Acts Chp 1 - 2

In the past, Jesus taught His disciples by speaking to them and teaching them to understand scriptures. After Jesus rose to heaven, His Holy Spirit indwelled in them and taught them by prompting them. Likewise today, we are taught through the Holy Spirit's prompting in us.

I also learnt that it is possible to have the Holy Spirit "with you" but not "in you" today. Having the Holy Spirit IN you means that we have a relationship with God. A person who receives Christ is at the same time, baptized with the Holy Spirit. The difference between being "baptized with the Holy Spirit" and "filled with the Holy Spirit" is that when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit works THROUGH you and it will be evident in our daily lives.

We also touched on the controversial subject of speaking in tongues and Acts 2:4-13 addresses this topic. I think we had a good time "arguing" and coming to a standpoint but whatever it is, 1 Corinthians 14:6 says, "Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?"

This is just a short sharing about what I've learnt and I hope it humbly summarizes what Ryan has shared so in depth with us in that session.

Just some admin matters. I've gotten my mum to book the chalet for the last weekend of March and I've checked with the uni and JC people and that weekend will not affect any of their term tests. I'm not sure about Elin and Nicky though. Hope this dates will be convenient. Do continue to pray that we will be able to have this retreat and that the chalet will be given to us. :)

More urgent matters that needs IMMEDIATE reply. So please DUN IGNORE me. haha Its regarding this sat's L4C visitation. Thanks to Sam and Rebecca and Nicky and their parents who graciously opened their homes for us to visit. Heard that we have a sumptious dinner awaiting at Auntie Jesse's place!

Who else is willing to open their homes so that we can go pai nian??? Please reply ASAP so that we can make necessary arrangements ok! Date due of reply: WEDNESDAY (Day one of CNY) Those who DON"T reply (like when I always send out smses and nobody replies!) will be fined $10 from their ang pow money! Rebecca and Rachel take note. haha

I am willing to open my house, that is if you all wanna go down to CCK lah! heh okie, I reply liao. Follow suit ya!

Take care you guys. This is gonna be a short and sweet week but still, read your bibles, pray everyday!!!

Acts - IntroducTion

The book of Acts records the history of the early church and the spread of the gospel. Both the book of Luke and Acts were written by Luke.

Acts is actually a book of Action and a biography of Peter and Paul.

Peter is the apostle that is sent to minister to the ews, who were circumcized people.

Paul on the other hand, is the apostle sent to minister to the uncircumcized Gentiles.

Apostles are MEN sent on missions and they are eye witnesses to Jesus' resurrection.

Acts chapter 1 to 7 records the gospel that is being preached and spread in Jerusalem.

Acts chapter 8 to 12 records the gospel preached and spread to Judea and Samaria.

Acts chapter 13 to 28 records the gospel spread throughout the world.

Yep, thats all I've got for you guys. Really looking forward to expound on God's word with you guys this year. Some administrative matters. We have decided that we should all contribute to the a group fund. We will have to pay Rebecca and Rachel $5 every MONTH and this money will be used to buy refreshments for our fortnightly meetings and also to and retreats or chalets or food feasts or BBQs or whatsoever outings we might plan in the course of the year.

Also, juz to inform you guys that my mum did not manage to get the sentosa chalet for us. Its ok. It juz shows that God wants us to wait. I believe so becoz Chin also mentioned that he is starting work on the 11th and Elin may have to visit friends during the weekend. God wants us to wait I guess! So that's one thing we need to continue to pray for ya! I really wanna go chalet with you guys man!

Let's all commit one another to prayer and do keep the prayer momentum going ya!

Looking forward to the next L4C and till then, have a blessed weekend and remember, read your bibles, pray everyday!

David

Samuel led us in a time of meditative worship where we reflected on how God's love extends to all of us. Thanks Sam. It was a time of refreshing.


We all came prepared with sharings and Chin and Rebecca reminded us about how simple prayers are still answered. I will always remember how God provided not one but two seats for becca!


