The Rise and Fall of a Nation

I recently finished reading about the judges and the kings of Israel. One thing has become very clear to me as I look back. Everything in the nation depended on the leadership!

As soon as the elders who served under Joshua died, the Israelites sinned and turned from the Lord. But then, in His mercy, the Lord provided a judge and the people served Him. Yet, as soon as he died, the people reverted to sin.

Then came the kings. The people served the Lord under David's and much of Solomon's lives. But Solomon sinned and the kingdom was divided. The northern kingdom of Israel had one wicked king after another. The southern kingdom of Judah had a better record, but what was evident in both was that the condition of the nation reflected the condition of the king. If the king served the Lord, the people did too.

As youth of Malaysia, I believe this means two things for us. First, we must pray for our leaders. The rise and fall of our nation literally does rest with them. A corrupt government means a corrupt nation. Imagine what would happen if our politicians were unselfish and full of integrity!

Secondly, WE are the leaders of today and tomorrow! I know it's incredibly cliche to say it, but there will come a day when our parents and leaders will be gone. New generations will look to us. Our decisions will determine our nation's government, education, health care, media, and just about everything else.

We are leaders! The rise and fall of our nation rests with us! Let us remember this.

All-consuming fire

Yesterday morning, while praying for thePlan and MYPG4, God brought me to Joshua 11. He revealed certain things about the whole movement that I feel compelled to share them with you. I shall post the main parts of the chapter that got me, so it'll be easier for to read.

Joshua 11:1-9
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

The story of victory is cool enough, but I thought I'd study further. These are certain names of kings and places (I didn't have time to look up all).

Jabin - intelligence
Jobab - howler
Hazor - collective village
Dor - dwelling/age/generation
Merom - height

If we're going to look at things the way the world does, we're going to doubt our radical ideas of transformation. Wisdom of this world, of this age, will be sitting on her high horse howling at us.

"It can't be done... Where are you going to get the resources? The people?... Ah the church nowadays not interested... You wanna be thrown out the window?... You all young young why think so serious? Go study get a job earn money can de what... Malaysia no more hope. Migrate only lah!... Kena tangkap go ISA then only you know... How to change people's mind? Impossible... Got tuition... What for? They don't deserve any compassion... The world's going to end anyway.... You gila kah?"

Opposition came from all sides. They numbered like the sand on the shore. But God said, "Be not afraid." He's saying the same thing now. He's going to deliver us. But that's not the end. When Joshua and the people fought against the armies, they chased them to three places.

Zidon - catching fish
Misrephoth-maim - burnings of water
Mizpeh - watchtower

Actually when I first read burnings of water, I thought of all the boiling water visions. But then my mom pointed out the story of Elijah vs. 400 Baal priests, and how the fire from heaven licked up the water. So I'm telling ya, it'll be an all-consuming fire we've never seen before. Amazing yeah?



So thePlan and MYPG4 is in a week's time. I realize that the time leading up to it is going to intensify. The enemy's going to use all possible ways to hinder and rob God's glory. But God tells us, "Be not afraid. I will deliver you." Let us keep pressing on the upward way, before, during and especially after the conference. Let us cling to His faithfulness and promise, that "tomorrow this time (when tomorrow is I don't know but it's soon!)" the cities will be set alight by a heavenly fire, as His children keep watch over the cities, and call all men unto Him.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam -- for the greater glory of God.
Charmain

Melaka-laka!

City walls

August Report:

Marcus called Cathy and me the night before and shared about what happened at Kulim's LYPG. I can say we were both very encouraged after that and excited for LYPG.

Cathy led us in this session. She asked us to read Psalm 43 and pray whatever was impressed upon our heart from it. Her words, "I felt God give me this verse the morning itself... it couldn't have been more perfect for this time." We spent about 50-60 minutes praying. This is what we got in our order of sharing.

Charmain: Word for Malacca and LYPGs all over.
- Ezekiel 4:2 -- We are laying siege around the cities, preparing for battle.
- Joshua 8:24 -- This is when we take over the city. And when we do, we need to break down all strongholds.
- Joshua 8:8 -- We're gonna set the city on fire yeah!
And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

Timothy
- Encouraged by Psalm 43, especially verse 1 in praying for an ungodly nation
- and verse 3, that what was done in darkness will be revealed in His light and truth.
Psalm 43:1 -- Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

Cathy
- Hebrews 5:1-11 - We are high priests. I felt that we're not living on par with God, and how he wants us to live.
Hebrews 5:1 - For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

Lara
- got the phrase 'Children of God' and 1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
- God loves us. He's our Father. He sees us as heirs. Those who have not seen him do not know Him. We know Him, we have seen Him.

