Varsity Christian Fellowship FOC!!

fantastic camp.

The Message

the way they dig into the word.. it inspires me. the teaching/preaching by this guy tt is now studying theology in scotland was REALLY good.

topic one: why christians study (day 1)
topic two: engaging God's world - our small hopes and God's shalomic kingdom (day 2)
topic three: waiting on God - an exposition of Isaiah 40:27-31 (day 3)

topic three impacted me the most... think i shall share some of the notes i took here.. be blessed!

theme verse - Isaiah 40:27 to 31. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? have you not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Introduction. historical backgrd

Isaiah- a book based on prophecy. plight of Israel- moving into exile/ destruction. they have forsaken the Lord and turned away from Him.
Isaiah 1:10 - theyre compared to Sodom. whole of Isaiah 1- emphasis on religious practice and ritual. hearts distant although they mantain religious practices.

Israel's position (v27) - shattered hopes and dreams. their position of exile's a way of God disciplining His pple.

Israel perplexed - in the stage of exile. perplexed due to the tension of their beliefs. theyre no longer in the rhelm of God's blessings, therefore theyre confused. davidic convenant in 2 samuel 7 states that God would bless them and discipline them (defn of Fatherhood of God) to bring them to maturity. however, Israel forgot about the discipline part and thought that the blessings of God would always be upon them. thought that God favours His pple at the expense of His Holiness and His justice. Christian life therefore should be a time of refinement and blessings. crisis of our faith because of our inbalanced picture of God?

Israel's problem (v28-29) --"Do you not know, Have you not heard?"-- that cry is an expression of a fundamental problem in Israel's spirituality.

1) lack of trust in God's omnipotent power. turning to men, not God. had political alliances that day- trusted & depended more on them than on God. v15- Prophet challenging viewpoint of human powers-- the nations are described as inconsequential and insignificant, contrasted with God.
2) did not trust in God's wisdom (v28)
William Caper: Judge not the Lord by our feeble senses. saints in the past- after experiencing Gods power, they give a name to God. they knew the essence of God. made a personal discovery.
3) does not trust God in His benevolence. rooted in Gen chp 3. Adam and Eve did not trust that God was a good God and He knew whats best for us. think God is out to get us.



Israel's promise (v30-31)



God would give them strength beyond what they have. contrast btwn youth vs eagle. if you rely on own strength, can only go as far as your tow feet can bring, compared to the distance the eagle can bring. goes much furthur than your native energy can carry you.



Israel's posture- wait.

original meaning of 'renew' in hebrew- changing energy source, not topping up of energy.

Israel- must change their energy source and rely on God! need to let Him finish His work of providence in their life. eagles fly slowest when theyre flapping their wings and not relying on the wind.



C.S Lewis- "Christian life has never been tried and found wanting, but it has always been found to difficult to be tried."

Workshop - social actions



i signed up for the social actions workshop. had many interesting discussions & watched parts of 'amazing grace'- the life of William Wilberforce. rly respect and admire him. his perserverance, his sacrificial heart. reminds me not to be so inward looking in my Christian life, but to also observe my surroundings and the places God has put me at in society, to use my position to glorify God.

some good quotes...



'To our most bitter opponents we will say: "throw us in jail and we will still love you. bomb our houses and threaten our children and we will still love you. beat us and leave us half dead and we will still love you. but be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. one day we shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.'
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

"If the Christian mission is to be modelled on Christ's mission, it will surely involve for us, as it did for him, an entering into other people's worlds. In evangelism it will mean entering their thought world, and the world of their tradegy and lostness, in order to share Christ with them where they are. In social activity it will mean a willingness to renounce the comfort and security of our own cutural backgrd in order to give ourselves in service to pple of another culture, whose needs we may never before have known or experienced. Incarnational mission, whether evangelistic or social or both, necessitates a costly identification with pple in their actual situations. Jesus of Nazareth was moved with compassion by the sight of needy human beings, whether sick or bereaved, hungry, harassed or helpless; should not his pple's compassion by aroused by the same sights?" -- Issues facing Christians Today.

"In our postmordern age, there is a confusion betwwen tolerance and laissez-faire to such an extent that it is sometimes believed that to disagree with somebody is to be intolerant of them. true tolerance, which respects the views of others while disagreeing with them, has be come an empty tolerance which does not bother to engage and amounts to indifference.."

Friends

I made amazing friendships!!!! with my og and with random pple outside my og. it's so heartwarming to know that there are so many sincere Christians out there chasing after God- the best common denominator! :)

Inter-denominational

once again, i think it's really cool to see pple from all denominations gathering together. although our beliefs are rather different, and it may be challenging sometimes, the more impt thing is that we believe in the same God, trust in the same God, & love Jesus. God looks at the heart, not the outward manifestations that we mostly differ from. Sincere hearts that hunger after Him, that longs to do His will. Obedient submissive beings, hearts that respect Him and treats Him seriously, souls that truly seeks Him because of who He is, and not what He can give.

Im truly humbled by this camp. the sacrifices that i see pple give to God, the respect and honour that they bring to God...

there's loads more i can share if time permits. but yea thats it for now.. :)