by Pastor Sujith
EMPower to do the stepping out
The Holy Spirit is not the power of God. He is God
All I have are Miniscule compare to the value of knowing the person of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit can do more in me and through me than I can ever imagine
7 things that the Holy Spirit is:
1. He is the spirit of Adoption
Romans 8:14-16
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
- I am not a slave but a child of God
2. He is The spirit of Mission
Acts 13:2-4
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
On Cyprus
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
- sends people out on missions
3. He is the spirit of courage
Acts 4:29-31
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
4. He is the spirit of transformation
1 Samuel 10:6
The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.
5. He is the spirit of expertise
Exodus 31:2-4
“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
- Book of exodus, the first mention (exo 31:2-4)
6. He is the spirit of power
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
7. He is the spirit that distributes Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:4
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
B. Who is he for?
1. He's for everyone
Acts 2:39
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off....
2. Is for the hungry
Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
- Holy Spirit is a gift, not reward
- Holy Spirit is given to us because of how good God is
3. Holy Spirit is for the thirsty
John 7:37-39
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Let the delay of encounter be filled with more hunger and thirst
Step Forward
From just Being Discipled to Making Disciples who make Disciples
Discipled Disciples Disciple Disciples
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Retreat 13/6/25 (part 3)
by Pastor Martin Storey
Step up (destiny)
Luke 17:10
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
We are unworthy servants, we've only done our duties.
When I survey the wondrous cross
In the kingdom of God, we have to learn to step up
MOre stretch, more responsibility..
We're just doing our duties
2 kings 2:1-15
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.” 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
1. To step up, you've got to see it to see it (see things before we see it)
2. To step up, you've got to say it (be ready to speak something out, there is power in our confession)
3. To step up, You've got to seize it (if you can see it in the spirit, then you get it) there will be challenges, go beyond your comfort zone, don't be passive
4. To step up, you've got to sustain it (Elijah knows it's not going to be easy being the man of God when he said to Elisha "you've asked a difficult thing")
Gilgal ~ Place of Covenant
Bethel ~ place of encounter
Jericho ~ place of Obedience
Jordan ~ place of Crossing over
Submit to new season of leadership!
Step up (destiny)
Luke 17:10
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
We are unworthy servants, we've only done our duties.
When I survey the wondrous cross
In the kingdom of God, we have to learn to step up
MOre stretch, more responsibility..
We're just doing our duties
2 kings 2:1-15
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.” 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
1. To step up, you've got to see it to see it (see things before we see it)
2. To step up, you've got to say it (be ready to speak something out, there is power in our confession)
3. To step up, You've got to seize it (if you can see it in the spirit, then you get it) there will be challenges, go beyond your comfort zone, don't be passive
4. To step up, you've got to sustain it (Elijah knows it's not going to be easy being the man of God when he said to Elisha "you've asked a difficult thing")
Gilgal ~ Place of Covenant
Bethel ~ place of encounter
Jericho ~ place of Obedience
Jordan ~ place of Crossing over
Submit to new season of leadership!
Retreat 13/6/25 (part 2)
by Pastor Sujith
Joshua 2:1-14
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.[b] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
Joshua 6:22-25
Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
What did you do when you have promised kindness and faithful but it turn out Rahab was placed outside the camp. It's unfair
Living by faith but circumstances doesn't show, trusted God and expecting kindness and faithfulness but place outside the camp instead
According to scriptures, Rahab is a woman of faith but
- She lost her home
- She lost her income stream
Matthew 1:1-5
This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
Rahab married one of Abraham descendants - Salmon. She's the mother of Boaz
How did Rahab meet Salmon? They were in different camps...
Hebrews 13:11-15
The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Salmon ~ peace
We are all outside the camp. It is our peace (God) who walked to the outside camp and meet us outside the camp. Jesus offered up his body outside the camp to rescue us
Imagine what Rahab is thinking as she walks down the aisle , she had slept with countless men!
Rahab completeness had come, her peace had come....
Your shalom God is crazy, it didn't make sense. If it wasn't for the outrageous grace of God lifted me, if He would not stepped out from the Israel camp to the outside camp, we would have never stand righteous here, forgiven, for healing, for salvation.
Our responsibility:
1. Disciple making
2. Live with eternity in mind
3. Through Christ, continually to offer up sacrifice of praise (praise God for good things, sacrifice of praise is what I don't feel like giving, feel that it's costly)
Even if nothing happens today, at least I have shalom.
