I’ve been grumbling a lot lately. If anyone would to catch me unawares during the course of my day, you would most probably find me walking around in the middle of the day muttering to myself and complaining to God… Why?? Because many things in the past month have truly not been going my way... From work to relationships, family, ministry… and even stupid traffic lights!!! Turning red only when I am approaching and especially when I am rushing for time (for those who know me, you know how this absolutely drives me crazy!!).

For the past month I have been complaining and questioning God on the way things have been turning out and the reason for certain things that have surfaced. In fact during this season, different books and a good friend commented that she believed that God was teaching me patience, one which I have gladly ignored in my busyness. Then on Wednesday, this week God stopped me mid-rant, and put me in my place. I was reading Isaiah 55, and versus 8 – 11 jumped out at me.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

I almost heard a pin drop after that… then suddenly God said “Candy, is this clear enough?”... Even though these versus may have been “over preached” or “over quoted”, it still almost always stops me in my tracks. God will sometimes allow us to go through things we may never understand, nor ever fully accept, but yet it is not what happens that is important but rather our response to it that is crucial. Because our response is our responsibility and can be what he is trying to mould in us.

Like rain and snow, which may not be always the most comfortable situations, it can under Godly submission bring about much fruit and growth. Growth not always occurs under the most comfortable situations.

What are the lessons that God is trying to teach you today? How would you choose to respond? In grumbling or submission and reliance in Him? How loud would you like him to speak before you listen? How loud must he knock before we open our hearts to what he may be trying to say?

As for me, Lord, my eyes are open and I will listen!! I hope each of you will do the same.

- Sis Candy

10:50 AM
(SALVATION)


Remember the Facebook's application that enables you to compare your friends based on various areas?

Well, I was in for a surprise, when I saw what my friends think of me, a few days back. Your truly here, was being voted as the most powerful person!

My first reaction was like, "Yah right!? How could that be?"

Always had the mindset that 'powerful" is a term reserved for someone great and high up there, etc... You know what I meant... But I was reminded of one FUEL lesson, whereby we learnt about leadership. Leadership is simply about influencing others. (Not just because of our position, but is how we live out our lives.)

So, out of curiosity, I actually checked out the definition of "powerful".

Powerful means "having great power, authority, or influence."


It really made me think hard about how I live my life and how have I influenced others. Being involved in Exit, this question of how I live my life has been upon my heart as the truth of eternity, the urgency of time, and how purposefully I have live my life continuously highlight itself in my mind...

"What if tomorrow never comes? What if I only have 24hrs left on earth? What if...”

Would I live life the same? Would I make my exit full of regrets? Or would I rejoice and be confident that God will welcome me into His kingdom with open arms?

I don't know how many of us actually thought of these questions before, but one thing I know is that many or even all of us are more powerful than what we think we are! We are all influencing people with or without ourselves knowing. It is a scary yet exciting thought to know that our actions impact the people around us! We are all leaders in our own rights!

Have you influence someone purposefully today?
Have you embraced the truth that you are a leader in wherever you are?
Have you lived a life worthy of the heavenly rewards?

For it is said in 1 Timothy 6: 12
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Our actions influence others and how we live in eternity! The time is NOW for us to arise and make an impact in our friends' lives! Live Purposefully!

- Sis Varina

12:18 AM
(SALVATION)


Press On


Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

A few months ago, I was facing with challenges and discouragements. I got so overwhelmed by my circumstances which I felt like giving up and saying ‘This is too hard, God.’

Through a running session, God gave me encouragement to press on.

To confess, I haven’t been running for the longest time! We began jogging slowly to Serene’s Macs and we continued until the other side of Botanic gardens, halfway through I was already panting and exhausted.

Then I stopped, walked and run. I felt a little discouraged and frustrated because my stamina isn’t as good as the rest of them. Friends stopped to encourage me to run and not stop; they ran together with me, cheering me on.

Towards the end point, one of them said, ‘Let’s have a race (about 100m) and the last one to reach the end point to be called tortoise!’ So, I went ‘No! God help me please!’ Then God spoke: ‘Press on my child’ so I ran slowly with wobbly steps while the rest dashed.

Even our wobbly uncertain steps please him; he will never give up on us and never be disdainful of our imperfect attempts to obey him. He sees our heart which we want to please him and he cares so much more about our hearts than our perfect performance.

