THANK GOD JOSHUA GOT TOP FOUR IN CLASS!

I really thank God for Joshua's good results and that he got top four in class again! He did much better in this year end exam than last year. Overall I felt that his results for primary 5 (P5) was better than primary 4 (P4)considering he had an additional subject (Higher Chinese) and the standard was up another level in P5. When most students would experience a big drop in results, Joshua improved instead. This was like how God blessed Isaac and he reaped a hundredfold in the time of famine.

I still recalled last year a mum who told me that in moving from P4 to P5, their grades would slide quite badly because it became increasingly difficult. I rejected that in Jesus' name. But still I encountered a tough situation during mid year when I found there wasn't enough time for Joshua to do all the exam practice papers. We were like struggling to do as much as we could. Not only that, the teachers had been telling the kids that the subjects were more difficult now, as if to scare them. The students were also echoing what the teachers said. Joshua was so affected that his confidence took a hit.

God turned it around when He proved to Joshua that it really wasn't as tough as others made it out to be. During mid year exams, even though his grades weren't as good, it wasn't as bad as what others were saying. Thank God his math results maintained while for the other subjects he just got a few marks lesser than in P4 mid year exams. The drop wasn't as big as others made it out to be. The best part was the subject he feared the most, Higher Chinese, he was able to obtain a distinction. Really God's grace!

I thank God for showing Joshua that nothing is too hard for God. And we are children of the Most High God, so we are not subject to the world's system. We don't have to conform to the patterns of this world. We are more than conquerors in Christ. More than just the results, I thank God that Joshua has learnt to rely on God more in this exam. He has learnt to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit in seeking for advice. It didn't matter that sometimes he missed it and got the answer wrong. It was a process of learning to discern His voice. It would only get better. I did what I could to prepare Joshua for the exams but I knew the rest was up to God. Only God can help Joshua during his exams. Thank God for being so real to Joshua!

INTERSTELLAR PART IV

I was very encouraged by excerpts from this book 'God in Every Season' by Elizabeth Enlow. It was just launched on 11 Nov 2017. This is her book synopsis. The cycles or seasons of life that we go through aren't simply an organisational system put into place by a distant God to help us earthlings keep track of time. The seasons you personally go through, and the one you're currently in, are the very backdrop on the stage of the greatest love story of all...yours. The various seasons of your soul are your assurance that not only is your journey with God real, but your story isn't over yet.

God Himself escorts you through the changing seasons, makes sure you don't get stuck, and gets the last word on everything that concerns you, because He cares about you. Seasons are an expression of His intimate intentionality to keep you moving forward, progressing, and growing in the knowledge of Him and His true heart for you, beyond the unpredictable challenges and victories that arise.

Well this reminded me of the movie Interstellar which I watched again recently. It also talked about the concept of time. Imagine a world of five dimensions, where time and space are dimensions instead of limitations. It isn't impossible, just that we are so accustomed to our world of time and space constraints that we find it hard to imagine. This is something alien to us. But this will be the kind of world we live in when we go to heaven.

God is not limited by time and space. He can go to and fro in different points in time. Just like how Cooper saw Murphy in her room at various times. He was in the fifth dimension trying to reach out to Murphy. TARS said that the fifth dimension beings were real but they could not reach the earthlings. They were not able to pin down to a certain time and place. Actually this wasn't surprising because if you could live forever, why would dates be so important to you?

We are taught to number our days because our time on earth is limited. If you could live forever, would you bother to keep track of your age? You would lose count at some point. In a sense God put the times and seasons in place to better communicate with us. It is a message of His love for us that He is not finished with us. He is still waiting to move us forward.

Now back to the story of Cooper. He realised that gravity was one thing that could transcend time and space. As in even when time and space are no longer constraints or when this earth is no more, gravity still exists. Like how gravitational pull plays a big part in black holes. In my earlier posts, I likened gravity to the word of God. Isaiah 40:8 says 'The grass withers and the flowers fall,but the word of God endures forever.'

To me, love also transcends time and space. Beyond all the complex scientific jargon of this movie, at the core of it was a message of love. The love of a father and the connection between them. It was this love that enabled Murphy to solve the equation and overcame the problem of gravity and saved the earthlings. No one could believe her when she told them it was her dad who provided her with the quantum data, which was the key to solving the equation.

The other interesting concept was about time dilation. On earth we see time as finite. The time taken for a certain process like an object falling to the ground was almost the same in any part of the world. That was because the gravitational pull on earth was the same, maybe with a little variation that is negligible. However when one is in space the gravitational pull varies significantly. That is why time can be bent, hence time dilation. The closer one is to the centre of the gravitational pull, the slower time passes.

I saw a parallel in the spiritual sense. The closer one is to God, the slower the person ages. This is because God is not limited by time so He can redeem the years the locusts had eaten. Not only that, He renews our youth like the eagles. Hence time is not finite when it is time spent with God. We also see this concept at work when an astronaut orbits space after a few years, his peers would have aged more than him. This is the concept of time dilation at work.

When Cooper and Murphy were in space, time became a limited resource just like fuel. Even though they didn't grow older from the time dilation, there was a time lapse of decades each time they met with a delay. It was a big opportunity cost for them. People on earth were dying by the minute. There might not be a world to save if they were too late. Hence the race against time. I also saw a parallel in this. We the people of God might not age as much but the people around us like our parents are. Hence we are also hard pressed for time to get them saved.

Besides Jesus is returning soon hence the acceleration we are seeing in these last days. God is not even waiting for the youths to grow up to get them on fire for Him. Pastor was saying last Sunday that he never saw so many youths coming to God in his lifetime. It was like a revival of the youths. The gospel revolution is already happening all over the world at a much faster pace than before. We are living in accelerated times. This is not the time for us to be distracted from our mission but to be more focused. To set our eyes on Jesus.

WHY YOM KIPPUR TOMORROW IS SO SIGNIFICANT

Tomorrow the Jews will be celebrating the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. It is the holiest day of the year. This year it is exceptionally special because we are in a year of Jubilee for our church as declared by Pastor. Not only that, Pastor will be preaching tomorrow at the 500 years of Martin Luther's Reformation Conference in Germany. That was the birth place of the Grace message. I was looking at my journals on 30 Sep 2016 and I finally got the revelation of what Pastor was saying! At that time he still didn't know that 2017 is the year of Jubilee so what he preached was prophetic!

It so happened that on 30 Sep 2016, I heard the excerpt of what Pastor preached on 25 Sep 2016. The title of his sermon was 'Unleash the sound of victory!'. He talked about the Jubilee year and how the Hebrew word 'Teruwah' came from the word 'Ruwah' which means shout. This was the same Hebrew word that Joshua used to tell the Israelites to shout on the last round of the last day of the Jericho march.

Unleash the sound of victory and see the walls in your life crumble! Hear and discover from the Israelites’ miraculous conquest of Jericho, how you can “sound the ram’s horn” today in your areas of defeat and possess your victory. Learn why constantly hearing preaching of Jesus’ finished work—the Ram who willingly died for you—is key to taking your Jericho, no matter how seemingly impossible the battle.

Pastor even got someone to blow the ram's horn. The first sound is cut off and it symbolises Jesus who was cut off for our sake. The second sound is nine short blasts and nine represents the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is important to victory. The last blast is a long one and it represents God. After the last blast, Pastor said 'Shout for the Lord has given you the city!' This reminded me of 9 Aug 2015 when the ram's horn was blown and Pastor Lian also said that. I shouted for my miracle!

The first sound of the ram's horn had been sounded on first Sunday of this year. The video animation clearly showed that after Jesus gave up his breath or ruwah, the ram's horn was sounded. Because of Jesus finished work at the cross, we can have jubilee. The second sound in nine short blasts had also been sounded, since Pastor told us to pray in tongues on 10 Sep 2017. Well, we are coming to the last blast which is a long one. This is the trumpet which would be blown tomorrow! Praise the Lord!

Leviticus 25:8-10 "Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan."

