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It's been a 8 days now, since My brother Andrew, beth and Zech left for Malaysia and Indonesia for 6 weeks. And being at home is not the same as before. Now, it's very quiet and empty. Therefore, most of the time if i was at home, i'll do my work, preparing sermon, or clean the house. I really miss zech, although i was so happy that i can see the updates of their trip in Malaysia through zech's blog (Thank you beth!)
However, I'm so excited about next week, i'm going to be a delegate of Hillsong Conference, one of the "must do" of the year for me. I found that through this conference, I got refreshed, inspired and motivated. This year there will be about 16 people in our group. and that's Awesome. I;m looking forward for an amazing week. Till then..

Praying with Endurance

Endurance

Patience is essential to an effective prayer life. You need to be willing to endure.

Hebrews 6:11-15 says,
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Do you realize that once God gave Abraham and Sarah the promise of having a child, it was 25 years before Isaac was born? There was some patient enduring that took place before they obtained the reality of God’s promise in their lives. And so it must be with us.

Perhaps you have been praying for things in your life, and you are getting discouraged. You must remember that God does not always work things on our timetable. He works according to His. I just want to encourage you today: Be patient. Patience is that long-lasting quality of your faith.

A number of years ago I heard one person say that faith is like your hand and patience is like your arm. When you exercise faith, it is like holding up your hand against the problem, and as you do, things are being worked out. But if you take your patience down, your faith comes down with it.

Patience is the thing that keeps your faith applied until the answer comes.

Patience is a critical key to effective prayer. Whatever you are praying for, patiently endure.

Exciting News from Indonesia

Taken From www.philbaker.net


From my friends in Indonesia comes this moving report of God's grace at work:

At Christmas 1998 waves of persecution broke out against the Christians. Many of our friends and even some of our staff were killed. Our former church and home were burned to the ground. Over 14,000 homes, shops and houses of worship were destroyed. Christian leaders were assassinated, Christian school girls were brutally beheaded and the community has had to live under a reign of terror until some strange events began to take place in a a tiny and remote village called Meko (pronounced Mecco) on the shores of Lake Poso, in the district of Poso, Central Sulawesi.

On the 6th January 2007 an 8 year old girl received a visitation of the Lord and began to pray for the sick, beginning with her own mother. By mid February, crowds began to flock to Meko from all corners of Sulawesi. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians…thousands seeking healing and bringing their sick. Standing there among the sick, the weak, the lame, the blind, the aged, the dying, one can only feel like Jesus who looked upon the multitudes and was moved with compassion. The crowds who gather to Meko are desperate. They desperately need love and compassion.

Every day they sing and praise the Lord for hours. They sing songs like, Jesus never changes, Into my heart, All over the world God's Spirit is moving, Oh Jerusalem how beautiful thou art… They sing them over and over…for hours. While they are singing, people are suddenly healed. The blind see, the lame walk…

Every day people are being healed but the biggest gathering is on Thursday night when the people pray and sing all night long, and at midnight they have special prayer for the sick. Up to 20,000 people have been coming, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians. The message proclaimed by this 8 y.o girl and her mother is always the same. Live a holy, righteous life (Ephesians 5:1-21), pray the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6-10), receive healing through Jesus (John 5).

Teams of our workers from the National Prayer Network, the Christian Mens' Network and our Foundation Bless Indonesia Today have been ministering from tent to tent, praying for the sick, sharing Christ and seeing miracles take place. Annette went with a team and was excited to see what is happening. When Annette arrived she was told of miracles that had taken place that afternoon. At 3pm a lame Buddhist man from Makassar, South Sulawesi, was healed. About 4.30pm in one of the tents a lame Muslim man, a haji (one who had made the pilgramage to Mecca ) suddenly left his wheel chair, stood up and began to leap. He jumped up on to a table. He asked to lead the singing in the tent meeting singing a very common song used in Charismatic healing services: "God is all powerful to do all things. He is omnipotent. He created the worlds. My God is all powerful".

We also heard that a lady from South Sulawesi, lame from birth with deformed legs after 32 years stood up and began to walk and leap; a 28 year old man blind from birth was healed; a 17 year old retarded boy is now now back helping his father in a chemist shop in Palu. There are piles of abandoned wheelchairs to give witness to the many healed. One dying man, a relative of one of Jeff's friends, was brought in an ambulance for 18 hours from Manado and was immediately healed.

The message of holiness is strongly preached and people are fearful to smoke, drink alcohol or steal. Some ministers have been told to go home and repent and others are reportedly fearful of going there in case their sins are exposed. One pastor was told by this 8 y.o girl, "you wear the clothes of a pastor but you don't have the heart of a pastor!"

All those who come to Meko will return knowing four things: They will know that Jesus heals and has power; they will know they must repent and live righteously; they will know the words of some basic Christian songs; and they will know the basic prayer that Jesus taught.

