Build like Noah did - with Faith in God, Obedience to God and Fear of God

Rev Dr Colin Hurt
30-07-2017

Matthew 24:37-39
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Revelation 19:7-9New King James Version (NKJV)

7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

The marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride has to get ready for the glorious day.

Our King is coming.

Yet so many people are complacent.

We are the terminal generation.

Genesis 6:1-7
6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

The world is coming into the influence of demonic forces.

God is setting a limit. God will be patient as long as He sees any possibility of change.

The Lord is long suffering. But there will come a day when He says enough is enough with human wickedness.

The evil that is in man's heart is there continually.

Gender neutral, no gender identity. Instead of "he" or "she," there's now "ze." That's absolute wickedness in our world now.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Men will be lovers of self.

They will be lovers of money.

They will be disobedient to parents. Parents have abdicated their role as parents.

They will love pleasure instead of loving God. I.e. pleasing yourself.

God is repenting that He had made man in the first place. 

2 Peter 3:6-7
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Genesis 6:8
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Grace means free, unmerited favour.

Noah was saved because he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, not because he was righteous.

Because you have been saved by grace, you have the potential to save the whole human race.

It only took one man who found grace and he saved the entire human race and animals as well.

Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Righteousness is the external manifestations. He was righteous in the sight of God and blameless (internal transformation) in his time. And Noah walked with God. He had a relationship with God. Like Enoch did. Like Noah did.

Genesis 6:13
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Noah became a recipient of divine revelation and vision from God. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me."

We have a world out there that needs the gospel message.

Genesis 6:14-22
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Noah built only what God told him to build.

Experts built the Titanic and an amateur built the ark.

Go into the presence of God and build what God tells you to build.

Hebrews 11:7
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Noah was a man of obedience.

Noah was a man of faith.

He moved with Godly fear.

True faith and true fear are always combined.

The whole world is going be destroyed very soon but I have a separate agenda.

This destruction of the human race is a reality.

If we have genuine faith, we also need to have genuine fear.

2 Peter 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Noah preached righteousness.

He saved the whole human race and the whole animal creations.

You could just save one person for Jesus but you could have saved a whole generation.

Do it with faith, obedience and fear as Noah did and rescue what we can rescue in our generation.

Do what we can do in this end time rescue of the human race and let God do what we cannot do but He can do.

Distinct Qualities for us in these last days

Pr Michael Koh

23-07-2017

Genesis 26:1-35King James Version (KJV)
26 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws._

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Isaac is a recipient of the covenant from Abraham. He was to experience it himself personally.

He was not welcome there. He felt like he's pushed around.

That place was the place where Isaac became a man of faith.

It is a heritage of the substance of God.

God calls us to be children of the Father and co-heirs with Christ. We have a destiny.

Isaac was going to a place where his father had encountered God in a supernatural way. 

Redigging of wells are symbolic of a springing up of the Holy Spirit that we must experience for ourselves.

Jesus Himself drew back to the Old Testament. Eg. Wells of living water.

As parents, it is so difficult to pass on to our children precious things.

Isaac experienced that. 

But Isaac was pushed out of that place. He couldn't depend on Abraham's heritage.

We want to be able able to experience wells that are authentic.

Isaac had to go and find wells again. He dug a well. That required some spiritual discernment to find water.

By being pushed out, it was meant to kill him. To the men's surprise, Isaac found water.

The most precious things we could pass on to our children is the ability to sense the presence of God; to sense where water is.

It is learned through spiritual parenting and have our spiritual senses honed.

Isaac had to experience it himself. 

All that we had learned has to be translated. Children have to be taught of the Lord.

We have to have it ourselves and be able to pass it on to others.

This experience is beyond the sacred page and the books that are written about God. 

God can speak to you.

Train children to allow God to come through when all the other voices are switched out.

We can redig our own wells and remove the mud that has filled it.

Isaac's eyes were full of wells.

Our lives are meant to be experienced in a way that your God has blessed you.

How do we experience this?

