BenjaminGen Devotional (September 11)

Robin Gunawan

Introduction

Everyone here faces challenges of some sorts every day. Some challenges we can conquer easier than others, but there are also some which we struggle with. I believe that what God wants us to know is this:

In areas where we are not able to do much, His superabounding grace will give us strength to conquer.

I am not sure if this is true for some or all of us, but God actually uses us the most in the very area of our weaknesses!

Joseph Prince - A Stutterer Turned into An international
Conference Speaker

Joseph Prince is a pastor used by God mainly to preach the Gospel of Grace.. There has been many occasions where Pastor Prince shared on his high school experience as a stutterer. He said that he was so bad at public speaking, that he “couldn’t begin to stutter!”He shared on how one of his high school teachers would always call him out in class to answer questions, and his face would turn red at those occasions because of the embarrassment of not being able to speak well in front of his classmates.

Now, he is a highly-sought after international conference speaker, where he preaches the Gospel in front of tens of thou- sands of people.If you’ve watched a video or listened to an audio message of his, you wouldn’t be able to tell that this man was once a stutterer!

One day, another teacher from his high school school days came to his church one day and left a note for him at the end of the service. The message say, “this is God.” All glory to God!

Jesus Heals A Man of Infirmity

In the book of John, there is a story of a man who was bound with infirmity for 38 years. Back in
those days, there was a pool called Bethseda and whoever steps into the pool first whenever the angels stirred the waters, he/she would be healed of any disease. This man was not healed even though he wants to simply because no one was willing to help him, and he was most likely unable to do it himself. After 38 long years of trying to immerse in the pool, Jesus came along, and healed him instantly! The Man of Grace came to Bethseda (Hebrew: House of Grace) and healed the man of infirmity. God’s open hand of grace can help us achieve in an instant what takes ages to achieve in the natural!

Conclusion

No matter how tough or seemingly impossible our situation is, God’s grace will supernaturally turn that circumstance around to our favor, if we are willing to lay that problem down at His feet and let His grace work amazing wonders in our lives!

BenjaminGen Devotional (August 28)

Robin Gunawan

Introduction

I believe everyone of us here face troubles and discouraging situations at some point in time. There are times when we feel like giving up because of the obstacles ahead; however, I believe that every single time we are tempted to do that, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us always prompts us not to. And I believe that the message He has for us today is this:

No matter what difficulty we are in, our victory lies in being able to look beyond the natural and calling the things that don’t exist, as though they did!

If you look up the above verse, you will notice that the person who calls those things that don’t exist as though they did, is not any normal human being, but he is our Father! [Romans 4:17b] If our earthly dads only want the best for us, how much more our heavenly Father! [Matthew 7:11] And because he loves us so much, He wants us to reign in life by learning His methods of doing things!

Peter - From Wavering Reed to Solid Rock

In the Greek language, “Simon” means a “reed”, and “Peter” means a “rock”. Whenever Jesus met Simon, He always calls him “Peter”. In other words, He always calls the wavering reed, a rock!

Although Peter had his name changed by Jesus, he didn’t have his act altogether in an instant. For a long time, he continued acting like a reed that wavers the way the wind blows.

When Peter saw Jesus walking in the water, he said,”Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” However, as he walked on the water, he noticed the boister- ous wind, got scared and when he started sinking, cried out, “Lord, save me!” [Matthew 14: 28-30] On another occasion, he told Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death”. However, a few hours later, he denied knowing Jesus not only once, but three times!

Notice how even through all of Peter’s failures, Jesus never called him “Simon”? Jesus kept on proclaiming him as a “rock”, and His faith paid off finally, when Peter got 3,000 people saved on the Day of Pentecost through his preaching! Peter became the pillar (rock) of the early church, just as Jesus had prophesied.[Matthew 16:18]

Conclusion

Friends, calling those things that already exist as though they exist has no power because...they exist! We have a big God and He wants us to look beyond our cur- rent situations and see our victory right now! Granted, not all situations will turn around instantaneously but let us learn to be like Jesus, whose prophesy of Peter came true because He called those things that don’t exist, as though they did!

We the citizens of God's vineyard.. pledge ourselves as the new wine :)

Hello everyone..

I think God brought me to this blog today after my extremely long period of dormancy from our fa blog. Why, you may ask? The first thing I read was the post right below mine (Kenji's post). Then I thought "Hmm.. stepping out of our comfort zone.. oh-kay.. that's something really relevant for me this summer."

As most of you have already known, I went to Korea for an education abroad program from June-August. Well, it was frightening at first because I'm not familiar with the language and I've always been around the comfort of my Indonesian friends. So, the thought of having to start a new chapter with non-Indonesian friends in a foreign country was a scare. However, I can tell you right now that my experience in Korea was amaaaaaazing :) God never leaves us alone. Never. There's a verse that says "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" and I can tell you from my experience, that His word is more alive than anyone could ever imagine. Hehe. He gave me an indonesian friend to begin with, Ko Tedy, who took me to this Indonesian church in Seoul. I was definitely the youngest there because everyone was either working or married already. But God gave me the things I needed to bond well with them :) So, when you're willing to step out of your comfort zone, that doesn't mean letting God's hands go. In fact, He will all the more hold our hands and enable us to do things we never thought we could. Remember, He is our Provider. Amen.

