The Game of Life - Part 2, Listen To Your Manager

Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and manager Arsène Wenger

Every football club is different. They have different styles of play. Some play 'direct play', some play 'counterattacking play' and etc. Managers are the factor for this. The quality of a team is often determined by the quality of the manager. We often see that when players start to forget their role as players and start to think that they are in control of the team, they not only slump in their personal performance on the pitch but they cause their entire team to lose matches. On the other hand, we also see that when players respect their managers, they begin to learn and mature fast as a footballer and as a person. They start to perpetuate in their improvement of their skills and technique. Not only that but they start to understand the vision of their manager as well and start to play beautifully as a team. When all the players of the team start to obey and listen to their manager, the manager begins to enjoy his time as a manager, the players enjoy playing together and the fans enjoy their time watching and cheering their team on.

Let us learn from this on honour and respect, submission and teachability. Often we forget that our leaders are doing everything in their ability for our well being. When we start to think of ourselves more highly then we ought to (not that we're not suppose to think of ourselves highly just that not more highly then we ought to la), our efforts in "training" (good works) are wasted and the whole team (cell group/church) becomes handicap because of our patheticness. Our perpetual success is then hindered just because of the 'I think I'm very smart' attitude.

We can learn from countless stories in the Bible about honour, respect, submission and being teachable. The story of Elijah (big shot manager) and Elisha (big shot manager's butler) is a classic example. For 11 years Elisha was doing nothing related to performing miracles or anything of the sort which we know that he did later on in the story. He got the double portion of anointing from Elijah not because he had already 11 years of experience in the ministry or he was praying consistently for 11 years but it was because he was simply submissive, teachable and gave respect and honour to his manager (Elijah). Am I saying then we should not pray? Certainly not!

Whatever Elijah told him to do he did it. Can you imagine what would've been the things Elijah told him to do? "Hey stack the chairs" or "Make sure the toilets are clean when I get back from raising the dead". Notice that he wasn't even a football player (a prophet in training). He was the manager's butler. Nothing to do directly with football. He probably didn't even know he was gonna be the successor of Elijah. Honour, respect, submission, being teachable plus passion was what eventually made Elisha a footballing legend.

So, LISTEN TO YOUR MANAGER...... LA!

'WORDS OF FAITH'

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give account. Let them do this with joy and not grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17 NASB)

The Game of Life - Part 1, Teammates

picture of Manchester United vs Malaysia by Bong Yang

Football, a communicative language that doesn't require you speak. The most popular and competitive sport in the world. The game which makes us, sometimes, dream and think we can play just like the guys on TV. For some reason I think God loves football too. I think He created football to show and teach us the meaning and purpose of our lives and to show us how much He loves us. There are so many values and lifestyle principles that we can learn from this sport. From every angle you would to look at football, there is always something you can learn from it, be it the fans, the managers, the clubs, the football superstars or legends, the list goes on, you are sure to find a valuable lesson. Wondering how I came up with this conclusion? Here goes...... (I'll be using some football terms along the way)

When financially not so rich clubs (like Arsenal) are unable to buy ready made good players (superstars), they stick as a team and work with what they have to be better and win. Despite their differences, they look beyond each others weaknesses and look at the positives of each other, seeing what they can benefit the team with. Accepting the fact that they are not as good as the other clubs, they work and train even harder than the others, hoping that their efforts will pay off at the end and be good enough to win the championship.

What does this tell us? Shows us that despite our differences, we should look beyond what people can't do and start to find out what people can do. I read something a friend posted up recently, it goes something like this, "Instead of changing the place, why not I just start to change my heart". Sometimes when we're struggling at a certain place and it seems like we're not 'winning enough games', the easier (cowardly) thing to do is to escape the problems by "transferring to another club". Come on, let us learn from the poor football clubs. Let us stick together, press on, push forward and finish this long season together. No matter how hard or tough its gonna get, we're all still, teammates.

To be continued......
Stay tuned for more on 'The Game of Life'.

'WORDS OF FAITH'

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)

'WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT'

God does not reward us base on our hard work and results but base on our obedience and faithfulness.

Daniel Wong, Ministry Assistant of WHC

No Purple Dinosaur

Some people think that Christians "imagine" their God up and the Bible is just some man created book that supposedly contains some sort of ancient holy writings. Sometimes you just can't help but wonder what is going on in these peoples minds. I'd really like to find out.

Just last year I was on a 3 day camp and we were to camp in the jungle on the first day. But I only knew that after we camped in the jungle on the first day. What an experience it was. Bathing in the river, brushing teeth with river water, having only 1 pair of extra clothes and half an hour of sleep in the night. In such a situation, you can't help but to just look around and know that there must be a Creator, a Designer for such beautiful things.

