I continue to add substance to the Year of God’s Love. Today I teach on God’s love and its relationship with prayer.

Many are in stress, depressed, hurt, sad, in need of physical or emotional healing or in unending material needs. Underneath all these is a problem in the inner man – the spirit.

Prov 18:14 (KJV) The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Determination and strength of faith to win over life’s problems come from God’s love. His love heals a wounded spirit, inspires confidence and empowers faith in your spirit man.

How to grow in love and trust that inspires confidence of faith?

The answer lies in our prayer life.

Love came down when Prayer connects, in Person

God’s love flows in us when our hearts align with Him relationally in prayer. Prayer in relationship with God encapsulates these terms – “loving God”, “fellowship”, “worship” and “thanksgiving”.

In this article, I am addressing prayer as our connection, our communication with God who loves us personally. Prayer is not just petitioning for needs or chanting a mantra. Some of us from a background of idol worship do that. Through the risen Christ, we are set up for communication with the living God in person. In prayer we talk with a person. Get this and we will pray differently.

Pray relationally

We teach prayer as talking with God but we slip into reciting a ‘prayer’ religiously. True person-to-person communication is not there. Just check on how some children pray at the dinner table. We taught them to pray with certain phrases. They repeat them and we are pleased. This is good for a start but we need to pray relationally with God. Confident trust is by relationship.

Prayer is communication with God which is a two-sided exchange of understanding between God and us. It involves conversation with love, intimacy, honor, respect and courtesy. There is sharing from the heart as well as listening from the Lord. We profit from learning conversation with our parents and friends humanly, more so when we converse with God. Prayer in faith is relational.

Prayer – being present with God

Sister Lily seldom asks God for her needs. She loves communing with God in His presence. Then she heard from God, “I will systematically provide finance for you”. How cool is that! Some could be storming the throne of God for finance but not getting it. Here, she wasn’t even asking.

Here is the truth for the power of prayer: Provision, healing and freedom (from fear or stress) are by-products of being in the presence of the Lord that loves us.

Psa 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (KJV)

Higher aim – Quality of life

We go for a higher quality of life. Prayer is a time present with God, fellowshipping with Him, appreciating, loving and worshipping Him with thanksgiving. Needs are richly met there.

This is unorthodox to what we have been used to. But it is a better way to pray. We are lifting God up as who He is and does not treat God with disrespect by our much repetition of our needs or even expressing our anger when we do not get what we want from God. I am not saying we do not ask. Let us not be pre-occupied by it until apart from asking we have nothing to talk to God about. Prayer is relationship with God. Start practising. Amen.

Pastor Jeremiah Yap
Group Senior Pastor
New Life Restoration Centre

聆听叶牧师

当爱临到，一切都改变

从关系性的祷告获得信心
我要继续在神慈爱之年上作更深的分享。今天我教导神的爱与祷告之间的关系。

许多人承受着压力、处在忧郁、受伤、悲哀中，需要肉体或情感上的医治或物质上无尽的满足。在这一切的后面有个人内在的问题- 人的灵。

箴言18:14 “人有疾病，心能忍耐；心灵忧伤，谁能承当呢？”

靠着坚定和有能力的信去胜过生命中的难题是来至神的爱。他的爱医治受伤的灵，启发自信和增进灵人的信心能力。

如何才能启发信心和在爱的信靠里成长？ 答案就是我们祷告的生命。

当祷告与神联系，爱就临到
当我们的心透过祷告与神联系时，神的爱就流入我们里面。向神祷告建立关系包含
“爱神”、“团契”、“敬拜”和“感恩”这些形容词。

在这篇分享中，我正视祷告为我们的联系、我们个人与亲自爱我们的神之交流。祷告不只是为我们的需要向神请求或念咒语。我们当中有些因着以前拜偶像的背景会这样做。透过复活的基督，我们可亲自与真神联系交通，透过祷告我们可以与‘人’交谈。明白这真理我们的祷告就不一样。