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE SEASON PASSES

On 1 Sep, our family went to Universal Studios Singapore (USS). After we tried the USS fast pass for a day with a friend and his kids last year, we had been hooked on to the theme park. Since then I had been thinking of buying the season pass for a few months. But because of the cost, I hesitated. If we just bought the season pass it would cost $284 for our family. But if we added on the universal unlimited express (or fast pass), it would cost an additional $300. Eventually we decided to purchase the USS season pass with unlimited express.

It was a longing fulfilled which became a tree of life; no more hopes deferred. We really had so much fun cutting through the long queues. Because it was a public holiday on 1 Sep, there were so many people. After we paid for the season passes, we still had to queue up to have our season pass cards made. It took us at least 40 min to get that done before we could move on with our rides. But it was raining during that time of queuing so we had to wait for the rain to stop anyway.

In the past we always queued for the rides but in Singapore's hot and humid weather, it wasn't a pleasant experience. One could get easily tired from the long wait. So the fast pass really made the experience so much more enjoyable. We felt the money spent was worth it as we could take as many rides as we wanted. It was like tasting freedom. It was much better than buying Legoland passes because Universal Studios was more fun and we didn't have to cross the immigration to go Legoland in Malaysia. I can also bring Joshua there during the school holidays, so we don't have to wait for Heng to take leave to bring us there.

We are quite sure we would go back there as often as we want because we are not limited by the timing. We don't have to spend a whole afternoon there to maximise the day pass. Even the parking is free. Technically we don't have to spend a cent there unless we want to get some snacks. We have the freedom to go as and when we want to. No need to worry about the timing because we have the fast pass so we could do all the rides we want in three to four hours' time. We also don't have to be bound by the rainy weather or daunted by the long queues. I didn't know spending this amount of money could bring us such freedom and enjoyment!

(PS: Since 1 Sep, we already went USS three times in two weeks😝)

The fast pass reminded me of Lana Vawser's post on 27 July about no more delay. She said that she saw many entering into 2017 feeling like they were in a plane going through incredible turbulence with a storm raging outside, feeling like they were being hit and swayed, but in these declarations of divine turnarounds, she saw the rest of 2017 being clothed with FAVOUR and ACCELERATION for them in the VERY AREAS that the DELAY and TURBULENCE had been aimed at.

The Lord spoke to her very clearly that the targeted areas of DELAY and OPPOSITION were the very areas where MAJOR ACCELERATION and FAVOUR was about to fall. Where there has been nothing but BATTLE in these areas, now we shall find GOLD and TREASURE in these very places.

The enemy has fought many of God’s people hard in these areas, because he knows the HEAVENLY DEPOSITS and RELEASE that have been planted within these areas that now as the breaker anointing of God falls upon them, they are going to release the greatest demonstration of His power, turnaround and tidal wave outpouring of His Spirit than they have ever seen.

Where these has been SUCH BATTLE, TURBULENCE and DELAY in these areas, now the people of God shall know a greater ease of flowing in the Spirit of God, flowing in the grace of God and flowing in the anointing of God.

The enemy has attempted to bring DELAY in these areas, to clip the wings of God’s people, but the favour of God, the winds of His heavenly favour is blowing so strongly upon these areas that they shall be carried into places that they have never imagined. Carried in places that they never would have dreamed, and as they step in, find a whole new realm of revelation of the goodness, kindness, provision, protection, wisdom, strategy and insight of God.

BREAKTHROUGH FOR HENG!

Yesterday Heng met with his boss. Initially there were talks of Heng doing SG business support for a while as a preparation for Heng before he was earmarked to take over the portfolio of SG finance division head. But the staff who was supposed to come up to the group finance level wasn't keen so this plan was shelved. Heng was feeling weary last week because it had been coming to a month since 18 July when his boss first spoke about this but still no news. He also felt that he had no role to play in his current capacity. It was like he didn't have a proper portfolio so it was difficult to progress. I believe he hit a plateau in his current position. 

Over the weekend I was telling Heng that the delay could be because the bosses were thinking of putting him as division head straightaway. God is still working behind the scenes. Heng was thinking if this didn't materialise, he would look for another job. In fact there was an opening that he was interested in. A business controller position. I said that God must have something in store for him in this company so just wait for a little while more. True enough when he met with his boss, he was told that they would put him as Acting SG division head from 1 Sep. This was like the Finance Director position which God had planned for him years ago. It would be a big jump from his previous job position as Financial Controller. Really praise the Lord!

After waiting for more than one month and getting increasingly restless as the days passed, Heng finally saw his breakthrough yesterday! For the past few weeks, both of us had been feeling the birth pangs, wondering when we would start seeing our breakthroughs. Things started moving then it went all quiet. It was very uncomfortable. Even as we tried to get on with our usual routine, something inside us was stirring. Things which used to interest us suddenly didn't seem so exciting anymore. Our focus was fixated on this one thing that we were gazing upon. We knew there would be no relief unless this thing came to pass. Now that we finally see it happen, we can rejoice, celebrate and heave a sigh of relief.

Interestingly Heng put these words in his handphone calendar a few weeks ago. It says 'My breakthrough is here' on 23 Aug 2017. Actually we were told to mark this day as the Encounter Night for our church midweek service but instead of putting down the event name, we were told by the pastor during service to type this instead. I didn't know that this word was actually prophetic because it happened to be really the day Heng got his breakthrough regarding his work. God is so awesome! 

WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE VICTORY!

As I was preparing the discussion questions from Faith Study Course, I was again very ministered by what I read. It was in line with what I had been meditating on recently. I remembered looking at those self-help books at a book store and I thought to myself. The key to all these steps of success eventually boils down to a changing of mindset. The human mind is the most stubborn and most resistant to change. Circumstances and things around us may change faster than our minds can change.

Nowadays I accept that there are so many things I don't know about the universe and the spiritual realm. I am often humbled by what I don't know. Yet at the same time I am contented by what the Lord shows me or what He does want me to know. If it deems important for Him to let me know then I will want to know. I thank God that I know so much more about His word than I used to. In the past I knew His ways but now I can begin to say that I know His heart even when things don't necessarily go according to what I expect to see or contrary to what His word says.

I also begin to understand the temporal nature of things and situations. Even though things had been like this for many years didn't mean that it would not change. Things would not remain like this forever. For me this perspective from God helped me a lot when I was going through trials or tough times. It gave me hope for a better future, that things would eventually get better and better. That after the testing comes the rewards, the promotion.

Last night I was listening to Pastor's sermon and he said before the enemy attacks your health or your finances, he will always try to steal the word from your life. That's why most people find themselves quarrelling or moody for no reason after church service. The devil is trying to steal the word they just heard. So that is not the time to give up on the word but to dig in your heels and stand firm on it. Sometimes it may mean life and death.

Even Kenneth Hagin said if you have read these lessons on faith and they have taken hold of your hearts, the enemy is going to try to contest you. But the Lord wants you to be prepared for Satan's wiles. You can be fully prepared for any situation or circumstance that can arise. Keep pressing on to attain the highest kind of faith which is to believe that the word of God is the truth. It is actually what it declares it to be. The word of God is living and active but it will only come alive to you and work in your life as you accept it and act upon it. You have to align yourself with His word.

When you really begin to study the word and accept it as it is, you will wonder why in the world you believed some things the way you did. This is the process of God changing our minds. There are dark areas in our mind or strongholds which we probably didn't even know about. It was when the light of His word shone on those areas that we realised we were held bondage in that particular area. It is astounding that some of the things people believe in really aren't in His word at all. We often accept what others say about the word instead of seeing it for ourselves.

Other times we believe in what we experienced to be the truth rather than God's word. Like if we have been burnt before by an issue then we would see that challenge as bigger than His word. Yet many times seeing is not believing. How many times have you been deceived by things you saw? And how many times have you been deceived by things you didn't see? Spiritual things are more real than natural things that our eyes can see. Just because you went through some heartache which was very real to you doesn't mean it is the word of God. Or the will of God.

