Glory to God in the highest!

As a servant of God, we should not be a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal but we should show the love that comes from our Father so that our presence will be a sweet aroma into HIS sight. Through God’s grace, we are able to minister other people in sharing, giving, caring and other kinds of ministry with HIS agape love.

Our topic for this week is about restoring the altar. In the old testament, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Noah, Gideon and David built an altar to the Lord for sacrificing burnt offerings so that the Lord will smell the pleasing aroma. 

The question is how to restore this kind of altar unto the Lord? Remember, we are a living sacrifice where HE wants us to be holy and pleasing into HIS eyes. Our hearts should be pure so that this will be an altar of worship and praise before HIM. We should have an intimate relationship with HIM through daily prayer and reading the word of God. 

Let us pray that we can restore the altar of worship and praise through an intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

In HIS service,

Sister Liza

Shalom,

Last month of February, we learned how to practice love. Love towards God and our neighbors (Matt 22:37-40). It is a great commandment that we should practice. It is not an option to choose but it is a must for us as Christian. It seems that to love God is much easier for most Christians to do rather than to love their neighbors but by not loving our neighbors, we don’t love God either in other word (1John 4:20).

Therefore, loving God and our neighbors is one packet that cannot be separated. It says in 1John 4:20 that all the law and the Prophets hang on these TWO COMMANDMENTS, not only one commandment. So if we practice these two commandments then we have fulfilled the law and the prophets. It is obvious that the basic essence of Christian faith is TO LOVE.

Church, how do you love your God and neighbors today? Have you practiced in fulfilling the great commandment that Jesus gave us? Don’t you know that when we start loving one another, then the world will see Jesus lives among us as His disciples (John 13:35)?

Brethren, let us learn to love God and neighbors as a sign of obedience to the great commandment in order to save and transform the world for Christ. Don’t do anything else except LOVING ONE ANOTHER.

This month, we will learn more about how to impact the marketplace.

So be prepared to listen and function in your marketplace as marketplace ministers…

Blessings,

Ps. Hoatta

Greetings MarketPlace Transformers,

In this special Chinese New Year Sunday, on behalf of the Leaders of AMPM, I like to wish you a blessed Chinese New Year. 

Around the Chinese New Year, people often put up posters with “Foo” character. 

This is one of the most popular Chinese characters used in Chinese New Year. It is often posted upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment. The upside down Foo means good luck came since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for came.  The character Foo is also used in the word describing the Gospel (“Foo Ying”).  This word means The Good Message, or the Good News.  Some linguist dissected the character “Foo” and found 4 sub characters: God, one, man, garden.

 

It depicts the perfect condition in the garden of Eden, back when man and God had a perfect fellowship without sin coming between them.  When God + Man living in harmony in Eden, we have Foo – prosperity, happiness, blessings.  But man failed and fell into sin.  God knew that man cannot save himself.  That is why God sent Jesus, the perfect Lamb to save us.  He is our Righteousness.  The word Righteousness in Chinese character consist of Me + Lamb

 

During this Chinese New Year, let us remember the work that Christ did on the cross to redeem us from sin so that we can prosper in the Kingdom of God.

Blessings,

Barnabas.

The power of praying and fasting

Prayer with fasting is the greatest spiritual discipline to keep us in agreement with God’s will. It is not designed to manipulate God so that we can receive what we ask but to ask what we should receive from God. It is not a tool to influence God but it is a tool to influence us to pray earnestly to let the kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven. It is a powerful tool to wean ourselves from the things of this world which is a strong force directly in opposite with the Holy Spirit.
In his audio sermon on fasting, Ron Gartner makes an important point. He says fasting is not giving up meals and making a sacrifice so that God can speak to us or bless us. It is not an exchange of a sacrifice in order to obtain blessings.
He says, it is moving into a spiritual realm of faith and power by putting down (denying) our fleshly desires. The Holy Spirit and the spirit part of us then take dominance in moving in an area of prayer (communion with God) that we cannot get into through any other way. It is moving into the spirit and walking in the spirit. This does not mean being foolish and turning our reasoning off. It is being wise with the mind of Christ while being submissive to the Holy Spirit.
We can see the power of prayer of fasting in the Garden of Getshemane and in the mountain of temptation. Jesus overcame self-will. Our Lord Jesus said fasting would be necessary for his disciples after he ascended. “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast,” (Matthew 9:15) The early disciples remembered the words of their master and thus they made fasting vital. To be effective ambassadors of God in this world, we need to stay in tune with God through prayer and fasting.
Ps Ramon Morante

Prayer of agreement

Greetings AMPM,
As people in the marketplace, each of us is called to be salt and light in whatever domain we are in. It is not an easy job. But thanks be to God who has given us the Holy Spirit to remind us everything that Jesus had taught. While we are fasting and praying during this 21-day campaign of the Praying Ambassadors, ask God in agreement with your prayer partner to have the sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will remind you if your thoughts and attitudes are in line with the thoughts and attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5).
In our daily walk, we are to be the priests and kings wherever we are. In the Old Testament, only certain special people can become priests. The function of a priest in the Old Testament is to present animal sacrifices as atonement of sins; for his own sin and the sins of the people. But in the New Testament, we are all called to be priests. Our function is to offer a different form of sacrifices – i.e. praise and good deeds. God is pleased when we continually offer these sacrifices in our daily walk in our homes, offices, schools, and marketplace.
God promised us that He will give whatever we ask in agreement according to His will. This particular promise should make us all the more eager to keep our unity in the spirit with our prayer partners. We look forward to hearing your testimonies in the coming weeks. Remember, don’t grow weary in doing good for in the proper time, you will reap the harvest.
Blessings,
Barnabas

The Place of Submission, The Place of Power

Today’s Lord’s Supper reminds us of one thing: the submission of Jesus. He asked, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” The submission of Jesus is the most powerful thing that he did while here on earth.

