Baptism Testimony - "God is My Secret Weapon!"

Greetings to all!! My name is Wendy. Thanks for allowing me to share my exciting journey with you.

When I was a teenager, I was sick of studying and decided to drop out of school at the age of 15. I worked for 4 years and took private N-level at the age of 19. At that time, I was a very depressed youth as my parents often quarrel and fight at home. My parents have divorced since then. There were many nights when I cried silently in bed without anyone’s knowledge. I developed low self-esteem and carried suicidal thoughts too; but somehow I did not have the courage to perform it. Due to the lack of attention from parents, I started to crave for attention from people. I began to have boyfriends. However, i realized that the relationships were only temporal, it couldn’t fill up the emptiness that was in me. Sadly, each of these relationships only got me being hurt over and over again.

At the age of 20 years old, my friend Evelyn invited me to FCBC. I received Christ during my second visit here. Initially, i received Christ simply because i enjoyed the worship service. I doubted the existence of God, yet strangely I do feel a sense of peace each time i am in church. As time passed, God slowly healed many areas of my life especially during an encounter weekend that I attended. I didn’t know that I had so much grudges on my mom till God revealed it to me one by one. There was one image which was extremely clear: my mom tried to throw me down a monsoon drain when i was in kindergarden. My leader Aunna prayed along with me to release forgiveness for my mom. I could feel my heart being set free and enlightened. I realized that I still love her like the mommy that i used to have before and I praise God for that. Although my mom remarried, we still contact each other. I know she’s important to me and will definitely invite her when I am getting married someday.

I went to ITE when I was 22, and I began to depend on God more. God was my greatest support and He really magnified His presence strongly. The exam period was stressful as I have to study till late at night. There are times when I will just broke down in tears and felt like giving up. Yet God’s strength sustained me, pulling me through every single revision as I prayed and seek for Him. God made me shine in ITE. My classmates often asked me how do I get my good grades, and I simply told them God is my secret weapon! Although my education journey is much longer than others, I know that I might not have done so well without God in my life. I just received a certificate of Merit and I’m now pursuing my diploma of Nursing at NYP.

After knowing God, I am able to have more self-control and do not hop into relationships easily. God fills the emptiness that is in me with His love. I learnt that relationship should set in only when I am ready for marriage and God has the chosen one for me. My heart no longer need to be broken by entering another relationship that is not God ordained for me. Not only did He mend my broken heart, He gave me new hopes of having a wonderful and loving family in future.
God has blessed my family in many ways. My grandparents who use to worship their own gods received Christ this year. It was a shocking news for me, but the Lord affirms this verse: ‘as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord’. At times i really question how is it possible? Incredibly, my dad also received Christ recently. Now we can communicate even better, we often pray and do our devotions together. I can see God transforming my grandparents and my dad. I see so much of joy in them and God is certainly good in doing the impossible!

When I was torn and despaired, I found new hopes in God. He rebuild me and my family. God took away my insecurities because He now lives in me. Thank you LORD! Amen!

Written by Wendy Bernice Goh, baptised on 18 Dec 2009 (Click here to read full post)

20th Dec Sermon Discussion - “Are you Ready for Christmas?”

Scripture Reference: Luke 2:1-20

The KEY Question that we need to ask ourselves first before we can say that we are ready for Christmas is to first of all, ask ourselves: “What does Christmas mean to us?”

Luke 2:11 teaches us that Christmas is about: “A Savior is BORN, He is CHRIST the LORD!” Christmas is about Jesus our LORD! Without Christ, there is no christMAS!

From the passage, Luke 2:1-20, we are able to draw 2 very important Truths of how we can be ready for Christmas... which is: “To See God’s Glory and to Share His Story!”

The Question of this Sunday’s Message is: “How can we be READY for Christmas?”

1. We need to SEE His Glory – GOD is with US!

Luke 2:9-10; 10-11; 11-14

In order for us to see God’s Glory, we need to be able to ENTER God’s Presence; EMBRACE God’s Promises & EXALT God’s Purpose in our lives!

Let’s make time in this Christmas to have a personal sanctification time with the Lord and allow God to speak to us. Christmas is 5 days away from the last day of 2009, let’s make time to reflect on all the things that has happen in this year, be it “victories or setbacks, ups or downs” that happen to us in the year 2009…

In this way, we can spend some personal time with our God reflecting all His goodness and hear from Him again His promises for us to fulfill our destiny… which is to fulfill God’s Purposes in our lives…

Today, shall we take some time to reflect on God’s goodness and refocus on God’s Promises and Directions for us? Let’s share with one another how 2009 has been for everyone and share our dreams & hope that we want to see in 2010…

2. We need to SHARE His Story – GOD is LOVE!

Luke 2: 17-18; 20

The very first thing the shepherds did after hearing the good news was to go about sharing with others about their encounter with BABY Jesus… That they had seen BABY Jesus, concerning what had been told them about this BABY child… The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Let’s gather together to pray for the Christmas STOMP, FCBC’s Christmas Harvest Event… that the Lord will grant us a Mighty Harvest. Let’s ask God to use us to consolidate all our friends who will be or has come to know our Lord Jesus as their Savior into our cell groups and that we will not lose any single soul that has just been ushered into God’s Kingdom.