Kenneth Hagin urged us to pay attention to what the Word has to say about redemption or forgiveness of sins because a lot of folks are defeated here. They don't take a stand against the enemy, against what comes against them because they think it ought to be that way. That they deserve the test or trial that has come upon them. Like they still felt they got to pay for something wrong they did in the past though the bible said clearly that our sins are paid by Jesus at the cross. A lot of people are permitting tests and trials to take place in their lives because they are not standing in their place of authority against Satan.

They are being robbed of deliverance and victory because they think it ought to be that way. Of course tests and trials in life come to all of us but on the other hand that doesn't mean we have to allow Satan to run over us either! If we are in Christ, God has promised us the victory in every circumstance. Even Pastor Prince said that not all trials are necessary in our lives. Jesus also taught us to pray that our Father deliver us from evil or testing in His daily prayer.

Beloved, understand that God's heart is not to allow us to go through endless testing and trials. As with all seasons, the season of wilderness is only temporary and it too shall pass. After going through the fire and water, God is bringing us to a broad place. A place of fulfilment and abundance. He will repay us and restore us the joy and peace the trials had taken away from our lives. He will work all things out for our good. Bring beauty out of ashes. And even though some testing might be necessary for our character development, God has tampered it with much mercy. He will not allow us to go through what we cannot bear but always provides a way out for us.

I strongly believe that most trials and tough times in believers' lives are actually not necessary. If they could follow the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, they could be spared of many heartaches and pains. But well, some of us need to come to the end of ourselves before we can receive His help. No wonder apostle John prayed this at the end of his life. Beloved I wish for you above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. God's heart is to see His children prosper, not suffer.

Kenneth Hagin said that instead of accepting the fact that they had been delivered from the penalty of sin, some believers let the devil dominate them and keep them sick and defeated. But God doesn't hold your sin against you once you have asked for forgiveness. The work of Christ on the cross washes away our lifetime of sins. We are made righteous because of Jesus' blood. The price for our redemption has been paid, so the devil has no right to dominate us. He can only have an inroad in our lives as far as we allow him to.

The best part about being in Christ is that no matter how many times you missed it, God will always give you more chances. You can try until you get it. God will make sure that you eventually get it. Hence ultimately victory belongs to us, no matter what it seems like at the moment. The enemy is always a defeated foe. Don't let him get you into condemnation and fear again. Say I am the righteousness of God in Christ. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Christ in us is really the hope of glory. Because of the finished work on the cross we will always win. No matter how far we have strayed or how impossible things seemed in the natural, there is always hope if we turn back to the cross. The finished work is a definite thing that had happened so we can have the assurance that when we go back to the finished work, God can make all things right in our lives again. It might take a long while, there might be a process to endure, a fight of faith to stand firm on the promise, but the end outcome is assured. Eventually the promise will manifest. We are forever blessed because of the cross.

HARDLY A COINCIDENCE

Our family went for a holiday at Club Med Bintan last week. When we received our room number I was so surprised. It was the same number I thought we were staying in Malaysia in early June. Back then I was having my hair treatment in the hair salon and did not remember the room number though I had the key. I took a shot of the room number but later I passed my handphone to Heng. I vaguely remembered it was 12th floor and this number '1219' came to my mind. Thank God Heng and Joshua came by when I was just done with my hair because the room number was 1240 instead. I could have went to the wrong hotel room. 

But this number ended up to be our Club Med hotel room number instead! It was a prophetic word for our next hotel room! Although this was a small thing, nevertheless it was amazing for me. I wondered what were the chances that it could be this number? Of all the numbers in the world, how could it be so spot on! God must be telling me something. That He is showing me things to come with increasing accuracy. Even another sister also felt that I have come up to another level. Really praise the Lord! It was really quite exciting.

Last night I was pondering upon 1219 and tried to search bible verses associated with this. I came to Romans 12:19 which said 'Beloved, do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to God's wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. I was wondering why the Lord impressed upon me this verse. I wasn't even thinking about taking revenge on those people who persecuted us. There was a time I thought about it but now no more. I wasn't thinking about revenge. I really didn't care much about them, especially not when I am busy enjoying my life.

This morning it occurred to me why God showed me this verse. It was in the context of God avenging my enemies in this season. God wanted my enemies to repay me for all the troubles brought upon me. The enemy is being paid back for touching you. The enemy is being paid back for tormenting you. The enemy is being paid back for stealing, killing and destroying in your life. The enemy is being paid back for lying to you. The enemy is being paid back for attempting to kill you. I may have forgotten about revenge but God hasn't. Praise God for now is payback time! 

TENANCY ISSUE FINALLY SETTLED!

Praise the Lord for on 2 June the tenant finally signed the tenancy agreement! Since 20 Mar, our rental flat has been vacant. We have been waiting for more than two months for God to bring us the right tenant at the price we desire. Our previous Property Agent has been telling us that the rental market was very bad and there were many flats waiting to be rented out. Supply far outstripped demand so it has become a tenant market instead of landlord calling the shots.

We had been waiting and praying for God to send us a breakthrough in this area. It wasn't that we didn't have any offers but they were really low. If we accepted those offers, it would be like 'spoiling the market' and causing a new low in our region. I prayed and sought the Lord about it as I was willing to compromise and take the low offers in an attempt to close this issue and stop the waiting. After all we were incurring opportunity costs in the form of no rental income for these few months. 

But Heng wasn't comfortable with taking the low offers so we couldn't proceed. I also didn't have the peace but I didn't know what was the hold-up. All I knew was God wanted the best deal for us and He didn't want me to compromise despite the bad rental market. Well, after waiting for almost two months, we felt prompted to let another new agent market our unit. Initially we hesitated because this agent had served us since Jul 2010 and we wanted her to earn the rental commission. Yet somehow she wasn't really able to close a deal this time round. 

Besides this is our seventh year of flat rental and we have entered into a new season. He is doing new things and He wanted us to be open. This caused me to wonder if God may want us to engage a new agent to help market our unit. But we didn't know who and when. So we just did nothing and waited. What happened next was really His hand at work. My mum had her agent to rent out her room so she spoke to this agent about my situation. My mum asked her if she could help and she agreed. So my mum recommended us to this new agent. Both Heng and I prayed about it and agreed to let her have a try. We had the peace to proceed.

Well, in about two weeks' time, this new agent managed to close a deal for us at a price higher than we expected. Not only that the rental profile was good. This tenant worked as a professional and had a family of three. It was this agent's first viewing. I told Heng that this agent was a godsend angel to us. She was really so encouraging and acted in my interest. God sent her to do good to me. I was reminded of how God also sent this sister in our previous church to convince us to take the vitamins to help me conceive in 2005. I was resistant for a year but she didn't give up. Not only that she helped us to carry the heavy bag of vitamins to bring to us in church. I mean she didn't have to do that but she did. She had the heart to help me conceive. I was really grateful to her and I felt so loved by my Abba Father.

Pastor Prince said that when God wants to bless us, He will send a person. Indeed one of the ways we experience His goodness is through people. That was why when God sent us this person in mid May and prompted us to change a new agent, I knew God had His eye on this issue and wanted to close it soon. Even though there was a time lapse of two weeks, I had to keep reminding myself to give Him some time for He was working behind the scenes. Just rest in Him and don't get into works. Meanwhile I was to worship and praise Him for the completion of the rental issue. Changes were set into motion once we appointed this agent.

Yes I must admit that I was tempted to be moved from my position of rest when I saw that nothing was happening initially. I was getting impatient and weary. But I had to focus on what God told me and find encouragement in His word. I had to trust Him. Besides what can I do if He didn't move? I have done all I could and the ball was in His court. But God is so good. He told me to change my mental picture as I began to get discouraged after waiting and seeing no breakthrough in the rental issue. I started thinking of the worst scenario and feared of more delays. This thinking did not help because it was not a positive expectation of good things to come. It would make me feel more drained.

