Outwardly Tired, Inwardly Renewed
After saying Amen as I led some of the new people to cross the line of faith in our Filipino Service, I could literally feel the rapid movements on the soles of both my feet. Not only was the sermons done, I was completely done too!
My body was really tried but within me, my joy really knows no bound. The words of the Paul kept resonating in my mind…
2 Corinthians 4:16
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
I guess I am just a joyful tired dog!
As I reflected on how panicky I was when the torrent of preaching and teachings responsibilities stormed my way on Wednesday morning to the completion of the preaching in all 5 services on the weekend, I was just amazed of how God had sustained me and brought about great victories in His church.
This isn’t the first time that God has bailed me out and I doubt it would be His last time. In fact, that really is the story of my life. God bailed me out again and again since the first time I come to a personal relationship with Him.
Allow me to take some time to reflect on all the 5 services that I had attended over the weekend.
Firstly, the Youth service had a really wonderful electrifying atmosphere. You can feel the high energy level in the air. Credits must really go to the leaders who very wisely created opportunities for the youth to exuberate their energy and express their creativity in such God-honoring ways. The youth were also really responsive and I was thoroughly blessed.
For the Tertiary service, I enjoyed the diversified feel among the congregation. It was a wonderful mixture of the Poly students, the University students and many working adults embedded within. Even among the Poly and University groups, the people from various campuses were rather different as well. Different but one. I enjoyed this very greatly as it is a representation, to some degree, of the cosmopolitan society that we are living in.
The 1st English Adults service had often been one of my favorite services to attend. The main reason is because many of the contemporaries that grew up (or older and bigger!) with me attends this service. As I preached, it was obvious to me that we have a group of committed veteran soldiers in our midst. The wholehearted commitment is reflected through their longevity of service and love for the Word.
At 1130am on the Sunday morning, this is when the 2nd English Adults service commences. I love his service for the responsiveness of the people. They are responsive to my preaching (I’m externally grateful!). One good friend actually told me that he was so challenged by the preaching that he went on sending sms to connect with his pre-believing friends while the sermon was still going on! Talk about being quick to respond to God’s Word. This service brings back memories of the early days of our church when the young adults group was really dominant and prominent. May this tribe increase greatly (the rest too!)
Quite a few of the working adults from the Sunday morning English services had told me that they really enjoyed attending the Filipino Service. The main reason, they told me, was because of the spiritual atmosphere in the service. Not unknown to many, our Filipino group is the group that fasted and prayed the most. It is not surprising to me that the spiritual atmosphere of the service is high. The corporate atmosphere is basically the summation of all the individual heart’s atmosphere. When there are so many among our Filipino group that have such a desperation for Jesus, it simply culminates in the corporate settings as well.
Simply put, I love Jesus and I love our church family. Thanks all for being a part of my life.
Enough said… time to yield to the call of the bed monster…Zzzzz
My body was really tried but within me, my joy really knows no bound. The words of the Paul kept resonating in my mind…
2 Corinthians 4:16
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
I guess I am just a joyful tired dog!
As I reflected on how panicky I was when the torrent of preaching and teachings responsibilities stormed my way on Wednesday morning to the completion of the preaching in all 5 services on the weekend, I was just amazed of how God had sustained me and brought about great victories in His church.
This isn’t the first time that God has bailed me out and I doubt it would be His last time. In fact, that really is the story of my life. God bailed me out again and again since the first time I come to a personal relationship with Him.
Allow me to take some time to reflect on all the 5 services that I had attended over the weekend.
Firstly, the Youth service had a really wonderful electrifying atmosphere. You can feel the high energy level in the air. Credits must really go to the leaders who very wisely created opportunities for the youth to exuberate their energy and express their creativity in such God-honoring ways. The youth were also really responsive and I was thoroughly blessed.
For the Tertiary service, I enjoyed the diversified feel among the congregation. It was a wonderful mixture of the Poly students, the University students and many working adults embedded within. Even among the Poly and University groups, the people from various campuses were rather different as well. Different but one. I enjoyed this very greatly as it is a representation, to some degree, of the cosmopolitan society that we are living in.
The 1st English Adults service had often been one of my favorite services to attend. The main reason is because many of the contemporaries that grew up (or older and bigger!) with me attends this service. As I preached, it was obvious to me that we have a group of committed veteran soldiers in our midst. The wholehearted commitment is reflected through their longevity of service and love for the Word.
At 1130am on the Sunday morning, this is when the 2nd English Adults service commences. I love his service for the responsiveness of the people. They are responsive to my preaching (I’m externally grateful!). One good friend actually told me that he was so challenged by the preaching that he went on sending sms to connect with his pre-believing friends while the sermon was still going on! Talk about being quick to respond to God’s Word. This service brings back memories of the early days of our church when the young adults group was really dominant and prominent. May this tribe increase greatly (the rest too!)
Quite a few of the working adults from the Sunday morning English services had told me that they really enjoyed attending the Filipino Service. The main reason, they told me, was because of the spiritual atmosphere in the service. Not unknown to many, our Filipino group is the group that fasted and prayed the most. It is not surprising to me that the spiritual atmosphere of the service is high. The corporate atmosphere is basically the summation of all the individual heart’s atmosphere. When there are so many among our Filipino group that have such a desperation for Jesus, it simply culminates in the corporate settings as well.
Simply put, I love Jesus and I love our church family. Thanks all for being a part of my life.
Enough said… time to yield to the call of the bed monster…Zzzzz
posted by Jeff Chong at 1:02 am
3 Comments:
Wooo....nice verse ....physically tired outside... happy inside... actually I do believe in something...something which is a passion for us we would want to do it extremely well..no matter how tired... Ps Jeff lets work hard together for our Lord Jesus..He is more than a passion!
thank you pastor Jeff. For allowing God to use your blog entries to impact many lives. Outwardly tired, inwardly renewed indeed reminded me in many phases of our service to God, he will be there to restore us. Thanks for the reminder! No matter how weary are we, we will always sustain energy and lift the group up.. Because the joy from the Lord keeps us always going!
thanks once again. =)
Hi guys, I just came back from the Filipino camp. It was just great! The people are so hungry for God. I am dead tired on the outside but I am so strengthen on the inside. Need to prepare my sermon for the weekend now...
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