Joshua 2:1-14
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.[b] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
Joshua 6:22-25
Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
What did you do when you have promised kindness and faithful but it turn out Rahab was placed outside the camp. It's unfair
Living by faith but circumstances doesn't show, trusted God and expecting kindness and faithfulness but place outside the camp instead
According to scriptures, Rahab is a woman of faith but
- She lost her home
- She lost her income stream
Matthew 1:1-5
This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
Rahab married one of Abraham descendants - Salmon. She's the mother of Boaz
How did Rahab meet Salmon? They were in different camps...
Hebrews 13:11-15
The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Salmon ~ peace
We are all outside the camp. It is our peace (God) who walked to the outside camp and meet us outside the camp. Jesus offered up his body outside the camp to rescue us
Imagine what Rahab is thinking as she walks down the aisle , she had slept with countless men!
Rahab completeness had come, her peace had come....
Your shalom God is crazy, it didn't make sense. If it wasn't for the outrageous grace of God lifted me, if He would not stepped out from the Israel camp to the outside camp, we would have never stand righteous here, forgiven, for healing, for salvation.
Our responsibility:
1. Disciple making
2. Live with eternity in mind
3. Through Christ, continually to offer up sacrifice of praise (praise God for good things, sacrifice of praise is what I don't feel like giving, feel that it's costly)
Even if nothing happens today, at least I have shalom.
Retreat 13/6/25 (part 1)
by Pastor Martin storey
Step away
In step with the spirit
Galatians 5:16-25
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
2 Samuel 11:1-18
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle.
David is a man after God's heart
Bible does not glace over David's mistake
Thank God We have a greater king than David
2 Samuel 11:22-27
The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:1-14
The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
8 lessons:
1. Know that the Godly can make bad choices too
- bible never tells us that David stops loving God
- I am safer vulnerable than I'm proud
2. Being at a wrong place will lead you to danger
- David should be leading his men at war but David remains in Jerusalem
- sin is crouching at your door....
- a company that is not holy and harmful, leave, flee
- one off can become a norm
3. When there's a warning in your heart, run for your life
When there's a seed in your heart, talk to one another
4. Lust is a raging fire, don't fuel it
- it's like a lion, the more you feed it, it'll grow
- talk to each other for dating couples , how to keep yourself pure, to keep before marriage
5. Two wrongs never make a right
- adultery
- better to deal today on consequences of today sins than to hide
6. God will not be mocked
Numbers 32:23
“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
- God will not cover for my sins
- He's there to help us and heal us
- to give us a fresh of holiness from what infection our hearts and lives
- 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
7. Repentance is the beginning of rebuilding
1 John 1:8-9
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- the lord confronted David
- David wrote psalm 51:1-12
- psalm 51:1-3 (memorise)
- psalm 51:10-12 (memorise)
8. The grace of God is truly outrageous!
God said I do not remember
Acts 13:22-23
After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
God did not mention the sins of David but He said David "a man after his own heart"
Step away
In step with the spirit
Galatians 5:16-25
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
2 Samuel 11:1-18
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle.
David is a man after God's heart
Bible does not glace over David's mistake
Thank God We have a greater king than David
2 Samuel 11:22-27
The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:1-14
The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
8 lessons:
1. Know that the Godly can make bad choices too
- bible never tells us that David stops loving God
- I am safer vulnerable than I'm proud
2. Being at a wrong place will lead you to danger
- David should be leading his men at war but David remains in Jerusalem
- sin is crouching at your door....
- a company that is not holy and harmful, leave, flee
- one off can become a norm
3. When there's a warning in your heart, run for your life
When there's a seed in your heart, talk to one another
4. Lust is a raging fire, don't fuel it
- it's like a lion, the more you feed it, it'll grow
- talk to each other for dating couples , how to keep yourself pure, to keep before marriage
5. Two wrongs never make a right
- adultery
- better to deal today on consequences of today sins than to hide
6. God will not be mocked
Numbers 32:23
“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
- God will not cover for my sins
- He's there to help us and heal us
- to give us a fresh of holiness from what infection our hearts and lives
- 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
7. Repentance is the beginning of rebuilding
1 John 1:8-9
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- the lord confronted David
- David wrote psalm 51:1-12
- psalm 51:1-3 (memorise)
- psalm 51:10-12 (memorise)
8. The grace of God is truly outrageous!
God said I do not remember
Acts 13:22-23
After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
God did not mention the sins of David but He said David "a man after his own heart"
Retreat 12/6/25 (part 3)
by Pastor Sujith
Luke 15:1-3
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
Luke 15:11-32
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
The worse Death is Death spiritually when you go into everlife without knowing Jesus
Why does Jesus need three stories to drive his message?