I was also prompted to start praising God. Praise and worship really changed my perspective too. God told me I should be rejoicing because I have finished the race, completed the training, passed the test. This was more important to Him that the breakthroughs I was desperately seeking Him for. It was because once I passed the test, there would be no limit as to how high He could bring me to in my next season. He showed me He was so pleased with the completion of this journey. He was even excited at my future. I could sense His excitement…so interesting.

In one of the worship sessions, I also began to see how these issues I had been waiting for a breakthrough were already a finished work in His eyes. I began to see that God was already looking at a much farther future of our family when I was concerned about these immediate issues. It was then that I realised this was a done deal so I didn't even have to worry about it coming to pass. Worship put my heart at ease knowing that God was working on my situation and what I thought was very difficult could change in a moment with a touch of His favour.

WHY WE GET DISCOURAGED

Pastor preached a very powerful sermon in end Mar about why people get discouraged. He said that whenever we take our eyes off Jesus, we will be overwhelmed by our circumstances. Whenever we focus more on the visible, we will forget about the invisible, what God has done for us in the past. Everyone is susceptible to falling. Even the ones with great faith. You can be walking in faith yesterday only to find yourself feeling discouraged today. We are all prone to depression at some point. Whenever we put our eyes on the visible, the devil has us where he wanted.

I thought about those times when I got so discouraged was because my eyes were on the circumstances. I was already weary because I had come a long way and yet there were still attacks. But as long as I kept looking at my circumstances, why there hasn't been a turnaround, why things hadn't change after so long I would become more discouraged. Everyday I would wake up straining to see the slightest sign of change. Just like how Elijah told his servant to go seven times and see if rain was coming.

He prayed hard, so to speak for rain to come and couldn't quite believe it when God told him so. Hence he kept asking his servant to check for any sign of rain. But when he prayed for a drought, he didn't even doubt. He just declared that 'as surely as the Lord lives, at the sound of my voice there shall be no rain for 3.5 years.' He was that confident God would do what He said. Pastor commented that God worked in cycles of seven so even this judgement was meted out in mercy. God cut it down by half the time.

I thought about what I had been chasing all these years, what I had been earnestly looking out for. Being expectant of what God told me was quite different from focusing too much on the circumstances. Whenever my eyes are on the visible, I get snared by the enemy's traps. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Faith is not only when you see what God said coming to pass. You don't need faith if the word came to pass.

When my joy and peace is dependent on whether the thing I believe God for come to pass or not, then it's on unshakable grounds. The enemy can hold me hostage and take me for a field day any time. He can push my buttons by causing all kinds of frustrating situations to come my way. Remember that the natural realm is subject to his control. But if we cross over to the spirit realm, that's when he is defeated every time. I realised the more anxious I get over my natural circumstances, the more I was ensnared by the enemy.

That was a time in Feb/Mar I was so easily affected by what I saw that I was prone to depression. I would get up one morning feeling joyful but the next day I would be moody. My emotions were that unstable. That was why I had no choice but to go back to hearing the sermons. It was my only lifeline. The only way out of my troubles. It was only when I hear the word of God that my mind didn't go haywire thinking all sorts of negative thoughts. Or else I could not make it through that dark period.

And when I felt my moods getting down, I would reach for the MP3. Only after hearing the word would I gain some relief and comfort. Only after that would my mood be lifted up. But as I kept on meditating on God's word, something happened to me. It no longer became a lifeline but a great enjoyment. I began to hunger more of the word. I found refuge and solace in the word. I could finally focus on Jesus while meditating on the word. As I put my eyes back on Jesus, gradually I became less affected by my circumstances.

I came to a point where I didn't bother whether my circumstances had changed or not.  My joy and peace wasn't dependent on such things anymore. I was contented to feed on His word just like this for as long as I could. His word become more real in my life than the natural circumstances. After a while I didn't really care if things moved on or not, as I found my peace in hearing the word. If things moved I would of course be very happy and grateful to God. But it was more like peaceful than joyful.

It was like days of heaven on earth when I had the consciousness of what Jesus had done for me at the cross. Peace is truly forgiveness enjoyed. When I was conscious of my righteousness in Christ, I found myself flowing effortlessly in the spirit as well. It was painful to be so conscious of self, so fixated on the outward circumstances. But when the light was shone on these dark areas, I felt like the chains were broken. Jesus set me free from the prison of my mind.

It was really a freeing way to live life. It didn't matter to me whether my promise manifested yet or when it would manifest. My happiness wasn't dependent on this promise coming to fulfilment. So long as the stronghold had been destroyed I was sure it would manifest very soon. I remembered that God said this manifestation wasn't as spectacular as the age old strongholds being destroyed. Now I understand what God meant. To be set free from that prison is really an awesome victory Christ has wrought for me.

So now my mind is renewed, I can stand tall and walk with my head lifted up whenever this question of when the promise is going to come to pass pops up. It isn't my problem anymore, it is His problem. In any case so long as I am happy and enjoy my life, then who is to say that I am suffering because of this long wait? Besides God already said my waiting is coming to an end.Who would pity me if I don't feel sorry for myself? In fact I felt blessed because of the delay and attacks, I had become a gainer. My character was built up and my youth was renewed. Restoration is coming my way. Payback time is here. I will find myself being blessed much more than I lost.

NO MORE FEAR!

I heard Pastor Prince share in his previous sermons about warfare and the enemy's work. Pastor used the example of Job to explain that an open door to fear would enable the enemy to bring on bad things in our lives. That doesn't give us the security that we should have in Christ. First of all, he said that Job not only feared, he greatly feared. He kept thinking his children sinned against God and offered sacrifices daily over a period of time. So if we are afraid once in a while it doesn't tantamount to an open door to fear. Job greatly feared over a period of time.

Secondly Pastor said sin consciousness in a person's life was the root cause of the open door to fear. Condemnation kills. There is no sin that Jesus has not cleansed so we should not be conscious of our sin but our righteousness in Christ. Even though we may be attacked in some season, we need not be in fear. We can be safe in a place where we can be hidden in God. The enemy may unleash his greatest schemes against us to stop God's plan, the end outcome is God always wins.

Thirdly Pastor said that the spot which Satan used to have in heaven had already been cleansed by Jesus' blood. So the devil in the NT was not as powerful as the devil in the OT, after Jesus was crucified and rose again. The devil ain't who he used to be. But he can still come to you and prosecute you, though he cannot come to God and accuse you. He needs to deceive you to use your power against you. He has to accuse you to yourself and that's where most people are caught. Apparent power is like real power. He always tries to deceive you into thinking you don't have the thing you need when you have it all the time.

This truth really sets me free. Previously my heart was troubled and I was in fear of bad news, especially after my uncle's passing in mid Feb. The enemy kept me in bondage as he taunted me saying he can bring bad things in my life anytime he wants to. He tried to elevate his power above that of God. He kept putting the blame on God saying why didn't God stop such things from happening when he could. I was deceived for a while and I blamed God for it. Later my eyes were opened to see that the real culprit was the devil not God. I should be upset with the devil rather than God.

The enemy also had me wondering whether God is powerless, if not, why He has not acted on my behalf since. He had me think that he had more power to inflict damage on my life than God's power to deliver me. Not only that he tried to make me believe things were not just stuck, they were worse than last year. The warfare early this year became more fierce than last year. But he was really just calling the bluff. There was no foundation, no basis for his attacks. Because he cannot accuse me to myself. Not anymore. Unlike last year when I was still blaming myself because I missed my promised land in 2012. And also fear of my grandma's passing plaguing me.

Now there was another important thing God revealed to me. There was another erroneous belief that God would bring back all the bad experiences in the past to restore them. Because it seemed like what was happening recently. My uncle's passing was like Mrs Mohan's case. Joshua's injury was like what happened in 2008 when he too hurt his right wrist. Plus all these incidents happened around the same time in the year. Now if this work was from God, then it shouldn't bring fear to my heart. It should bring peace.

