What it means to serve God

I know it's been awhile since I last posted anything up. Have I been busy ... well, not really. Just lazy and uninspired (I'm only human :P) Also, I don't think there's many who actually takes the time to read what I post. So if you've gotten this far in ... Well Done! and thank you for taking the time :D

Here's something I was inspired to write couple of weeks ago when I was meditating on Rev 12:11. Most or all Christian young and old would have made this verse one of their memory verses and would have heard more than once a preacher speak on this verse. Well here it is again, I hope I can present to you this verse in a different light.

"Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul to the death." I believe there are 3 key points here to observed in order to be successful in ministry.

The first is "the blood of the Lamb"

We have to be redeemed by Christ. I believe it's not only acknowledging that we are sinners, but living in realization that every second we are still alive it's because of God's grace and mercy upon our lives. This is a reminder to us that we cannot rely on our own strengths and understanding. We cannot bring the world to it's knees in reverence of God, but it's by availing ourselves for God to work through us that can do that.

The blood of the Lamb also signifies the ultimate sacrifice. Remember! There is nothing you can sacrifice that will match up to the sacrifice Christ made for you. Never, ever calculate with God ... "If I do this, then You do that for me". If this is ever in your prayers while in your service to God, then you've missed the entire meaning and relevance of Christ death on the cross. It's out of love that Christ sacrificed himself on the cross, it's out of love for Him that we serve.

Many times because so many of us serve God unconditionally, they call us fanatics, devotees, people practicing blind faith. But Christian Faith is not blind! It's because we can see and have experienced the redeeming grace and mercy of God that we choose to do the extraordinary things that He wants us to do.

The Second "The word of our testimony"

Noticed it's singular, the word 'testimony', it's not many, but one. Why is that? It's because the only testimony that is worth talking about is the testimony of Christ. Everything that we boast about should only lead back to one thing and one thing alone ... Christ! Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Also, for the testimony to be effective, the testimony of Christ in our lives has to be our own, not someone else's. I'm not saying that you shouldn't talk about other people's testimonies to encourage one another. But the world has enough of looking at perfect 10s in magazines while they look around them, no one actually looks like that. Many are looking for something real. Not the success story of someone else who's now making millions with a best seller, but someone living next door, sitting next to them on the train ... your neighbor is looking for something real, the guy or girl sitting next to you on the train to work is looking for something real ... Your testimony of Christ in your life will be so much more effective. Don't you think?

In order to have His testimony in our mouth, we have to live it out. John 8:31-32 31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed on Him, If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. This is one of the most used verse for evangelist. But none of them ever fully explained it properly to the people (as least not the ones that I've been to). It is not as simple as just 'knowing'. The original text for 'know' in Greek is the word 'ginosko'. Basically what it literally means is 'to recognize the truth by personal experience'. So memorizing and reciting the bible is not enough. I have personally met Imams (Muslim spiritual leaders) who can recite the bible better than most Christians I know. Why haven't they found the truth? Why are they still not free? It is because they didn't choose to live it out, experience it themselves. Psalms 34:8 Oh taste and see that the lord is good. Therefore Christ's testimony in our lives are not only to be heard, but to be lived out or experienced.

But WAIT!! There is more ... It's not just about experiencing Christ. There is a prerequisite to it. Remember, when we read the bible it has to be in context, don't just take the verses you like and omit the parts where it doesn't sound so good to you. The Word of God does not work like that. In order for us to live it out or experience Him, we must first be His disciple (verse 31). Many take the term disciple very lightly. It's just not about saying the sinners prayer, it's not about praying at every meal, it's not even about your daily devotions. Those are the results of being a disciple. Disciples are people who are fully convinced, committed and all sold out into what the master says and do to a point where they are willing to give up their lives for it. Only then the word of our testimony is effective.

Last but not least "Did not love their soul to the death"

In my opinion, this has got more to do with just dying to self, but it also speaks about living a life of a worshiper. The first time the word worship was mentioned in the bible was an act of sacrifice, Gen 22:5-10 5 And Abraham said to his young men, You stay here with the ass. And I and the boy will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. It's ironic that the first time worship was mentioned was about sacrificing your most precious and greatest of possession, hopes, dreams and desires. Here's my definition of worship (without all the Christian symbolisms) "to acknowledge the absolute matchless worth and importance of something to make it the center of my life and to order my life accordingly" ... That's dying to self! Because you love Him more than you love life itself ... that's an act of worship.

There are more verses I can share, but since we've all been Christians for donkey years, I would assume that you know where I'm coming from. Here's my conclusion to it all, if we are willing to live out these 3 key points in our lives, I believe we will have a successful ministry, but more importantly a successful life in the Kingdom of God. Amen!

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to be obedient to what God has called us to do and that we will lack nothing doing it and keep those that you know we are ministering to in prayer whenever they come across your hearts and mind. Also would like to request for you to pray for my recording project, that God will continue to send sponsors, be it financially or providing their services.

For my next post, I will be sharing something that was inspired through a message preached last week by Pastor Joel Chelliah. It was a message on the Lord's Prayer. I won't be re-writing what he preached, you can go to http://www.centrepointchurch.com.au to listen to the message. However, I would like to add to what he's already presented that may just blow your mind. Till then ... meditate on Matt 6:9-13. In all things, praise the Lord! Blessings to y'all!