- lost sheep
- lost coin
- lost son
No money, no friend, no food, not even pig food, how did the son made it back home? We don't know but grace will make it happen!
Why didn't the father correct the prodigal son, to correct his wrong motive?
God has a much bigger heart than ours. He is bigger and larger. God has incredible patience, compassion and mercy. The father embrace the son and receives him
1. Father saw him
2. Father Felt compassion
3. Father ran to him
4. Father Embrace him
5. Father kiss him
Father's eyes is on me!
Father completely bypass the apologies of the son even though the son's motive was wrong. Father asked the servants to bring the robe instead
When a child is lost, dead, we do not stop being the father's son
We're not a son by worth but a son by birth!
Quickly! Bring the robe, bring the ring, let's kill the fattened cow
One step recovery program: Celebrate!
Why does the bible wants us to know 3 times the cow was fat?
Father is Storing up fats for us , not wrath, discipline and anger... Come back home 🏡
Father stepped out and pleaded with older son to come back in to celebrate. The father did not ask the younger son to go and explain himself. Instead the father step out, to defend the younger son towards the older brother.
Seeing the lost save, people being made into disciples, dead comes alive is a business of heaven, this is the culture of heaven. We celebrate, the party must go on
I must Realign my expectation with God, the Father will not change. The celebration must go on, even though I feel it unfair.
Luke 15:1-3
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
Luke 15:11-32
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
The worse Death is Death spiritually when you go into everlife without knowing Jesus
Why does Jesus need three stories to drive his message?
- lost sheep
- lost coin
- lost son
No money, no friend, no food, not even pig food, how did the son made it back home? We don't know but grace will make it happen!
Why didn't the father correct the prodigal son, to correct his wrong motive?
God has a much bigger heart than ours. He is bigger and larger. God has incredible patience, compassion and mercy. The father embrace the son and receives him
1. Father saw him
2. Father Felt compassion
3. Father ran to him
4. Father Embrace him
5. Father kiss him
Father's eyes is on me!
Father completely bypass the apologies of the son even though the son's motive was wrong. Father asked the servants to bring the robe instead
When a child is lost, dead, we do not stop being the father's son
We're not a son by worth but a son by birth!
Quickly! Bring the robe, bring the ring, let's kill the fattened cow
One step recovery program: Celebrate!
Why does the bible wants us to know 3 times the cow was fat?
Father is Storing up fats for us , not wrath, discipline and anger... Come back home 🏡
Father stepped out and pleaded with older son to come back in to celebrate. The father did not ask the younger son to go and explain himself. Instead the father step out, to defend the younger son towards the older brother.
Seeing the lost save, people being made into disciples, dead comes alive is a business of heaven, this is the culture of heaven. We celebrate, the party must go on
I must Realign my expectation with God, the Father will not change. The celebration must go on, even though I feel it unfair.
Retreat 12/6/25 (part 2)
by Pastor Martin Storey
Step free Luke 4:18-21
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[a] 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Joshua 5:1-12
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal 2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[b] 4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal[c] to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after[d] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Faith decision/actions:
Stepping my feet into the water before the waters has parted
Something in me, or on me that God wants to get out of me before He can lead me through the breakthrough
1. You'll need freedom for your future
- I need to be fully free to fully possess
- God lifts us in faith in the discomfort of our challenge
- do not fall into the moment of compromise
Lord here I am, whatever, wherever, whenever ..
2. There's freedom, and there's freedom
- freedom actually is a process
- you're uncursable because of Jesus
- we need to renew our covenant with God to be fully free
Romans 2:28-29
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Colossians 2:10-11
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[a] was put off when you were circumcised by[b] Christ,
3. The best time for circumcision is "on the way"
- God wants us dead cause He wants us alive
When faced with tough situation with others:
A. Don't speak
B. Resolve that God at work and believe that He is bringing me to another place
C. Forgive quickly, and continue again
D. Jesus is thinking of others, do not be consume in my own circumstances but focus on others
4. The lord wants to lift off you, what should never have got on you
- Sometimes we can come out but still have something on us
- maybe we grow up from household that carry struggle, poverty or pain
5. When it's time, its time
- it's today today
Step free Luke 4:18-21
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[a] 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Joshua 5:1-12
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal 2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[b] 4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal[c] to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after[d] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Faith decision/actions:
Stepping my feet into the water before the waters has parted
Something in me, or on me that God wants to get out of me before He can lead me through the breakthrough
1. You'll need freedom for your future
- I need to be fully free to fully possess
- God lifts us in faith in the discomfort of our challenge
- do not fall into the moment of compromise
Lord here I am, whatever, wherever, whenever ..