This erroneous thinking caused me to be in fear because I was trying to think of all the bad incidents that happened in the past which I thought God hasn't restored yet. It made me more fearful that God was going to allow more bad things to happen in my life even though I knew the outcome would be good. The process still made me feel scared because I was just stung by such bad experiences. I was more conscious of the negative impact of the recent incidents than the work of God.

How can such thinking make my heart at peace? How to be established in Christ's righteousness? I was looking out for more bad news when I should be expectant of good things coming in my life. God doesn't work like that. He knows how much more I can take. His purpose of restoration wasn't to crush me but to strengthen me. The right way of doing it was like His restoration in my previous company. It definitely wasn't scary. It was tough but not scary.

Then the Lord also showed me that there is no more righteous foundation to Satan's accusations. The blood of Jesus has silenced him. Even the condemnation of having missed my promised land in 2012 was already dealt with by God last year. This issue could no longer haunt me. I have clearly entered my promised land last year and started taking grounds. I have already moved on from circling that mountain. So the enemy cannot accuse me to myself. He cannot lie to me saying that God is displeased with me hence He is not acting on my behalf. The truth is God is fighting my battles.

Really thank God for arresting this wrong belief. If not, I would really be opening the door for more bad things in my life. I would live in fear of bondage to the enemy's whims and fancies. The enemy would have gotten me where he wanted me. Immobilised in fear. He wanted me to think I was defenceless against his schemes. And God wasn't helping me either. So I was doomed. He tried to accuse me and make me feel guilty over my Uncle and Joshua's case. But these weren't my fault in the first place. God has justified me. He isn't displeased with me.

God has completely turned the tables against the enemy. Not only is he caught and found out, he has to repay all the troubles he brought unto us. He is doomed. He is now stripped of all his power. He cannot accuse me to myself, cannot bring me under condemnation, cannot make me conscious of my sin. God has made me conscious of Jesus' perfect sacrifice. I am now standing on favour ground.

Not only that, because of the injury the devil inflicted on our lives, now we have a legit right to demand  compensation from him. Not only was he stripped of all power to destroy, he had to pay us back 120-fold. Bible says if the thief has been caught, he has to pay back. This is the law of restitution. Now we have become a gainer because of his attacks. We can expect not bad things but good things to come into our lives. We have a righteous foundation for such expectations of good. Jesus paid the price.

REV MARCUS LAMB'S SERMON

It's affirmative that we have crossed over to a new season. Truly this is great reason to celebrate because it meant that our wilderness season had come to an end. The tough times are over and we are coming into a broad place. A new beginning has already started and I am already seeing signs of it everywhere. 

I am very moved by what Rev Marcus Lamb shared in last Sunday's service. In fact because of this sermon I went back to listen to what he said on 19 Nov 2014, when he last came to our church. He said it was the first time he came to Singapore. We didn't attend his service back then. It was a midweek service. Well I felt that there must be some significance to his second visit here. God is pointing to us about some prophetic timelines. I cannot forget the date because those few days, in fact, that year itself was a tough year for us and our church. About how more members passed on that year than before. 

Like one sister mentioned, some of our pastors might already started facing their giants in 2013. I think so too. Well, as I looked at my own journals I saw that the Lord has been talking about crossing Jordan and facing the giants in Jul 2014. It also hadn't been an easy time for me during Oct/Nov 2013. But I knew I hadn't started facing my giants yet, not until Jul 2014, after I went on my ministry sabbatical. 

So when I heard that Rev Marcus Lamb was coming to preach this year, I was reminded of the last time he came. I asked God what wad the significance of his appearance now and I knew the key would be in the message he preached on Sunday. So I was all ears. At that time I haven't heard Rev Lamb's sermon on 19 Nov 2014 so I didn't catch his prophetic word to Pastor and our church. Just now I did, when I watched the sermon.

  

'If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.' Numbers 14:8-9 KJV

After this verse, Rev Lamb spoke about these verses for our church.

'Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.' 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 KJV

Here is a transcription of what Rev Lamb said on 19 Nov 2014 -

“I say to you New Creation Church, how much more in this day and hour, should we rest in word of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It’s time for some of you to quit trying to fighting some of your own battles, quit trying to solve your own problems, quit trying to answer your own questions. But let Jesus rise up big in you and be the captain of your salvation and your mighty conquering king.”

Now what I saw when I read this again, in the light of his recent sermon was this. At that time in Nov 2014, Pastor Prince and our church was probably at the verge of crossing Jordan and we were about to face giants in the land. That prophetic word was meant to encourage Pastor and our church to rest in the Lord. We didn't know what it truly meant back then because Pastor seldom preaches about inheritance, possessing our possessions and facing our giants in previous years. It was on 10 Aug 2014 that I first heard Pastor preach about our inheritance. 

But with the hindsight of time passing, I could see the picture clearer. 2015 was a year of restoration. There was a temporary window of reprieve before the real battle began in 2016. The Lord was already teaching us to rest in the Lord for restoration and even more so when we crossed over to the promised land. Now I take heart that today Rev Lamb's message has progressed to the timeline after Jericho was conquered. To the point where Rahab told the spies to save her family and the red scarlet rope will be the sign. And true enough only her family was spared because of the blood of Jesus.

At the start of 2017, Pastor said we are already in the seventh day of circling Jericho. But I couldn't be sure which round are we at. But after Resurrection Sunday and the Passover Feast, it became clear to me that we have completed the seven rounds. The ram's horn was sounded on Resurrection Sunday and the walls of Jericho came crumbling down in the background. Victory has been wrought! Praise God for we had crossed over to a new season of abundance! 

The other interesting thing was Rev Lamb also preached about Deuteronomy 6:6-8. 'And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as front lets between your eyes.' Now these are the verses which the Lord commanded to teach the Israelites that they may observe them in the land they are crossing over to possess. So that they may fear the Lord and keep His commands that it may be well with them and their children.

So I asked myself at which point would such verses be timely or appropriate…is it during the conquest or after that? In the midst of the conquest of the promised land, the Israelites would be too busy fighting the giants to have the time and energy to teach their children right? But it was after they conquered majority of the land and God gave them rest from their enemies that such verses became more relevant. Now the war was over and they had peace. They entered their inheritance so what was next? The next important thing to do was to tell their children about the Lord and the marvellous works He had done. 

HOW GOD WORKS THINGS OUT FOR OUR GOOD

On Resurrection Sunday as I walked into church after leaving Joshua with Rock Kidz, I was greeted with a good report. It was a Rock Kidz teacher talking to me about Joshua. I did not know her but she knew Joshua. I was surprised because all these years I never had any Sunday School teacher approaching me to talk to me about Joshua. She lovingly said that Joshua is their treasure or 宝. She said he is a very obedient and good boy. I wasn't sure if she got the right boy so I asked her if he had been participative in class or responsive, she said yes of course. I told her that he was quite quiet in school. She assured me saying he wasn't quiet at all and told me not to worry. She then repeated that he is such a dear to the teachers. I was so happy to hear this and quickly told his daddy. His daddy was happy too.

After we picked Joshua up from Sunday School, I told Joshua what the teacher said and asked him if it was true that he was a dear to the teachers. Without a doubt, he said yes. He said it was because of his hand injury that the teachers took special care of him and hence all of them knew him. God really turned all things out for his good. I didn't even know about this until now. I remembered there was a time when he was smaller that I secretly wished the Sunday School teacher would give a good report about Joshua. I was hoping to receive comments that he was very obedient or that he had a special talent in drawing. But all these years I never heard anything from the teachers. After a while I forgot about this. But God never forgets. Though this good report about Joshua came as a surprise when I wasn't seeking it anymore, it brought to my mind this secret desire I had years ago. God is so good. All glory to Jesus! 

Romans 8:28 'We know that God works all things out for our good.' 

