Update

Ok, so it’s been quite a while since I’ve written anything in here, I guess I’ve been a bit lazy. Very lazy, I guess I’ve been watching to many DVD’s. But enough about my laziness, the plan is in this post is to split it into topics that are related to my life. Work, Church, Fun and Love.

Work

Well, I’m still working for Primus Telecom under Hotkey Solutions, been there for a about a year and 3-4 months. The position I now hold is Level 2/Assistant Team Leader. This is a more management position, I now have a team to take care of and make sure they do their job, quite exciting for me I think. And it’s certainly going to be a different and challenging experience, but I feel that I’m going to a great job. Still on the topic of work, I’m a project manager for a new product which Hotkey Solutions is offering through Google Apps. For me, it’s pretty exciting, developing the product through Google so we could market it to the target we’re after. So I’m hoping it will go well in the next few weeks as we just launched it a couple of days ago.

He is the source of love

Sermon notes: 12/11/2006It matters to God that those who profess faith in Him love like He loves. Why?

• He is the souce of love (1 John 4:7-8) – He is love. Love began with God for God is love. God does not merely love, He is love – it is His very nature. Love is who God is and we are never more like him when we love like Him.
• Love is valued by God above all else (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
• Love produces godly character (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
• Love has power to witness – “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:15)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Neil Young/Student Focus

Today I was going to write an entry about Neil Young, I recently read a piece on him in a magazine from March 2005. It was a very good article, and it lead me to listen to his last album he released. So keep an eye out for that entry where I’ll be talking about Neil Young.

Instead today, I helped out my friend Rachel with the one of the high school programs that our church has. This one is called Student Focus, where we go into a school at lunchtime and have some games with the kids and then a short devotional about God. Most of the games are fun and involve chocolate as reward, which gets the kids in. It’s one of our outreach programs where we get most of the kids from our youth group to come. I think it’s been great this year, as we have had an awesome year in growth for the youth group [www.elevate-youth.com.au].

Tonight we will be venturing into the City tonight for a bit of a scavenger hunt in the city [Melbourne]. So should be a good night, although I think it’s going to be quite cold.

I don’t know about the title for this entry, couldn’t think of anything. So deal with it, hahahaha.

Financial Freedom

Last weekend, I attended a Financial Freedom seminar at my church, the speaker was Pastor Kevin Furlong. I really don’t know much about Pastor Kevin, but he had some great things to say. The morning was split into 3 sessions, I didn’t get to take much notes on the first session so I will keep this one brief. What I did manage to take down was good. These 3 points were based on this scripture form Malachi 3: 8-12

Malachi 3:8-12
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Things we rob God of:

1. His Fatherly right of blessings.
2. His gift to His ministry.
3. Ministry and worship

The next session was all about having a “Spirit of Poverty”. As we see things in a spirit of control, we gain a spirit of poverty mentality. These 3 points are how we gain that mentality.

1. Unfulfilled expectations and disappointment
2. Inherited perspectives – We can inherit our perspectives onto our children and also gain them from our own parents, who might have a bad perspective of something that can then rub onto our kids, or you could of gained that perspective from your own parents.
3. Bad Christian morals

Genesis 3:16-19
16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’ “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

Isaiah 32:8
8 But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.

How to break that Spirit of Poverty mentality

1. Give your finances and possessions to God.
2. Meditate on the promises of success.
3. Reject the limitation mindset.
4. Tithe – Bring in the whole tithe.
5. Sow – Seed generously.
6. Create a faith atmosphere – heart/tongue.
7. Exercise your faith – Believe God.
8. Step out of your comfort zone and obey the Holy Spirit.
9. Practice good stewardship – Generous with people and God.
10. Give in a biblical manner.

God’s Order For Financial Increase

Genesis 8:22
22 “While the earth remains, Seed-time and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

5 Laws of the Harvest

1. We reap what we sow.
2. We reap after we sow.
3. We reap in proportion to how we sow.
4. We reap more than we sow.
5. We reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

So it was a great morning, hearing Pastor Kevin speak, and I did learn a lot. And I have a long way to go in being financially free with God, if that’s the right way to put it. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, hahaha…

Career, life?

I no longer work at Heathdale Christian College. I ceased to be an employee of the school from the 17th of May. I was there for 2 years, 2 great years might i add, that place will always be beside my heart and their vision I will always share. I attended that school for my later senior years of high school, and I will always hold it up high as a good education institution. Then 2 years after graduating from there I got a job there as an IT Technician, which was a great job and I had a lot of fun there. The people were great, the kids were great (well most of them) and ofcourse the hours were great too!

But one morning, I was bought into a meeting with my boss and the principal, there I was told, that as of the 17th of May we will not be continuing your contract of employment. To be frank, I was shocked, and pretty upset, as you can read above that working there was great for me. As I look back at it now, being roughly 2 months now since I left, I see that it was God’s will for me to finish my employment there and move onto bigger and more challenging things. Which has happened.

I now work for an internet service provider in the heart of the city of Melbourne, the mob I work for are Hotkey Internet. What I do there is pretty much answer the phone when it rings, and help the customer with whatever question they bring to me. Whether it be “fix my internet please” or “I wish to sign up to broadband, what do I need to do?”. Or the dreadful, “my e-mail is not working” to which most of the time, the solution is, “it is because no one has sent you any e-mail”. But I am enjoying it though, it is a very different experience to Heathdale, and the people are way more different.

So for now, this job is just a place holder until I figure out what I’m going to do next. I would love to get a job in a design or web design related firm, doing what I love. I would also love to have the flexibility in my job that I can do it from anywhere as well and that it would not interfere with my Christian walk. Eventually I would love to get into doing creative directing or something like that for the Church, and help steer the Church into a better direction when it comes to image and marketing. This has always been something that I would love to see the Church take on. We live in an multi-media age now, where having an online presence is important. And that is something I feel the Church can benefit in, and I want to help them take part in that.

So, that’s how I feel about that, hehe. Watch more on this space as I bring more discussions about this topic and how I start to take this issue on.

Alun Davies

Well, last night I had the privilege of seeing Pastor Alun Davies speak at Brimbank Christian Church. Alun is the vice-president of Assemblies of God Australia and the president of the Victorian Assemblies of God group. This was the first time hearing him speak, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I really should get some recording device to record preachers so I don’t have to write notes, because I really don’t like writing down notes at events like this. So I have a vague recollection of what he spoke on, I know it sounds really bad right?

Ok, well from what I remember I will try and tell you what he spoke about. Because this was sort of a night for people of leadership in church’s the main topic of his sermon was Vision, and to fulfill God’s destiny that he has planned for you. And not to look at your vision as a small one, but a bigger one, that you will grow into and grow out of as well, so when you grow out of it you look to God to make it bigger as you go. Alun also spoke about not to have a blurred vision but a clear one so you can see into the distant path before you and see where you are going with God.

So, it was an awesome night, and being the first time seeing Alun, I look forward in seeing him again someday soon. Last night I also caught up with a guy I went to university with that I had no idea was a Christian. We were in the same class when I attended, but I was only there for half a semester before I took on the job that I have now. It was great to see him kicking on for God and involved in his church, which was Brimbank Christian Church.

Today I bought the new Hillsong United CD titled “United We Stand” from iTunes, I am listening to now as I write this, and so far I am impressed, well how can you not be impressed with United, they have the anointing of God on them, and they are producing awesome music for Him, the artwork (well the front cover) I like a lot. I have always been impressed by their package production; the last album production was awesome. The bonus DVD that came with it, the opening for the live worship they have on there is amazing work, soon one day I wish that I will be able to produce work at that standard.