There are odd things happening. There are criticisms and oppositions from various quarters. Was it not the same in the ministry of Jesus? It is not happening in a church building; there are no committees, finances, advertising, big name preachers, hotels or any modern convenience. The roads are rough, muddy, winding; the people stay in tents on muddy ground; the toilets stink, but something amazing is happening. Reconciliations, healings, people getting saved, lives transformed and the gospel is being preached.

Thank you to all those who have been praying for Poso! God is beginning to turn things around. People are gathering once again to Poso, no longer to kill and burn and destroy, but to receive the healing, saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Church is a family

Pastor D in Sydney

Last weekend was a pretty special weekend at New Life Church, not just because we have special sermons series at the indo Church (in the month of June we're having a series from the First Epistle of John), and in Gospel Generation (Sermon series of HEROES); but we had Pastor Daniel Indradjaja from THE ROCK church (perth) visit our church. What made it more special, he did not come alone, he came with his beautiful wife Ci Hulda and adorable son JAYDEN. He's ROCK!!

Pastor Daniel and fam's arrival was welcomed by a series thunderstorms in the East Coast, the rain was pouring that weekend in Sydney and central Coast, the freezing wind also was a bonus. However, despite of the unfriendly weather, we had a great time having the Indradjaja's in Sydney. Ps David sure did know how to use this opportunity to get the most from Ps Daniel while he was in Sydney. hahah Ps D and Family were only in sydney from Thursday to Monday, but Pastor D was up preaching from Friday night right through sunday (whole day on sunday, preaching at all 3 congregations). We were tremendously blessed by pastor Daniel's ministry through out the weekend. On Friday night, he shared in Kingsford church combined cell groups, he shared about Romans 8. On Saturday night, He preached in Gospel Generation, continuing the series of Heroes. and on sunday, He preached in our all 3 congregations (kingsford, Hills and Croydon). And left for perth the next morning. Jangan kapok ya Pastor D. You're trully a blessing.

Here's some pics of Pastor D and his family in Sydney

Jayden's busy reading his book while his parents were having lunch


"Daddy, I want a pet lion, please ..." rrroooaaarrrr


Ps Joseph, Ps Daniel, Ci Hulda, & Ps David


"Daddy, we should come back to sydney real soon"

Praying From the Heart

Indo people are famous with their 'basa basi' (empty conversation), and i must admit that i'm guilty of that at times. However, when i ponder about that, that reminds me with our prayers to God. Many times we treat God like we treat him like we treat vending machine. We think that if we put some coins, and the drink what we want will come out. Prayer is not about basa basi, nor it's about saying a mantra to get something that we want from God.

In Romans 10:9-10 it says,

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Prayer must come from the heart. These verses in particular teach us that if a person is going to pray a prayer of salvation, the heart and the mouth must get together. It is not good enough to just have the words. Your heart and mouth must be in agreement.
I believe this truth applies to every kind of prayer. It is not good enough to just use eloquent, nice or spiritual words. There has to be heart behind them if we are going to realize results from our prayers. I think only those things that burn brightly within our hearts truly touch the heart of God.

Let's not "berbasa-basi" with God..

HEROES at GOSPEL GENERATION

Do you enjoy watching the TV Series HEROES on chanel 7? If you're a HEROES fan and you live in Sydney I would like to invite you to come to church on every saturday, 5PM at Croydon Church Hall, Cnr Malvern ave & Murray st, Croydon, NSW
In the month of June, I'll be sharing a 4 weeks Sermon Series based on the TV Series HEROES.

On the 9th June, We're having a special guest Speaker, Our great friend Ps. Daniel Indradjaja from THE ROCK (Perth) will be speaking the second message of HEROES.

I'm sure you're going to be blessed by this series. Come and join us. I promise you, that we will make you feel like home.

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, Sydney

These pictures i took using my Canon EOS 400D, using Canon EF 28-135 IS USM
Mrs. Macquarie chair is one of my favorite spot for photography in Sydney. You can see 3 things at once, the beautiful city high rise buildings with the famous AMP tower, you can see the opera house and the harbour bridge in the angle that is so perfect for taking photos. This is the spot that i always take all my friends and relatives who come from other state or overseas, it's a must.

Mrs. Macquarie's chair (according to wikipedia) is is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. The peninsula itself is named Mrs Macquarie's Point. It is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens, at the end of Mrs Macquarie's Road.

Mrs Macquarie was the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. Folklore has it that she used to sit on the rock and watch for ships from England sailing into the harbour.

The peninsula sits between the Garden Island peninsula to the east and Bennelong Point (where the Sydney Opera House resides) to the west. The chair itself faces north-east towards Fort Denison and the Pacific Ocean. The area around it on Mrs Macquarie's Point is a popular lookout position for the view to the north-west of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Leadership Quotes by John Maxwell

A leader's homework is to be the person who creates the atmoshpere, rather than being the influenced by the surrounding atmosphere

Managers have the skill to make profit, but Leaders have the skill to see the Future.