Acts 16:1-40King James Version (KJV)
16 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas._

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

36 And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.

37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

38 And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

39 And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

It looked like Paul and Silas were in a dire situation. It is in this kind of spiritual claustrophobia that God will raise us up.

God wants to work in situations like that in our lives.

Paul and Silas entered into praying and singing as led by the Holy Spirit. It is invisible but is more real and has more power.

In this reality, God begins to move and shape things.

Feel, intimacy and all these have to be practised. 

As they began to pray, something began to rise up.

We all live in the zone of noise; the dictatorship of noise.

Romans 8 says the Spirit prays. We set our mind towards the Lord and the Spirit prays.

When you set your mind on Spirit, you live in the Spirit.

Romans 8:5-17
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

You are the start of the new generation.

Pray until we experience the springs of water rise up like Isaac did.

Pass on the objective presence and substance of God to our children, and not just the traditions.

Travail for the Glory of the Children of God

Pr Michael Koh

19-07-2017

The enemy has a destiny for the nation.

But our God has an end in mind for Malaysia.

Romans 8:18-23
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

There is a groaning, a rumbling in the spirit when we pray. 

God has chosen us to stand in the gap to bring forth the sons of glory into Malaysia and into our children.

Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

The Spirit intercedes with a certain rumbling according to the will of God.

God has a chosen instrument to bring all things for good. When we are praying in the spirit, God is working all things together for good.

Actually God is flowing through us like a river. He is cleansing us. He is silencing the noise of this world. He is silencing the dictatorship of noise. God is transforming us.

When we pray, God is activating us towards something that He is doing through us.

When we travail, we are travailing for our sons of glory, our biological as well as spiritual sons and daughters.

Isaiah 54:1-17King James Version (KJV)
54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isaiah had a certain kind of character that he was building.

We are praying to bring forth that kind of character in the next generation to be possessors of the Gentiles.

They will have foundations. We have to teach and travail for our children so that they will face afflictions well. We need to walk through with them until breakthroughs happen.

They are taught of the law. They can hear from God. The next generation will shine in the darkness.

God calls each one of us to be fathers and mothers.

God's Power is Made Perfect in Our Weaknesses

Pr Michael Koh
16-07-2017

Jacob and his son settled in Shechem instead of Bethel where the Lord had assigned them in Genesis 34. Dinah was raped. Simeon and Levi took revenge and slaughtered the men. 

Genesis 34:30-31
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

In Genesis 35, Jacob realised the covenant identity that God had given to Abraham.

Genesis 35:1-29King James Version (KJV)
35 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

8 But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:

24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Unlike Jacob, his children had become worse. 

God is like a GPS calling Jacob back to Bethel.

For some of us too, there are certain gaps in your spiritual life and you are lost.

God is bringing Jacob back to the experience that he had. The sons of Jacob experienced the covering of God.

You have to know who you are called by.

Genesis 28 recounts the experience that Jacob had with his brothers to reset the altar.

Genesis 28:1-22
10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God speaks into his life. 

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

For the first time, Jacob, the unchosen one, was spoken to by God. He was given an identity. His sons had lost that.

Jacob reminded them that they were a people called and chosen by God.

As he poured the anointing oil upon the stump, he was reminded of his brokenness and God's divine promise. God is going to shine through the excellency of His power and He will give them a new identity.

Sometimes we look at our own stump, our own brokenness and our own imperfections and weaknesses, and realise that we need God's anointing to come upon His imperfect people.

In the midst of all the forming and shaping, we have to realise that we are children of God. As parents, we know what it feels like (parenting). Not uncles ("uncling").

The more you pray, the more you begin to realise "the Lord in me". In prayer, you are healed of self-consciousness. We are infirmed but the Lord makes His power perfect in our weakness.

Jacob had not passed this on to his sons. It reminded them of the stark reality of their brokenness and desolateness.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Most people just want to get rid of that thorn but sometimes God doesn't get rid of it. 

God's purpose is perfecting power in us. (v9)

The church is not a hospital.

The thorn in the flesh is not a curse.

