Hi guys. It's time I share my ENCOUNTER experience. =)
This is gather from the video sermon shown at the last hour of ENCOUNTER.
The video sermon is on Pastor Bill Wilson, a sunday school preacher, came to City Harvest to share about his children church ministry in Brooklyn, USA. It is way before 1999, before City Harvest's 'Church without walls' campaign. His message's main theme was talking about making a difference". He shared from Numbers 16.
The people of Israel was rebelling against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. So God wants to destroy the rebellious people, despite attempts by Moses to appease God. When God began to end a plague to destroy the people, Moses instructed Aaron to take a censer and run to the altar to get the incense lighted by fire, and then run to the congregation (who are being plagued) to make an atonement for them. 14,000 people died as a result of God's plague.
As Aaron ran to the altar, caught the fire onto the incense and ran to "catch" up with the plague, where he stood with that offering, "between the living and the dead" (Num 16:48), the plague stop. Aaron was a hundred year old, when he ran to the altar and stopped the plague. From a pagan mind one would say, 'He is a 100!!! this is impossible! He couldn't do it.' But for Israel, he did it and stood between the living and the dead.
Can 1 man changes the world? Every bible reading christian would tell you a standard answer without traces of 2nd thought in their mind, that the answer is 'yes'. But who do that? who can do that? What kind of people can do that? How can things like that happen? Still, how can I change the world? As confident as I can be, I, alone, am nobody.
Who would cross the line? Who would purpose in his heart to cross this thin fine line, to make a difference in the lifes of pple?
For Pst Bill's ministry, everyday's a sunday. They travel around the states everyday to conduct 'sunday' classes for the kids of the poor. In this particular town, there were 2 kids, siblings, that were slow in their thinking. All the helpers knows them because every week without fail, they would join them for sunday classes. One day, 2 helpers realised that these 2 kids were not present for class and they were puzzled. You see, in these towns even in the states, people lived with conservative mindset. So to the kids, sunday classes is the only activity they look forward each week. To the 2 helpers, it is quite evident that something was amiss. They went to their home, knock on the door but no one answered. They peeped into the window and saw the 2 kids sitting on the couch. They kept knocking on the door but no one came to open the door. They thought this is strange because their mum would have never left her kids alone by themselves because they were slow in thinking. They called the police and broke into the house, upon seeing the door broken down, the kids bursted into tears. Their mum, with a slit on her throat, was lying on the floor in a pool of dried-up blood just a short distance away from where the kids were sitting. The stench for the corpse was overwhelming suggesting that she could have been dead for a week. All cereals in the house were eaten up by the kids and they were starting to eat even the boxes. The 2 helpers first reaction was to run to the kids and embraced them. Immediately, the kids stop crying. The investigating polices were amazed by that. In fact one of them went to Pst Bill and told him, that he had never saw such scene before, on how willingly someone ran to the kids and embraced them, without a 2nd thought. "Whatever you and your ministry are up to, please do not stop doing it", he said. Guess what, of the 2 helpers, one stutters when she speaks english, the other doesn't have any education at all. They were nobodies.
Another woman, a spanish, visited their church service one day. She couldn't understand english, only could speak and understand spanish. Couldn't have understood what Pastor was preaching. But she was touch by the presence of God and the love of the people around that she accepted Christ. That day thru an interpreter, she told Pst Bill she wants to be part of the ministry. Pst Bill din't know what could she help in, especially when she can't communicate in english, so he said,' i don't know, if you want you can join any bus, and just love the kids.' She did as she was told and each week she will board on a different bus, sit a kid on her lap and will whisper the only 8 english words she learned to their ears. "Jesus loves you and I love you too." Finally she decide that she will stick to 1 bus, because on this particular bus, there was a very quiet boy. So quiet he was that the helpers din't know if he is dumb or just doesn't want to speak at all. Still the spanish lady would love him as he is, sit him on her lap and whisper that 8 words into his ears each week. Just 2 weeks before christmas that year, it was like every other day when the bus was sending the kids back to they homes. Before he alighted he went to hug the spanish woman and forcefully tried to say out the 4 words," I l-l-lo-v-ve y-y-yo-o-ou t-t-t-to-too". After that he quickly ran back home. That was the last time they saw the boy alive. He was found dead in the rubbish dump near where he lived. He went home with the Lord.
Pst Bill himself was disowned by his mother. Father left them long before. His mother left him by the road one day and never return to him. So for days he stayed there and watched people walked by him, without even looking at him. It was days, and never did anyone looked at him, until 1 man came to him, and paid for him a trip to a christian camp. In it, he learnt of God, and he accept Christ. But even during the altarcall when he responded, no one went to this dirty little boy who was a little disfigured in his looks to pray for him. No one prayed for Pst Bill. But it was the action of 1 man, who paid for his trip to that christian camp, that changed his life. Who would have thought this dirty little disfigured boy who one day made a difference in the lifes of so many kids of poor families. It was the act of that 1 person. Till the day he preached this sermon, he was also the bus driver for one of his sunday school bus. For this very reason that on that day, someone picked him up, he is now picking up other kids of less fortunate families.