Are we trying too hard to understand the mysteries of God that we have lost sight of the simple truths of the Bible?

I've just had a very interesting night. I was just told that there is a possibility that people can still go to heaven if they don't know Christ. Apparently, even Billy Graham believes that this is so. But which part of the bible actually teaches this? Not according to the many different versions of the bibles I've read unfortunately. Have I missed out something? or someone forgot to include certain chapters into my bible?

I was told that for those who never had a chance to listen to the word of God or heard about Christ are most probably saved. The thing is, I don't know ... cause it's not mentioned in the bible. As Christians who are in leadership, isn't it our responsibility to teach according to the bible and not according to our own philosophies? Just because the bible did not say that it's 'Yes' ... you cannot philosophically say that it's a 'No'. That I think it's very irresponsible as a leader.

Now, if based on this concept of philosophy, then we should stop all out reach to the unreached people groups. Because you will have a 100% chance of them going to heaven by not telling them that Christ exist vs. taking the risk of them rejecting the gospel and be condemned to hell. Also for those who have heard of the name of Christ but never been told that He is the only way, we should leave them alone too. As long as the are good folks that's been doing good deeds, they can claim ignorance during the judgement day. Think about it ... we are in fact doing them a favor by not telling them about Christ. Then we can roughly say that Christ is not for everyone ... for it's not 'All' that have sin and fall short of the glory of God. So many of the prophets and the believers of Yahweh / Jehovah in the old testament does not matter anyways, cause all will go to heaven eventually. Then why in the world the believers in the old days sacrifice their lives to convince people that Yahweh is God. Are all their works in vain?

If that is the case, then there is no urgency at all of the 2nd coming of Christ too, cause it's merely just another day in the park. Then we don't really need to take the great commission seriously, cause people stand a better chance not hearing about God to get to heaven. In that case we can strike out many verses in the Bible. Hey ... while we are at it ... why don't we just take out the importance and significance of the law of God in the old testament. Looks like this can be a whole new era for the world.

News flash! There is already a group that somewhat have that same philosophy. That's why they call themselves New Age.

Here are my thoughts and whether you agree with it or not, please consider it seriously in prayer: We as Christians cannot based our believes in philosophy or psychology, it has to be based upon the Word of God and the Word alone. If the philosophy or psychology contradicts even the slightest doctrine or principle in the bible, please ... I beseech you ... consider your salvation and the salvation of others. When people's lives are hanging in the balance between heaven and hell, would you chose philosophy & psychology over the Word of God? Think about it! Blessings to y'all!

Tim's new song ... Amazing

I've been getting very lazy lately. There's a couple of topics that I've been wanting to share. Especially this one I titled it 'Unqualified to Success'. I'm not going to go into details of the whole sermon, but here's a synopsis of it.

How many of us can think back of a time that God has done something in our lives that we undeservingly received? If you can't, well ... How about your salvation? That's the ultimate gift to someone undeserving. Anyways, because I love worship and I love exploring David's life the most and here is what I've found in a nut-shell when it comes to this topic.

1. David was an illegitimate child - he basically have no family rights

2. He was purposefully left out when his dad was asked to bring all his sons - David cannot be included in the equation not because he's the youngest, but also because he's illegitimate

3. David was the smallest of all - In everyone's eyes, David won't last a minute out on the battlefield.

4. He spends most of his times in the field with sheeps - No one really knows him nor would have any experience in battle.

But God took all that ... used it for His glory ... and promoted David to king. God loves to use those that's willing to be used. He doesn't need a counsel to tell Him how good you are, how experienced you are, how many bible schools you've attended, etc .... He just need to know that you are willing and able. God chooses the unqualified, to demonstrate His successes.

I've been feeling very down lately, very tired of waiting. Sometimes it feels like I'm doing nothing to help the family. I've told myself to be practical, logical ... miracles do happen, but just not where I'm standing. Then I looked at David ... it's not about how well we can do things, but it's how available we make ourselves to be. Well, I'm still considering whether I'm called to full-time ministry right now. One day when you don't see this blog anymore, well that's when I've decided to move on. In all decisions that we make and in all that we do, remember this ... God chooses the unqualified, to demonstrate His successes. Something good always turns out for those who make themselves available to Him. God is Amazing!!

God Bless y'all!

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Re-Upped The First Time ...

Hi friends, I've just re-posted the song The First Time. There's not going to be a download link to it this time round. But you can listen to it on the streaming player below this page. God bless y'all!

PS. Do let me know what ya think of the song ya :D

The First Time taken offline ...

I've been in contact with a friend that used to work in the music industry. He has advised me to take the song off-line until I get it patented / copyrighted. Right now he is working on it for me. So things are happening ....

If you have downloaded the song. Please help me by not distributing it to other people until I up it again. Cheers and God Bless!

New song ... The First Time

How this song came about was completely out of a blue. I never expected to write a song that day and especially in the early morning. So here an account of how I came to writing this song ... 

