Authority

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:19-20

I am a son of my heavenly Father -- this is the joy of my salvation! How can I pass a moment without His presence? If depression is out to get you, it's time to get up and praise the Lord!

I am called to bring others into His sonship! If you're not proclaiming good news to others, why should God give you His authority? With power, comes responsibility.

I am a son of my heavenly Father, and Jesus has given me authority over all the power of the enemy, over everything that is in my hands and under my feet -- my body, my soul, my spirit, and its physical and spiritual possessions. I have authority over sicknesses, injuries and deformities in my body; I have authority over fear, unbelief, deception, temptation, my will and my emotions; and I have authority over pride within my spirit, and no evil force has the right to oppress me. Whatever physical property that belongs to me, and all that has been placed under my charge, the devil has no right to touch -- my time, money, my car, my job, my team, my students, my clients etc. I have authority over demonic influences that want to invade the people whom I have a personal relationship with -- my family members, my close friends, people who have blessed me in one way or another etc. The light shines in the darkness, and darkness cannot overcome it!

I am called to bring others into His sonship, and I have to step out to take possession of new ground, for it is God's desire to give me nations as an inheritance. I have the right to determine the spiritual atmosphere of a physical location, and I can have authority over any presence of evil in that place -- my home, my school, my workplace etc. I have the good news, that sets captives free!

How should I pray, in order to win a spiritual battle?

"Lord, if it is Your will, please help her..."

Wait a minute, don't you know His will? It is written in His Word!

"God, use Your almighty power to help her..."

Hold a second, hasn't God already given us His authority? Jesus is the head and we are the body which carries out the work, and God is not going to use His almighty power where He expects us to use it.

So let's try again:

"Father, Your Word says..."

"And in the name of Jesus, we declare..."

Amen!

From Broken, to Breakdance

In 1999, my spinal discs were broken. The gel in the last two discs at the base of my spine was squashed out against my spinal nerves. Sharp pain cut through my right hip and shot down the back of my right leg to my heel. My lower back was locked-up -- I could barely touch my knees as I tried to bend forward. How was I going to tie my shoelaces? As I tried to sit on the chair or even on the toilet bowl, I was agonisingly sitting on the problem spot itself! Sleep alone was a torture, and sports was taboo. The medical procedure to treat “slipped-discs” was to surgically remove the gel that was sticking out from the disc, but the squashed-out gel of my broken discs were spread so wide that it touched every surrounding nerve. Hence, my only hope of surgery would have cut up those nerves and left me utterly paralysed.

Two years later in 2002, the worst struck -- all the skin covering my limbs and ears started to dissolve into wet and itching open wounds, oozing plasma all day. Whenever I awoke or undressed, whatever crust that could form would tear from my clothes or bed-sheets. Whenever I was outdoors, houseflies would hound me endlessly. The specialists fed me steroids -- doesn’t such poisonous stuff harm my liver and bones? They also prescribed me steroidal cream that caused whatever patch of skin I had left, to become paper-thin -- if I just scratched my “skin”, it would bleed. Every time I stopped medicating, my condition grew worse. Once again, the doctors concluded that there was no cure for me.

"Though He (God) slay me, I shall trust in Him", I told myself. But five years of broken discs and two years of no-skin later, I was sitting on my bed -- depressed. I recalled many times that the Bible said, "by His (Jesus’) stripes, you are healed." I heard in my heart, "Son, you are healed. Why are you still on your sickbed?" Stunned, I answered, "How could you say that I’m healed? I'm still in pain!" Then my Heavenly Father continued, "Do you believe Me, or do you believe the doctors?" I was really challenged at that point -- I called myself a Christian, yet I had not persevered in believing all that the Bible said. So I replied in my heart, “I’m sorry Lord, I believe -- help my unbelief!” The doctors made sense when they said, “No running, no jumping.” -- such impact would squash out more gel against my nerves. But God said I was healed. So despite the pain, I went out to jog everyday. I also joined the hip hop dance team in my church.

Two months later, we were in Yangon running a revival conference called History Maker Myanmar 2004. I had lost interest in inspecting my illnesses by then. But one day, I decided to I test out my spine. I bent forward while standing, and Jesus -- I touched the floor with straight legs! I looked at my skin and I couldn’t care less that it was not soft and smooth. But what made me smile was that skin had actually covered up my entire being, leaving no gaps for wet and open wounds!