Cara menugukur kualitas pekerjaan Anda secara Jujur, adalah dengan bertanya terus pada diri anda sendiri, "Apa jadinya perusahaan ini jika setiap orang di dalamnya seperti saya?"

Karakter adalah kemampuan untuk melaksanakan sebuah keputusan setelah emosi yang menyertai pembuatan keputusan itu berlalu.

Integrity is the most respected and the most precious quality of Leadership. Always do what you said. Always have good intentions towards people.

Tuntaskan sasaran-sasaran kecil dalam hidupmu, maka tanpa terasa anda akan sedang berada di jalan utama tujuan hidupmu sambil mengembangkan potensi anda

Be Specific

Mark 10:46-52

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with
His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son
of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son
of David, have mercy on me!” Then many warned him to be
quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy
on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer.
Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose
and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, “What
do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him,
“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him,
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

The question Jesus asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?”, seemed obvious, didn’t it? Everybody present knew Bartimaeus needed his eyes to be healed. Why would Jesus ask this question?

He wanted us to understand how important it is to be specific when we ask something of God. Bartimaeus’ faith had to become specific before it made him well. It was after he said, “Lord, that I might receive my sight,” that Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.”

Being specific in what you request of God is the first key to effective prayer.

Matthew 6:7-8 SAYS

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

When i first read this verse when i was a young kid, i told my self, i don't have to ask God for everything, since he already knew what i want, what i need. And i thought, most of our prayer is all about asking isn't it? So if God already knew what I need even before i pray, and most of my prayer content is all about asking (me me mine, my.. me me me). Why should we bother pray? Perhaps some of you readers have had this kind of train of thought in your mind once. =P But i was wondering, maybe Jesus had something else in his mind when he says those words (Mat 6:7-8). Maybe what he meant was far from what i thought, what about if Jesus was trying to say that prayer is much more than just asking? Way different to what we think what prayer is.

We don't come to our earthly parent or maybe friend, and fill most of our conversation with request, petition and complaints, do we? We do want to enjoy relationship with them, we have laughter, we have some jokes, we share stories, etc. Prayer is more than just a list of requests, however, God is pleased when you're raise petitions and ask him to supply your needs, to intervene in your life, because that means you involve Him and declaring that He's the source of what you ask.
Be specific when you ask God, and pray with faith that He knows what's best for you.

Leadership Tips: Dealing With Difficult People

When asked what he considered the most valuable skill in employees, John D. Rockefeller once replied, "The ability to get along with people!"

One of the most important skills needed to succeed in ministry and also life in general, is knowing how to handle troublemakers. If you learn how to deal with difficult people early on, then you'll be able to pour more energy into ministry rather than needless conflicts.

Troublemakers come in all shapes:

* THE SHERMAN TANK - will run over you if you let him.
* THE MEGAPHONE - will talk your ear off.
* THE BUBBLE BUSTER - deflates everyone's enthusiasm.
* THE VOLCANO - has a temper like Mt. St. Helens.
* THE CRY BABY - is a chronic complainer.
* THE NIT PICKER - is the unpleasable perfectionist.
* THE SPACE CADET - is on a different wavelength.

Leadership Development Skills

Looking for the leadership skills needed to succeed in ministry? Check out these leadership messages first delivered by Rick Warren to the leadership at Saddleback Church. Learn about spiritual warfare, earning the right to lead, time management and more.
What should you do with these types?

Jesus had to deal with a lot of difficult people. Here are FOUR methods he modeled through his life:

1. Realize you can't please everybody (John 5:30). Even God can't do that! One wants rain while the other demands sunshine.

2. Refuse to play their game (Matt. 22:18). Learn to say no to unrealistic expectations. Confront them by "telling the truth in love."

3. Never retaliate (Matt. 5:38-39). It only lowers you to their level.

4. Pray for them (Matt. 5:44). It will help both of you. Let God handle them.

Make this Bible verse your goal this week, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Rom. 12:18 NIV)

One thing that many times frustrate us is actually caused by our own pride. Many times, we want to "save our face" as Pastor John Ollis mentioned many times to me. A lot of people, especially those who have Asian background, do really care about what people would think about them. Therefore, they would be over anxious whether they would please everyone they meet or not. I always tempted to please everyone, and when someone doesn't respond well (at least according what I want), I would be uncomfortable. But i learned that i can't please everyone, therefore i stopped living that way. I want to care about what God would think about me, and what he really want me to do, and be consistent about it. In our lives and especially our ministry we will always encounter one of the types of difficult people describes by Ps Rick Warren. What's important is not how much trouble they make, or how uncomfortable your lives become, but how we respond to them that's what matters.

So guys, do you have someone in mind, let's start to apply those principles, and learn to love them and pray for them. We should never stop learning.