Last Saturday, I am glad to attend Tommy Tenney's God Chasers Seminar. God has used Pastor Tommy to speak to us. I thank God for attending the talk. I learn quite a few things throught the three session of the seminar and also the sunday service when he was invited to be the special guest. Hee I must say that the whole session on saturday and the preaching he shared on sunday seemed to be too short for me..I think he really make us thirsty for the Lord. God's presence was so strong on saturday.
First Session:The first session he taught us to be thristy for jesus. I like the way he use real life situation as a example to preach and share God's words. He said that he wants to be like the waiter who introduce a specific dish and make the customer hunger for that dish. He want us to be like the customer thirsty and hungry for God. In fact, I agree with him that being a christian we are too easy satisfy when comes to asking and encountering God. Rather than saying "oh God touch me and comfort me on sunday service which i think is enough.." we should say "oh God thanks for touching and comforting me on service but i believe i am still thirsty of your words and truth, Lord i am not going to stop asking more of you the next service even right now hee.."..
"Taste and see that the Lord is good"..how much God can give depend on how much you thrist for him. And pastor even correct our attitude towards memorizing of verse. He said that the purpose of memorizing the words is to be useful to reach God's destiny and direction just as he give example of his wife asking direction from a passenger and memorizing it for the sake of reaching the specific place she wants to go. Are you memorizing verse for the correct motive and purpose ?Next pastor even let us ponder how we have been too busy with singing and praising,saying " God, I do miss you, God you are mighty and lovely" but not knowing that God is just beside you saying "hello dear, Yes I am here" ..
Have we miss the encounter with God when he is just in the midst of us ?
The next interesting point pastor tommy share in 2 king 4:3 when the widow is call to collect
EMPTY container. verse 3-"Then he said, "Go and
borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors.
Do not get just a few." why collect empty container? I do ask this question when i read this verse ..the answer is found in the next verses - After she had shut the door behind her and her sons,
they kept bringing her [containers], and she kept pouring. v6 When they were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container."But he replied, "There aren't any more." Then the oil stopped.v7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest." The empty container are filled with oil and plenty supply of oil. In life, God wants to bless us just as how he bless the widow in 2 king 4. However
God cannot bring blessing upon us when our life are too FULL with things- burden, career, money, relationship, worries..God can only bring drops of blessing to the full container. Only empty container he can pour blessing and many more but blessing is determine by the no of empty container you give. Just like the widow the oil stopped when there aren't any more container. How many container will you give to God ? how it is to be empty? to be empty is when you feel that you can really do nothing about anything, anything is no longer what you can do and nothing you can trust anymore and you shout "Jesus, Jesus.." Emptiness is when you do not let anything except Jesus to fill what you lack of in ur life(career,relationship).Another words:
Stop filling your emptines with other things..Are you willing to be empty for God's blessing ?
One remark statement pastor tommy said that really make me ponder:
"Don't let Jesus being so close to you yet pass-by you. "
I remember this stories pastor tommy share where there is a blind man who hear Jesus coming to the street performing healing and he actually shout in the street , calling "jesus, jesus"..while his friends thinking why is he doing so? The blind man actually wants to catch Jesus's attention and since he cannot see where he is, he can only shout his name hoping Jesus can hear and come to him. Are you like the blind man being so desperate for Jesus? Don't let Jesus being so close to you yet pass by you...
Sec and third Session:
The first session was so power and thank God for his awesome presence..For the sec and third session. Pastor tommy share the glory of God and he define church being a box for God..and teaches us to understand the word "glory" so that we will not use it improperly. There were some role play during this session..interesting how he teaches using role play that actually caught our attention =]. The third session pastor tommy teach us book of john 11:5 where we learnt in life we have to be half "mary and martha" ..we know in the bible..mary has a heart for God where she can spend times to pray to God while martha has the heart for people where she choose to serve the in needs. We cannot be just mary where we pray to God , spending time reading his words but not doing it..
How can we love God who we can't see when we can't even love our brothers/sisters whom we can see?? However, we cannot be just martha serving and giving but not receiving the food( God's words) ..We have to be half martha and mary ..how ?
when Jesus is in the house(church etc),be like mary- worship, praise and read his words..when we are out there(in the workplace etc) be like martha-serve the needs, reflect christ-like to the people. ..
what an interesting seminar with pastor tommy..I thank God for that.
Service on Sunday- One night with the king..
Book of Esther 2:15 -17 ..Esther won
favor from everyone..Esther won
favor from the king..Pastor tommy shares that in life, we cannot please everyone in fact and we are not going to have everyone to like us.in fact we don't need everyone to like us. If the king(God) like us, t doesn't matter who else don't like us. And he highlighted
"Never underestimate the potential of one encounter" and there were other remarkable statement which i found in Pastor's tommy website and I would like to share the 12 protocol of palace here:
Just like Esther, her one encounter with the king change her destiny and her life.
Why Esther and not the other ladies ? What made Esther so special that she gain favor from the king ? From Book of Esther we see in verse 12: Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. She prepare herself for the king. Unlike the other ladies who will tells the kings what they like (verse 13Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house. ),
Esther only get what the king delight (v15 she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed.)
So you want to gain favor from the king..rather than telling the king what you like or dislike, shouldn't we listen to what the king like or dislike so as to gain his favor? One point pastor tommy share what the king delight:
Garment of Praise/worship. Praise/worship him not only when we feel like..not only when you are blessed something good in life..Let praises/worship be a good habit..praise/worship be on the lips even when trials come ..praises/worship not based on emotion or feeling...Because
Praise/Worship can control your destiny.
It was a great teaching from pastor tommy..how God has blessed him..due to time constraint, we only get to hear part of the story ( i think the book is title" finding favor with the king"..I am going get one copies). But i thank God cos this sunday service the atmosphere was a little bit different..God's presence was powerful..everyone was worshipping freely and in spirit..Wow..hope everyday the same worship spirit is that..I really enjoy the sunday service last week..thank God mandy was there to join us for the service too..
hope to see her next week with li wee as yun not working so all of us will be attending service together =]..
Interesting story shared by my friend. So share this at my blog..hee
Science and God'Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.' The atheist
professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his
new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely.'
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'
'Yes.'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a
moment.
'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you
can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if
you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He
doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even
though he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can
you answer that one?'
The student remains silent.
'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of
water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
'Let's start again, young fella Is God good?'
'Er...yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student : 'From...God...'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there
evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything,
correct?'
'Yes.'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created
everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to
the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues:
'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible
things, do they exist in this world?'
The student: 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his
question. 'Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the
lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is
mesmerized.
'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in
Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice is confident: 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you
use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen
Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not.'
'Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or
smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus
Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes.'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable
protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that,
son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem
science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a
question of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'
'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.'
'And is there such a thing as cold?'
'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.
The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.
'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat,
mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we
don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below
zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is
no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the
lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when
it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have
or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.
You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of
heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units
because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the
absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom,
sounding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as
darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night
if it isn't darkness?'
'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have
Nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to
define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able
to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him.
This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is
flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time.
'Flawed? Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student
explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good
God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something
finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a
thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much
less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life
is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive
thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.'
'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they
evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young
man, yes, of course I do'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he
realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work
and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you
not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a
preacher?'
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the
Commotion has subsided.
'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other
student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'
The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class
who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into
laughter.
'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,
felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of
empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no
brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain,
how can we trust your lectures, sir?'
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the
student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I
guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists
with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as
evil?'
Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We
see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.
It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.
These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at
least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.
It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe
the absence of God.
God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when
man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold
that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there
is no light.'
The professor sat down.