Fresh Fire seminar

Yours truly was ecstatic about the AOG prayer seminar held last week because the main speaker was Susan Tang.

I knew of Susan Tang through the books she wrote. To me, she has been a great mentor. I remember the first Susan-Tang book that I bought – Increasing in the Experiential Knowledge of God – having ministered to me greatly. From then on, my spiritual journey has been accompanied by almost all her books.

Susan Tang has always given me the impression that she is a very thin woman. Pardon my ignorance because I had never seen her before – not in pictures, and definitely, not in person – until last week. She is a very presentable lady who carries herself well.

And I had always have this impression that she was a very serious and stern pastor. Well, no, she was funny!

Susan Tang moves in the apostolic anointing and runs a “station of life” in Lahad Datu. You can check out her website at http://www.station-of-life.org/ from which you can even download some of her books.

And for the benefit of those who missed the prayer seminar, here’s the gist of what was taught.

Warning to the Ephesian church (and us)

Most of us are familiar with God’s admonition to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-17.

It is basically about this church (or us) being very successful and powerful in the eyes of men. Perhaps one that is fast-growing, with big congregation, beautiful buildings, active in ministries and good works… you know, whatever that denotes a “successful” church or a “highly spiritual” person.

But the Lord sees that church as fallen because she has left her first love, and unless she repents and returns to the first works, the Lord would come and “remove her lampstand from its place”.

If the church loses the “light”, how can she see? Similarly, if the “light” is taken away from us, how then can we see?

That explains why some people are moving in the “dark anointing” as in some of the so-called prophets of old (if not mistaken, in the book of Ezekiel – sorry, I didn’t note this down) who preached about peace and prosperity when disaster is looming.

Return to the first works

To know what the “first works” are, we have to go back to the Book of Ephesians to understand how it was in the initial stage. In this book many a time, the words – works, workings and workmanship – are mentioned.

Paul spoke of the works the Lord has done in his life, and that he is the Lord’s workmanship, and his life is marked with the continuous workings of God.

The first works are the continuous work of God in our lives. We have to allow the Lord to work in us first before we “work out” or serve.

Prevailing in His Presence

Going back to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch. Oh, the disappointment of the Lord when they failed to keep watch for just one hour, and this heartache of the Lord continues through the generations even as we have not “kept watch and pray”.

We need to learn how to prevail in His presence. Regardless of whether or not we “feel” His presence (our feelings have nothing to do with it).

Prayer is also not about the words we use. Some of the most powerful prayers contain just one word, and that one word could carry so many words in it.

We especially need to pray for Malaysia. God uses our prayer to shape a nation. The politicians have no power to control a nation; only those who pray, the pray-ers, have. But we need to first be a watchman before we become an intercessor. We therefore need to keep abreast of what’s happening around us.

A New Malaysia

Malaysia has entered a new exciting era, with the opposition making major inroads into the parliament. We also see disunity among our “neighbours”.

While some may regard the new developments in the Malaysian political scene as signals of instability, we should see it as a divine intervention which will ultimately lead to the glory of the Lord. Doors of opportunities to minister and spur the growth of the Lord’s kingdom are wide open.

We need to pray for our “neighbours” that Jesus would raise up this generation as believers of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Lord would do just that. History is unfolding before our eyes.

But don’t just sit back and watch. Let’s get involved – let’s put our hands to the plough and not turn back.