2. There's freedom, and there's freedom
- freedom actually is a process
- you're uncursable because of Jesus
- we need to renew our covenant with God to be fully free
Romans 2:28-29
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Colossians 2:10-11
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[a] was put off when you were circumcised by[b] Christ,
3. The best time for circumcision is "on the way"
- God wants us dead cause He wants us alive
When faced with tough situation with others:
A. Don't speak
B. Resolve that God at work and believe that He is bringing me to another place
C. Forgive quickly, and continue again
D. Jesus is thinking of others, do not be consume in my own circumstances but focus on others
4. The lord wants to lift off you, what should never have got on you
- Sometimes we can come out but still have something on us
- maybe we grow up from household that carry struggle, poverty or pain
5. When it's time, its time
- it's today today
Retreat 12/6/25 (part 1)
by Pastor Sujith
1 Samuel 17:1-53
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[a] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. 12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. 17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[e] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. 25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” 28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
The voice of God is always fresh
I have a covenant with God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, I trusted Jesus, I am a child who put confidence in the lord. We carry the culture of honour in every battle. Victory is guaranteed
Philippians 3:3
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
1. Fears we must face as a child of God
- the fear of falling short
- the fear of prolong battle, fatigue
- the fear of inadequacy
- the fear of the size of the problem
- the fear of misunderstanding
- fear of the culture we must carry
, list is non exhaustive
2.
3. We persevere under pressure
4. Keep our eyes on the prize, when incredible, supernatural, uncommon finances and strategic relationship will be your reward
5. We speak victory in advance
David said i will cut off your head, but he has no sword in his hands.
Faith is saying so even though it's not so in order for it to be so because God says so
Start saying it before you see it.
Rewards:
1. Strategic relationship
2. Supernatural finances
3. Strengthening of faith across the spiritual community
4. The world will take notice
5. God will give us the spoils
Lord You call them home, give them an awakening. We speak to the barriers, the mindset, we speak against the minds of the unbelievers, may you open eyes, softening of hearts... Something will start to turn around, hearts will change. Lord I put your name Jesus over their lives.
1 Samuel 17:1-53
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[a] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. 12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. 17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[e] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. 25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” 28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
The voice of God is always fresh
I have a covenant with God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, I trusted Jesus, I am a child who put confidence in the lord. We carry the culture of honour in every battle. Victory is guaranteed
Philippians 3:3
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
1. Fears we must face as a child of God
- the fear of falling short
- the fear of prolong battle, fatigue
- the fear of inadequacy
- the fear of the size of the problem
- the fear of misunderstanding
- fear of the culture we must carry
, list is non exhaustive
2.
3. We persevere under pressure
4. Keep our eyes on the prize, when incredible, supernatural, uncommon finances and strategic relationship will be your reward
5. We speak victory in advance
David said i will cut off your head, but he has no sword in his hands.
Faith is saying so even though it's not so in order for it to be so because God says so
Start saying it before you see it.
Rewards:
1. Strategic relationship
2. Supernatural finances
3. Strengthening of faith across the spiritual community
4. The world will take notice
5. God will give us the spoils
Lord You call them home, give them an awakening. We speak to the barriers, the mindset, we speak against the minds of the unbelievers, may you open eyes, softening of hearts... Something will start to turn around, hearts will change. Lord I put your name Jesus over their lives.
Retreat 11/6/25
by Pastor Martin Storey
Genesis 35:1-15
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,[a] because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.[b] 9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,[c] God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.[e]” So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]
A certain place was changed and transformed because of God's presence.