Samuel shared his mini sermon on spiritual strength. Ephesians 6:10-15


Why do we need spiritual strength?
- When we consider the strength of Satan (when evil comes vs 13)
- When we consider our lack of strength (where humility comes in and we are honest with God that we lack the strength to carry on)
- When we consider the greatness of the team we are in. (when you are in a great team, you would want to be a great player too.)
Proverbs 12:26 -- The team you are in will either bring you up or put you down (Proverbs 13:20)


Strength, Might and Power


If we do things in the reservoir of God's might, we will never grow tired. God's reservoir is like the ocean and ours? Like a teacup.

Phillippians 2:2-13


How do we grow in strength?

- Zachariah 4:6 (Not by might, nor by power, but by the strength of God)
We PRAY for strength
- Nehemiah 8:10 (Joy of the Lord is my strength.)
We have JOY in the Lord
- Assurance that we are spending eternity with HIM.
-Daniel 11:32 (NLT) "But the people who know their God will be strong and will rest in Him."
Abide in God. Let's build a pipe in God's reservoir.


1 Peter 2:2 (Spiritual Food)
Jude 20 Exercising faith towards Godliness


There are ways to gain spiritual strength but there are also ways to waste spiritual strength.

- committing to too many spiritual works
- laziness
- too much debates and quarrels
- too much foolish talk and joking
- unequal yoking
- ungodly entertainment
- desire for too much respect and image


Is our Spiritual strength increasing?



Rachel led us into a superb worship on sunday, emphazing that "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Matt 22:37 "I have made You too small in my eyes, O Lord, forgive me..." Our strength was renewed in the Lord. Thanks Rach! I'm all the more sure worship leading runs in the blood. heh


Uncle David asked us the most important question on what does it mean to be a man after God's heart. And are we having a teachable heart?


The verse that Rachel led with was re-emphasized by Uncle David.

So what does it take to be after God's heart?

(1) Obedience is needed to be after God's heart. We are given a choice to obey God. What is your choice?

(2) Honor God. When you honor God the will of God becomes first in your life. David has a tender heart for God and that was why he confessed his sin and his heart was not like Saul's.

(3) Mark 12:30-31 Loving God means loving others. David loved jonathan with all his heart even though Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne. Love has its responsibility. God loves us and thats why the action He took was to send Jesus to die for our sins. When we say we love, do we prove it with our actions?

Daniel

We started out with a little background knowledge and all of us came prepared with the reading of Daniel chapters 1,3 and 6.

(1) The traumatic experience of Daniel and his three friends.
Daniel 1:1-7
- Background: Daniel was taken away from the familiar
Daniel was brainwashed
- The offer: Daniel 1:4-5
-prestige
-recognition
-wealth
-position
-ease
How did Daniel and his three friends respond?

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." Daniel 1:8

The question is: Would we have responded the same way? Would we be like Daniel, standing firm and not defiling ourselves? To Daniel, wealth and royal food were not important.

Another question would be: How would the royal food defile oneself?

The kings food is offered to the pagan gods before consumption. We are talking about food being offered to idols. Is this too minor an issue to find fault? Is drinking wine, not saying grace in front of non-christian friends too minor to find fault too? I agree with what uncle Richard says about not being too quick to say yes. Not being quick to say yes, we can drink but not get drunk. Yes, we don't have to say grace in front of non-christian friends becoz it will be awkward. The line is too thin. And are we willing to tread on this thin line or juz make a stand like Daniel and say "I will honour God and stand firm in my faith."

How can God entrust us with bigger things if we do not prove to Him that we can handle small things? (read Sam's sharing in ypg groups)

Daniel 3:5, 7 10 and 15 was the call to compromise. The message that the world wants us to hear sometimes comes across loud and clear. And like the song that Chin led, God's soft prompting, can be easily ignored. If we don't compromise, the world makes us feel like we'll have to face the fiery furnace like Daniel did. Then, do we trust God that he'll protect us and let us walk out of the fiery furnace unharmed? The ridicule of the world will not be as unbearable as God's wrath upon us on judgement day. Shall we all challenge ourselves to be Daniels and Danielles, and stand firm for God?