I woke up yesterday morning, showered and was feeling really lethargic. It was a really cold morning and I wasn't up to doing anything. So I made myself a cup of really hot coffee, sat at my work desk and surfed Youtube watching some Gary V.'s music videos. There was this one particular video that had a little girl in it and I was thinking she looks so much like RobynMae (my 9 yr old). I've always known this, but, it suddenly dawned on me that next year she will be 10, moving on to her preteens stage.  That made me wished that I could just stop time, hold her in my arms and never let her go.

This is one of those moments that you have a flood of emotions come crashing in. I really didn't know how to handle it or expressed it. So I closed the Safari (the equivalent to IE on Windows) and walked away from the computer for a couple of minutes to collect my thoughts. Then I sat back down again at my desk and picked up my guitar. I needed to get it off my chest.

It didn't take me long to write this song, but it's the hardest song for me to write to date and singing it was even harder still. It didn't really help the situation when I sang it to my wife (Christina) and she was just balling. For those of you who are single, this song may not mean much. But it will probably strike a note with those parents who have daughter / daughters.

Are there any spiritual lessons that can be learnt out of this. I believe everything we do there are lessons to be learnt cause God is always speaking. As to this particular situation, I'm not too sure. But one thing I do know ...  after realizing how much I can love my children, and if that's how much my Father in heaven loves me, I'm eternally blessed. But I know He loves me and my children even more than I can ever imagine ... That My Friends! It's the GREATEST LOVE OF ALL! What would be your response to Him? God Bless y'all!

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Exciting News!!

Boy! Have I got some news for y'all! ... Ok, it's not what you think, Integrity Music did not get back to me, neither did Paul Baloche. Actually for all ya know, they didn't even get my demo cds.

However, this news is still exciting. I've been invited to sing at the Spring Gospel and Arts Festival here at Perth. The strangest thing would be, I'll probably be the only performer who hasn't released an album :P This was made possible because of a pastor I met at a church. When he first approached me to tell me I have a great and anointed voice, I was a bit skeptical (just as I would be with everyone else actually). He said he'd like to keep in touch and help me get connected with the people in music ministry here. Trust me when I say I've heard this once too many times to pay much attention to it. But to my surprise, he meant what he said. Which is very rare. To cut the long story short, he played one of my demo track (Hear My Cry) to the organizer and they loved it. Now here I am with an invitation to sing at a festival held at a park. So I would like to say a big thank you to Pastor Rick Milligan. Thank you for seeing the potential in me and the anointing of God upon my life and most of all, launching me into the ministry that I believe God has called me to here in Perth.

Tim's original worship song No. 13 ... Anthem for Unity

Hi y'all! Miss me? ... Well I don't see why any of you should :P But if you did ... Well ... I'm back! and hopefully will update my blog more often. So what's been happening in my life? Hmmmm ... since the move to the new house, I've been helping my dad put up stuff. Cleaning, vacuuming, cooking ... cleaning, vacuuming, cooking ... did I mention cleaning, vacuuming, cooking? ... O yeah, before I forget, it's uh ... cleaning, vacuuming, cooking! :P

Recently I went to my uncle's church. We were late for the service and got there just as the worship was about to end. I was pretty bummed out, was hoping to get into some congregational worship. But there was something different on that day, the atmosphere was very different. Btw, my uncle suffered a heart attack the week before, while he was preaching. But God kept him save and healed him. So was great to see him in church still standing as strong as ever, he wasn't preaching that day, but he felt that presence of God. He started calling out all the musicians to come up to the front to worship. It's a prophetic thing he was getting into. Honestly, not many pastors has the guts to do that, and not many church musicians dare to do it either. I'm not talking about just going up there to play another song from your Sunday playlist. I'm talking about prophesying through your instruments. Trust me, it's biblical, the Psalmist prophesy according to the instruction of the king. Anyways, what came out strongly to me was the word unity. Standing united to advance the kingdom of God. The dynamic preacher Joseph Ong backed me by playing the piano. With all due respect and with no intention of offending anyone, I wish Solomon was there to play the piano. Man, he's so anointed ... and his heart for worship is definitely in the right place. I've no intention of writing any song about unity at that time.

Last week I met someone by divine appointment. She's an up and coming artist from Malaysia and somehow found her way to my page on Facebook (that's where all my songs are uploaded first). She was listening to the song 'Hear My Cry' and God touch her. According to her, she started praying again .... Praise the Lord! Anyways, she's also Ong ... so she calls me her big bro, and now I gain a lil' sister. Surprisingly, her hometown is my wife's hometown. So imagine when both of them get together .... then it's back to cleaning, vacuuming and cooking for me :P She asked if I could write a song for her next album and I told her I'd try. I've not written any kinda song without focusing on God for a long time. So was very hesitant, but managed to write it and it's based on her pass experiences with one member of her family. Hope she likes it (Sorry, I can't share that song because it's for her album). But I'll ask her for permission to post it on my site if she decides she wants to record it. If not ... then you'll get another demo recording from me :P

No .. that was yesterday that I sent her the song. This morning I woke up and didn't expect to go to church because my second daughter, Tammy-Ann, has been puking the whole of yesterday. Every time she puts something in her stomach it comes right back up. We were so worried and monitored her the whole day and nite. But praise the Lord, today she seem to be totally fine. So, Robyn Mae, my eldest, came into my room and I just felt like picking up the guitar to worship and started playing. Then this song came up. Robyn contributed a lot of ideas for this song and even penned some words. So it's the first song I co-write with my daughter and it means a lot to me. Hope you'll like it. God Bless!