关系性的祷告
我们教导‘祷告是与神交谈’，但有时我们却进入宗教仪式般的祈祷，失去真正‘人与人’之间的交流。就如孩子们在餐前祷告时用我们教他们的一些词句，他们重复使用这些词句，我们却很喜悦。对初学祷告者而言，这是好方法。但我们需要与神有关系性的祷告，
因为信靠必须透过关系以建立。

祷告是与神交通，是神与我们双方相互的交流和了解。它包含爱、亲密、道义、尊重和
礼貌的交谈。其中包括心里间的分享和听从神的话。从人的角度，我们可以学习从父母和朋友们的交流中获益， 更何况是与神间的交流。信心的祷告是关系性的。

祷告 – 处在神的同在里
Lily姐妹很少为自己的需要向神求告，但她喜欢在神的同在中与他交谈。她听到神说，“我会逐步地供应你财务上的需求。”真‘酷’啊！一些人为财务的需要到神的宝座求却得不着。但她却没有求。

这是祷告大能的真实：供应、医治和自由（从恐惧或压力）都是因爱我们神同在的成果。

诗16:11 “你必将生命的道路指示我。在你面前有满足的喜乐，在你右手中有永远的福乐。”

更高的目标 – 生命的品质
我们要追求更高的生命品质。祷告是用时间与神同在，与他交流，赞赏他，爱他，以感恩的心敬拜他。在那里我们的需要得满足。

这可能不合我们的传统但却是更好的祷告方法。我们因神的身份而高举他而不是以我们持续的需要而对他不敬，甚至因得不到的要求而生气他。我并非说我们不该祈求，但不应在他的同在时只专注祈求而忽略与他真心的交流。祷告是与神的关系。开始操练吧。阿们。

叶超群总主任牧师
June 2010

It’s Channel because it is the link, the communiqué between sponsors (the church) and feld (the missionaries). The purpose is to provide updates of missions feld reports from different countries, extracts of emails from the feld, praise reports, prayer points, announce newly adopted/sponsored groups, reporting of some fnancial details, photos as well as any other latest news.

The M stands for mission. My hope is to have this tool build greater awareness of ongoing/current issues by having short articles to focus and direct the church on mission teaching. It is also to encourage much needed prayer support for our church plants and missionaries on the feld on a more regular basis. With more than 20 mission trips per year that our churches
make, trip reports can also be documented here as we run out of “air-time” on Sunday mornings.

The plan is to have an issue once every quarter. My desire is to have all New Life churches participate in featuring their regular mission reports, in any language. One day we will have a multi-lingual Channel M and all can be blessed. I do hope this bulletin will set a fresh input to mission awareness among the New Life churches. Most of all, it is my prayer that the group of churches, pastors and members will all beneft and participate in this new Channel M.

Blessings,
Lawrence Chen
Group Executive Pastor

DOWNLOAD NOW!

As we landed in Beijing, the below freezing point spring temperature greeted us with a snow-covered airport. That explained why we had to sleep on the KLIA benches overnight, waiting for our China Airline plane that did not arrive. Upon arrival at our church in China, the love of God filled our hearts and everything about the trip changed. Love, Action, Power!

Dawn prayer every weekday, Pastoral visits lined up for us to minister to some very “tough” cases everyday. There was a demand to cast out demons and heal the sick. Challenging! Thanks to all who prayed for us while we were there. Your prayer definitely helped!

Every night we had a service, preached our hearts out and then ministry time till late. Next morning, dawn prayer! Minister to more broken marriages, families and the depressed! Increasing breakthroughs in individuals! Hallelujah!

The team, Lim and Connie, Elder Philip Tan and Chooi Ping excelled themselves. Philip ministered with great passion and enthusiasm and virtually got a man who could not use his legs but had stayed in bed to rise up and walk. He started to walk and by the next day he had walked to sit by his window bay by himself. It was announced to us by his daughter that he was to go downstairs to walk the neighborhood the day after. Amazing!

One lady had an accident six years ago and had been into hospital for surgery six times. She still could not walk on that leg and she uses a pair of crutches. The leg was swollen. On a night meeting, she was prayed for. The following night the husband brought over ten visitors to the service to the anxiety of the local Pastor, seeing so many strangers in the midst. The man was just excited. The swelling in his wife’s leg subsided overnight. Visible! Awesome!