The kingdom of this world will not be won by sheer military force or strength. It can only be won by one thing: submission to the Father’s will. It is a passion that can be ignited by prayer. Jesus prayed all night and he was able to conquer his self will. During the temptation on the mountain, Jesus rejected the offer of Satan of receiving the kingdoms of this world. He was able to do this because he knows to whom he must submit himself.

The disciples started to think and ask why Jesus was not using his power to defeat the existing.empire as the Messiah. Judas in his frustration betrayed Jesus. Peter denied Jesus three times for fear of being caught as one of the followers of Jesus. They deserted and walked away from a distance when Jesus was brought to the Roman authorities. Jesus remained submissive to the Father even though he can command billions of angels to serve and defend him.

Let us take time in our communion meditation to think about Christ.

He came not to be served but to serve.

He came to die and offer himself as a sacrifice.

He came to fulfill the Father’s will.

For our Kingdom community to be effective representatives of heaven on earth, we should adopt the mind and heart of Christ. We should imitate Jesus in his humility, submission and servanthood. The world’s culture is about domination, lording over and selfishness. Adopting the mind of Christ is adopting the values of the kingdom which is contrary to the values of this world.

Let us ignite our passion for submission in our 21 days of fasting and prayer and be Kingdom overcomers!

Ps. Ramon Morante

Kingdom Driven Community

Dear Marketplace Ministers,

Starting today, March 1st, 2009, we will begin our 21 days devotion campaign. What will we do during this coming 21 days?

1. Praying in agreement.

The only job that God loves to do is answering our prayer. Prayer accomplish a lot of thing. We will pray in enforcing things happened on this earth as it is in heaven according to His will. This time, we will develop a foundation of corporate prayer. God says “two are better than one because they have a good return for their.” We are alone is okay but it would be better if we are together with someone else. Therefore, we will pray two-by-two for 21 days along with our devotion. Who can be your prayer partner? If you are married then take your spouse as your partner. If you are single then take someone who is living nearby to ensure that you can pray together. If you hardly find someone who is nearby then find someone who can commit the prayer time together with you, he/she could be your flat-mate. So, pray for some points that you together agree to pray about and expect to see them fulfilled in faith and in full submission to our Lord Jesus Christ’s will.

2. Fast for at least one day of the week together.

Why do we need to fast? We hold fast to ask God’s mercy and grace upon our lives and prayer. We may live fully in His grace to see things happening as part of His plan. By fasting we will let our selves to be enlighten and discerning to His voice and will. Our spirit are strong yet our bodies are weak. Make a commitment with your prayer partner to fast on same day together. I am so sure to see many prayer will be answered according to His glory and riches during these 21 days.

Ps. Hoatta S

AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH

… so they are no longer two, but one flesh. Mark 10:8

What a profound insight regarding the union of a man and a woman before God. When God sees a couple, He sees them as one because He made them one. What God has united let no man break that union. It is a defiance against God when an in-law or a third party contributes to the breakdown of marriage of a couple.

When Adam said Eve is his bone of his bone and the flesh of his flesh, he is actually saying no part of him is his alone, he is already a part of Eve. No part of Eve is hers alone. They belong to each other.

That is why there is trouble in marriage if there is no unity in decision making and intimacy in communication. Both should live, think and breathe as one. They maybe different but they can complement each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

Ideally, when “two become one” it means that each one is doubled, but not duplicated. One partner still retain one’s individual identity, but adds to one’s self the identity of the other, and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. A wise person once said: “A marriage consists of one master, one mistress, and two slaves; making, in total, one.” That may be strange arithmetic, but it is good theology.

Both man and woman loving faithfully to each other reflect God’s glory because it is the climax of his creation. That is why Satan is trying all his best to destroy marriage. The devil wants to destroy God’s masterpiece. Both of them have a divine calling to produce godly off springs to become a force of righteousness in this world.

What a divine mystery that will save a lot of marriages around us. A couple is no longer two but one. Both are called to a lifetime of love and fidelity.

Ps. Ramon M & Liza M

This week Devotion

Greetings Fellow Market Transformers

We are still Continuing with our family topics in the month of February. This Sunday is a special Valentine’s Sunday. The world celebrates the day of love but yet love eludes many married couples;including Christian couples.

Many couples wonder what happen to love after a few years of marriage. Love seems to evaporate once the fuzzy feelings and tingling sensations are gone.

This Sunday, we are learning what love really means. It is not the kind of love the world knows and offers.

The value of “others-oriented” is central in the Bible. 1 Chorintians 13 lists all aspects of love and not one of them is self-oriented. Jesus is the perfect model of being others-oriented.

When we know the real meaning of love, we know how to apply and convey our love to our spouses and others. This skill is essential to building a lasting relationship in all facets of life.

Let’s put into practice what we have learned and be ready to testify the outcome in your cell groups.

Blessings,

Barnabas