FOP 2008

It was a really long & tiring journey to the Singapore Indoor Stadium because of the inaccessibility of that place. When we reach the stadium, it was nearly 8.00pm as we waited around 20 minutes for bus 11. How I wish the bus service in Singapore could be more "considerate". They could have increase the frequency of that service whenever there are events or concerts being held at the stadium.

The moment I entered the indoor stadium, I could only hear "noises". The sound system was not very good this year & the music was "deafening". I could not really worship in peace. This is the 2nd time I attended FOP & I do not know all the worship teams & have not heard Rev. Mark preach before. I really do not know what to expect.

As I have never heard of parachute band's songs before & the music was "piercing" to the ears, I could not really get into the mood for worshiping. However, the testimony shared by the lead singer was really touching & inspiring. Reuben Morgan is good, but we left early because we could not stand the "exploding" sound of the music. I have heard many of his songs before while worshiping in church but do not know the titles of the song.

What I enjoyed most during the FOP was the preaching by Rev. Mark Conner. I love his accent, the tone & sound of this voice, & the jokes that he made. He started off but telling a joke about the differences among christian. There are actually so many different denomination among the different churches. What I know is only the difference between presbyterian, methodist & charismatic churches in Singapore.

I love his sermon for tonight, that's why I decided to write it down in my blog. I feel that this sermon came at the right time for a certain brother of another church, & also for some members in the cell. The title of his sermon could be "Unity in the Church", "Unity among Christians" or "4 ingredients to build a healthy church". Below are the 4 points he preach on(with my own views added in):

1) Peace.

As a christian, there must be a relationship with god whereby there is presence of peace with him & not of struggle. Because of the presence of sin in many christians' life, one is always struggling with god & could not build a proper relationship with god.

As a christian, one must also have peace of god in one's heart. Because of the worrying & unforgiving nature of the human race, there is always anxiety, distress, uneasiness, & hatred in one's heart & mind. When one live according to his carnal nature, one will not have the peace of god in his heart.

As a christian, one must also have peace with one another, & that includes christians & non-christians. Sometimes, people have high expectation of christians, thinking that they are saints, they are perfect, & that they will not fall & sin. But don't be alarmingly surprise if you find christians sinning more than non-christians. This is the reason why we need god more in our life. When christians of high position fall & sin & stumble other christians around him, it is really sad. But no matter what, we must always depend on god & really build peace with one another. However, if you find the whole church sinning & there are really some serious problems with the church, then that is another totally different issue. I believe god will be able to lead one to another place with milk & honey.

2) Encouragement.

There is a saying that goes like this "Encouragment is oxygen to the soul". Deep down in every person's heart, there is always a need for peace & encouragement. When one grows up with no one to encourage him in whatever he does, his soul will slowly dries up & wither away. I understand this the most as I grew up with absence of encouragement from my parents. But it is a blessing that I have god & many close friends around me to encourage me in whatever I do. So when you feel like giving up, please lean on god & the friends around you.

3) Comfort.

As a christian, we must also be able to find comfort from god & the holy spirit and also from people around us. But in order to find comfort from these sources, we must first be able to share with god, & also with people around us.

Many christians find it easy to share with god & to derive comfort from the holy spirt, but are afraid to show their weaknesses to people & will always maintain a stronghold facade. However, when they do this, they will not be able to find comfort from people around them & thus will not be able to build a deep, meaningful & 2-way relationship.

Besides finding comfort, we must also be able to be a comfort to others. We can do this only when the holy spirit is living in us & thus we are able to empathise with others.

4) Fear of the Lord

Lastly, we must be reverent of god & be fully aware of his presence. Only when we feel god in our life, we can then really depend on him in whatever we do in our daily life.