Yes, the two incurable diseases were healed at the same time! Surely, that was the work of God that I cannot deny. Jesus died to pay the penalty of my sin, sickness and curse over my life; Jesus is God; and Jesus is alive!

Recent practice at gymnastics session.

A Dramatised Representation of a Spiritual Battle

My church continued to have an influx of youth from non-Christian homes, hence our hip hop dance styles got fused with breakdance and I had to try to keep up. I enjoy stunt kicking during the breakdance segments, as a dramatised representation of a spiritual battle. How can one express the destruction of the spiritual enemy, tenacity in prayer, the overcoming of fear, believing God for the impossible, breaking through barriers in life, and joy? I put together a collection of video clips, and this is how I would dance if I could:

http://vimeo.com/15943338

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddtP5fwu2o

An expression, that brings motivation!

Biblos.com

http://biblos.com/

• This site has truly served me well. I key in a smattering of words, and walla -- it shows me the verse in the Bible. 
• I click on that verse and almost every great English translation of that verse shows up. This a quick solution if you can't understand the English of a verse from the version that you are reading!
• There are many more valuable aids in Biblos.com meant for Bible study, such as its atlas and encyclopedias. But what makes this website a winner is its powerful search mechanism and its amazing speed! It is an obvious choice to consider if you need an all-in-one Bible study tool.

Thesaurus.com

http://thesaurus.com/  

• Can't think of the word that you want? Just key in a word that is related.
• Check out the entries under the synonyms of that word, and click on the word that bears a closer relation to the word that you want.
• After a few tries, you should not only be able to find the word that you want, but also be able to phrase what you want to say in a few ways using a palate of synonyms!

Cybermissions Group Survey

*What potential does the Internet / digital media have for Christian ministry?

The potential for evangelism through the use of internet and digital media is enormous. Internet and digital media has become a part of the everyday life of the modern world -- websites, emails, blogs; the usage of facebook and twitter is on the rise; and the mobile phone is most widely used. If you present a message in the right way, through the right medium, you could potentially touch the life of a stranger halfway across the globe, and reach masses in a “viral” way.

*Have you personally used the Internet for ministry? If so how long have you been doing this? 

Yes, 7-10 years

*What kind/s of online ministry have you been involved in?

I encourage other Christians via email, text or Facebook / social media. It has been an impact to some people over the years.

*What scares you most about the Internet?

Internet pornography is one of the most common activities that pollutes the lives of people today. On any kind of web search, it is just so easy for images that bring temptation, to show up, and draw one away in to the deep end. Thankfully, believers' victories over such addictions and weaknesses have become powerful testimonies to the life-transforming power of Jesus.

*Do you have a favorite Internet story?  A coincidence? A testimony?  Did you personally find Christ online?

My favourite internet story is the re-enactment on the testimony of Khalil, presented in the form of a short movie. Khalil was once a radical Egyptian terrorist, handpicked by his leaders to discredit the Bible. He embarked on his task with vicious intent. Through the malicious process, he actually saw truth in the words of the Bible, and fell in love with the big book. When this was uncovered by his mentor, he was almost killed for his belief that the words of the Bible were right. One day, his Bible was stolen and he was devastated. In his despair, Jesus appeared to him and turned his whole life around.

*What technology/ies have the greatest potential for effective Internet / digital ministry?

Web 2.0. Wikis especially, have the power to define “truth”. When people read wikis, such information become absolutes in their understanding of this world. Christian ministers need to conquer this medium if they really want to make a change in the society.

  

*How can we use the new technology to evangelize the most unreached and most unengaged peoples of the world?

One of the reasons why many people groups are still unreached or unengaged because there is little or no gospel material available in their language. Many of them are also technologically backward, but this presents a unique opportunity. We urgently need to translate as much gospel material as possible, into their languages. So that the moment new technology reaches them, we will have a database of SMS messages, articles, dictionaries, encyclopedias, motion pictures, still images, audio messages, music etc.; all ready to satisfy their appetite for entertainment and information.