From the first night service, people were saved as they were touched by messages on God’s love. The theme of our ministry as led by the Holy Spirit was simplicity – discipleship in reading God’s word, prayer, consistent faith that is linked to God’s grace. Simple does not mean easy. Basic but not to be despised, as many might have come to Christ for up to four years (since the start of the church) but still do not know God’s Word for themselves and so backslid easily. Many are dependent on Pastoral care throughout the time. The Pastor had become overly taxed. Meanwhile the evil one attacked some members, causing them to fall while others became distorted in truths, calling Satan also as God.

Some said that since they are discouraged, they need not go to church but stayed home to play computer games. God is important but church is not. One claims to do his quiet time everyday. He was dogmatic about church being second to God until it was pointed out to him that the Head (Christ) is connected to His Body (Church). If you consider only the head and not the body where the heart is, then there is no life, you are dead. Light bulb lit! Simple faith returned; so is his attendance at church. So wonderful! What happens if no one bothers to visit him? He could be lost in the devil’s deception. A simple visit but it saved a soul.

The church in China needs a lot of teaching and it takes time and effort to feed them. It is a very young church. But much potential! Many in our churches know so much more than they. More among us that have the means and maturity in the Word must think of helping our newer churches in our Group. Have a vision!

The church could have many more but is very short-handed. So many came and went. Even then, they have about 150 people squeezed into an office space. No one wants to rent out to a church for fear of the authority. They wish to buy over the next office but it costs RMB450, 000 (RM225k). They ask for help.

Please pray for our New Life Church in China.

24 March 2010

聆听叶牧师（特别版 )

新生命中国兰州宣教之旅

当我们抵达北 京，迎接我们的是零下温度的春天气候和白雪遮盖的机场。这就解释了为什么我们第一晚要在吉隆坡国际机场的长椅上渡过一夜， 因为要乘搭的中国班机没如期抵达。当抵步我们在中国的教会，神的爱充满我们的心以致整个行程都改变了！

爱、行动、能 力！

每日都有晨 祷，并且排着要探访和事奉一些极‘困难’的个案。有很多释放和医治的需要，非常有挑战！谢 谢每一位为我们祷告的弟兄姐妹，你们的祷告肯定帮助了我们！

每日晚上我们 有聚会，尽心尽力的分享信息后，就服事各人直到深夜。第二天又有晨祷！服事破裂的婚姻、家庭和忧郁症！更多人经历突破！哈利路亚！

我们的团队， 文嘉弟兄和开秀姐妹，政宾长老和翠萍姐妹都有突出的表现。政宾长老带着极大的热忱和耐心去服事，使一位躺卧在床上双脚不能 动的男士站起来行走，第二天他已能自己走到窗旁。他女儿见证说她父亲隔天就能下楼走到户外！真奇妙啊！

有位女士六年 前遇上车祸，进医院动了六次手术，但还不能行走，同时双脚又浮肿，只能靠着一对拐杖代步。在一次晚上聚会中，我们为她祷告，第二天晚 上她丈夫带了十多个人来聚会，令本堂的牧师有些失措，因为突然多了许多陌生人。这位男士非常激动，因为他太太脚上的浮肿，在 一夜之间是可见地消失了，太令人惊讶！

从第一天晚上 的聚会开始，有人听了神爱的信息被触摸而得救信耶稣。我们事奉的主题是依靠圣灵的带领 – 很简单， 就是透过阅读神的话语，祷告和神恩典持续的信心去造就门徒。简单不代表容易。基本但却不容轻视。有许多人信主四年多（从创办教会开始）却自己不理 解神的话语，因此很容易倒退。还有许多人在每件事上都依赖牧师的关怀。以致牧师感到肩上的担子很重。同时，仇敌也攻击一些会友，使 他们跌倒及在真理上被迷惑，甚至称撒旦为神。