When we feel discouraged, frustrated or tired, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus where we will find just what we need to press on.

Many times, the challenge that we are facing threatens us and we think about the challenges but actually we forgot to pray about them.

If you are discouraged, tired and overwhelmed. This day, I pray that you will find comfort in realizing that God knows all about your feelings and all about your circumstances. As you fix your eyes on God rather than your problems or imperfect performance, he will give you strength to press on and not to turn back.

The bible says in Psalm 37:24 – Though he stumbles, he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

- Sis Esther

11:08 PM
(SALVATION)


Title: X-Rated, Keep away!
Below you will find a brief summary of last week’s sermon:

When we hear the term X-Rated, most of us would link that with pornography, R21 movies, or maybe sexual sins.

Today’s topic is broader than that: ‘X-Rated’ refers to the activities, behavior, thinking or lifestyle that is deemed as ‘wrong/ sinful’ when measured by the standard of God.

When we talk about the X-rated, we must consider the works and the tactics of the enemy because the truth is that the enemy is actively at work in this world ensuring that both believers and non-believers are occupied and indulging in sin, resulting in destruction and death.

1 Pe 5:8
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Many times we stay oblivious to the works of the devil and the demonic spirits. But the truth is that not only they exist among us, they are actively at work.

Enemy’s tactic 1: Deception – lies
Jn 8:44
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Enemy’s tactic 2: Temptation
Mt 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Enemy’s tactic 3: Accusation
Re 12:10
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

The devil’s ultimate goal for employing these tactics is to keep us in sin; because the devil knows the devastating effect sins have on us!

10 truths about sin
1. Sin enslaves/traps us
2. Sin usually leading to more sins
3. Sin leads to worse sin
4. Sin steals our time
5. Sin steals joy – Guilt and shame
6. Sin steals our confidence
7. Sin will never truly satisfy us
8. Sin hurts the people around us
9. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and affects our sensitivity toward His voice
10 Sin affects our relationship with God

Galatians 5:19 briefly list for us that which is ‘X-Rated’ to God:

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

• Sexual sins – Lust, internet pornography etc…
• Sin of Idolatry – things that you place above God
• Witchcraft – You may not be directly worshipping evil powers, but indirectly through satanic card games or computer games, satanic music, ghost story books or movies
• Drunkenness – All form of addictions)

As you read this blog entry, stay open to the voice of the Holy Spirit – don’t numb your heart, some of us here are trapped in sin, and we need to deal with it.

IGNYTE Ministry, God is calling us for our response today.

I. Our 1st Response:
Repent, Renounce & Reject

Today God is calling some of us to repent, confess your sins, and renounce your involvement with the X-rated. And some of you are trapped in the lies of the enemy, and you need to reject that which has been spoken over you.

1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

There is great power in repentance and confession because when we come to God in repentance, the devil no longer can bring accusations into our lives.
God’s desire is never to bring condemnation, but to bring conviction so that we may be restored when we confess our sins.

Conviction says:
You have sinned, come back to me!

Condemnation says:
You are guilty, get away from me!

God is calling us to return to Him in repentance, for He loves us and does not desire for us to be destroyed by sin.

Eze 18:22-23
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
Ps 51:17
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.


Besides repenting of our sins, we need to learn to be Ruthless with sin.

II. Our 2ndResponse:
Be Ruthless with the enemy and sin!
➢ Be Ruthless with the enemy!
Jesus was tempted by the devil, but what did he do?
Matt chapter 4:
• “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone.”
• “It is written, do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
• “It is written, worship your God and serve Him only.”

Jesus used the Word of God to rebuke the lies and temptations from the enemy.

We can stand up against the enemy using the Word of God!

Some examples of powerful verses:
John 1:12 – I am a child of God!
1 Cor 3:16 – I am the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit
Rom 8:1 - there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
1 Cor 2:16 – I have been given the mind of Christ. He gives me wisdom to make the right choices

When we begin to know all these verses well, we can use it against the enemy – if they sow lies in our mind or bring temptation in our paths, we can declare the Word of God.
For example, when tempted, you can declare: I have been given the mind of Christ, I choose to do what is right, away from me satan!

