Oceans of Grace

Saturday was really eventful (Cage, Ninjump, Resistance etc), with great fun, fellowship, worship and even discipleship. My parents were going to the Sunday service today and I said that I was coming too as there will be a visitor who is still in NS but can only go for the Sunday service. However the visitor managed to come for the Saturday service with us. His name is Zheng Zhang and even though he is going through OCS now, he really has this desire to fellowship with us and know God more, even when he often has field trainings on weekend. Really excited to know him more and run this race together :)

Even though it was eventful, it was tiring as well and it was already midnight when I'm home. Initially, I wanted to not go for the Sunday service, so that I could get more rest at home. However, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go to fellowship together with my parents, and to fellowship with the Hope community there. Even though the sermon maybe the same, and the P&W a diff tempo, my worship to God is.. Not about me, but about God. I believed that even if I'm tired, if I go anyway, I'll find rest in God, and he'll minister to me personally as well.

As we went to the service together as a family, God really ministered to us. The first song was Good To Me by Bethel, and it really is true that God is Good To Me (personally), because the praise songs were not of a slow tempo as I experienced previously and I could praise God just as I was. We also sang God Of My Forever, the song was ministering, especially the lyrics "I stand here by your grace, on this altar I've written my life, tells of a story I have with you my Lord, I want the world to know". My mother was really ministered during the worship as well, as she was crying when the worship ended. Pastor Michael shared about Building A Church That Last, which was a different sermon from Saturday, and I thank God that I can receive from a different sharing. Michael also talked about finishing well and passing on well, and also mentioned Discipleship as Tim mentioned on Saturday. He talked about passing down our experiences and spiritual heritage that God gave us to others.

All these encouraged and spoke to me as I've been meditating on God's amazing grace in my life over the past week. I also shared about my conversion story and how He changed me on the previous post "By God's Grace, I Am Who I Am" on Thursday. So the lyrics on standing by His grace, telling of the story He wrote and wanting the world to know resonated with me. As well as what Michael shared on passing down our experiences and spiritual heritage. Michael also shared that the only way to finish the race well is to be strengthened by God's grace. Pastor Claudia was chairing and the prayers and words she shared were simple, but they were ministering as they were sincere and stemmed from a love for God. At the beginning of the service, she shared about how it is by God's grace that we are who we are, and that also resonated with me. I even happened to be wearing the shirt that says "But by God's Grace, I Am Who I Am" today.

During the worship, God gave me a picture of His amazing grace. He showed me a reservoir, the reservoir represents each of us. The reservoir was one that was drying up, one that was stagnant, polluted and even eroded. However, when Jesus died for us, His blood was poured out for us and washed over us. And even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was sorrowed to the point that He dropped sweats of blood. (A link of His blood being like the water of life that is also found in Him) The blood that He poured out is like the ocean, it is inexhaustible, it is all-sufficient, it covers the whole world and it is His grace for us. And also, just as how the ocean is a body that contains life, it is like the Holy Spirit which gives us life and power. Where the current of Spirit flows we do not know, but we can flow with it. So, even when we were dried up, stagnant, polluted and eroded.. God opened the doors of Heaven and let Love come down, his rain pours over us and the each drop of water brings about restoration, a filling, a cleansing of the reservoir again. And as if that wasn't enough, it overflows to form a stream, making us become rivers that pour our His grace and power through the Holy Spirit.

After service, my family did not have any of the contacts of the people in the Business or Artist LG (I have it but it was on my other phone). So we did not know if we could still find them to join them for lunch fellowship together. We went to Sultan Kitchen and we were about to eat there as a family when we found out that there were tables reserved there for the Business and Artist LG. So we joined them to eat and have a time of fellowship together. We got to know Max, who is from London, but came to Singapore to consult and give advices to the LTA. His daughter happened to be studying as a year 1 Music student in Goldsmith College, which is where my brother is studying at right now. Pastor Claudia and Pastor Jeff also came to talked with us and we had a really joyous time of fellowship at the table. I also thank God that both my parents felt really blessed to be in Hope and will continue to come. I also believe that God will draw my mum and dad closer to each other, to love and support each other more through this Hope Family. Thank you for the grace that you're continually pouring into our lives Jesus, your inexhaustible, all-sufficient, all-covering, ever-flowing and life-filled Oceans of Grace :)