God ain't no purple dinosaur but if He really was my imaginary friend, He must be one hack of an imaginary friend since He can heal the sick and raise the dead. So keep on being confident in the one whom you have believed in. He is so God, that He can't help but to be God and love you.

'WORDS OF FAITH'

God said to Moses "I am who I am". (Exodus 3:14 NIV)

'FUN FACT'

God is so secure in His sovereignty that He doesn't mind appearing not sovereign.

Kris Vallotton, author of best-selling 'The Supernatural Ways of Royalty'

Smells Like Fried Chicken

Last week, I was seriously ill and having symptoms of the all popular and dangerous H1N1 that have been circulating round in the newspapers. I was worried and scared somewhat yet still not really giving much thought to it. It was a really suffering time but as always when I'm not well physically I see things that don't usually catch my attention.

A few days into my illness, I went to the doctor and got some medicines. After taking them for the next few days, I really got weak and tired due to the after effects of the antibiotics. I didn't feel like talking or praying or reading the Bible or worshiping. But there was a period of time after taking a dosage of medicine, I felt alright and I went to read the Bible. After that day, I started getting better and I wasn't worried or fearful anymore. There was peace and I just felt joyful, for awhile.

Often when we talk to God, we're always just asking for something we want or need but we forget we're dealing with a Person and often treat Him like a furniture or a vending machine. We've got to begin to cultivate His presence and be aware that He is near. When we do that, all the goodness of His nature or His "aura" will just rub on to us whether be it healing that we need or finance or joy or peace or faith. Just like having fried chicken in our house. When there is fried chicken there, obviously you'll be able to smell fried chicken right? You don't have to tell yourself "I must smell it, I must smell it", you'll just be smelling it. But when you don't even have fried chicken at home, how in the world are you going to be able to smell fried chicken? Imagine the smell ah? So you can't get the promises of Jesus or the Holy Spirit's attributes if you don't have Him. When you begin to just be aware that Jesus is near and here, the very thing that you need or want will be there too. If you're having a presentation in college and you need courage, just worship Him and just be in His presence, faith will be present with you can we know that faith carries the element of courage. If you need love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control (or all of the above), just call Him and when He arrives in your house, you'll just be getting all of these. You don't even have to ask for them! If your dumb and do idiotic things that you regret later on and you really want wisdom, read His Word, the Bible, and you'll get smarter.

As you're reading this, you can be anywhere, at work, at school, at home. Jesus is there right now with you. Smells like fried chicken doesn't it?

'WORDS OF FAITH'

The distance around the city shall be 18,000 [4 x 4,500] measures; and the name of that city from that day and ever after shall be, THE LORD IS THERE [Jehovah Shammah]. (Ezekiel 48:35 Amplified Bible)

'FUN FACT'

God desires intimacy, He desires intimacy, He wants intimacy. He's 'into me you see'.

Russell Evans, founder of Planetshakers

The Christian F Word

Faith, the Christian F word. Recently I've been searching for the meaning of this word 'faith', and through some sources these are some definitions I've found.

faith [feyth]

-noun

1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability
2. belief that is not base on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact
3. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty
4. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He is the only one who proved his faith in recent troubles
8. Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved

All of the above are somewhat correct translations of the word faith, but which one actually is the real deal? Or in other words, which one is the faith that was described and used by Jesus or Paul in the Bible? Or is it none of the above?

The answer is ....................
Faith has many dimensions. In the Bible we find out that faith is a substance of things hope for the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Also in Ephesians 2:8, we understand that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.

I've learned some dimensions of faith as well through teachings and preachings and also revelation from God Himself. Here are some cool explanations.

1. Persistence isn't faith, neither is patience faith and neither boldness and courage faith, but faith has the elements of persistence, patience and boldness and courage.
2. Faith isn't a feeling but when you have faith, it feels good.
3. When we look at grace (a.k.a Jesus) in any time, whether good or bad times, Grace looks back at us and says that is faith.
4. Mustard seed of faith also can move mountains.

Awesome isn't it? When we start to understand the meanings of what God's actually talking about, we have a new perspective of things (read 'All Eyes On You' post for more insight).

Here is a joke to highlight this post.