➢ Be Ruthless with sin!
Mark 9:43 - 47
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life (may-im) maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell

What Jesus is saying in the passage is not for us to literally cut the different parts of body away, but explain to us that we need to be ruthless with sin.

So how can we be ruthless with sin?

• Go the extra mile to to ensure that we will not be caught in a place of sin

Example: Someone addicted to Internet pornography chooses to move his computer out from his room into the living room so that there will always be someone watching him. He was so determined that he decides confessed to his about his struggle – He wants to be ruthless with sin.

• Be accountable to people around you about your sin and allow them to pray for you and with you.

• Choose to give up or destroy possessions that cause us to sin.

Let’s make a commitment to be ruthless with sin, as a Ministry we will bring together all the items that are X-rated and burn them up together.
Last weekend we came before God in repentance and made a new commitment to be ruthless with sin, living a life of purity.

This coming week we will gather together all the trash bags, and make a new commitment – as well as the 2nd Part of this X-Rated series – be prepared for a powerful message from Pastor Gary!

Next week, we will burn all the items up with fire – the entire process will be record and screened during service.

God desires to free you from the accusations of the enemy and restore you today – repent and make a new commitment to be ruthless with sin.

If you are reading this blog and you know you need to come to God in repentance, just begin to pray and ask God for forgiveness for the X-rated things you have been involved with. After which you should renounce the activities. If it is the lies of the enemy that is causing to be trapped, reject the lies of the enemy, find verses in the Bible that build up your faith.

Make a commitment to be Ruthless with sin!
Come and join us in the next service along with all your trash bags of items which are causing you to sin!


-Brother Andy

6:05 PM
(SALVATION)


Procrastination

When asked to write on the topic of procrastination by IGNYTE’s Web Media Team, I felt that it’s a timely reminder (more of a wake up call really) badly needed. As you can see from the opening sentence, I’m not claiming to be someone who does not procrastinate, but in actual fact, someone who is in the process of overcoming the bad habit of procrastination. Through my sharing, I hope that the people who read this entry would become, or at the very least be in the process of becoming good stewards of the time given to them.

If you do not have the habit of planning out your schedules, start doing so. If you have the habit of planning out your schedules but not sticking to it, start to. If you used to have the habit of planning your schedule but have stopped doing so, get back on track. Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be flexible when the situation calls for it (e.g. putting aside everything to take care of our loved ones when they are sick), I’m just trying to help us keep track of know our time are being used up.

It is my belief that procrastination is one of the most powerful obstructions in denying our effectiveness in the things we do because of how subtle it appears to be. Subconsciously, you’re telling yourself that you’ll do it, eventually, one way or another. In actual fact, we’re leaving things we need to do undone and allowing ourselves to be subjected to the stress of not completing the things we need to do. When we leave things close to the eleventh hour, we may inevitably sacrifice the quality of our work and shortchange ourselves and the people around us by accepting work that could have been better. Some people may say that they work well under pressure. Well, the fact is that when we’re working under pressure, we may be subjected to being short tempered and it’s often the people who are closest to us that suffer from our own lack of discipline.

When was the last time you heard a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12) from within you to do something for someone? Do you know that some of the things we choose to do or not do may have ripple effects and undesirable consequences in our lives or the lives of others? It could be a simple prompting asking you to care and connect with a particular person in class or camp who is ostracized by the rest of the people, or a warning not to go to a particular place as it will lead you to sin and trouble.

For all you know, the person who is ostracized in your class or camp may be thinking of killing himself. But because you cared, you managed to bring him to Christ and saved his soul from eternal damnation. Am I sounding too extreme? I guess not, because I just heard of how one of my guys in AF successfully prevented someone he doesn’t really know from taking his own life 3 days ago. The key to his success? He obeyed the still small voice from within and acted out in faith.

As Christians, we are God’s children and we have the ability to hear His voice (John 10:27) but we are also given the free will to act upon hearing or disregarding it totally. To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22), it’s easy to understand but challenging to carry out. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m Brother Kelvin. I’m God’s child and I’m still faced with the challenge of obeying Him all the time, but I believe that I’ll be living an exciting life if I choose not to procrastinate and act upon hearing His still small voice. Would you choose to do the same?

- Bro Kelvin

2:01 AM
(SALVATION)