City Harvest Church Weekend Sermons

This weekend, as Christians commemorate the Day of Pentecost, Bobby Chaw shares about how Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is present with us. One of the ways to live a life in the Spirit is through prayer, which cultivates in us an awareness of the Spirit's presence. As we pray, there are 4 things that the Holy Spirit brings to us. One, the Spirit assures us of God's love. Two, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Three, the Spirit empowers us in spiritual warfare. Four, the Spirit reminds us of God's promises. As you listen to the anecdotes and encounters related to each of these points, may the Holy Spirit fill your heart with expectation for your personal "Pentecost"—a fresh infilling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life!

Two months ago, Prof Doug Petersen of Vanguard University was weeks away from losing his sight to glaucoma. But he experienced a miraculous reversal days later following the fervent prayers of this church. In this beautiful sermon, Prof Doug takes us through 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 and defines 6 truths to learn from Apostle Paul’s experience of receiving divine comfort from the prayers of the Corinthians—a comfort he in return brought to them in its overflow. One, God is the source of all comfort, He cares about us and brings us divine comfort in the worst of times. Two, this comfort is a supernatural gift or charism. Three, this comfort can be transferred to others. Four, Christ is the channel of all comfort, not only salvation. Five, God is made strong in our weakness and we can be sure He will deliver us. Six, comfort, prayer and thanksgiving work together. If you feel your life is in a mess, let this message bring you God’s comfort.

Encounters with God are the turning points in our lives. Basing his message on Moses and the burning bush (Exo 3), Bobby Chaw teaches how a Christian can have an encounter with God. At the prime of his life, Moses thought he would lead God’s people into the Promised Land, but he took matters into his own hands and became a fugitive. When he was 80, God met him and his destiny was fulfilled. Pastor Bobby lists two key things: one, encountering God begins with a desire. When he saw the burning bush, Moses took time to note that the bush was not being burned down, and when he approached it, the Angel of the Lord spoke to him. If you have a desire for God, you will find Him. Two, encountering God is about experiencing His love. As Song of Songs 8:6 says, love is as strong as death, its flames are flames of fire. God wants us to remember His love for us and to abide in that love; He is not ashamed to be called our God (Heb 11:16). Listen to this sermon and stay hungry for God’s love.

Guest speaker Peter Paauwe, founder of Doorbrekkers Church in the Netherlands, delivers a powerful reminder that believers need to have faith and expectation. There are three things Christians need in order to develop unshakeable faith. First, we must hear the voice of the Father. A father draws close and speaks to His child when trouble is near. Be aware that Father God is not far—we are always moving and breathing in Him. Second, we must hear the voice of our Shepherd. John 10:2 assures us that Jesus knows every single one of His sheep. Besides staying close to the Shepherd, a sheep is safest when it is in the flock—even when you face challenges, as part of the flock you will move in the right direction with Jesus. Third, we must hear the truth from the Holy Spirit, and distinguish facts from faith. The promises of God are facts that cannot be argued against. The Holy Spirit will tell you the facts, and you need to stand on them and resist the devil daily.

Dr Younghoon Lee, Senior Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church likens City Harvest Church to the Antioch Church in the book of Acts. The Antioch Church was the first church for Gentiles, and the most influential church in the Roman Empire. Dr Lee preached on four qualities of the Antioch Church: one, it has a Christ-centred faith. The church must have a clear goal to worship the Lord and to dedicate itself to Him. As “Christians” we are called to think, speak, act and live like Jesus. Two, the Antioch Church has Holy Spirit-centred faith: the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the turning point in a Christian’s life. Three, the Antioch Church has prayer-centred faith: nothing happens until we pray. Prayer is the “secret” to revival and church growth; it produces blessings and miracles in the church in the church. Four, the Antioch Church has mission-centred faith. Every Christian is called to win souls, to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Listen to this sermon and be revived in your calling to worship the Lord, be filled with the Holy Spirit, pray unceasingly and reach out to the lost.

In this message, Dr Younghoon Lee, Senior Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church reminds the church that God always works with and through great men and women of faith, such as his spiritual father and mentor, the late Dr Yonggi Cho. Using powerful testimonies of faith at work, Dr Lee shares three things a Christian must have: one, believers must have great dreams and visions in Jesus Christ. It was through such dreams and visions that Dr Lee built a church in five years, debt-free and he and his wife conceived their child after 17 years of marriage. Two, believers must have a word of God-centred faith; they must meditate on God’s word day and night and listen carefully and obey the word of God immediately. Three, Jesus Christ is the centre of the believer’s faith, so believe in Jesus and trust in Him. The starting point of the Christian faith is the cross where Jesus conquered death. Let faith arise as you listen to this sermon!

To have cravings, desires and aspirations is not wrong. What is important is the kind of food—natural, mental, spiritual—that one consumes. In this thought-provoking message, Aries Zulkarnain likens the appetite one has for food to one’s spiritual appetite for God. Just as one can spoil one’s appetite by eating junk food, making nutritious food undesirable, one can also ruin one’s desire for God by feasting on carnal content. Pastor Aries urges the listener to desire for Jesus’ food, which is to do the will of Father God (John 4:34). He presents the way to do this in a “three-course meal”: self-denial, that is, living a lifestyle of making small sacrifices daily that will prepare you for big challenges; to do all things unto the Lord, that is to please God rather than to be popular; and to be faithful to the gospel, to keep preaching the Good News.

In this message by Jeffrey Rachmat of Jakarta Praise Community Church, we are reminded of God’s glorious standard for stewardship. God (Elohim) introduced the principle of stewardship in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall. Just as Adam was called to work the Garden, Christians are called to work what they have been given—marriage, ministry, marketplace—and to keep it (Gen 2:8, 15). Nothing on this earth belongs to us, but we have been given responsibility to take care of it all, and we must one day give an account to God. This may seem daunting, but God will not ask you to do what is beyond you; when He calls you to do something, it reveals the potential He has placed in you. Let this sermon encourage you to keep working with God and increasing your ability, living the abundant life Jesus came to give us.

In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus never rebuked Martha for being busy. Her problem was, even when Jesus was sitting in front of her, she was anxious and angry, too busy and distracted to focus on Him. In this sermon, Kong Hee captures the essence of why silence and solitude are essential to a believer’s life. We must be silent enough to listen to God, and we must have enough solitude to connect with the Holy Spirit. The secret ingredient to a balanced and happy life is God Himself: it is in His presence that there is joy and freedom. Three things happen when we are by ourselves in God’s presence, and Pastor Kong covers two here: one is meditation, which is applying your mind to the word of God and two is contemplation, which is to come into God’s presence with no agenda, enjoying Him and experiencing His love for you.

Most of us wear our busyness like a badge of honour—the busier we are, the more we feel like an achiever. But being too busy causes anxiety and burnout; we have no time for our family and worse, we have no time for God. In this sermon, Kong Hee teaches that if we are seeking balance in our life, the answer is to slow down. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells believers He will give us rest, which is to slow down; He invites us to learn from Him. Adapting from John Mark Comer’s teaching on “Slowing”, Pastor Kong shares five things we must learn from Jesus: to adopt slow-down spirituality, to faithfully observe the Sabbath rest, to practice silence and solitude, to make devotional prayers (not just intercession and petition) and to develop detachment, which is to be content in any situation. If we can slow down and follow Jesus’ unhurried pace of life, we will be changed, we will find His yoke easy and His burden light.