A man was drowning in the sea. He shouted and screamed with all of his heart and might, "God save me!!". A few minutes later, a boat passed by. Men threw life rescue tubes and shouted,
"Grab on, grab onto the tube!". The man answered, "It's ok. Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The boat left. After some hours another boat passed by and men threw life rescue tubes to him and shouted, "Grab on, we're here to save you!". The man answered, "Don't worry about me. I've prayed to God and He's gonna save me. My faith is in Him!". The man died in the end and went to heaven. He then asked God furiously, "Why didn't You save me? Didn't You hear me?". God answered and said, "I SENT YOU 2 GIANT BOATS YOU BIG DUMMIE!".

Sometimes we want God to show up in the way we want things to happen and finally miss the very thing we actually prayed for. 'It's my life, I'll do what I want' attitude or 'I don't care what people think about me, I'll do it my way' attitude will only lead us to the destruction of ourselves. Sometimes people think that faith is being stubborn, and the truth is that stubbornness is not at all a dimension of faith.

Get in focus people, look at grace (the gift of God, Jesus) and grace looks back at us and says that that is faith and He is pleased in the end because you have just used faith and faith pleases God.

'WORDS OF FAITH'

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!". (Matthew 8:10 NLT)

'REVELATION'

We look at grace and grace looks back at us and says "That is faith".

Joseph Prince, author of best-selling 'Destined to Reign'

Part Of Something Big!

As we walk this journey called life, we eventually figure that money and fame isn't all to life. We then get into a group or be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Some find a person to be with, some start their own enterprise, some become fans of a football team and the list goes on. Whether poor or rich, young or old, people will have the desire to be a part of something big and significant.

Just last Saturday, I was at a football at our home stadium, Bukit Jalil. A match between the past 3 season English Premier League champions and my home team Malaysia. As we journeyed to the 90,000 seater stadium, me and my friends were all psyched and ready to cheer. We entered the stadium and as the 2 teams began to walk out of the players tunnel, the crowds cheer was enough to cause an earthquake. I soon realise that I was part of the minority supporting our Malaysian team due to the popularity of Manchester United. In my mind I sort of knew we were gonna lose, but I really was positive that night and I knew WE COULD DO IT!

Around 10 minutes and Manchester United scored the first goal. A few years back when they came, we lost 6-0 and flashbacks of our humiliating defeat spoke to me that it was gonna happen again tonight. A few minutes later it was 2-0. I took a deep breath and kept on cheering on for my home team. It was nearing half-time and the 44th minute of the game, my dream since I was a kid came true. A dream to cheer at a goal my home team would score. It was a beautiful goal and the score was now 2-1 as half-time drew in. Second half and just as it got on the way, a fumble by the Manchester keeper gave us a 2-2 scoreline. There was such a cheer in the crowd that it gave the Malaysian team some hope that we could actually win this! As the match drew to a close it was around the 80th minute that Manchester finally sealed the win. The match ended at a close, 3-2 final score.

At the end of everything, things that matter seem to not matter anymore. Like who scored the goals but focus was on how hard the team tried and played. Seeing them just try was good enough for me as a supporter and it really showed me that we can do it if we tried.

Friends, we've got to start to understand that we are already actually part of the biggest thing in the world. We got to know that our life was meant for a purpose and a mission. Just like a watch proves that there is a watch maker and a watch was designed to show us time, the existence of us human beings proves that there is a maker and we must have a purposed for living. This mission is so big and victorious in nature that even the championship cup has already been won by our Lord, Jesus Christ. All we gotta do now is show off that championship cup, our salvation, His grace. So lets do that.

'WORDS OF FAITH'

For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21 NKJV)

'WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT'

Let us continue to bring in the reality of the authentic gospel. God bless and bye bye.

Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church, Redding

Isn't It Strange

I recently read an e-mail that really was catchy and also with lots of truth in it that we could use to evaluate ourselves. Here is how it goes..........

Isn't it strange

how a 20 ringgit bill seems like such a large amount when you give it to church,
but such a small amount when you go shopping?

Isn't it strange

how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church,
and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?

Isn't it strange
that you can't find a word to say when you're praying but..
you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

Isn't it strange
how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible but
how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel or Stephenie Meyer book?

Isn't it strange
how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or football games but
they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?

Isn't it strange
how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks
before the day so we can include it in our agenda,
but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?

Isn't it strange
how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others
but how easy it is to learn, believe and repeat gossip?

Isn't it strange
how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say but...
we question the words in the Bible?

If you are a person as described like the above statements, you seriously have a problem. Ask God to reveal Himself to you, which most often than not, He will answer your prayers. Your breakthrough and new beginning starts today. May God bless you with all the riches of heaven and may we continue to impact this world with the reality of the authentic gospel.

'WORDS OF FAITH'
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14 NKJV)

'WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT'

I'm not condemning you, just making you feel a little ashamed.
Kris Vallotton