Summary: Revival and change will come. But we as children of God ought to reflect our Father's heart, and as high priests ought to set and live up to God's standards as examples.

We separated the prayer points for thePlan into 7 cards (and there were 7 people!) and took turns to pray. Overall we kept praying for calling and change of heart for the participants.

Those who were there, if there's anything else I forgot to put in, please let me know.

All praise to God for another good prayer gathering. A major prayer need is our planning and preparations for MYPG 4.
Oh and yes, our video report is coming out soon too! =D

Cathy and Charmain

Growth..

Hi guys,

Just wanted to affirm what Liz said. My dad spoke in our LYPG yesterday on spiritual growth. In 1 Cor 2 (the last few verses) till chapter 3:3, Paul talks about 4 kinds of people.

- Natural

- Spiritual

- Carnal

- Infants

Since we are already brought out of darkness into light, we are no more of the natural, but the supernatural - Spiritual. However, there is the possibility of "down-grading" to the carnal.

I'm a new driver. Ever so often, i change gears too quickly (assuming from 3 to 4) and i meet with an obstacle up front, and i slowly down and the car starts to "shiver". So naturally, i will down-shift to a lower gear. Sometimes, after shifting to a lower gear, the car continues on smoothly. Sometimes, it starts jerking back and forth, and before you know it, you "si hui / sei fo" (mati enjin) in the middle of the road. Now all the world is honking at your behind, and in your panic, u forget to enter neutral, and you start the car, causing it to jerk front and back and stall again. Now because of that experience, a new driver usually gets spooked, and tends to take some time before getting confident at travelling at high gears. I remember riding my motor in gear 3 for 6 months before i really mustered the courage to go to gear 4. It was just one gear away, yet it scared the daylight out of me.

I want to share something close to heart. Kulim LYPG started out, with no structure. It went on that way for a few months, and it began to become tiring. We tried and tried, but humans have no means to coax God to fall unless by a broken and contrite heart. Maybe, we were proud of getting our "license" while others were not even going for their "undang-undang test". U get my drift?

So, i as a leader, went on without consulting others, nor God. and the result?

Failure.

After that, i sort of retreated into a shell. At a time, i wanted to leave MYPG. Wanted to put it all behind. My failure had shown how weak i was. I was defeated. As a team, we were going nowhere.

Come MYPG3, new strength was given. I know it sounds like im looking for a booster, but i do believe MYPG3 strengthened me and FWP2 gave me a new mindset. For the past 3 months after MYPG3, I see God's hand moving. We were getting closer as a team. We were experiencing visions and dreams and than, we got comfortable.

We had moved from natural to infants, but were drifting back into carnals. And as infants, we could not take solid food, but as carnals, i don't think milk would have helped either.

So as a team, we decided to form a structure, with 2 adult supervisors, supervising what we were and are going to do. With that, the flow of LYPG in Kulim has been much better. No more beating round the bush when we pray, no more 2 word prayers.

Now, we are far from perfect. As i look at the picture above, i rmb the times as a kid, i would mark a tiny wee bit higher than my real height. Just to give me some encouragement and just to sort of "show" that i have grown. So in our growth, please maintain a humble spirit (i speak to myself too) and know that we plan, but God orders. That's a story for another time.

We must remember that we are all subject to Spiritual Numbness like Liz said. Try squatting for 5 minutes. You know the feeling. But if you continue to leave your body part in that position, the feeling doesnt get better. It gets worst. So there is no "comfort zone" actually. Because, it's either you feel the pain gradually increase, or you change position and deal with the pain as much as you can. Either way, THERE WILL BE PAIN! Change is not easy.

So, let us not CONFROM to the world, instead be TRANSFORMED in the renewal of our minds(and actions, and words).