Lesson to learn:

(1) Dont count on people's past blessings from God. King Nebuchadnezzar seemed in awe of Daniel's God at the fiery furnace but look what happened when Daniel was again thrown into the lion's den?

(2) Be careful with your anger

Are we ready to tell God that we are ready even if He doesnt hear us? Trust God. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Matthew 19:26
'Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

How do we survive spiritually in a non-spiritual world?
-Dare to be different
-Remain Godly

Daniel's secrets?
To praise God, to Pray and to know God's Word.

Esther

The book of Esther is a book of God's providence. God is not mentioned AT ALL in this book but we see Him and His faithfulness everywhere.

Uncle Ser Choon went through the acronyms ABPGR with us to give us the background on when the book was written and which empire Esther's story happened. We were made to do some heavy reading on the book of Esther itself and everybody were assigned a chapter. We all provided a summary of what we read and pieced together the story of Esther.

Esther was a beautiful girl. She was an orphan and Mordecai adopted her. Esther won the king's favor with her winsome ways and of course, her good looks. People inevitably liked her. Esther also did not make known her status because her people were in bondage at that time. Esthter and her people met with a crisis from chapter 3 to 4 and sought help from mature mentors. This crisis also saw the testing and moulding of Estther's character.

Lessons we can learn from the way Esther handled her crisis:
- She showed initial hesistation (chpt 4:10-11)
- Mordecai provided counsel and mentoring (chpt 4:12-14)
- Esther took concrete and decisive steps (chpt 4:15-16)
- She was selfless (chpt 5:1-2)

How can we apply Esther's story? We were broken into 2 groups, male and female, and told to discuss the notion "Beauty is only skin deep..." in the male and female perspective. All in all, Im sure we agree that beauty does play a part and provides the opportunities for favour with people. This goes the same for good looking men. However, we agree that beauty and good looks need to be followed up with good character traits. If God were to bestow upon us good looks, we will have to make use of this to win favor for his kingdom.

I liked the way Uncle Ser Choon finished up this phrase. "When the going gets tough, the tough goes to God." The world thinks of tough people as people who can manage and ride through crisis with their own strength. Its not the same for God's people. We can be sure that when crisis is too much for us too bear, we CAN and SHOULD always turn to God.

Timothy

Uncle David taught us about Timothy and how he was like a son to Paul. He also spurred us into thinking about what makes a good leader. Uncle David reminded us constantly that God's thinking is above our thinking and a good follower focusses on Christ. IF we are followers, we should learn to DISCERN. and to learn to follow people that are after God's heart.

Charisma is what the world looks at in a good leader. Why is it so tough to be a leader?
- leaders are constantly being assessed
- leaders are fearful because they constantly want their leadership to make an impact
- leaders wrestle with pride

As leaders of the world:
* we want to be RELEVANT (we want to look good in front of people)
* we want to be spectacular
* We have the misconception that a leader must always lead

However, if we possess these elements, we fail as leaders in God's eyes. The kind of leadership we should look to is Jesus Christ. Jesus was not spectacular. He was led to the cross. He did not fight his leadership.

Godliness and Service:
- whether or not you are a leader or follower, you must know what your calling is, where your service lies.

"But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, DISCIPLINE yourself for the purpose of godliness." 1 Tim 4:7

+ Godliness is something you can train and discipline yourself for.
+ Godliness is living a Spirit-filled life.
+ Godliness is something that is not carnal.

We should operate:
Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of God

Romans 12:1 says:
"Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship."

Our service to God must come out of the Spirit, not of charisma and what the world wants of a leader.

Lastly, ALL of us can be trained to be Godly. When God calls, He empowers.

Joseph

Key thought: Joseph as a mighty man of God. However, we can also view Joseph as: A man of a MIGHTY GOD.

Providence:
(1) Fate, chance, luck, destiny
(2) External circumstances/influences and in Joseph's case:
(3) Divine intervention

To be fated does not mean to be doomed. All of us have this free moral agency in us, to respond to our fate. We may be in a seemingly bad circumstance, but in this circumstance there are always two sides to how we can positively or negatively view it and handle it. Uncle Richard also shared with us the bible story on building our houses on the different foundations. "The rain came down and the floods went up... Will our houses come tumbling down? or will they stand firm amidst the beating and thundering storms? and the moral of the story is that even if we come from seemingly bad situations or family backgrounds... DON"T use it as an excuse to hinder our growth and our walks with God.