SEQUENCE OF THE MESSAGES I HEARD

I have been prompted to go on a word feast in end Feb. I was facing challenges and feeling fearful that time so God impressed upon me to go back to hearing the word of grace. Since then I plugged on to the 'Right Believing' MP3 by Pastor Prince and it became a daily routine for me to listen to his sermons before I slept. I wanted the last thoughts before I went to dream land to be about God and His word.

One night I was listening to Pastor Prince's sermon and he talked about the Father's love for us. Then it occurred to me there was a sequence for hearing the sermons. Not that I planned it but God did. I started with listening to messages like winning the battle for your mind. God was addressing the root cause of condemnation which led to fear in my life. He was teaching me truths about the enemy's work and about spiritual warfare in today's context. I was to rest in the finished work of Jesus as God increased my righteousness consciousness in Christ.

After that I went on to listen to messages about God's complete forgiveness. This was important because my heart had to be established in His righteousness so that the devil cannot have a foothold in my life. When I know how much God has forgiven me, I don't have to beat myself up. Then I went on to listen to messages about being free from self-righteousness, how it was painful to be always so self-occupied for in our flesh dwells no good thing.

I was reminded of how to turn my eyes away from the storm in the midst of it and look to Jesus. As tough as it was I learnt to look away from the natural circumstances, even lying symptoms and focused on Christ's finished work. As I behold Jesus, something happens to me, I am transformed from glory to glory. I also begin to see what God sees as reality. The word of God became more real to me than the circumstances.

Finally I came to the part of his teaching about the Father's love. About how being conscious of His perfect love driving out all fears. God was slowly replacing the negative cycles of condemnation, fears, failures, disappointments with His cycle of love. He continued to flood me with messages about being His beloved. Good things happen to those who are conscious of the Father's love. There is protection and intimacy in His love. It is like being in the shadow of His wings.

I then realised that it is the Father's love that causes us to win the fight of life. It takes a David, God's beloved to defeat Goliath. God was teaching me to go on the offensive, after the root cause of condemnation had been destroyed, after being established in a righteousness that comes from Jesus, after l learnt to put my eyes on His finished work instead of my circumstances and lastly being conscious of the Father's love for me. 

GOD DID A MARVELLOUS WORK!

Today is Joshua's last check up with the bone specialist. He had a fall on 15 Feb which caused his wrist to be fractured. Even though he had his cast removed on 14 Mar and all will be well with this last visit, somehow I still felt a bit uneasy about today's check up. I guess it was because of the one bad experience when his bone slipped out of alignment that I was a bit apprehensive. Even when God has redeemed that bad experience with two positive ones, somehow a part of me, the flesh part was prone to worry. There were thoughts thrown by the enemy about the possibility of his bone slipping out of alignment again, just like that time. Especially since the cast had come off and there was no support for his hand.

But when such thoughts came up, I just cast them to the Lord and said Jesus took the punishment for Joshua at the cross so he is completely healed. God will be judicially unjust if He put on Joshua what Jesus had paid. Hence I proclaim that the report will be good in Jesus' name. That gave me some peace but I still had to go through it, as in to get this check up over and done with. I couldn't really sleep late this morning and woke up before the alarm rang. I took this time to do quiet time and to build up my inner man.

I was praying in tongues and reading the devotionals when doctor called us into his office. He asked how was Joshua and Joshua said good. Doctor was surprised for this was the first time he heard Joshua speak. He then put the X Ray up and said it was all very good. When I saw the X Ray, I was surprised to see that his bone had aligned perfectly. I never thought I would see such a sight. It was as if he never had that fracture at all! I was so happy to see that God has done a beautiful work of healing Joshua's hand! Not only I became more relaxed, I was over the moon! The Lord has done a marvellous work for us! He has turned all things out for our good!

While I was feeling restless, God has already gone ahead to prepare this good news for me. He has in store this wonderful surprise for me! Had it not for this last visit, I wouldn't be able to see the completion of His wonderful work in Joshua's hand. I wouldn't be breaking out in praise and worship, amazed at the resounding victory Jesus has wrought for me. I thank God for restoring my faith and confidence in Him, as He showed me that He answers my prayers and watches over us. More good news to come! I could sing of Your love forever! Right now I just want to thank God that it is finally over! The last check up is over and Joshua is discharged from seeing the doctor! Below is the X Ray of his wrist before and after.

PROCESS OF RELEASING MYSELF FROM MY SINS

I was listening to Pastor's sermons these few days. He said there was a place in the bible which mentioned those sins we retained will be retained, those sins that we released will be released. John 20:23 says 'Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained.' It wasn't just about other people's sins. It was also about our sins.

God has already forgiven us of our sins but we may not forgive ourselves at times. So we continue to retain that sin and subconsciously being punished for it. And that sin consciousness will continue to torture us, open a door for the enemy to bring troubles in our lives. God has already given us so stop beating ourselves. Quit living condemned and guilty. Peace is forgiveness enjoyed.

Pastor also said that the paralytic man needed to be forgiven of his sin first before healing came. That was why Jesus said his sins were forgiven before He told the guy to take up his mat and walk. Pastor also mentioned that if we go for hospital visits, before we pray for healing, tell the person God has forgiven him of all his sins. Tell him to let go of his own sins and forgive himself. Then healing can be freely received. Our conscience needs to know someone paid for our sins so we could enjoy that peace.

Today as I was meditating on this topic, I was reminded of what God told me on 15 May 2016. It was about rolling away the Israelites' reproach at Gilgal. That day was a turning point for me when God opened my eyes to see that I had been retaining the sin of missing my promised land in 2012. God has long forgiven me and He wanted me to stop beating myself over it. Jesus paid the price for me.

I now realise that even though it was a breakthrough for me that night, it was the beginning of a process. The forgiveness of sins by God was freely offered to those who needed it but for us to release ourselves fully from our sins, it might take some time. Well it could be instantaneous for some people but for me it was over a period of time. In fact, it had been more than nine months since. But at least I thank God that the process of forgiving myself of that sin is finally completed.

This sin consciousness was so subtle that I didn't even know traces of it was still there. I thought it had been completely dealt with last year. Well, my recent incidents showed that man is so prone to feeling condemned. So we constantly need to hear the gospel of grace. We need to be reminded again and again that all our sins are forgiven and God is not angry with us.

Thank God the difference was this year it took a much shorter time for me to discern what was exactly happening. The enemy tried to bring a replay of last year's incidents to convince me that nothing has changed this year and I was still stuck. Not only that through the recent spade of events, the enemy told me in fact, things had gotten worse than last year. Just look at the intensity of the attacks this year. He taunted me with doubts like 'What happened to the word about Jubilee? Is this even Jubilee?'

Thank God for He always brings us victory through Christ! And He opened my eyes to see what was hidden in the dark. Yes the warfare may have intensified due to the closeness to our appointed time. But it doesn't have to be like last year when I was fighting most of the time. This year God told us to rest for the battle belongs to Him. But what God needed me to do was to close the door to fear by releasing myself of my sins. I needed to forgive myself and receive His forgiveness in order to move forward.

I reminded myself again that God has forgiven me of that sin so I forgive myself. It has been so many years and it is about time I put a stop to all the sufferings and torture I put myself through. It was silly for me to be punished when Christ was punished for my sake. It was like saying His payment wasn't enough. Why continue to pay my debt when Jesus had already paid for it? God cannot stop me if I willed to keep paying. No wonder this is the year of Jubilee! I can hear the chains being broken off me. The age old stronghold has been totally destroyed. Praise the Lord! I receive this miracle now in Jesus' name!

Not only that I can expect more good things to come because Jesus has paid it for me. My conscience is fully satisfied because God is satisfied with Jesus' sacrifice. Besides the enemy has been caught so he had to pay back sevenfold what he had stolen from me all these years! It's really payback time! Now the blood is on his hands and he has no covering for his crimes! He is really doomed this time round. Jesus has totally defeated him!