And plus, God rewarded me with an opportunity to be the worship leader during one of the Sunday services. Although I am lacking in much, He still uses me. Now, this reminds me about something else God taught me over the summer. After I completed my summer classes in Seoul and flew back to Jakarta, there was one Saturday when I went to a GBI Youth Service called "Friends." To be honest, I was a little conscious about coming "friendless" to that place. However, a friend urged me to accompany her there. So I did. And God spoke relevantly (and, powerfully) to me that night. He gave me a new perspective about the miracle that Jesus did in John 2:1-13.

Right before he turned the water into wine, he specifically asked the servants of the party to bring him empty vessels that served the purpose of washing the guests' feet (as the custom of the Jews at that time). Then he ordered for those dirty vessels to be filled with tap water and then he turned that water into wine, which tasted better than the wine before. Friends, God could have used perfectly beautiful & clean vessels to be filled with water, but He chose the dirty vessels that were used to wash feet instead. This message really strengthens me. Often times, I feel that people underestimate me in life... however now I know how much I mean to God. As long as one is willing to give his/her life to Jesus, He will fill our lives with His water and do his miracles, so that we are transformed 180 degree into new wine, which tasted waaaaay better than the wine that was served in the party earlier on. So folks, no matter what you're lacking in, as long as you give your life to God, He will be responsible till the end to transform you from just dirty water to new wine. Amen!

Blessed

Hi Teman2,

It's been slightly over a month since I last spent time with you all. I still often think of everyone and honestly, I miss all of you in LA! Jakarta is awesome; there are many things to do and many topics to learn. After all, a new environment requires a whole new set of knowledge and survival techniques. During the past 1 month, God really blesses my life with new friends and understandings. He guides my every action and gives me new revelation every day. Thus, in this post, I hope to share an experience.

We often hear pastor ranting about getting out of your comfort zone. Often, Roy and Veli reminded us of the necessity to get out of your usual routine and win more souls for Jesus. With God's grace, we've witnessed some miraculous transformation. Most of us grew from an inactive church member, to a radical revolutioners and transformers. We did things we have never done before; we create new team philosophy every time we organize an event; we improved our skills and multiplied our talent. Doing new things, daring to climb up the next step towards His standard is indeed getting out of our comfort zone.

None of us were comfortable when we had to approach strangers and preach the gospel to them but it is that discomfort that developed our strength, our resilience. When I arrived to Jakarta, I had many options. I could stay at home and play computer games; I could go to my dad's office and read newspapers or I could go out, make friends and do something that enrich myself. Choosing the latter will definitely make me uncomfortable. After all I know almost no one from Indonesia and I have no friends at all. But I prayed for strength and favor. I prayed to God that I will have favor everywhere I go.

I was brought to a 'FA' session where I have to face 40 strangers (Yes... 40). There, the FA leader was pushing his friends to get out of their comfort zone at all times. He instructed us not to seek comfort, for God will send comforter (Holy Spirit) to comfort you. Instead, we should seek out of comfort and ask God to process our lives! That FA leader's message sounded almost cruel to me but at the same time, it was a huge blessing to me. I now know He wanted me to get out of my comfort zone. It was very difficult at first because I was new to everything. But when I see something that is difficult, God reminded me of the things I've done in LA. If I can go to Venice Blvd and pray with strangers, there is absolutely no reason for me to be scared of just chatting with strangers! True, there were several awkward moments during the process but I believe the discomfort will prepare me for bigger things tomorrow or next week.

Soon, I was getting quite comfortable with my situation. However, God did not want me to stop. He wants to show me what His favor can do in my life. Two weeks ago, I began my fasting session for Bring it On event. During the same time, I had to assist my parents in settling some administrative matters in Singapore. Naturally, I know I will have to listen to many uncomfortable comments regarding fasting. Being a non-believer, my parents scoffed at my decision to fast for the church. Really, it was a moment of total discomfort. But I've shown them that when I fast for my God, I work three times as effectively. I completed the tasks that required three days in just one single day. They were impressed with my performance and soon dropped their comments regarding fasting. That, my friend- is God's favor!

Just recently, I attended a session where Pst Tommy Tenney preached about Esther. Tommy T informed us that, presently, the Muslims and other anti-jewish people often visits Esther's grave (in middle east) and give their respect to Esther! Esther was a Jews and she was supposedly hated among the Muslim population. But when God favor is with you, even your enemies respect you! We shouldn't worry about being uncomfortable because GOD knows you are uncomfortable. He knows it and inspects your faith in Him. He favors Esther because of her faith. Likewise, He only favors people with faith!

My friends, I believe everyone is at the point where things start to get comfortable again. I hope when you read this message, you will be reminded of Veli's preaching sessions. Pray to God that He will process your life and equip you with everything you need. Then get out and prepare the field for his rain! Ask for favor, remove that comfortable blanket from your body and wait for God to show His mighty power. When things get too difficult, remember, you are the one that went out and preached the gospel to strangers.