Can 1 man make a difference? Never have I saw a pastor cries before my eyes when he shared his testimony. Never would I thought that even before I came to know Christ, this was the service that change the lifes of the believers in city harvest church. Never would I thought that now I would see and hear it for myself, as if I was there. And I responded to the altarcall, as if I was there. Because 1 man chose to show this video sermon on this fateful day.
The stories tells us that just one person, is enough to make a difference in many people's life. We need to go to the altar and "catch the fire", just as Aaron did, and stand in between the lost, the people who are in need, and intercede for them before God.
'You can't do it! You are just 1 guy! Who do you think you are to stop this wrath of God?! Who are you to change this world?'
'I know', Aaron replied. "But a moment ago, I ran to the altar and catch the fire. Now I want to do it, to stand between the living and the dead."
And the plague stop. Aaron and the fire was the only thing that stood between the living and the dead. - v47
Everybody say, you can't do it! But this world just need a couple of people who will step across this line to make a difference in the lifes of people. Would you make the decision, today?
Who says you need to leave your country before you can bless other people and tell them of the love of God? Your friends, your neighbours, the guy that always sits alone at the far corner of the lecture theater, that relative of yours who's living a hard life, would you pray for them? Will you constantly approach them, with just the agenda to bring them to church? Will you wake up in the morning and think of calling your friends to confirm their attendance? Will you start to make a difference in their lifes? Persistence never fails to soften one's heart. Would you believe that God would use you to bring them to Him? Would you believe and see yourself as fishers of men, and draws a net-breaking, boat sinking catch to the kingdom of God? Would you not grow weary in doing good, because in due season you will reap if you do not lose heart! Would you stand up and make your life count?
'Making a difference' by Bro Poh Heng
Won't You Lord, take a look at our hands?
Everything we have use it for Your plans
Won't You Lord, take a look at our hearts?
Mould it, refine it, as You set us apart
We want to run to the altar and catch the fire
To stand in the gap between the living and the dead
Give us a heart of compassion for a world without vision
We will make a difference bringing hope to our land
We will answer the call
To build this church without walls
Let Your glory be shown
Bring salvation to the lost.... to the lost!
After Pst Bill Wilson message, this song was written by Bro Poh Heng (one of his best song to date), and was sang during our launch of the "Church Without Walls" campaign, where we sought to bring the church out of the four walls of the church building, and go into the community to touch the lives of the less fortunate people ("to stand in the gap"). There begins our community services ministry, which later gave birth to our non-profit organisation - City Harvest Community Services Association.
This is gather from the video sermon shown at the last hour of ENCOUNTER.
The video sermon is on Pastor Bill Wilson, a sunday school preacher, came to City Harvest to share about his children church ministry in Brooklyn, USA. It is way before 1999, before City Harvest's 'Church without walls' campaign. His message's main theme was talking about making a difference". He shared from Numbers 16.
The people of Israel was rebelling against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. So God wants to destroy the rebellious people, despite attempts by Moses to appease God. When God began to end a plague to destroy the people, Moses instructed Aaron to take a censer and run to the altar to get the incense lighted by fire, and then run to the congregation (who are being plagued) to make an atonement for them. 14,000 people died as a result of God's plague.
As Aaron ran to the altar, caught the fire onto the incense and ran to "catch" up with the plague, where he stood with that offering, "between the living and the dead" (Num 16:48), the plague stop. Aaron was a hundred year old, when he ran to the altar and stopped the plague. From a pagan mind one would say, 'He is a 100!!! this is impossible! He couldn't do it.' But for Israel, he did it and stood between the living and the dead.
Can 1 man changes the world? Every bible reading christian would tell you a standard answer without traces of 2nd thought in their mind, that the answer is 'yes'. But who do that? who can do that? What kind of people can do that? How can things like that happen? Still, how can I change the world? As confident as I can be, I, alone, am nobody.
Who would cross the line? Who would purpose in his heart to cross this thin fine line, to make a difference in the lifes of pple?
For Pst Bill's ministry, everyday's a sunday. They travel around the states everyday to conduct 'sunday' classes for the kids of the poor. In this particular town, there were 2 kids, siblings, that were slow in their thinking. All the helpers knows them because every week without fail, they would join them for sunday classes. One day, 2 helpers realised that these 2 kids were not present for class and they were puzzled. You see, in these towns even in the states, people lived with conservative mindset. So to the kids, sunday classes is the only activity they look forward each week. To the 2 helpers, it is quite evident that something was amiss. They went to their home, knock on the door but no one answered. They peeped into the window and saw the 2 kids sitting on the couch. They kept knocking on the door but no one came to open the door. They thought this is strange because their mum would have never left her kids alone by themselves because they were slow in thinking. They called the police and broke into the house, upon seeing the door broken down, the kids bursted into tears. Their mum, with a slit on her throat, was lying on the floor in a pool of dried-up blood just a short distance away from where the kids were sitting. The stench for the corpse was overwhelming suggesting that she could have been dead for a week. All cereals in the house were eaten up by the kids and they were starting to eat even the boxes. The 2 helpers first reaction was to run to the kids and embraced them. Immediately, the kids stop crying. The investigating polices were amazed by that. In fact one of them went to Pst Bill and told him, that he had never saw such scene before, on how willingly someone ran to the kids and embraced them, without a 2nd thought. "Whatever you and your ministry are up to, please do not stop doing it", he said. Guess what, of the 2 helpers, one stutters when she speaks english, the other doesn't have any education at all. They were nobodies.
