Sunday, 10th January 2016
Pastor James Ou
Pastor Ou shared how God has led Bread of Life Christian Church in the past year through different ministries and works within the church, including:
- Re-engineering – This means that we were to look into our church structures and see what we should change or improve on.
- Refocusing – Focus on things like, family, workplace, and church ministries, by having more experiences, and building more solid foundations.
- Regenerating – To bring new core workers into the team.
- Realignment – To set things right.
In the new year, Pastor Ou shared that we shouldn’t just stay in the circle, but we should keep on going forward, until the brothers and sisters entering the true calling of God. We need to know that life is not only about living in the church, not only to take part in church activities, but also living in our schools, workplaces and in the communities.
Church should not only stay in one level, but should be filled with the anointing of God. As it says in Psalm 103:1-5, which tell us to focus on renewal; and in Isaiah 40:27-31, where we will focus on breakthrough.
Psalm 103:1-5(NIV)
1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
From David’s point of view, in order to be renewed, there is a process, and in verses 3 to 5, David gave us five areas for us to work on.
- Forgive all your sins – Before God, we still have a lot of imperfections, a lot of insufficiency, and a lot of times we have sinned against Him, consciously or unconsciously, so we need His forgiveness.
- Heal all your diseases – If we are not under God’s full covering, there will always be gaps. When we have the gaps, or insufficiency, we will easily give in to the devil. When we repent, God will take away our weakness, and fill in the gaps.
- Redeems your life from the pit – A lot of times when we have walked through the troubles, we will see how God redeemed our lived from the pit. In other words, every time when God is doing the healing and deliverance in our lives, He is redeeming us.
- Crown you with love and compassion – Why we worked so hard in the past? Because we focus on our talents and skills, and how they can help us to have influences on others. But when we gone through the difficulties, realized that we are not perfect, that today we can be here is by the grace of God.
- Satisfies your desires with good things – Let the people around us to see God’s love, through the talents and skills God has given to us. When our lives have become like this, whatever we want God will give to us.
Next we talk about breakthrough. In Isaiah 40, it says “they will soar on wings like eagles”. What did God say to the Israelites at the time?
Isaiah 40:27-31(NIV)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
- V27 – Our belief and our faith should be united together. We cannot just have the belief but no faith. The knowledge we have about God should be lived out within our experiences about God.
- V28~29 – It talks about how God can make our weakness and weariness into someone with power and wisdom. We need to experience God’s power and wisdom, we also need to know this power and wisdom can be added to our lives, our workplace, our family, and of course our church.
- V30~31 – Hope means knowing that it will definitely happen, and when it happens, we will be prepared. This is an attitude of seeking.
We often complain to God that He does not give us a direction or help us. But in here, God will definitely give you a direction and He will certainly help you. And then we will soar on wings like eagles. When we are renewed like eagles, we will run and catch all the opportunities God give us. When God gives us an opportunity, and when we hold onto it, God will guarantee to help us complete it!