1. The invitation
- God initiates, "go up to bethel and settle there"
- He's longing for us to come back to His presence
- it would change us, a divine exchange
2. The cost
- God appears to Jacob to go up to bethel and build an altar there
- the people who have tolerated certain things have to get rid of those foreign gods
- things we have tolerated in our lives need to change, need to go
1.get rid of foreign gods
2.to purify ourselves (gradual drifting, a coldness that comes in, that creeps in, we need a freshness)
3.to change their clothes (renew our hunger for God, have an expectation of God encounter)
3. The Protection
God would look after our things when we look after the things of God. Set our hearts to pursue God, step closer to Him
4. The blessing
- Genesis 35:11-15
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]
5 things happen when we come close to God:
1. God appears to Jacob again
2. God blessed him
3. God told him who he was (your coming after God has turned my head after you)
4. God give him a personal revelation of Himself (I am El Shaddai)
5. He makes him a promise (be fruitful and increase in numbers... I give also to you and your descendants after you. It was no longer Jacob's grandfather's or father's shadow, because he came to Bethel)
Genesis 35:1-15
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,[a] because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.[b] 9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,[c] God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.[e]” So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]
A certain place was changed and transformed because of God's presence.
1. The invitation
- God initiates, "go up to bethel and settle there"
- He's longing for us to come back to His presence
- it would change us, a divine exchange
2. The cost
- God appears to Jacob to go up to bethel and build an altar there
- the people who have tolerated certain things have to get rid of those foreign gods
- things we have tolerated in our lives need to change, need to go
1.get rid of foreign gods
2.to purify ourselves (gradual drifting, a coldness that comes in, that creeps in, we need a freshness)
3.to change their clothes (renew our hunger for God, have an expectation of God encounter)
3. The Protection
God would look after our things when we look after the things of God. Set our hearts to pursue God, step closer to Him
4. The blessing
- Genesis 35:11-15
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]
5 things happen when we come close to God:
1. God appears to Jacob again
2. God blessed him
3. God told him who he was (your coming after God has turned my head after you)
4. God give him a personal revelation of Himself (I am El Shaddai)
5. He makes him a promise (be fruitful and increase in numbers... I give also to you and your descendants after you. It was no longer Jacob's grandfather's or father's shadow, because he came to Bethel)
Monday, June 9, 2025
The power within: Living by the Holy Spirit
by Dr John Andrews
Acts 1:1-11
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
# we need the holy spirit
Gospel of Luke explode with charismatic activities. Jesus got baptized, and also water baptism. HS leads him into wilderness where he wrestled with the devil. ... First four chapters in Luke mention HS movement and activities
Even though Jesus is God, he became human flesh during the incarnation. Jesus is doing his ministry not out of his Godness but out of Holy Spirit power.
He chooses not to draw on his Godness but lean into Holy Spirit power
Luke follows the pattern into book of acts... First few books of acts . The first few chapters of acts mirrors activities on the first few chapters of Luke
If the early church need the Holy Spirit, we need the Holy Spirit.
Empower in the early church, we also can expect the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus and the early church to come upon us.
The same Holy Spirit that empower Peter, Paul, Aquila.... The church today and me should move upon the power of the Holy Spirit
1. Holy Spirit encounter is a distinct event
If you Believe in Jesus,
- be baptized in water
- be filled with the Holy Spirit
- Receive the power of the Holy Spirit
2. A dynamic experience (filled, baptised, clothed, empowered) you will know
The idea is if you encounter the Holy Spirit, you will know
Eg. If I take out my jacket and put on you, you will know.
Experiences:
- Holy Spirit just come spontaneously
- Through People lay hands
- People speak in tongues, languages that come from the power of the Holy Spirit
3. A directional idea, a directional expectation, an idea, moving people
Be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit because is so essential. The Holy Spirit is not an optional extra. He's essential to our faith, our mission if we want to do the things Jesus did and the early church did
Why should we be filled with the Holy Spirit?
1. He gives us the power to "BE" (you will be my witnesses...)
Wherever I am, act, speak, it isn't left to my capability but Holy Spirit helps me to BE. Holy Spirit constantly helps me to BE
Empowered a person for something that isn't in our personality
Eg. Boldness, courage that an introvert that do not have....
If we are filled, we will "BE"
Holy Spirit Living in me, and working through me
2. He gives us The power of "DO" (he will do even greater things than these... Because I am going to the Father John 14:12)
We must be opened to the Holy Spirit who wants to carry on the works that Jesus begun and teach
Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Not what the man wanted, but Holy Spirit gives what the man needed...
The only answers to spiritual problems are supernatural response.
We can only give what we got!
We must give what we've got!