竟然有人说他 们感到气馁，就不需要去教会而留在家里玩电脑游戏。神很重要但教会并不重要。有位则说他每天都有灵修，却固执的认为教会是次要的。直 至他被指明头（基督）是必须与身体（教会）连接一起。如果你只看重头但忽略心的所在- 身体， 那就没有生命，就是死的。他如电光一闪，简单的信念又回来了，他也回到教会。

太好了！如果 没有人在乎去探访他，又会发生什么事？他可能就被仇敌彻底的蒙骗永远的迷失！一个简单的探访却拯救了一个灵魂。

中国的教会需 要很多的教导，更需要花时间和精力去喂养他们。因它是个很年轻的教会，却有很大的潜能！我们教会里有许多人比他们懂得更多。当 中有很多在神的话语上拥有足够的能力和成熟度，应该积极的去帮助教会中较新的堂会。要有异像！

其实这间教会 还可容纳更多的人但因缺乏人手，许多人进来又离开。即使是这样，他们大概也有150位会友，挤在一个狭窄的办公室里聚会。因为 害怕当权者故没有人愿意把地方租给教会。他们想把隔壁的办公室买下但需要人民币450,000（马币225,000）。他们希望得到援助。

请大家为我们 在中国的新生命教会祷告。

总 主任牧师
叶超群
24 March 2010

Joyce was sexually abused by her father as a child. Her life was miserable: her relationships with others difficult; her ability to trust people greatly eroded. At the age of nine, without any religious background she felt she needed to be saved, whatever that she understood at her tender age. She took her cousin to church and told her that they were going to get saved that day. She was a bossy little girl even then. But the Pastor did not make an altar call for salvation. After the service, she and her cousin went up to the Pastor and asked, “Can you save me?” Innocent as that was but that was the beginning of change. She started her journey of understanding true love and today, Joyce Meyer has become one of the most influential, impacting ministers in the world. (Adapted from her message “I am relentless”)

Love came down and everything changed for Joyce!

Faith that works through Love
When we lament over a lack of strong faith to forge ahead to achieve goals, my response is this: stop beating up yourself by feeling small and not measuring up to others.  Feeling that you are not good enough is not the way to arise in faith to enter God’s reality in daily life. It is in building a rich and deep relationship with God and the love of the Lord Jesus that decides your victory.

If you have unrealized goals and it might have been many years, if you had faced failure, if you had mistakes against others, the thing we do not do is to dwell in self-pity. Just know first that you are not the only one that has unrealized goals, failures or mistakes. So don’t act like you are. We have to decide whether to learn from failure, run from it or sweep it under the carpet.

Determination of faith derives from Confidence of love
Jesus is building the church in faith through love. Faith, strength and determination are not in religious rituals but in relationship with God. Determination and strength of faith come from love that inspires confidence – confidence to pursue goals by faith.

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness out of faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but faith working through love. (Gal 5:5-6)

In this Year of God’s Love, I feel the Lord is calling our churches into a more determined and deeper relationship with God. It is the love of God and our relationship with Him that determine all levels of success and victory over our trials and tribulations. No tests can defeat people filled with God’s love.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:35, 38-39)

God’s love empowers your faith.
Love is a function of relationship and relationship is a function of love. Out of this connection is the ability to trust. Faith is a noun but trust is a verb – worked out of relationship. Love empowers trust. Trust is the beginning of confidence. Love-inspired confidence helps people out of failure more than any slogan shouting. Love-inspired confidence gives inner determination of faith producing the fruit of God-glorifying success.

Success impresses people. But success from one who has won over failure due to God’s love, impacts people. Amen.

It is our priority to cultivate our love relationship with the Lord to ensure a successful life of faith and hope that will impact others as salt and light at home, in school or at work.

Pastor Jeremiah and Susan Yap
Group Senior Pastor
New Life Restoration Centre

Balancing Love

Year of God’s love must be understood from the perspectives love is taught in the Bible. Love in the Bible is introduced to us at different levels.

Friendship love
This is a level that many need but also need to work at it. When we are superficial we can call everyone a friend. Not until you work with them, stay with them or partner with them. When we see weaknesses in one another, friendships can be a slippery thing.

