Full of praise for Him

I went for the Festival of Praise 2007 last Saturday.

A church friend (who had gone with me on a mission trip to Kyrgyzstan two years ago) had rung me up earlier and asked if I was free to attend the event. I had said yes immediately because my favourite Christian band Delirious formed the worship line-up, along with Don Moen.

I really appreciate this friend a lot because ever so often, she will call me and check on how I'm doing as well as alert me to a Christian event, or a live sermon being broadcast online at the time of her call.

She also smses me frequently to ask me to pray for her about certain things in her life. I really thank God for her because she knows that I am currently not attending cellgroup meetings, and she makes the effort to connect with me and tell me about what's happening in the church etc.

She had gone for the first day of the Festival of Praise on Friday and so she warned me during her phone call that we would need to be at the Singapore Indoor Stadium by 5.30pm even though the doors opened at 7.30pm. I picked her, her husband and her former colleague up at Braddell before heading for the indoor stadium.

True enough, the queues at the stadium snaked across roads and under bridges. We joined a queue. It took us about an hour before we could get into the stadium. I was stunned at the number of people who turned up until my friend reminded me that the festival was being hosted by City Harvest Church, and supported by 123 churches in Singapore. The stadium, which could seat 10,000 people, was packed to the brim.

I had a fantastic time because it felt really wonderful to be among thousands of people just doing what God desires most - praising and worshipping Him in unity and in spirit.

I looked around and most of the people there were young people, and I told my friend that my prayer is that many many great Christian leaders will arise from among them. As I said that, my throat choked because I was really so happy to see the Joshua generation. I can scarcely begin to imagine the impact on Singapore and the world if every single one of them becomes a history-maker for God. I pray that I will be bold and courageous enough to be also a history-maker for God.

I thank God that in Singapore, He has anointed wonderful leaders who have reached out to the youth successfully and have touched their hearts for Him. I count among them City Harvest's Senior Pastor Kong Hee.

I have been to City Harvest's church services and I have listened to Pastor Kong Hee's sermons online through the church's website. I have also bought some of his materials in audio CD format, the latest being "Marketplace Evangelism". I thank God for faithful servants like him who obeyed the call and plunged straight in.

Before the main message by the guest speaker, we all prayed as a body for Singapore - this was days before National Day. We prayed for our leaders and those in the government, that God would continue to guide them in His wisdom.

We also prayed that God would continue to bless Singapore so that it would be the Antioch of Asia and the world. It was a wonderful feeling to be praying for our country as a corporate body and to be assured that God hears our heartfelt prayers because it is stated so in His Word.

I'm a patriot and I'm very proud of my country. I thank God that He has blessed Singapore so very much over the years.

Before the guest speaker Reverend Dr Phil Pringle started his message, he talked about Pastor Kong Hee. He said that 17 years ago, Pastor Kong Hee had first invited him to speak at his church. Pastor Kong Hee's church had numbered only about 250 members then but had been sited in a warehouse that Dr Pringle said "could have held millions". Dr Pringle then turned to Pastor Kong Hee and said: "This man has faith!". (City Harvest now has about 10,000 members and counting.)

Among the points in Dr Pringle's message were the following:

1. Just because we have trials or troubles in our lives, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love us.

2. God couldn't love us any more or any less. God loves us.

3. Trials are meant to strengthen us, never to destroy us. Their purpose is to build us up and enable our faith to grow and mature.

4. If we roll the stones away in our lives, Jesus will bring forth miracles. (This was in reference to the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The stone that covered the opening to Lazarus' tomb had to be removed in order that Lazarus could step out and show that Jesus had already performed a miracle while he was still in the tomb.)

5. In today's materialistic world, we all too often look to the blessing, rather than the one who blesses us, and we hanker after things, rather than the thing-giver. We need to always remember that God is the provider of all things.

6. We are commanded to love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind.

7. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.


All too soon, the Festival of Praise ended. We hurried to the stores near the stadium's north entrance where I bought the latest Delirous CD and their book (well, I am their fan!). I decided against waiting in yet another queue for their autograph. :-P


Following that, my friend's former colleague took a ride from a friend. My friend, her husband and I then took a bus - number 16 - down to the 24-hour Kopitiam near SMU to have supper.

We ordered a plate of roast meats. My friend had wan-tan mee, and her husband ordered a bowl of rice. I ordered kidney soup with rice. We finished everything and after that, we parted ways.


Such a day was time well-spent for me. :-) And I thank my friend for that.