We must not let silver and gold to reduce the urgency of us needing the Holy Spirit
He wants to do something in me so he can do something through me....
3. The power of "GO" (... Jerusalem.. Judea... Samaria.. ends of the end)
When Holy Spirit comes upon us, we go
It's a "GO' trajectory
We can't be close to God and don't "GO"
Drink Holy Spirit and go, receive Holy Spirit and go
Sharing Jesus，doing Jesus... To the marketplace.
The overwhelming consequences of the coming spirit will be a going church, when the Holy Spirit zapped us
## The Holy Spirit does not turn up to show off, but send out
Eg.
Ferrari, turns on. Says no fuel....
No Holy Spirit we can't fully be, do, go...
Holy Spirit :
"I Need You"
"I Want You"
"I Welcome You"
Acts 1:1-11
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
# we need the holy spirit
Gospel of Luke explode with charismatic activities. Jesus got baptized, and also water baptism. HS leads him into wilderness where he wrestled with the devil. ... First four chapters in Luke mention HS movement and activities
Even though Jesus is God, he became human flesh during the incarnation. Jesus is doing his ministry not out of his Godness but out of Holy Spirit power.
He chooses not to draw on his Godness but lean into Holy Spirit power
Luke follows the pattern into book of acts... First few books of acts . The first few chapters of acts mirrors activities on the first few chapters of Luke
If the early church need the Holy Spirit, we need the Holy Spirit.
Empower in the early church, we also can expect the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus and the early church to come upon us.
The same Holy Spirit that empower Peter, Paul, Aquila.... The church today and me should move upon the power of the Holy Spirit
1. Holy Spirit encounter is a distinct event
If you Believe in Jesus,
- be baptized in water
- be filled with the Holy Spirit
- Receive the power of the Holy Spirit
2. A dynamic experience (filled, baptised, clothed, empowered) you will know
The idea is if you encounter the Holy Spirit, you will know
Eg. If I take out my jacket and put on you, you will know.
Experiences:
- Holy Spirit just come spontaneously
- Through People lay hands
- People speak in tongues, languages that come from the power of the Holy Spirit
3. A directional idea, a directional expectation, an idea, moving people
Be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit because is so essential. The Holy Spirit is not an optional extra. He's essential to our faith, our mission if we want to do the things Jesus did and the early church did
Why should we be filled with the Holy Spirit?
1. He gives us the power to "BE" (you will be my witnesses...)
Wherever I am, act, speak, it isn't left to my capability but Holy Spirit helps me to BE. Holy Spirit constantly helps me to BE
Empowered a person for something that isn't in our personality
Eg. Boldness, courage that an introvert that do not have....
If we are filled, we will "BE"
Holy Spirit Living in me, and working through me
2. He gives us The power of "DO" (he will do even greater things than these... Because I am going to the Father John 14:12)
We must be opened to the Holy Spirit who wants to carry on the works that Jesus begun and teach
Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Not what the man wanted, but Holy Spirit gives what the man needed...
The only answers to spiritual problems are supernatural response.
We can only give what we got!
We must give what we've got!
We must not let silver and gold to reduce the urgency of us needing the Holy Spirit
He wants to do something in me so he can do something through me....
3. The power of "GO" (... Jerusalem.. Judea... Samaria.. ends of the end)
When Holy Spirit comes upon us, we go
It's a "GO' trajectory
We can't be close to God and don't "GO"
Drink Holy Spirit and go, receive Holy Spirit and go
Sharing Jesus，doing Jesus... To the marketplace.
The overwhelming consequences of the coming spirit will be a going church, when the Holy Spirit zapped us
## The Holy Spirit does not turn up to show off, but send out
Eg.
Ferrari, turns on. Says no fuel....
No Holy Spirit we can't fully be, do, go...
Holy Spirit :
"I Need You"
"I Want You"
"I Welcome You"
The power within: Living by the Holy Spirit - The ultimate Influencer (Living spirit led)
by Pastor Meng Cham
We're feeling Powerless, struggling to live the life of a disciple
Disciple:
1. Follow Christ
2. Changed by Christ by the Holy spirit
3. Committed to the mission of christ
Holy Spirit is indispensable to discipleship and disciple making
Big idea:
The Holy Spirit is God's presence guiding and transforming us
# Lean on the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-17
“If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.
Advocate
Comforter
Mediator
Intercessor
Counsellor...
