Tribe of Judah

Hello World. It has been awhile since anybody from this group has posted. So I'll take the lead on this.

My past month has been awesome. Spiritually, its been a journey of great growth and understanding of Jesus. For the readers who do not know, A group of us went to Hillsong Conference 2008, it was awesome. What I learnt from that conference will stay with me for the rest of my life. There were so many moments were God just "WOW'ed" me. Despite the freezing cold weather of Sydney, the brief sickness, and the crazy train rides, there is nothing else negative about the trip. I met with my hero of faith Pastor Judah Smith. He cracked so many jokes, I found it hard to breathe at times. To sum up very briefly about what God taught me at Hillsong was:

1 - Never limit your vision of what God has in store for you. You'll be surprised by his generous/overwhelming love.
2 - Peace in the heart is so important. Without your peace, you lose your spiritual power.
3 - Have a discerning heart. King Solomon prayed for discernment, not understanding.
4 - Creative Ministry. God taught me this ministry has places to go and people to mould for his glory. I'm busy with the Lord's work and it feels "peaceful/joyful/awesome/cool/humbling/honouring/fulfilling"
5 - Justice, worship and evangelism are on top of God's to-do-list.
6 - Serving Jesus is one of the best things you could do with your life.

After the Hillsong experience, the fire I had for Jesus did not dwindle. Far from it. It was only two weeks ago that something changed within me. Something I have never experience before in my walk with God. I started preaching to myself. This was awkward at first. I felt at times "how could I possible teach myself spiritual things?" Then I got re-affirmed by the Holy Spirit, Henry, Anne and Judah Smith (Sermon - Do-ers of the Word) that preaching to yourself is definitely a Godly thing. The Holy Spirit has never talked to me this much before, through preaching to myself. I learnt things such as discernment when reading the scripture.

An example was on July 13th. I was reading 2 Timothy 2:12-13 - Deny God, and he denies us. Be unfaithful to God, and he remains faithful to you. I asked "what is the difference between denying and unfaithfulness?" Then the Lord replied and guided me to Isaiah 26:5 ( I had no idea what Isaiah had in store for me. I just went to the scripture in faith) - Pride - He humbles the proud, brings down arrogant cities, turns them into dust. In this way, denying God is about pride, being unfaithful is lack of trust.

And on August 4th - Hebrews 9:28 - Jesus will bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. I was shocked by this message. The holy spirit asked me "Marcus, are you eager for his return? Are you thinking he won't return to take the earth back in your life time?" I was speechless for awhile. Then the Holy Spirit said to me "You should expect his return SOON like you expect the morning sun to rise each morning." Full Stop. That changed my life. If I posed you, the reader this question -"What would you do if Jesus was returning tomorrow?" Most would answer "Get right with God" All worldly things fall and your focus is purely on Jesus. What changed my life was I should have this attitude everyday, each time the morning sun rises, I should be looking at the sky waiting for it to split open!

I have found each day, each hour is an adventure with God. I'm so excited about my growth, and the growth of others that when I think about it, it gets me even more excited. So this is my past month. This is my continuing adventure with Jesus.

- Hope you fed of it.