In our weakness, God has dealt the blow upon that thorn. Christ himself had carried that thorn, that crown of thorns on His head at His crucifixion.

The promises of God for our life are out of context if we do not know the purposes of God.

There are ways that God is causing us to be like Paul. No matter what happens, we get to have the shape and power of God.

It is amazing when parents (both biological and spiritual parents) feel proud of their children.

It is God that defines you. It is God's purpose to make His strength perfect.

Whether it is the thorn of shame, history, words spoken, sickness, oppression, lack of marriage that seems like a curse or loneliness, depression, thank God that He broke these curses. In the midst of darkness, God makes us shine. God's grace is sufficient for you. Thank God that He is not done with us. Ask for His perfect strength to receive our weaknesses.

Season + Purpose: How then shall we live

Elder Ho Kien Keong
09-07-2017

Ecclesiastes 3King James Version (KJV)
3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

John 10:10-14
Jesus, the Good Shepherd

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

But there is also the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy our lives and God's purposes for us.

Material things lost can be found, except life.

Psalm 31:9-15
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.

David wrote about Absalom, his third son. He understood ownership and identity and declared, "Deliver me from my enemies."

For the Shepherd to lead effectively, the sheep need to understand Ownership + Identity;
Courage to obey.

1) Ownership

The sovereignty of God keeps us alive to help us to understand He owns our lives.

Romans 14:8
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

We belong to the Lord, not the thief. Therefore we must learn to surrender ownership of our lives to God. He becomes our Shepherd. Otherwise, He becomes second place.

Matthew 16:24-26
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples,“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto us.

God wants to give us life in all its fullness.

We must fill it with God's purpose.

Mark 12:30-31
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

2) Identity

Malachi 4:6
And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

If we do not know the fatherhood of God, we grow up to be spiritual orphans unable to relate to the Father God.

We are all sons and daughters of the Living God.

John 14:7
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

John 14:18
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Romans 8:15-17New King James Version (NKJV)
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,that we may also be glorified together.

Being a son has a lot of privileges--to stay and eat in the house, to use all the things in the house.

In FGA, we are part of the spiritual heritage that God has given to us through our spiritual fathers. As spiritual children, we can experience the same power and anointing. We have adopted the vision of God through our founding fathers.

How old were Joshua and Caleb?

Joshua 1New King James Version (NKJV)

God’s Commission to Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, soI will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

We, the Joshua generation, are the bridging generation. We need to stand strong for our young people.

In this season of time, God has raised a new generation. They are ready, committed, and passionate. But they need us, the Joshua generation, to stand up and be courageous. How we live our lives will impact them. We need to understand our ownership and identity. We all have a role to play.

There are four types of people in the church:
1) Members
2) Disciples
3) Servants
4) Sons

We must understand that we are sons and daughters adopting the Antioch vision of our founding fathers.

We are here as sons and daughters of the Living God.

We need to have courage to adjust our mindset so that the anointing of God comes to us as sons and daughters.

Almost 40 years ago, FGA started the charismatic movement. FGA was the pioneering church. God used to start the prayer movement.

Matthew 28 is the Great Commission. God says the Holy Spirit will come. That's Acts 2. The Holy Spirit brought them together as family.

Acts 2:42-47
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church[h] daily those who were being saved.

God says He is doing a new thing. Together, young and old are in need of the other. We can achieve this as sons and daughters of the vision. We have a great inheritance.

We are FGA. We have a strong heritage.

Today God is starting a new work. You are not useless. Recognise the calling and purpose and stand up strong as sons and daughters. We have a new language. We have a new midset and attitude. God will pour out His Spirit.

Jesus understood Sonship. It is not about me; it is about serving God. It is not about personal agendas; it is about God owning my life and my identity in Christ. He washed the disciples' feet.

As sons and daughters, as the Joshua generation, we need to change our attitude and our language. Ownership and identity brings about courage.

Restoring the Prophetic Destiny of the Church

Evelyn Wetoto
(of Julius Suubi's Highway of Holiness Ministries International)
05-07-2017

Isaiah 62:6New King James Version (NKJV)
6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,

Every crisis will come to an end when we persist in prayer.

