Eight fruitful years: We give thanks and all the glory to God
The People’s Church had a three-day seminar on Intercessory Prayer led by Reverend Dr Margaret Seaward as part of the Church’s 8th anniversary celebration. Everyone was greatly blessed; many were touched by the Lord and some were even baptised with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It was neither a church outing nor a buffet with good food but The People’s Church celebrated her 8th anniversary by having a three day Seminar on Intercessory Prayer from 5th August 2016 to 7 August 2016. It was through this Seminar that many in the Church drew closer to the word of God and emerged, fully charged and revitalized by the Spirit to continue the great work of building God’s Kingdom. When asked by church members on the arrangement, Senior Pastor Patrick Cheong replied that, “Throughout the 8 years, the Lord has blessed us tremendously and has always provided for our needs. It is only fitting that we have this Seminar together with our 8th anniversary where we can draw closer to God and give thanks for all He has done for us.
The Intercessory Prayer Seminar, which was led by Reverend Dr Margaret Seaward, was conducted with this current world’s busy pace of life in mind. We are always too busy for everything and all of us face an everyday challenge for having to contend with the quotidian ‘things of this world’. Sometimes, many of us even wish that we had 48 hours instead of 24 hours daily in order to accomplish our daily tasks. Even so, the reality is that most of us would still have not enough time and the “I’m busy and have no time” excuse pops up regularly even when it’s time to spend time with God. If this happens and we still conveniently assume that God understands our situation, then we are in dire need of drawing closer to God.
Fear not for God has a solution and that is Prayer. Prayer is a predominant feature in our Christian walk and is our main weapon against all our troubles, but many people have overlooked or discounted this over time. We may not know it, but many Christians are fighting to stay “alive” spiritually and neglect the power of Prayer. Some may have lost that “first love” for God and feel that they can no longer communicate with God. Our problems may vary – some of us may have disobedient children, unreasonable colleagues, dire financial situations or unfaithful spouses but when is the last time did we use Prayer as a means to your problems?
To cap things off, the Church also had the privilege of celebrating Reverend Dr Fred Seaward and Reverend Dr Margaret Seaward’s 65th wedding anniversary during the Seminar. A Godly couple, they have been a blessing to many people — believers and non-believers alike and have also been a great role model for a Christ-centred marriage.
The Church prepared a cake lighted with 65 individual candles, and as the cake made its way to them, everyone knew it was a fitting tribute to such a Godly couple. As Church member, Brother Nigel put it, “To have served all their lives and still be on fire for God gives you encouragement; you know their preaching is real and everything that they say is a blessing.” The celebrations ended with a prayer for the Seawards and a scrumptious buffet lunch, as both visitors and Church members had a great time fellowshipping with one another.
When we turn to Prayer, we must recognise that God is not a magician or a Prayer answering machine that will make our problems disappear once we call unto Him. Instead, during Prayer, as pointed out by Reverend Dr Seaward during the Seminar, we will need to keep pounding on the door and not give up. Even if it takes 1 day, 1 year or 10 years, we need to press on for God has His perfect timing for everything and we know that the God we serve gives us an infinite hope and love. When we believe that Jesus is the King of kings, and He will answer our prayers, we no longer need to live in fear.
The Intercessory Prayer Seminar was a timely reminder to spend time interceding for others in Prayer and the Seminar attendees were blessed by the words brought forth by Reverend Seaward. It was a thought that was shared by Church member Sister Crystal, who said, “This Seminar had taught me about the importance of prayer and how it is our weapon against the evil one.” The Seminar also challenged the Church members to pray earnestly to see more souls ushered into the Kingdom of God. The Church prayed that God will continue to manifest His Power and Might to bring an endless revival to our church and that the Church is not looking for a momentary revival but one that is consistently burning.
God has been good to The People’s Church throughout the eight years since we have gone autonomous and God has always been faithful to us. From the time we came out of the bomb shelter in Hougang to our new location at LHK 3, God has cleared our every obstacle and given us His bountiful blessings. Every anniversary, we look back at the past and smile at the good times and not so good times.
We give thanks and all the glory to God for granting us an excellent time where we had delicious food not only for the body but also for the spirit. His love and grace abounds, praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
This article was written by Cecilia Lee, Music Director, The People’s Church and also appeared on the AG Times Issue 028 (Nov – Dec 2016).