Joseph's introduction to God's providence:
- It was God's divine intervention that allowed him to be sold to Potipher
Can you imagine what it was like if Reuben had helped him back
home? He would then go back to being a shepherd boy.
- Joseph was also sent to jail, but in jail he was blessed and gained
favor
Likewise, God's divine intervention is present in our lives. One after another, chance after chance God gives to us His blessing. DON"T take it for granted!

Joseph is powerful and good-looking

Romans 6:11-14
"In the same way count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do 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. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

* Let's use our power well and not to satisfy sinful desires.
* Absolute power corrupts ABSOLUTELY
* Our strength can be our weakness so take heed! Lest we fall.

James 4:7, 2 Tim 2:22, 1 Cor 6:18 all tell us to RESIST and FLEE from evil. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls." 1 Cor 10:12

The cruel reality of life is that "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who cn understand it?" Jer 17:9 Godly living does not equal a bed of roses. However, the comforting truth God says in Heb 13:5-6 is He will "Never leave us nor forske us." and we should all say with confidence that "the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Uncle Richard drew this allusion to God being like the moon, we may not always see it, but in fact, it is ALWAYS there. God is ALWAYS THERE for us.

So, if we put ourselves in Joseph's shoes, after being a slave, being hated by his brothers, being thrown into jail and everything in his world seemed to be crumbling down... will we still trust in God?

Vision of L4C

All of us have only one chance to give God the strength of our youth. Life is short, few more years we'll all grow into adulthood. It is then important for us to have a good youthful preparation as it will be important for us to grow into what we want to be for God. And these experiences we have during our youths will also be a time for God to mould us and strengthen our faith in Him to another level.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1Tim 4:12

L4C aims to be an example to other youths in FAITH, SPIRITUAL STRENGTH & PASSION.

Faith
- We will learn to speak up and discuss during bible studies.
- To be open in sharing of how God has been working in our life.
- To be faithful in praying for others and ourself in all circumstances.

Spiritual Strength
- To mature spiritually by the feeding of God's word.
- To have the habit of taking down journals on what we've learnt and take time to reflect upon them.

Passion
- To be bold for the Lord, doing what pleases Him and not man.
- To learn from experiences with Him in our life.
- To give our best in service for Him in whatever small ways He opens up for us.

What God is interested is that we mature with Grace and Godliness and to be a useful generation of youths for His kingdom. We have thus dedicated the years of our youth to our loving Father, while we still have them to give. May the Lord continue to bless us in abundance till our cup overflows. Amen.

Joshua

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
"Be happy young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your YOUTH. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that all these things will bring you to judgement."

So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless."

Galatians 6:7-8

"Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from the nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

These 2 verses tie in with the life of a youth. As young people, we have the energy and the drive but we also tend to be reckless and regret later. Uncle Ser Choon made us think of things we have done in the past that benefitted us as well as things we would like to do so as to see the results five years later. This shows us that experience moulds us. We need to constantly think about what God is preparing us for and what are the experiences that God has placed in our lives and how they will help us in serving Him. God is real, and our daily experiences are important. The way Joshua was brought up and his experience in life prepares him to serve God better. Joshua's faith in God was admirable as he stood up and told the people of God not to be afraid as they were going to the promised land. His experiences with God led him to this faith that God will never leave them.

God will call us to lead at different times but while we are waiting we should start laying the ground work like Joshua did as he learnt from Moses, his mentor. We've all had a mentor in mind when we shared and it will be good as we look up to them like Joshua did with Moses.

To sum up, we have to:
(i) Lay down the groundwork while we wait for our calling. Be the best
we can be and start investing, nurturing and developing.
(ii) Be aware that our environment influences us. Be it the church or
even the world around us.
(iii) And lastly, get a mentor! haha... do pray about it and in God's time
approach someone whom we feel comfortable with and that we can
look up to.