Arise! (Isaiah 60:1) We are waking from slumber.

The Lord has called us to pray at all times. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Matthew 11:12New King James Version (NKJV)
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Psalm 24:7-10
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah

Exodus 15:3
3 The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is His name.

The King of glory is a God of war.

Joel 2:25
25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.

God will restore the church to its original prophetic calling, position and voices in the land.

All things are possible when we pray.

Reviving and Restoring the Antioch Vision

Pr Jonathan Loh
02-07-2017

Christian life is not just attending a meeting or a service.

We are to encounter the Holy Spirit.

Those who come before God have to come with faith. With daith we can only find favour in God. Faith is believing when we cannot see.

Many are desiring the things that we can see. How many desire the things that cannot be seen?

Expect, pray for the unseen. That is the kingdom of God.

Joshua 14:6-9
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.

7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.

8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

Do you still remember the Lord's call for your life? Do you still remember the days when you were passionate to read the bible and to seek God's face? Do you still remember when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon you? Do you still remember the fire that you had for the Lord in sharing the gospel?

We are an antioch church. We had a vision and mission of reaching 30,000 souls for Christ.

But it is not about chasing numbers and figures. Rather, it is about obeying the Word of God. We are called to obey His Word. To obey is a blessing. Attending a service is an act of obedience. Come with an expectation and with a heart of obedience. It is not about how much you can offer. If you only value how much you offer to God, that is not favourable in the eyes of God. It is not about offering a small portion and expecting a greater return.

Obeying is greater than sacrifice.

The scripture says they sent out twelve spies to scout out the land. Caleb and Joshua said they should enter. The land is full of milk and honey. The other ten are like seeds without faith. They had the seed of unbelief and they believed that it is not possible. They thought that they would not be able to enter the promised land.

Many of us have the seed of unbelief planted inside of us. We water it, fertilise it and grow it.

Every time we say we are old, we are retiring, that it is up to the young generation, we end up being useless. We are already defeated.

Moses told Caleb that the land that your feet walk on, that the land shall be yours. God also told His people that they would inherit the land of Canaan.

The antioch vision would come to pass for you and your descendants.

Caleb already mentioned it 45 years ago. God gave him a life for the past 45 years.

Joshua 14:10-13
10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

Old people are good examples.

Caleb was 85 years old when he finally entered the promised land.

Physically he was old but he's young inside. He said, "Lord, give me the mountain!"

When Caleb asked for the mountain, they were facing obstacles.

They came to Joshua by faith and said, "Give me the land."

It's well known that Joshua's shout brought down the walls of Jericho. During the battle against the Amalekites, Moses passed along the power of God through his raised hands.

This 85-year-old man saved the land for his descendants. This 85-year-old still remembered the Word from the Lord for his life.

We are here to fulfill the will of God through our obedience. We are here to obey and to see the Antioch vision come to pass.

Ministries and home fellowships do not grow because of our own disobedience. There is great disunity.

Unity is strength. Disunity is sadness. Disunity destroys the church. Disunity destroys the will and purposes of God.

This is the house of the Lord. This is the church that God had placed you in. Our future is in the Lord. This is our home.

Ask for the Lord. Ask for His kingdom instead of asking for material things.

Lord, send the spirit of Caleb to [Your church].

Inside all of us is a young heart. Make full use of your age, your energy and your passion. Enter the battlefield and fight for His kingdom.

Fill the world with the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the vision and dream from the Lord for us. That is the antioch vision.

Like Caleb was important to the young generation of his time, you are all so important to the young people. You are all spiritual parents. You are the future of the church. You are the future of His kingdom.

Lord, restore us with the passion for Your kingdom. Lord, revive us with fire once again.

Experience the reality and power of our God.

We are here for God's glory. [The church] is the glory for the Lord. [The church] is the [Lord's] glory for Malaysia. [The church] is the [Lord's] glory for the region and the world.