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Tim's original worship song No. 12 ... Hear My Cry

Wow! ... What a week! What a tiring week! Although I didn't do much, but a lot has happened. I'm sure most of ya have already heard about the bushfire tragedy that happened over at Victoria, Australia. For those of you who didn't or haven't, well death toll so far is at 181 and counting. If you want to know more, do Google it.

I also went for an interview for a managerial position at a bookstore. Yeah, some of you might think I've caved in finally and decided to work instead of trusting God in full-time ministry. Well, you're wrong. I'm still trusting God every step of the way. But I just want to put myself out there so that I won't look back one day and say I should have given that a try.

My heart is very heavy ... Why? I don't really know. Maybe among everything that is happening, one of my good friend is leaving to Brisbane to further his studies. Then I'm in the midst of reorganizing certain things and also at the same time needing to bring up a difficult subject matter with relatives. And on top of that I've finally recorded my final demo track, so now I've no more excuses why I'm not sending it out. Seem like this week there's a lot of moment of truths ... yet I'm still thankful and grateful that I'm a child of God. When I turn on the TV and read the news ... I'm even more thankful that I have God.

In this busy and overwhelming world that we live in, we can be so easily sucked into depression and helplessness. I know of someone that their home is being repossessed and another the husband left her and she's pregnant ... It is during these times all we can do is to sit back and be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). 

Why do we need to be still and know? Why can't we be moving and know? or Doing and know? Why be still? Have you ever watch a golf game, when the golfer is about to make a putt, everyone keeps quiet? Or a basketball game ... you scream and shout the whole way through, but during a penalty shot, everyone keeps really quiet? Why? It's because in stillness, we give our mind, spirit and soul a chance to be aligned and focused on the ultimate purpose or goal. For the golfer, it's the golf ball going into the hole. For the basketball player, it's the ball entering the hoop. It is only during the stillness there's nothing else but them and the ultimate purpose or goal. For us, the stillness helps us to align our thoughts, our spirit and soul to God and His purpose. It's when we are aligned with Him, we hear His voice! That's WORSHIP! You can't be distracted and expect to hear from God.

You know which is my favorite verse in there? It's verse 4 "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High" ... Wow! Do you know what that means? If you have been following my blog, I talked about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not just about God but also about the people. If there are no people, there's no Kingdom.

Do allow me to expound on this ... "There is a river" which in most cases represents the presence of God ... "Shall make glad the city of God" which represents making glad His people as a congregation collectively ... "The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High" ... We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, within us is where God wants to dwell. This is where God gets personal. You see ... When we learn to be still and know that He is God, He promise us His presence for the congregation and for you individually. But we must be willing to be still and know!

Hear My Cry is one of the worship song that was birth out of quietness. I pray that this song will be able help you draw closer to God and Him to you. God Bless!

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Tim's original worship song No. 11 ... One Thing I Ask

Have you ever felt that sometimes you complicate the things of God too much and you take a step back and realize that actually it's so simple. Many times we don't even understand the simplest things of God, yet we expect to achieve bigger things for His Kingdom.

No ... This is not a rebuke to anyone. I'm sure all of you reading this are walking in His will and achieving His perfect plan for you :P As for me, there's still so many things for God to work out in my life. But like I've mentioned to people before .... I serve God not because I'm perfect, but because I'm flawed and by His grace I'm made worthy. Last Sunday, I was reminded of a verse in the bible which I've even wrote a song about many moons ago ...

Matt 6:33

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all will be added to you ...

Honestly, sometimes we are so caught up with things that are happening around us till we lose sight of God's Kingdom. Nothing really matters anymore if and when that happens. Our loved ones, our finances, our sacrifices "for the sake of the call", our worship, our prayers, NOTHING matters anymore when we lose sight of His Kingdom. Friends, trust me when I say this ... It is so easy to lose sight of God's Kingdom. What happens when we say we dwell in His Kingdom? It basically means we welcome His rule over our lives. When we lose sight of it, it means we've migrated to another kingdom. Now the question is ... Who is ruling over your life now? Who's kingdom are you dwelling in?

By God's initial design, we were suppose to only have one King and that was God Himself. But along the way, people got distracted, unsatisfied with the answers and results and decided that it is better to have their earthly king just like the rest of the other people (1 Samuel 8:1-7). These are the people that God, their King who brought them out of Egypt, with all the miracles and spiritual interventions, they still can lose sight of His Kingdom. The strangest thing is that they were willing to give everything up to have their earthly kingdom. Their children, their food, their comfort, just so that they can get their own way (1 Samuel 8:9-22) and yet, God says OK.

What a big God we serve! Imagine if your son or daughter or your sis or brother comes over to you and say they owe you nothing even when you've given them everything and when they leave, they still take whatever that's left in your house with them and as they were at the doorstep they turned around and demanded that you turn over the house you're living in to them by tomorrow .... How would you feel? What would your response be? God's response to their ridiculous demand was simply "OK" ... the house is yours. That's how big our God is. How big are we when sometimes we shout and yell at each other just to show how right we are. God turned His Kingdom over to us because we asked for it. How much more do you think God will do for you?