AN EVENTFUL MONTH

It had been such an eventful February. So many things happened last month. It had been a busy month of our Chinese New Year celebrations. My hubby finally left his previous company on 9 Feb, after more than 3.5 years there. Then my eldest uncle passed away on Valentine's Day after a operation of heart bypass. There were complications which eventually led to his passing. It was totally unexpected and caused sadness and grief to our Lee family. He was only 68 years old, unlike my grandma who lived to a ripe old age of 88 years. And this happened less than one year of my grandma's death in last June.

He wasn't a believer yet so some of us in the family were praying for God to heal him and save him. However when he passed on, we chose to believe that our prayer was answered. Somehow Jesus might have met with him in his unconscious state and he accepted Christ. There wasn't any evidence to confirm it so it was a matter we had to trust God in. Maybe in future, one day God will reveal to us what happened should He will. And we declare that God's salvation plan for the entire Lee family has already been set into motion. One by one my relatives will come to know Christ.

Joshua also had a fall at a playground on 15 Feb and his bone was out of alignment. Thank God it could be corrected by the doctor's firm push on his wrist. But his hand had to be put on a cast. After a week when we went back for a check up, we were distressed to hear that the bone had gone out of alignment and the doctor advised a surgery to put wires to hold it in place. But none of us had peace regarding the surgery. So the doctor tried to push the bone back in alignment and put on a full cast for Joshua. Thank God the x-ray showed that it worked and his bone had stayed in position for the past week! The doctor said his bone was healing fast. It was truly a faith lesson for our family.

Right now my hubby is still waiting for confirmation from another company to start work. It had been three weeks since he left his old workplace. We didn't understand why the delay from the other side but we just continue to trust that God is in control and His timing is perfect. God is never late. It certainly hasn't been an easy wait but God has been faithful. God has proven to us that whenever the need arose, His financial supply would be there, just in time. Hence we thank God we are never in lack.

DONATIONS TO MY MINISTRY

Recently I managed to resolve an issue regarding withdrawal limits to my PayPal account. Previously I have linked this account to the sales payment of my ebooks. The payment was made early last year but because it was a small sum I didn't bother to make the transfer. But I was reminded to thank God for small beginnings.

Well, this year I started thinking about making the transfer over to my bank account. But as I tried doing it, I encountered problems with withdrawal limits. I had to provide more information about my credit card information, proof of address and my identity card etc. It was quite a painful process to and fro but the PayPal customer service was very good. They were very prompt in their response.

I wanted to give up many times but I thought I better settle it now than later. I felt that eventually I still got to settle it. Finally today the issue was settled! Thank God! Somehow this resolution was quite symbolic, I think. It was more than just something I got to resolve. It was in preparation for more money coming into my account. Possibly a big sponsorship or donation coming my way. Or more ebook sales.

I only transferred a small amount into my bank account but in future it could be so much more. Again I didn't know why I hadn't felt the urge to transfer this money last year. I thought the amount was too small so I didn't bother. Because I didn't try, I also didn't encounter those issues with withdrawal limits. Now I finally managed to resolve that issue. Thank God!

I never do this before but I thought maybe I should just say that if you have benefited from my ministry, be it in blog or video broadcast, I would appreciate it greatly if you could make a small donation in support of my ministry. You can do this via the PayPal channel by clicking on the 'Sponsor This Ministry' button on the right side. It is safe and convenient as payment can be made via credit card. In any case I just want to thank all of my supporters to my blog. May God bless you all richly and bring you to a higher level of your destiny!

MORE ABOUT JUBILEE

I just like to share more about what I learnt on Jubilee over the years. This is a compilation of things I have learnt from various articles and my own thoughts about Jubilee. Hope you will be blessed!

The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fiftieth year, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. Specifically mentioned in Leviticus 25:8-13, it occurs after seven sets of seven complete years are finished.

It is a time of freedom and of celebration when everyone will receive back their original property, and slaves will return home to their families. This is a year of complete celebration, so don’t plant any seed. In one sense, Jubilee is a time of harvest. Not just for what you have sown but what your forefathers have sown. Even those generational blessings with your family name on it will be released in Jubilee.

Jubilee starts on the day of atonement with the blowing of trumpets. The trumpets could produce only a few notes. They were used mainly as an instrument of signal. They were used at the time of jubilee in connection with the religious feasts to proclaim the worship and presence of God and they were used in military contexts. Both concepts are applicable here. Here they signaled both God’s presence and announced Jericho’s impending doom. This was not just a military undertaking, the trumpets declared that the Lord of heaven and earth was present to tear down the walls of Jericho.

Jubilee is the appointed time when God's people has to be set free from slavery, from bondage and be restored to their homes. It is the time when debts are supernaturally cancelled and property is returned. A time when the things which have your name on them will have to come back to you. It is the time of breakthrough, deliverance, setting free from strongholds. A time when the yoke destroyer comes to not only remove our burdens but to destroy the yoke. No wonder it's a great time of celebration! It is indeed a great victory wrought by our Lord!

I never knew that Jubilee is such a strategic time in history and the power of God's work is clearly manifested during this time. Because I have never experienced any Jubilee in my lifetime before, I didn't know the extent of the victory. In my own life, I have seen God worked miracles powerfully in my life but nothing of this magnitude. It will be like power multiplied by a thousand times. Because what I have struggled with is an age-old stronghold so all the more I felt this victory is so spectacular!

Leviticus 25 gives us the central tenets of a Year of Jubilee. First of all, it was a year for the ground to rest from production. More applicable for us, it was a year all who were indebted were forgiven their debts. The shofar/trumpet was to be blown everywhere as a sound that proclaimed a new season of liberty. At the sound of the trumpet everyone received a fresh start, so it was a time of renewed hopes and dreams. This was God's idea and gives us an amazing view of His character and heart of mercy. (The announcement of Jubilee was made on 1 Jan 2017)

One prophet believe this Jubilee will actually continue over a 7-year period because it was the 70th Jubilee since Israel entered into their Promised Land. Your Promised Land is your appointed area for maximum fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God. It isn't about you becoming rich and famous, although aspects of both of those may take place as you discover your unique role in advancing His solutions and correct reputation in the earth.

In this year of Jubilee, the Holy Spirit is bringing restoration and joy back to His people. There is a great time of rejoicing coming to those of you who have been going through difficult times. We have all been held captive to something in our lives, and the enemy is trying to enslave us and recapture us once again through sickness, financial problems, family issues and other afflictions but we are about to experience freedom in a new way..

The LORD says, "The time of weeping is coming to an end, and a time of rejoicing will begin. For those of you who have been burdened for so long, your mouths will surely be filled with laughter, and your tongues with songs of joy."

I AM about to release you from the weights and the cares that have been weighing you down. I AM releasing you from the hardships that you have encountered. You will learn how to make the adversity drive you deeper into your purpose and destiny rather than bring you into despair. Don’t allow discouraging thoughts to imprison you any longer, but allow Me to turn everything around for good. You have not been created to carry burdens but I have created you to be a carrier of My glory.

I AM rebuilding the walls that have been torn down by the enemy.  Those things that have been demolished in your life will be rebuilt and restored. I will remove the heavy burdens and break the shackles that have held you captive. The strongholds that have held you prisoner are coming off. I AM releasing the prisoners of war, and returning them home once again.  I will heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free.

As you continue to press in and stand on My word even through difficult times, you will soon encounter this time of rejoicing. I will release you from the hurtful memories from the past that brought pain and sorrow. I will set you free from the things that war against your soul that brought fear and confusion.

This is a time of refreshing to those of you who have been weary. Don’t allow anything to restrain you from this joy set before you. Don’t allow anything to hinder you from receiving all that is available to you. Allow Me to fill you with this joy and peace and bring comfort to your soul.  I will give you beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning so that you will begin to walk in victory,” says the LORD.

Another set of numbers which kept coming up was 7, 77, 777 and 70. Or 14 and 21. God has preempted me about the deliverance of His people after captivity of 70 years. So this year I can expect to be delivered from all bondages. This means that my waiting has come to an end. Which brings me to the meaning of 7 years, which is completion. 77 means double completion. 777 means manifested completion and perfection of His work. God has been telling me recently that His work in my life was completed, and I had finished my assignment for the last season. I am free to move on to my new season. In fact He has given me marching orders to move on from this mountain.