Holy Spirit is not an invisible force or power, He is a person with the power to reckon with
Allos ~ Another of the same kind
Eg. Fuji apple Vs granny smith apple
Holy Spirit is with us as though Jesus is with us 24/7
Holy Spirit is a gift, we cannot earn it, make available to those who love him, keep his commandment
Holy Spirit is meant for the people of God
Holy Spirit is our ultimate life hack
Holy Spirit wants to Supply what we lack, catch us when we fall throughout the day
# listen to the Holy Spirit
John 8:47
Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Whenever the shepherd speaks, it's always for our good
Always Tune and calibrate our spiritual ears to the Holy Spirit
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Holy Spirit dispenses these truth:
- Reveal God's humanity
- Reveal things we cannot see
- Exposes to us the lies of the father of lies
- Convicts and judges sin and wrongdoing
Regardless of whether convenience or inconvenienced, popular or unpopular
How Holy Spirit communicates to us through:
- Inner conviction
- Conscience
- Dreams and visions
Holy Spirit Never speaks or teaches anything that is contradictory to God's word
Holy Spirit wants our obedience, when we disobey:
- We quench the Holy Spirit
- Our ears become dull
- We become hearing less and less of Holy Spirit voice
How to hear Holy Spirit:
- Daily habits of reading Gods word
- Gentle prompting
- Repeated nudges
- through anything or anyone
Holy Sprit longs to teach us wisdom and discernment
# commit to live by the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
# Individually
Galatians 5:16
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Our actions are replaced when we work with the HS, by surrendering, following the prompting and leading by the Holy Spirit
# Corporately
Ephesians 5:18-21
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Continuously saying yes to Holy Spirit
If we are bearing the fruits, the more Holy Spirit will manifest His presence amongst us. Some things ought to change, speak to each other with Psalms, hymns, giving thanks to God. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ
Brings correction to our mistakes
Our old habits may resurface, behaving in a way that will bring regret later. We need to heed the HS gentle check to repent quickly, to shape and sculp us to the standard of Jesus
We're feeling Powerless, struggling to live the life of a disciple
Disciple:
1. Follow Christ
2. Changed by Christ by the Holy spirit
3. Committed to the mission of christ
Holy Spirit is indispensable to discipleship and disciple making
Big idea:
The Holy Spirit is God's presence guiding and transforming us
# Lean on the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-17
“If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.
Advocate
Comforter
Mediator
Intercessor
Counsellor...
Holy Spirit is not an invisible force or power, He is a person with the power to reckon with
Allos ~ Another of the same kind
Eg. Fuji apple Vs granny smith apple
Holy Spirit is with us as though Jesus is with us 24/7
Holy Spirit is a gift, we cannot earn it, make available to those who love him, keep his commandment
Holy Spirit is meant for the people of God
Holy Spirit is our ultimate life hack
Holy Spirit wants to Supply what we lack, catch us when we fall throughout the day
# listen to the Holy Spirit
John 8:47
Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Whenever the shepherd speaks, it's always for our good
Always Tune and calibrate our spiritual ears to the Holy Spirit
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Holy Spirit dispenses these truth:
- Reveal God's humanity
- Reveal things we cannot see
- Exposes to us the lies of the father of lies
- Convicts and judges sin and wrongdoing
Regardless of whether convenience or inconvenienced, popular or unpopular
How Holy Spirit communicates to us through:
- Inner conviction
- Conscience
- Dreams and visions
Holy Spirit Never speaks or teaches anything that is contradictory to God's word
Holy Spirit wants our obedience, when we disobey:
- We quench the Holy Spirit
- Our ears become dull
- We become hearing less and less of Holy Spirit voice
How to hear Holy Spirit:
- Daily habits of reading Gods word
- Gentle prompting
- Repeated nudges
- through anything or anyone
Holy Sprit longs to teach us wisdom and discernment
# commit to live by the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
# Individually
Galatians 5:16
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Our actions are replaced when we work with the HS, by surrendering, following the prompting and leading by the Holy Spirit
# Corporately
Ephesians 5:18-21
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Continuously saying yes to Holy Spirit
If we are bearing the fruits, the more Holy Spirit will manifest His presence amongst us. Some things ought to change, speak to each other with Psalms, hymns, giving thanks to God. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ
Brings correction to our mistakes
Our old habits may resurface, behaving in a way that will bring regret later. We need to heed the HS gentle check to repent quickly, to shape and sculp us to the standard of Jesus
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