His Kingdom ... What makes God's Kingdom? The first is obvious ... of course God. His Kingdom represents God's rule, His Lordship, His Leadership, His Kingship, over our lives. But there's one aspect that I seldom hear people talk about when they talk about His Kingdom .... The People .... There is no kingdom when there are no people. When we set our eyes on His Kingdom, it is not just God that we need to be concern about, but also His people. A kingdom prospers when the people living in it prospers.

Why did I write about this? Right now, I've got no idea ... hmmmm. I just started typing and it ended this way. Anyways, I ask you to look around you. If you are only concerned about God and not his people, then you may have lost sight of His Kingdom. Don't lose sight. God Bless you!

Continue to always seek God (Matt 6:33). I love worshiping God with this song cause it acknowledges His Kingship over me.

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Tim's original worship song No. 10 ... Talk To Me

Lately everything has been spinning out of whacked. Although the Holy Spirit has inspired a lot of revelations in my heart, I was kinda distracted and was focusing on something else.

It's not easy to say you want to serve God full-time when you know you have a family and children that depends on you financially. Even more so than now, knowing that my parents is loaning me their entire life's savings to get a house. Causes so much anxiety whenever I think about it. Even their friends are worried that they'll end up with nothing and no one to care for them.  And I don't blame them, looking how this world has become, the only one you can trust is Jesus Christ. So all their friends from their church asked that they sign a contract with me saying that the money is a loan and that I'll be paying them back monthly. It's definitely a good idea for their peace of mind. They should be enjoying their time with their grand children now, not worried about whether they have a place to stay or be taken care of.

So now it comes to the question of whether I should give up the idea of serving God full-time and just go join the work force or should I persevere until there's a breakthrough. Should I have a backup plan and put my trust in 'certainty' than in the 'uncertain'? In fact I went ahead to apply for a job with the government as a Transit Officer. After doing that, I kinda sat back and was asking myself why? I was justifying to myself that it's the most logical thing to do and God can still use me in other ways. Now ... the biggest question is "IS THAT WHAT GOD REALLY WANTS ME TO DO?" Where's a prophet when you need one huh? :P

Anyways, I've got no idea at the moment ... So your prayers will be most appreciated. I've never felt so strongly about serving God as I've been now. But I've never had people dumping their entire life's savings on me either ... hahaha. Btw, just incase ya have not heard, we bought a beautiful house with 5 bedrooms and my parents will be living with me. Praise the Lord!

And that's what brought about me recording this worship song I wrote years back. I totally forgotten about it until lately. Just want to put my trust in God and for Him to speak to me. Do continue to pray and ask God what He wants to tell me and leave a comment. Don't worry, I won't hold ya responsible for my demise :P But would be interesting to know what God has to say through others. God Bless y'all!

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So What About Quality When There's No Quantity?

This morning I was having a conversation with my mom who's here on a visit from Malaysia. We started talking about buying a land and building a house and why my dad wanted to build instead of buying a ready built one. It's kinda funny how people like to justify what they want by telling you that that's what 'you want'. But I told her it's ok, I'm just happy that God has lead me thus far. It doesn't matter whether it's a ready house or we build, I'll still be happy cause I know that I'm walking in the will of God (so I hope). So gave the entire decision to my wife and my parents. Some may say it's silly, but I think it's a wise thing to do :P

Anyways, somehow during the course of the conversation, the subject stirred drastically. How and why? I've got no idea. But we ended up talking about what my plans are for the future. As I've mentioned before, I'm working towards being a Worship pastor or pastor. While on that topic, we started talking about church and while in the subject of church, started getting some revelation on certain things which I'm very excited about.

I'm sure some of you are curious about the title of this blog. Let me start by saying that this is by no means condemning anyone or organization. It's just my point of view. What I hope to achieve is that I hope it will rock the boat a little to start you thinking a little bit more about God and less about yourself.

How many times have you heard a Christian ministry or church say this ... 'We don't care about Quantity, all we care about is Quality!'. I used to be a traveling minister. I've travelled to most parts of Malaysia, some parts of US, Canada and also Japan. Because of the nature of the ministry I was in, I've also had plenty of opportunities to work with other Christian organizations. I must say I've heard that statement enough times. The thing is, I was so impressed with the pastors and ministers that said it. I was thinking to myself "Wow, that's such a powerful statement. I hope one day I will have that kinda quality". Well, after today ... I must say that I have to seriously rethink this statement.

When I was talking to my mom, I made 2 statements that got me curious. The more I meditate on it, the more I feel convinced about it ... Physical Multiplication and Spiritual Multiplication. Here's the thing ... Is it God's will? Can these 2 be separated? Can we have one without the other? At the end of this blog, I hope to open a new door for you to explore. Here's my view "We need Physical multiplication so that the Spiritual multiplication can be experienced and that causes physical multiplication all over again. YOU CAN'T AND SHOULDN'T SEPARATE THEM!". Also I would like to discuss the danger of falling into the lie of the devil in this matter.