When Jesus spoke of friendship (John 15) it was rather deep; too deep for our comfort maybe. He spoke about laying down our lives for another. My encouragement is this; start somewhere. We need friends and they are better than enemies. Long term ones are even better as they have been tried by time.

Brotherly love
This is where sometimes people say blood is thicker than water. But it actually works better when brotherly love is also based on friendship love. Jesus is our friend and brother even though He is King. This is awesome. Brothers take care of siblings. They may have misunderstanding and may be disappointing at times, but it is of the same DNA in the blood line of Jesus Christ. It reconciles. Spiritually we should have a higher level of bonding.

Eros love
This is marital love. This is “Adam knew Eve” kind of love. It is meant to bring out the deepest of love and passion one human being can have for another in their marriage with the opposite sex. It is love that gives us the experience of how God loves His Church as His bride. It is the love that brings forth offspring that give parents the experience of loving children like God loving His children. It is love that is passionate, spontaneous and yet learnt so that it lasts. There is a counterfeit of this type of love. We see that in movies. It is called lust and it does not last. A Chinese saying: “marriage love is like a pot of water over the ambers of a small fire stove that takes a long time to boil. When it does, it gives steam that is burning hot. It is very good.”

Agape love
This is Christ kind of love. It is sacrificial love. It was love that caused Christ to empty himself of the glory of heaven to come down to earth. It was love that caused him to bear the 39 stripes on his body, breaking it beyond recognition. It was love that nailed Jesus on the cross. It was love that kept him there. It was love that chose you and I, even though we do not qualify. It was love that gave us access to the King of kings to call him Father.

Life is complex. So is love. We need to balance our lives with all these 4 types of love. The fullness of life is better achieved if we have the richness of these perspectives of love.

Love,
Pastor Jeremiah & Susan Yap
Group Senior Pastor
New Life Restoration Centre

Love makes life worth living

We thought life is in our performance and wealth. Not despising the need for hard work and wealth but we know that these are for a greater end in God’s service. It is our love relationship with God that keeps us not only from burning out or stressed out and tempted to throw in the towel but it is in a love relationship with God many dynamics of true living happen. Sometimes, performance can conceal our true identity. Love confirms us in our real self. Love brings out the best of us. Being loved is loving. It relaxes us with inner freedom to live life to its full.

Power of present love

Although short absence makes the heart grow fonder (so the saying goes), love cannot be perpetuated by absence. You want to be present with the one you love, even when not much is happening or when they only whisper “sweet nothings” to each other. But the power of connection is built. It has a healing effect. It gives security. It is re-assuring. There is peace and that is empowering.

You will hardly realize the power of love except when it is absent. Those in deficit of love longed for it. Some imagine it. Others go into depression or into an ill-spent life of careless living. I know of some who never succeed in life due to character flaws traced to love deficit, rejection, insecurity and inferiority. Sad, isn’t it?

Your love relationship contains your future

In the presence of God’s love, people flourish. Affirmation, faith, hope and positive mind-set blossom into possibilities of divine and human favour. Favours are critical to you future. The favour of access to God’s throne, to people we need to see, to open doors and favour of a good report with the wisdom of God – point to the need to celebrate our relationship with the God who loves us. Our future, success and destiny hinge on our relationship with God.

Love,

Jeremiah& Susan Yap
Group Senior Pastor
New Life Restoration Centre

聆听叶牧师 – 爱、关系和恩惠 (2010年二月)

在神慈爱之年里，我们要与神建立很深爱的关系以致我们能停留在神起初的爱里。
无论做了什么，最重要的是我们与神的关系。这是在启示录二章中神给以弗所教会的一个成绩单。

爱使生命活得有意义

我们以为生命是关乎表现和财富。不是要轻看勤劳工作和财富，但我们知道这些都为要成就神更大的事。我们与神爱的关系能保持我们不至於在压力下耗尽而放弃，反而因着爱的关系许多生命的动力能体现出来。有时候，表现可以掩饰了我们真实的身份但爱却可肯定我们的真正的自我。爱能把我们最好的引发出来，被爱就有能力去爱，它使我们放松自己以得着内在的自由去活出丰盛的生命。