Another woman, a spanish, visited their church service one day. She couldn't understand english, only could speak and understand spanish. Couldn't have understood what Pastor was preaching. But she was touch by the presence of God and the love of the people around that she accepted Christ. That day thru an interpreter, she told Pst Bill she wants to be part of the ministry. Pst Bill din't know what could she help in, especially when she can't communicate in english, so he said,' i don't know, if you want you can join any bus, and just love the kids.' She did as she was told and each week she will board on a different bus, sit a kid on her lap and will whisper the only 8 english words she learned to their ears. "Jesus loves you and I love you too." Finally she decide that she will stick to 1 bus, because on this particular bus, there was a very quiet boy. So quiet he was that the helpers din't know if he is dumb or just doesn't want to speak at all. Still the spanish lady would love him as he is, sit him on her lap and whisper that 8 words into his ears each week. Just 2 weeks before christmas that year, it was like every other day when the bus was sending the kids back to they homes. Before he alighted he went to hug the spanish woman and forcefully tried to say out the 4 words," I l-l-lo-v-ve y-y-yo-o-ou t-t-t-to-too". After that he quickly ran back home. That was the last time they saw the boy alive. He was found dead in the rubbish dump near where he lived. He went home with the Lord.
Pst Bill himself was disowned by his mother. Father left them long before. His mother left him by the road one day and never return to him. So for days he stayed there and watched people walked by him, without even looking at him. It was days, and never did anyone looked at him, until 1 man came to him, and paid for him a trip to a christian camp. In it, he learnt of God, and he accept Christ. But even during the altarcall when he responded, no one went to this dirty little boy who was a little disfigured in his looks to pray for him. No one prayed for Pst Bill. But it was the action of 1 man, who paid for his trip to that christian camp, that changed his life. Who would have thought this dirty little disfigured boy who one day made a difference in the lifes of so many kids of poor families. It was the act of that 1 person. Till the day he preached this sermon, he was also the bus driver for one of his sunday school bus. For this very reason that on that day, someone picked him up, he is now picking up other kids of less fortunate families.
Can 1 man make a difference? Never have I saw a pastor cries before my eyes when he shared his testimony. Never would I thought that even before I came to know Christ, this was the service that change the lifes of the believers in city harvest church. Never would I thought that now I would see and hear it for myself, as if I was there. And I responded to the altarcall, as if I was there. Because 1 man chose to show this video sermon on this fateful day.
The stories tells us that just one person, is enough to make a difference in many people's life. We need to go to the altar and "catch the fire", just as Aaron did, and stand in between the lost, the people who are in need, and intercede for them before God.
'You can't do it! You are just 1 guy! Who do you think you are to stop this wrath of God?! Who are you to change this world?'
'I know', Aaron replied. "But a moment ago, I ran to the altar and catch the fire. Now I want to do it, to stand between the living and the dead."
And the plague stop. Aaron and the fire was the only thing that stood between the living and the dead. - v47
Everybody say, you can't do it! But this world just need a couple of people who will step across this line to make a difference in the lifes of people. Would you make the decision, today?
Who says you need to leave your country before you can bless other people and tell them of the love of God? Your friends, your neighbours, the guy that always sits alone at the far corner of the lecture theater, that relative of yours who's living a hard life, would you pray for them? Will you constantly approach them, with just the agenda to bring them to church? Will you wake up in the morning and think of calling your friends to confirm their attendance? Will you start to make a difference in their lifes? Persistence never fails to soften one's heart. Would you believe that God would use you to bring them to Him? Would you believe and see yourself as fishers of men, and draws a net-breaking, boat sinking catch to the kingdom of God? Would you not grow weary in doing good, because in due season you will reap if you do not lose heart! Would you stand up and make your life count?
'Making a difference' by Bro Poh Heng
Won't You Lord, take a look at our hands?
Everything we have use it for Your plans
Won't You Lord, take a look at our hearts?
Mould it, refine it, as You set us apart
We want to run to the altar and catch the fire
To stand in the gap between the living and the dead
Give us a heart of compassion for a world without vision
We will make a difference bringing hope to our land
We will answer the call
To build this church without walls
Let Your glory be shown
Bring salvation to the lost.... to the lost!
After Pst Bill Wilson message, this song was written by Bro Poh Heng (one of his best song to date), and was sang during our launch of the "Church Without Walls" campaign, where we sought to bring the church out of the four walls of the church building, and go into the community to touch the lives of the less fortunate people ("to stand in the gap"). There begins our community services ministry, which later gave birth to our non-profit organisation - City Harvest Community Services Association.
posted by Adwin Lam at 4:39 AM
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