I'm too tired now to go on .... will continue tomorrow .... Selah :)

Birth of a Ministry

I'm trying new ways to update my blog. Just discovered that I can actually update my blog via email, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Apart from that, I would like to put out a prayer request. I'm very close to starting a ministry again. But this time not the conventional way. I had my first meeting with a wonderful fellow Christian yesterday who shared the same vision of wanting to expanding the Kingdom of God. After the meeting, we both felt that it's definitely the birth of a ministry. The launch of this ministry can be as soon as the end of January. I would like y'all to pray with me that God's will
be done and that He alone will be glorified.

For obvious reasons, this of course will be a Christian music ministry, but main focus is on worship. It will be a place where worship resources are consolidated and distributed. My vision is to see worship teams being developed spiritually, biblically and technically. It's time we take it to the next level. I don't see why it should only happened in certain places of the world when I can see it happening daily right where I'm at. God trained David and refined 6 characteristics of David. Then David did the same with his generals and his army (which also doubles up as musicians for the temple). Wanna know more? Well pray for us and that we'll be able to come to your church to share with ya :)

Btw, we are also thinking of a name for this ministry. Please send me your suggestions. Looking forward to hearing from all of you. To God be the glory!

*Sent from my iPhone

In Christ we serve,
Timothy Ong

Add:
1 Flynn Street
Canning Vale
WA 6155
Australia

Mobile: +614-2368 2009
Home: +618-6460 6528

Follow my blog at:
http://journeyofalevite.blogspot.com

My Christmas Wish ...

Here's a shout out to all of you that are following my blog:

Wishing you and your family a ....

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year

May Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

multiply His ...

WISDOM,

KNOWLEDGE

AND 

UNDERSTANDING

As you continue to seek the Truth!

Tim's original worship song No. 9 ... With Hands Lifted High

Personally I love this worship song ... No! not because I wrote it, but whenever I start out my 'special time' with the Lord, I love singing this song. He's never failed to show up. This song is also kinda special to me personally. I was at a stage where I couldn't handle not being in the presence of God anymore. I was still working in the secular and another part of me knew my place is suppose to be in full-time ministry. I was so far away from the things of God, I was ashamed of even calling myself a Christian. But you know what ... God was not ashamed of calling me His son even though I turned my back on Him. I still remember very clearly how this song came about.

I was in my room watching tv and doing my usual thing after work. My kids were downstairs playing. It was a Friday night. My dad is a home fellowship leader (some call it home cell) and they were about to start their usual meeting. But that nite was slightly different from other nites cause my cousin Joe was with us in Malaysia (Yes, the same preacher Joe I talked about in my earlier posts). I went downstairs to get a glass of water as they started to worship. I heard Joe singing and could felt the passion that he has for Christ piercing through his voice. That automatically stirred up my spirit and I never felt as desperate as I did that nite to want to worship. But the songs that they were singing were kinda old and very much lingering in the outer courts. I was so desperate to get into His presence and started lifting up my hands ... and began to cry out to Him. Hence this song With Hands Lifted High was birth.

Here is something I would like to share with all of you and I hope that God will reveal more in time to come. Worship is not just for us to communicate to God, it is also for God to communicate back to us. Communication cannot be one way, if you are just singing and praying and not letting God respond back to ya, then you have entirely missed the point in worship. But that's not the point that I wanted to share, although it's important. Here's the point ... your passion for God can cause others to be stirred up. What is passion? Remember ... Christ says that He is looking for people that would worship Him in spirit and in truth ... When you worship in spirit and in truth, there's passion and when there's passion, there's evangelism during worship. Meditate on that and see how it links together. There's a lot more I can share with ya, it's a whole series of teaching by itself. May be one I day I'll get to share more with ya on this topic. Till then ... Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!

Download Link:

Song

Lyrics & Chords

Tim's original song No. 8 ... Children Are Innocent

Well I was spring cleaning some of my boxes and discovered some really old folders. Inside there were songs I've written that never really got recorded or played. Some of it I thought were quite ok. But I'll leave it to you to be the judge of it. Thank God for my wonderful wife though. I'm hopeless at keeping things. I've written so many songs before and I think I've lost at least 30% of it. Anyways, if you like these older songs, do leave note of thanks to my wife Christina for keeping it for me :)

This song was written when my parents' relationship was on the rocks. Then I started thinking if I was younger, how would I have felt and this song was birth. Funny thing is, my relationship with my wife went through the exact same thing and it was horrifying for my beautiful kids. I told myself, by God's grace, I will never want to put them in that kind of situation ever again.

Think about their innocence, think about their future the next time you have an argument with your love ones. Normally the ones that gets hurt the most are the innocent victims. If you see a pattern in your life against your parents or grandparents, sit down with your family tonite and pray. I encourage you to ask God to cut all soul ties between you and your forefathers all the way to your parents. Don't let their sins fall upon you and your family. Ask God to take over the Lordship and renew your relationship with a brand new start. God is faithful to make all things abound in you and your family. That includes love, peace, joy, hope ..... etc. If you need prayer, do leave me a comment. As a family we will pray for ya! God Bless y'all!