Let us REMEMBER our Lord Jesus & EXALT HIM in this Christmas 2009! Let’s CELEBRATE Christmas!!!

(Click here to read full post)

6th Dec Sermon Discussion - “The Blood Of Our Identity- From Shame To Significance”

Mass Icebreakers – “Face Off!”

1. Everyone use their hands to cover their faces like a mask.
2. Go round to another person and count “1,2,3” with that person and drop their hands from their faces looking eyeball to eyeball with the other person. First person to laugh loses. Repeat with as many people as they can in 3 mins.

Sermon Title: The Blood Of Our Identity- From Shame To Significance
Foundational Scriptures: Isa 50:6-7, Isa 52:13-15.

Isaiah 50:6-7 (MSG)
“I followed orders, stood there and took it while they beat me, held steady while they pulled out my beard. Didn't dodge their insults, faced them as they spit in my face. And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me, so I'm not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I'll never regret this.”

Isaiah 52:13-15 (NLT)
“See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.”

Understanding Questions

1. According to the scriptures above and what we heard in the sermon, where was one of part of the body that Jesus bled for us? Answer : His face, blood flowed from His face. He was disfigured so much that people could not recognize Him.

2. Why did Jesus have to “lose His face” for us? Answer : Face represents our identity. We can find our identity through the blood that flowed from the face of Jesus for us.

3. Why did Jesus have to shed blood on His face? Because:

a. Our Identity Is Lost When We Sinned.

i. Before sin came into the world through Adam & Eve, there was only God consciousness. After sin came in, it brought self-consciousness.

ii. Consequences of lost identity and self-consciousness – We will ask questions like: “Who Am I?”, “Where’s my place?” We’ll try to find identity and significance in stuff like fashion, cars, our talents, riches etc.

iii. How to regain lost identity? The story of Moses:
• He had an identity crisis as he was born a Jew but raised an Egyptian.
• He spent forty years tending sheep. In Exodus 3:10, God appeared to him and called him to deliver Israel from Egypt – “Let My people go”.
• Moses asked God, “Who Am I?” and God replied, “I am with you”. Moses then asked God “Who Are You?” and God replied, I AM Who I Am”. God was telling Moses and us – You are who I AM. If you know ME (God), then you will know who you are!
• Galatians 3:28 (NIV) “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The world tells us to discover or find ourselves. God tells us to die to ourselves so that we can find our identity in Jesus Christ alone.

b. Our Identity Determines Our Destiny

i. If you don’t know who you are, you won’t know where you are going.

ii. Story of David - David’s destiny was a king but due to wrong choices, he almost lost his destiny until he repented.

iii. Self-consciousness brings fear and traps us in the opinion of others. People who don’t know God are always searching for their true destinies.

iv. Isaiah 62:2 (NIV) - “The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.” When we invite God into our lives, He always gives us a new name. People call us by our weaknesses but God only calls us by our destinies and potential. Examples – Abram (dignified father) to Abraham (Father of many nations). Sarai (my princess) to Sarah (The Princess). Simon (stone) to Peter (the rock). Gideon who was cowardly and feared the Midianites, the angel spoke – “You mighty warrior of valour!”.

v. If Satan can rob your identity, he can rob you of your destiny, you’re finished! God the Father spoke and affirm to His Son Jesus His identity in Luke 3:22 “You’re My Son in whom I love; with you I am well pleased”. Satan tried to rob Jesus of His identity when he tempted Him in the widerness.

vi. So, Who are we and What is our destiny?? 2 Cor 5:17 & 2 Cor 5: 20-22 -“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!...We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

WE ARE A NEW CREATION & WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR JESUS!

Ministry Time (Note: Cell Leaders, it is very important to do this)

1. Ask all your cell members to close their eyes. Tell them, “We will apply the blood of Jesus to receive a new identity and destiny today. The Holy Spirit is going to help us”.

2. Lead your cell members to confess that they feel lost because of sin. Also lead them to reject all lies of Satan and names of weaknesses that their parents or friends have given them. You can identify some names like “stupid”, “good for nothing”, “lazy”, “loser” etc. Lead them to pray and ask the blood of Jesus that flowed from His face to cleanse them.

3. Next ask them to release their own self to Jesus in exchange for a new face, a new identity. You can go round and lay hands on them as the Spirit leads you.

4. End off with a song or shout of victory e.g. Declare - “I am a warrior, I am strong, I am an ambassador for Jesus” etc.

(Click here to read full post)