有爱就有能力

爱无法在缺席中被体会，有个说法：“短暂的分离能使爱更浓”。你会渴望与所爱的人相处，即使不做什么或只是彼此绵绵细语。此时联系的能力就被建立。它有医治的果效，让人有安全感，有平安也能使人得力。

通常只有在缺乏爱的时候你才能体会到爱的能力。那些缺乏爱的人都会渴慕爱，有些人更是凭想象去体会。有的则跌入忧郁或以荒唐的方式虚度此生。我知道许多人一生无成就是因为缺乏爱而有性格上的瑕疵，被拒绝、缺乏安全感和自卑。很可悲，不是吗？

你爱的关系成就你的将来

在神的爱里，人们兴旺。被肯定、信靠、盼望及有积极的意念去引发神与人之间的恩惠所带来可能性。恩惠对你的将来是重要的。神的恩惠领你到他的宝座，到我们所要遇见的人，到开启的门和靠神的智慧做正面报告 – 这一切都指向我们需要欢庆与爱我们神的关系。我们的将来、成功和命定都是取决于我们与神的关系。

爱你们的，

叶超群总
主任牧师夫妇

New Life Restoration now has an ‘Official Facebook’. This page is created as a result of a comment from one of our members during our recent Combined Churches Service: “Hi Uncle … I didn’t know New life got so many members .. about 2000 or more .. all over the world. You should start a Facebook for New Life.”

This page is open to all who are from our New Life churches or friends of New Life.

We welcome posting on: announcements, events / talks / seminars / workshops, photos & video from New Life churches and friends of New Life.

Through this page we hope to share some interesting events about our churches, outreaches, spirituality and any other related topics.

Please do join us in this New Life Facebook!

Cheam

God’s love is the foundation on which we build our lives, our values, our families, our church and our nation.

The Scriptures in 2 Corinthians 5:14 to 6:2 came alive.  It says “Christ’s love compels, because we are convinced that one died for all…and those who live no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” It adds, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”. I call our position, COMMISSIONERS.

We have become Commissioners because of His love for us. We have become Commissioners of His love. This is empowering. Our entire life becomes an influence to our family and friends, and even our foes (if we have any). We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) in this world.

God’s promise to us is: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).  Let’s receive this in totality, experience God’s love, believing we are Commissioners, stepping out in faith and power to share God’s love with others. When this momentum is set, we will all see a decade of harvest unfold before us in 2010.

I’m excited at the Lord’s work.

Pr. Lawrence Chen
Group Executive Pastor

How do you know someone loves you except that you know he was willing to die for you! That was how Jesus loved us. It was said, if you are the only one in this world, God would have still sent Jesus to die and save you from eternal separation from Him.

The first response to love in a life-saving deed at our human level is at least to say “thank you” to the one who saved us. In our relationship with Jesus who has saved us, we should do nothing less than giving thanks to Him. But because Jesus is God, he is not only to be thanked but also to be praised and worshipped. This puts us immediately into a faith mode, a positive mental attitude.

In this Year of God’s Love, let us go deeper and greater in enjoying the living Christ and loving Jesus. Our increasing moments in his presence means letting his love intertwine with our souls. With this focus, our earthly concerns dim in the glory and light of his love. This upgrades us in our openness to his voice, renewal of mind and revival of spirit.

When you are caught in the eye of a storm, stay in the vortex of worship and thanksgiving. This could be your key to success in the midst of stormy days. I start my year with “God is love”. So I also start my prayer with “thank you”. No more do I start prayer with asking. Give thanks for his love, his greatness and willingness to intervene in our affairs. Nothing is too big or too small for God our Father who loves us. You are the disciple whom Jesus loves. He attends to your moments with Him. The living Christ and loving Jesus hears everything. He acts on our faith.

Jeremiah & Susan Yap
Group Senior Pastor
New Life Restoration Centre