Download Link:

Song

Lyrics & Chords

Tim's original worship song No. 7 ... I Put My Trust In You

I know, I know ... it's been awhile since I pen anything on the blog. Not that I've not been inspired to pen down a couple of my thoughts. But some of the things that I've been looking at are kinda sensitive and don't feel that it's time for me to share at this moment to the masses. It's misconception of certain verses in the bible that people (even my mom) have misused. But if you really want to know, you can always drop me a comment and we can share privately.

Well, I've been feeling kinda under the weather lately. In a way physically and emotionally tired. This whole ordeal with Homemaker in NSW and their repair company here (DACAPS) blew me off the charts. 6 weeks since they took my washing machine and everytime I called to get an update, I get the same answer. Until NSW got so embarrassed, they ask me to go sent it back to the store and get a new one. AFTER 6 WEEKS!!! Now DACAPS refuse to send it back to me and they insist that I pick it up myself eventhough they were the ones that took it from my house. When I told them the people is NSW says otherwise, they very rudely told me that they are their own boss and NSW can't make them. So now I have to ask my wife to take leave and look after my 2 year old son to sort it out with them.  The people at DACAPS are out rite inconsiderate and unhelpful. Well anyways, we'll be contacting the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, see what they say ...

Ok ... back to the song. Amongst all the 'hoopla' ... I kinda gave a foot hold to the devil to step in. I started questioning God about whether I'm really called to go full-time into ministry and also started to doubt His anointing upon my life. I felt that I've not made an impact on anyone's life at all since my arrival. Thank God Chris (my wife for 11 yrs - Btw, this Saturday is our 11th anniversary) set me straight. Well, as a family we will be doing something about it. We came to a conclusion that I need to put an effort into letting people know that I exist here in Perth, instead of sitting at home waiting for something to happen. So the first step will be sending my portfolio to all the churches here in Perth to see if they are interested in having me full-time, part-time or as a guest speaker. Second is to burn the songs into CDs and send it out to as many recording labels as possible.  So please keep me in your prayers. At least if those are done then I can look to God and say I've been good stewart of what He's given me and now it's His turn to make something our of it. So this song is just to remind myself to Put My Trust In Him, keep my eyes focused on Him and not to be distracted! I apologize for the quality of my voice on the recording though, I had to do it early in the morning when all have gone to sleep. So can't hit certain notes. God Bless!

Download Link: 

Song

Lyrics

*Note ... I re-recorded the song cause I felt that it was a bit too rush. Now better quality.

Evangelism through our Lifestyle

This week has been quite a tough week for me. Don't know why I'm feeling so tired. But God has been faithful in giving me strength and wisdom to get things done and in order.

We make it a point in my family to do bible study every night with the kids. So glad that Tammy has shown an interest since buying her a new 'Princess' bible. But today she wasn't really into it cause she just started watching Happy Feet on the TV and she couldn't pause it cause her 2 year old brother was watching too. So she was trying to get me to read her bible cause I can read faster, but I reminded her of her promise to me. She was very obedient to sit through it reading one word at a time. Praise the Lord!

Anyways, here's the thing. We were reading Acts 2:44-47. I think I must have read that passage more than 10 times in the past, but today I saw something I've not seen before. For those of you that already know this, well it will be a good reminder. For those of you that will see it in a new light like me. Well, I hope it will change your life.

Title: Evangelism through our Lifestyle

I feel that sometimes we rely so much on our own understanding and strength for evangelism we can get a bit arrogant. It all becomes about how much we are doing, how much we are giving and how far we are going (no offense to those that's been called to be missionaries). Have you considered about How are you Living? Have you ever sat in the church and look to the person in front or back of you and have no idea what they are going through? You may ask me, what has the person next to you have to do with evangelism. Well, according to Act 2:44-47 ... EVERYTHING!

I want to share with you 6 points from this passage that leads to verse 47 " .... And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Man! I tell ya, I would want to see that happening in my lifetime. Daily people being added to the Kingdom of God right where I am at. Not across town, not over the sea, not out in space ... but right were I am standing.

Let's go through it verse by verse:

1) Unity verse 44 " ... had all things in common."

This is such a common word, Unity. But do we know the full extend of what it means? When there's Unity, there's no doubt, no reservations, no bickering, no complaints, no gossips, no undermining , no deceit, no personal agendas and the list goes on and on. It doesn't matter what the church's mission statement is or whether they are more concern about the word or the worship ... It's about you wanting to be apart of the body of Christ. If you are willing to be part of the body and be a servant, then there is Unity.

2) Sharing/Building verse 45 " ... sold their possessions ... divided them among all,"

Ok, I'm sure some cults would love this verse. Let's bring it to today's context, some of us love our time, money and our possessions so much that we can't see the bigger picture in life. What's that? The Kingdom of God! Exodus 20:5 says our God is a jealous God, we shall not bow or serve any other but Him. Paul says in Philippians 4:12 that he's learnt to abide and abound. But although he's tasted abundance, he's not a slave to it. His eyes are set on the bigger picture. Are we willing to drop the things we are doing for the bigger picture? Sharing of our time, effort and even money for the person next to us when it's necessary?

Note: Noticed that this is still within the context of a church. Still nothing about non-believers.

