keyboard ..... very tired too ...
The more excuses I gave, the more I couldn't sleep.

Wendy was awoken and I shared with her my experience without telling her God's prompting for me to play the keyboard. She prayed over me and God lead her to give me the word "Receive". Then i knew it was confirmation and I knew I had to obey his prompting.

@3:20 am
Only being human, I decided start off with the grand piano tone ... expecting some magnificent tune to be played. But somehow I knew it just wasn't the right tone ...... with eyes closed and focusing on submitting to the Holy Spirit's leading, I slowly played a very simple, solemn tune to the Harp Tone. Initially I was disappointed that the tune (chords, notes) sounded so simple but was soon amazed that the tune had emotions. There were highs and lows to it in the sense that I felt joy, fear, sorrow with each different combination of chords and notes being played.

I had a quick vision of someone who I just knew was King David. I was on high ground with him, looking across his shoulder, glancing down at a plain which was entirely occupied by a huge moving mass of some sort. From this distance, I couldn't confirm what it was but knew it was like an army of men. Being on high ground I could only make out their heads. This huge dark mass of men was separated vertically by a small white group of men. (i.e 1/3 dark men, a vertically separating group white men, 2/3 dark men). All 3 groups were tightly packed next to each other and were moving in unison towards a certain destination. There was no battle taking place .... just a huge migration of some sort.

The tune ended .... and God lead me to Psalm 49. Nothing much about Psalm 49 I thought until I read verse 4:
(NIV)
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
(KJV)
4I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
(NLT)
4 I listen carefully to many proverbs
and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.

Was I actually playing a tune with the Harp tone to Psalms 49? Many thoughts raced through my mind ... I was tired and really needed to Zzzz ..... will expound on all this tomorrow I told God.

I then decided to listen to some songs to fall asleep to.
Playlist:
All the heavens - Hillsongs
Glory in the highest - Chris Tomlin

Amazingly, while quietly praising along with each song on my ipod, my fingers started to move rapidly. Although tired, I submitted to the Holy Spirit and knew my time with him had not ended. I somehow knew that for both songs, the Holy Spirit was guiding me to play the notes of the guitar, the drums, the keyboard of each song ... ALL AT THE SAME TIME! My fingers were moving very rapidly but somehow I knew not a single beat or note was missed. I felt as if I was in possession a divine angelic instrument that allowed me to become a one-man worship team. And in that time of quick worship, I sensed the presence of Angels with me too .... words can't describe the feeling but it was amazingly powerful. Is this one way that we worship in heaven? Amazing! After the song, I prayed and Zzzzzed till the clock rang at 7am.

This morning, I was prompted to recall a verse I saw in a video:
Romans 6:13
13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

Psalm 49 .... Romans 6:13 .... very tired now .... will expound on them later God.
Nitez! Or rather Good afternoon!

TPMC .. .which ministry?

God:
- Worship
- Psalms: 111 (Praise, Rejoice)
1PRAISE THE Lord! (Hallelujah!) I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the council of the upright and in the congregation.
.....

Mark:
Worship Ministry or Worship to find out? :) No rush ... will do the latter 1st :P

2008 for me ...

God's Word For Me:
2008 ....... "Journey"

Psalm 23:3

3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Psalm 32:

7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

So many questions to asks ....... just have to walk in faith as God instructs and teaches me :)

H.I.S Ministry ?

Mark:
So how God? Less than one week to reply.
God:
Psalms 118
My take

6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

Still very much unsure God ....... will pray and claim upon Isaiah 11:2 for insight into this situation:
Isaiah 11:2
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him (me)—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

...............................

H.I.S Ministry (Healing and Deliverance) Training - Yes Or No ?

Mark:
God should we go for H.I.S Ministry training that is coming very very soon .. and enter into spiritual battle?

God:
- Mark 5:23
My take - Laying of hands.
- Luke 4
My take - Jesus filled with the HS rebukes the devil with scripture and starts his deliverance and healing ministry.

Words:
- Submission
- Authority
My take - Submit (Obey) to the will of God and he will give you Authority over the evil one.

God is it really from you ? Grant me spiritual wisdom and give me confirmation please as I seek and pray about it....time is running short.

Interrupted Zzzzzzzzzzzz ...... hmmmm

For the past 2 weeks since Chinese New Year, been waking up at 2am or 3am or 4am nightly by something unknown. Being unable to Zzzz ... worshiped, prayed, rebuked anything not of God ...just this week, came down with slight flu but now fully recovered. This week too, Wendy has been having bad dreams of demons and unable to Zzzz properly .... God ...What's happening?
Has a Spiritual Battle has begun?

My prayer:
Spiritual Peace:
Ephesians 1:2 (Amplified Bible)
2May grace (God's unmerited favor) and spiritual peace [which means peace with God and harmony, unity, and undisturbedness] be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:8-9 (Amplified Bible)
Spiritual Wisdom and Insight to the will of God in this issue:
8Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence),9Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in [c]Him,

Submission

POTS5
Ministry Time
1) God said ....."pray for Mxxxxxx........"
2) Mark replied ....."Crazy ......Cannot be"
3) God said ....."pray for Mxxxxxx........"
4) Mark replied ....." ......Cannot be....."
5) Pastor came over and said ...."Mark pray for Mxxxxxx........"
6) Mark replied ....." God you win ......"

Lesson learnt: God doesn't force us to do things .... but if repeats himself 3 times ... you better listen and obey ! :)


God's Word For Me:
2008 ....... "Journey" ..... Psalm 23:3

Psalm 23:3

3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

This year will be an exciting year for me :)