=)

MarcusDS

From the South

(As seen on Facebook)

JB LYPG August report:

The 1st vision: Driving a car using the 1st gear. I sure you would know that the toughest part of getting the car to move is coz the car might "die" if you release the clutch too soon. So likewise, getting something moving is always the toughest part. When it actually starts moving, it gets easier (in this case, I am referring to the JB LYPG). But the thing is, when it starts to move, we forget that we are still in 1st gear and if we stay in the 1st gear for too long, it strains the car.

What I got from it is that the JB LYPG is like the car, it's moving, but so far, it's still in the 1st gear. And unless effort is made to change it into the 2nd gear(and so on), the LYPG will continue to move like this. Of course, there are risks to consider while changing into 2nd gear coz it might juz "die" as well (once again, the changing gear analogy) But this change is necessary if we wanna see change and build momentum in our prayer as an LYPG. It will get easier at each level of change, but we must make sure we are not trying to jump from 1st gear to 4th gear (or something like that). So yeah, that was the 1st vision and what I got from it.

The 2nd impression is more personal, meaning more for individuals and not so much for a whole group. Numbness. What causes physical numbness? Well, most of the time it is because we've been remaining in a fixed position for too long a time. Likewise, I felt God telling us that some of us are spiritually numb. Even though we know we are suppose to move at certain times (take certain actions regarding some things), we refuse to because of disobedience, stubbornness or perhaps pride (once again, it has to do with change or rather not wanting change).

And because of that, we have become spiritually numb, and no longer sensitive to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us. We might think it's alright to feel numb forever and it's more convenient as well. But that would just prevent us from coming closer to God and knowing His heart. The song we sang that day, "Break my heart for what breaks Yours (Hosanna)" cannot truly be our prayer unless we deal with this numbness. And how we can do it is just by "moving again". Of course, it would take effort. When recovering from physical numbness, we tend to experience the "pins and needles". In other words, it would be "uncomfortable" but nevertheless, necessary if we desire to "feel" again.

So I suppose the two things I received have a sort of similar theme -- CHANGE! And it has been shown in 2 aspects: Individually and as a group (LYPG).

Blessings,
Liz

Alor Setar Update

Alor Setar LYPG:

1. Be still before God- for the leaders/organisers
2. Pray for the chinese churches. it seems like there is a barrier between the english n chinese churches because of the language
3. committee must have sparks so that when the people come, a fire will start
4. don't forget the lost sheep. when the leaders come for plan09, don't forget the fellow people in your churchThought I better stop procrastinating and send this email or it'll be another week before I tell you anything. Haha. Anyway, I received 1 vision and 1 impression from the Lord during our LYPG on Saturday. It was at the beginning when we were worshipping and praying.

Hazel

via Eunice

From Habakkuk

hey there! well to start,i received something on sunday n i felt led to share it(sorry it took so long=P) i was doing my quiet time with my guide on tat day,i was starting with a new book,Habakkuk.i've never really read this book so i din know what to expect but i knew God was going to amaze me with it somehow,as He always does.if u've read Habakkuk,it talks about Habakkuk's complaints to God and God's answers to them.the part i read tat day was chp1:1-11 where Habakkuk complains about Judah's injustice n then God answers saying He would send the Babylonians to punish them.after reading i started to pray n ask God what He was trying to say through the passage.i felt Him telling me that He is going to do something for our nation,just like in Habakkuk.we wouldn't be crushed by another country like Judah but the change we will go through would be just as hard and painful.this was a confirmation from last month,when i received tat we would go through change but only on sunday did God tell me a little bit more about it.later tat sunday i was praying with my mom,my sis n james about something totally different.we were praying in tongues n suddenly james started to interpret bits n pieces of my tongues.i was praying things like bravery,enable us,we will not perish.i felt it was connected to what i received about Malaysia.later on tuesday i continued to read Habakkuk and i got a confirmation for my tongues in one part of a verse where it says"we will not perish".i also received something new which is from chp2 where God says"the righteous will live by their faith" and i felt it meant tat the righteous will survive because of their faith in God.then i felt God saying,"share with prayer".i haven't exactly grasped the whole meaning of it,all i know is tat it has to come together.well,now tat i've shared,i'd like all of u to also share this after reading it n of course continue praying for Malaysia:
1)pray for this change tat God will prepare us for it
2)pray tat God will be merciful tat our change won't be full of pain n hardships;tat if it does have
to be painful n hard tat it can be overcome with love.
God bless always!

Phoebe=)