3) Caring verse 45 " ... divided them among all, as anyone had need."

They were not sacrificing for the lost; not that we ain't suppose to do that; but I believe if you can't even reach out to the person next to ya who has the same faith, whom you called a brother or sister in Christ. How are you to reach out to the ones that are lost? How would they see you when they come to your church and see someone they know that's been suffering but no one from the church seem to care. If you don't care about your own, then how genuine are your 'care' for them? Is it about the numbers or about the Kingdom?

4) Fellowshiping verse 46 " ... breaking of bread from house to house,"

There are no 'Lone Rangers' in the Kingdom of God. The only way you will know for sure what God has installed for you is by fellowshiping with His people. Like I've mentioned before in my previous post, if you want to know whether you've got a specific calling in your life, you will have to submit to leadership. When you fellowship with His people, they will be able to confirm the giftings that God has given you. Also you get encouragements and support by fellowshiping.

5) Thanks Giving verse 46 " ... ate the food with gladness ..."

For those of you following my post, then you'd probably read my first post which is my testimony. But what brought me to this stage in life? I started serving God at 19, got burnt out and some what played out by church leaders and left Christian ministry at 27. Then joint the secular work force and decided that money will be my motivation. Started a company but ended in disaster. Then I joint a multinational company as a marketing assistant, it's kinda like an office boy. Coming from not earning much as a minister to a failed businessman, to actually having some money was kind of a change for me. Then I thought if I could earn more, that would be awesome. I would be even more satisfied. So I plotted my career advancement plan. I made it to executive within a year and had a good pay increase and I made it to manager the next year and had a pay jump. All this while thinking I'd be satisfied, but I wasn't.

Then I joint my sister's company with a significant pay cut, but because it was on commission basis there were more opportunities for me to make more money. And I did eventually. Thanks to my brother-in-law (Marcus, whom btw is also my best friend) that gave me plenty of opportunities to do just that. You'd think that would satisfy me. Not at all, in fact that made me even more frustrated because I can't seem to get the satisfaction I was seeking for.

Then I gave up all that and came to Australia. Longing to change my lifestyle, my habits, my relationship with my family and most importantly with God. I'm now heading back into full-time ministry and our family is surviving on single income. But you know what, when we began to give thanks to God and be happy with what we have, God revealed Himself a little more each day about His faithfulness. My family lacks nothing because He supplies all our needs. Although there were activities we can't take part due to financial constraints but as Paul says, I've learnt to abide and I've learnt to abound, but at the end of the day, it is through Christ that I can do all things.

What's the point in telling you this? It is that if you are willing to humble yourself and give thanks to God for whatever little or much you have, you will experience more of Him.

With this, it leads to my final point ...

6) Humility verse 46 " ... and simplicity of heart, praising God ..."

Ah, this is such a common word among Christians. The only problem is ... if only many of them were genuine. Don't worry, I'm not talking about you. But if what I said gets your heart racing, then I suggest you spend some time with God asking Him to search your heart. The body of Christ needs everyone to be involved, false humility will hinder what God wants us to do as a body. Not everyone is called to be a teacher or a prophet. We have a place in His Kingdom, we need to humble ourselves and just use the talent that God has given us.

You want to know what true humility is? Read 2 Corinthians 10:17 "But he who glories, let him glory in the Lord"

Everything you've achieved is the Lord's. He gives and He can take away. Don't forget that!

Note: Surprising isn't it, after all these 6 points, it has still not left the context of a church yet.

Do you know what would happen if we can apply these 6 points in our everyday lifestyle? Let's read verse 47 " ... having FAVOR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE. And the LORD ADDED TO THE CHURCH DAILY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED."

I want to see that happening, do you?

Tim's original worship song No. 6 ... We Celebrate TonightWell

Well, October is almost coming to an end. 2 more months and it'll be the beginning of a new year. Exciting times ahead, especially for Joe and Caris *nudge, nudge :P

This Friday, our church will be having a celebration service. No need to check you Christian calendars, it's our church thing. Basically we are celebrating the launching of the new 'cell groups'. I was sitting in my studies earlier this week just thinking of all the blessings that God has poured into my family since relocating here in Perth. At the same time I was telling God how excited I am with all the things He's been doing in my life and the songs that He's been giving me. The more I think of it, the more I wanted to praise Him. Especially for this Friday night's celebration service. But all the songs I've written so far are quite intimate and quiet in nature. I just wanted to celebrate and praise Him. Hence this song was birth.

There's nothing deep to share this time. But would like to encourage you to think of the things that God has done in your life. Give Him praise! Every time the devil discourages you, give Him praise. When you do that, 3 things are happening: 

1) You are reminding Satan that God has done it before and will go it again

2) You are building up your faith through the word of your testimony

3) You are reminding God that He has to do what He has promised to do

That is why the knowledge of God, His Word and His works are so important to remember. Remembering is a powerful weapon! Don't ever forget! Amen.

Download Link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/159022315/We_Celebrate_Tonight.zip.html

Ps. Thanks for the emails and comments on Facebook. But would be nice if you could leave a comment here so that I know you've visited and been blessed or challenged by the songs or the contents. God bless y'all.