Yesterday was my turn to receive from God's Downpour, after the church camp. I really didn't have a firm grip of what God has done in the camp in the lives of His people until yesterday at the Sunday service. I knew at the end of the camp that God had done a deep, deep work but depth is always difficult to fathom unless well articulated and yesterday morning, I left church filled up as I heard from various ones how their lives are changing because of God's downpour of love.
Pastor Lili brought us a summary of the teachings from the camp. She weaved into her sermon various testimonies from people of different walks in life.
There was this teenager who came to the camp with a problem that was growing bigger and bigger. He felt misunderstood and burdened. But at the camp, as he bundled all his disappointments and placed them at the feet of the Lord, he walked away free from that heaviness .
A single mum found the Lord to be the Father of the fatherless and on her drive back from the camp her children affirmed that they have a heavenly father in God. Oh, how marvelous His love.
A working mum so wanted to secure her personal 'break' after the camp but the Lord revealed the nature of His love to her. Love is more then just a warm feeling inside, she said. True love sacrifices; it suffers for the sake of the other. That is how God loves us and we are called not just to be admirers of his love but imitators of God's love (Eph 5:1). She decided then to use her holidays to cook for her kids!
A man who suffered a mild heart- attack a week before the camp found himself going to the camp at the very last minute. What wasn't possible to begin with became possible eventually. And at the camp, he came to the altar to let go of years of unforgiveness and bitterness of heart. He left the camp feeling so liberated. He felt like a new person!
Another young man struggled with receiving the love of the Lord. He often felt disqualified to receive God's love because of his sins. But at the altar one night, the Lord spoke to him that he must forgive himself because God has forgiven him. He did just that and walked away liberated!
Another mum came up to share about the many struggles she had with her 21-year old son. His cutting remarks and text messages were deeply wounding. But at the camp, the downpour of God's love in her life gave her the supernatural strength to love her difficult son and take practical steps to demonstrate love to him.
A cell shepherd declared his commitment to lead his cell to continually walk in God's love by bringing the cell together for accountability and mentoring so that this 'mountain' experience of God's love is not lost in the 'valleys' of everyday living.
After the service, I was talking to another man who had a bad experience right after the camp. His car was broken into while his family was having lunch in a certain town in Malaysia, on their way back to Singapore. They lost all their belongings, including their passports and cash. The amazing thing was he was not as disturbed. At lunch, he heard the Lord say to him that He was more important than His blessings. This man's heart was prepared for what was to follow. So when they came face to face with the loss, he did not lose his inner posture - his eyes were still fixed upon the face of God. He had learned to look at God's face more then God's hands. He was loving God for God more than for all His blessings!
As I left church, I chatted with a lady who had been to all but one camp in 17 years. She said while God has done so much in this camp, what stood up was not so much the hand of God at work. She said we left the camp wanting to walk in love more than just wanting to wallow in His love for ourselves. It was the Face of God that remains in focus after the camp. That was the depth of the downpour camp!
Later in the evening I received an sms about a group of Agapians who had taken time that afternoon to visit the residents in Pek Kio to bless them with some goodies that they had bought in Malaysia. It was walking in God's love because He has so loved us!
What a downpour of love....it has begun!
If you like to listen to the testimonies and the summary lessons from the Downpour camp,
just click here.
