Have you ever used
the word 'audacious'?
Last Wednesday night, I had a chance to attend Hillsong Stockholm's Sisterhood United gathering. I was supposed to go with my sister but sadly she couldn't make it due to her work. So I went on my own instead to the venue Rörstrandsgatan 7 in Stockholm - the Filadelfiakyrkan (Philadelphia Church).
Karlberg is my
favorite railway station and I'm getting familiar with the area of Vasastan.
The first time I went here, I got a little lost but it was a good experience. I
enjoyed it. I love this city and its beautiful Scandinavian buildings. Here
you'll also find the awesome Stockholm Stadsbibliotek.
Hence, it was easy for me to find the venue for last night's event. I was also surprised that the photo I took a month ago, GUD❤️STHLM, was displayed on its facade. Destiny it is that I'll have a memorable experience in this place.
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| Filadelfiakyrkan |
I entered the church
and noticed that almost all the volunteers were men. There's an impression that
it's really a night for women to relax and enjoy. They welcomed everyone with
sparkling water.
I didn't know anyone
except for some familiar faces. Somehow, I felt a little lonely.
But as we were all
waiting for the sanctuary to be opened, I already claimed that God is going to
do something amazing and His anointing would be poured out to everyone
especially the worship team members, organizers and our guest speaker from
Hillsong South Africa: Pastor Lucinda Dooley. I prayed that the Lord will touch
our hearts and renew our minds to amazingly refresh us.
Doors were opened at
6:40PM and thanks God I got a good seat in the middle row and near the stage. I
had an Asian seatmate, she's a mother and she loves to smile. She also went on
her own.
By the way, I also
borrowed a Translation radio but mine was having static noises from time to
time. So it's good that the preaching would be in English.
The worship time was
great and one of the song we sang was Hillsong Worship's 'What a Beautiful Name
it is'. I believe the band will officially release its new album later this
year. And Brooke Fraser-Scottwood would be the lead singer of this track.
Back to the event, the ladies prepared a guessing game and they divided the crowd into half. It's a fun game where some popular international and local artists were flashed on the screen and one of the girls will sing a song and her partner have to guess the name of its artist. Our team didn't win but since the church is so generous, as always, all of us got a pair of Lindt's Lindor chocolates. Yum!
Back to the event, the ladies prepared a guessing game and they divided the crowd into half. It's a fun game where some popular international and local artists were flashed on the screen and one of the girls will sing a song and her partner have to guess the name of its artist. Our team didn't win but since the church is so generous, as always, all of us got a pair of Lindt's Lindor chocolates. Yum!
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And read Isaiah
60:1-2 followed by her
invitation to register for the Shine course, join the A21 walk on October 2016,
and the Colour Sisterhood Conference in London next year.
Then Pastor Lucinda Dooley opened her message sharing her own moment when she felt some inadequacy to do what she usually does and be victorious in it for the year 2016. But after she prayed, God gave her a message through SMS from a friend. This friend sent her a Bible verse from Isaiah 46:3-4:
“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
And that moment she
knew that God was telling her to 'adopt an audacious faith'.
A kind of faith that
is:
- Mountain-moving;
- Giant-slaying;
- Miracle-building;
- Walking-on-the-water; and
- Taking-territory
She gave four points to remember:
1 We can't let our inadequacy anchor us.
Remember that in
Genesis 3:1-7, Eve felt that what she had was not enough for she thought that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing
to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.
And in reality,
sometimes we're like that BUT what we have is actually more than enough. Jesus
is more than enough.
We know that it is impossible for God to lie and we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and
secure. (Hebrews 6:17-19)
2 We can't let our hearts hinder us.
We must always guard
your heart above all else… (Proverbs 4:23) and turn to God for He heals the
brokenhearted.
For our hearts are sensitive; can get damaged and offended. Keep in mind that the condition of our hearts can affect our impact to others. This is perfect for me since I'm a ministry leader in our church.
3 We can't let lies limit us.
We will know it is a
lie if it is contrary to God's Word. We can read what Jesus said to people who
were unable to hear and accept Him - the truth (John 8:42-47).
4 We can't let struggle stop us.
Just like Apostle
Paul who endured hardships and even boasted about it. (2 Corinthians 11::22-27
NLT);
and though God did
not approve his request to have his thorn in the flesh, his weaknesses, be
removed: Paul decided to quit focusing on the
handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength
moving in on his weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG)
Because we must know
and accept that the struggle is real (at times).
Just like Nick Vujicic's great testimony of he became limitless/unstoppable because the God he believes is greater, sovereign! You can read from my old post about his amazingstory and how he challenged every viewer to have faith in our BIG GOD.
Just like Nick Vujicic's great testimony of he became limitless/unstoppable because the God he believes is greater, sovereign! You can read from my old post about his amazingstory and how he challenged every viewer to have faith in our BIG GOD.
So we don't have any excuse not to live our life limitless.
We must decide to have an audacious faith.
I truly believe that it's only our own self who can hinder God's purpose.
I knew about most of these already but since there's no accident to God - His plan was to let me hear this message once more especially while I'm in a country that is not my own. So I can remember that truly His purpose prevails and He can work all things together for good.
Pastor Lucinda
closed her preaching with a Bible story from the Old Testament, 2 Kings
4:18-30. It's about the woman from Shunem who lived with an audacious faith. She
didn't let her inadequacy anchor her, her heart hinder her, the lies limit her
and struggles stop her. She chose to arise and shine.
Thanks God that when I left the church, there's a smile on my face and a wonderful feeling because of God's power. I even got a Bible translated in Swedish from one of the volunteers and I thanked Pastor Lucinda personally. I know that the Lord also wanted her to know that her message is really God's message to everyone so we won't feel alone and down anymore. Sisters/Siblings in the Lord must encourage one another.
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| Sisterhood's Be Found Catalogue and Bible in Swedish |
I really hope that many will find their lives anchored on God.It's really easy to feel insecure and hopeless in this worldbut we must know that we are not aloneand what we have is more than enough.
Today, I claim in
the Name of Jesus that whoever reads this post will have her mind renewed,
heart encouraged and life turned around to greatness. It’s no accident that I'm
writing this and you're reading this. God bless you.
Hugs!
Love, MM ♥
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