I recognized that in this Jubilee season we are in a "set time" of favor. In Psalm 102:13 God declares, "I will arise and have mercy on Zion, for the time to favor her, yes the set time has come!" We know this is a strategic time to draw on the favor of the Lord, not only for personal advancement and blessings but for the divine purposes of Heaven being worked in the Church and in our nation. Scripturally you find that whenever favor shows up, everything changes!

When God gave Israel favor in the sight of the Egyptians everything changed! They were released from bondage and given great wealth which launched them into a new season for the nation to move forward and be established. We are in such a time right now individually, corporately and in our nation.

I also recognised that the clock was running behind time, and the movement of the hand forward was a sign that God is catching us up into His timetable. Every place there has been delay, resistance, hindrance, distraction or any other work that has taken us out of God's timetable, God is now initiating the work to catch us up and put us right in the middle of His plan.

I read that Jubilee mostly had to do with land. Every fifty years, the land had to revert back to its original owners. It could never be sold permanently. The owner might need money and could temporarily give up use of their land, but every Jubilee it would revert back because it was their inheritance.

For us, land refers to our destiny and calling. This is the inheritance from the Lord for each of us. We know the devil tries to thwart, hinder, steal, and keep us out of our “inheritance.” But the good news is he cannot keep it permanently. If you feel he has stolen from you, you can and should demand back that which was stolen. I see a threefold promise from Leviticus 25:19, which states: “The land will give its fruit and you may eat until you are satisfied, and you may live securely in the land.”

Thus, we should believe that we will be the following things: fruitful and productive in our calling, satisfied and blessed financially, and protected and secure from the enemy. These things must be proclaimed or declared boldly and with faith. “So you must consecrate the fiftieth year, and you must proclaim a release in the land for all its inhabitants.” As we declare these things, the people in the sphere God has given you will likewise be affected!

Jubilee year is a year of celebration. When you come to a Jubilee year, you must have gone through enough tears and hardship to have made it here. It's like Psalms 66:12, after going through the fire and water, God is bringing me to a place of fulfillment. A Jubilee season is different from a due season. It is more powerful. Wow! This is really great news isn't it?

2017: YEAR OF THE JUBILEE

During our Vision Sunday on 1 Jan 2017, Pastor Prince declared this year to be year of the Jubilee. When he announced this year's theme to be the year of Jubilee, I was more peaceful than elated. Although I was encouraged by this year's theme, I didn't jump for joy, unlike what I did for 2016 theme. I guess I was kind of confused because I thought that Jubilee was already over. Our nation's Jubilee was celebrated in 2015. Israel's Jubilee year was in 5776, which was from Sep 2015-Oct 2016.

As we entered into the Hebrew year 5777, I was quite sure that Jubilee was over. However that didn't negate the fact that 5777 is a very powerful year, the year of the sword and triple seven signifying manifested completions. I had a sense that God is going to complete what He had started in the last season in 5777. It is also prophesied to be a year of victory because our Gregorian year is 2017. All the prophets seemed to be so excited about this new year. There is a heightened sense that something very good is in store for us this year.

I was wondering what our theme for this year could be. Year of answered prayers, year of fulfilment, year of arrival or finally, unprecedented year of abundance, an Ephesians 3:20 year etc. When I saw the video animation for this year, I couldn't see the word clearly. I thought it was the year of finished. Because the video was about dark clouds and lightning at the start. Then it cleared up at one point to show blue skies and a rainbow. It was the same scene at the cross when Jesus cried finished. The next thing was the chains on the hands being broken and the pair of hands raised up to worship the Lord. It was exactly what Pastor saw in a vision.

But it totally surprised me when Pastor declared this year to be year of Jubilee. He then talked about why the Lord declared this year to be Jubilee. In 1917, General Allenby marched into Jerusalem and declared it as Israel's land. He then urged all the Jews to come back to their homeland. Sadly they didn't, if they did, the holocaust might not have happened. Then in 1967, Israel was in a six-day war. They were attacked on the Sabbath. So they were totally caught unaware and totally outnumbered. However, God turned the situation around and they gained a glorious victory on the seventh day. This reminded us of the Jericho victory. History repeated itself as a testimony to God's sovereignty.

It seems like every 50 years, something major would happen. And 2017 is also 50 years from 1967. Hence another Jubilee year. Pastor said that when Israel was in the six-day war, it was also a Jubilee year for them. I didn't know that. Anyway it didn't matter which year was the Jubilee in precise date. All I know is God has declared 2017 to be a year of Jubilee for our church. That's all that matters. Even though I thought 2015-2016 was the Jubilee year, events in 2016 really didn't seem like a Jubile year to me. We had some mega blessings in 2015 but that still wasn't the fullness of our blessings.

It was interesting that Pastor said Jubilee can only happen when the people are in the promised land. So last year's theme about possessing our possessions was really a preparation for what is coming up this year. For if we hadn't crossed the Jordan, entered our promised land and started possessing our inheritance, then the whole idea about Jubilee would be moot. Jubilee year also means that we are finally out of the wilderness, out of Egypt. No wonder the scene about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt was impressed upon me during Christmas. Out of captivity.

I also thought about how the conquest of the promised land lasted around 7 years and at the end of it, the inheritance was divided amongst the Israelites. Then God gave Israel rest from their enemies, rest from war. I thought about how I have contended for a particular promise since 2010, for seven years. It is really about time for a ceasefire. Year of Jubilee is more powerful than the seventh year. It is also more powerful than a due season. Some people only experienced Jubilee year once in their lifetime. Jubilee happens once every fifty years.

In the year of Jubilee, the enemy has no choice but to loosen his grip on me in this area. God has put an end to all his nonsense. God has said enough is enough. He has to release me from this bondage. I am prisoner to the enemy no more. God has set me free. He has broken the chains of bondage this year. Surely I will see the manifestation of my promise. Pastor also said that if you are believing God for a baby, believe that this is the year you have your baby.

God told me in 2011 that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what the Lord has in store. Throughout the years I have seen trickles of His goodness but not the fullness of it. There are some seeds that I have sown over the years that I haven't seen the fruits. But yet God is still telling me the day will come and He does not lie. I really have good reason to believe that this is it. This is the day that God has been preparing me for years. For such a time like this.

Another thing I noticed was Jubilee seemed to be associated with blowing of the ram's horn. The sacrifice of an innocent lamb for our sins. This is exactly what Jesus did on the cross for us. And the blowing of the ram's horn is also associated with the march around Jericho. This story had close connotation to the possession of this particular promise. It is good to hear the ram's horn again.

No wonder the enemy was hitting us so hard towards the end of 2016. He knows something big is coming our way and 2017 is going to be a great year. God showed me a sign of the truck along the river when I was there last week, like telling me something big is heading towards me. The enemy is so afraid of us crossing over to 2017 because it would mark the end of his oppression over us. He had to release his grip over us. God orders and even the devil obeys.

Pastor also mentioned that Jubilee is also a time of reset. Interesting the word reset has been jumping up at me. We are in the midst of a divine reset that will catch us up from the attacks that have caused delays and caused us to lag behind. This won't just be a chance to go back to square one and give it another go, but much more. It will involve erasing past failures, frustrations, and fears; and removing former discouragements, disappointments, distraction and delays. It will also include the grace to break patterns that have limited or sabotaged in the past.

It will come with fresh vision to see situations, opportunities and even ourselves with renewed expectation. This "reset" will be unto a "personal Genesis" – any place in our lives where there has been chaos, darkness or a void, His Spirit will hover and His light will break forth unto a "new day". No wonder some messages talked about 2017 to be the year of catching up. It's God's way of moving forward the clock hand so that the time which we have fallen behind could be reset. So let us rejoice and celebrate for the ram's horn has been sounded! The year of Jubilee has started!