Time with Abba, Singing Praising 親親爸父，唱詩歌頌 : DAY 359 - Together, Filled, Connected (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-4

** If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from my Devotion on Fire blog:

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html .

To use this simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:

Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to read Acts 2:1-4

English(ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts 2&version=ESV
Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts 2&version=CUV

Bible Study

They listened and obeyed, they were together in one place, waited for ten days, and the Holy Spirit came. It came suddenly, with a loud voice like a big wind and they were all filled by the Holy Spirit. They received the gift of speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit gave them the words to say in other languages they did not know.

Can you name how many things happened at the same time? Do you know how long and complicated the process of preparation it was to make that happened?

1. Their three years of being together with Jesus,they experienced His daily lifestyle, His dying and rising and His 40 days resurrected life.

2. They listened and obeyed, willing to be together waiting until the Holy Spirit came. Not knowing how long but they just wait there.

We are having 5,500 participants in London waiting to be filled by the Holy Spirit starting tomorrow, Monday May 13 to Wednesday May 15 in two places, Royal Albert Hall and Holy Trinity Brompton. I am sure that we will be filled by the Holy Spirit this coming three days.

How willing are you to be in a similar situation, not necessary with 5,500 people. Just with some people who are willing to wait, listen and obey. The key is the togetherness, waiting and praying that we will experience the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

What have you got now from Jesus?

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: Together, filled, connected

What I got from Jesus today is to share a vivid experience of how Jesus led me to be one of the Mentor123 starting a month ago with two young leaders and how we are being filled by the Holy Spirit in a very special way.

With Bernie and Gary's permission, I copied and pasted the three emails of us for you to read so that you understand the importance of being together in one place, pray, listen and obey. We are filled by the Holy Spirit each time we gather together so that these two young leaders can have a better chance to become Jesus' faithful disciples because someone, me is willing to be there as their mentor just like what Jesus did to Peter, James and John two thousand years ago.

This is really a missing DNA in discipleship development. Not only there are less than 10% of Christians including pastors are having a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus. The most painful reality now in churches all over the world is that we do not have disciplers and mentors leading people to have a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus. Mentoring has become an information giving, program oriented and professional advising but not relational, incarnational and missional.

I do hope and pray that the three emails below shows you a good example of real relational, incarnational and missional:

Silas email to Bernie and Gary on May 9, 4:40a.m. in London, England

Dear Bernie and Gary,

This is now 4:40a.m. in London.

I woke up two hours ago to do my two blogs and podcasts. As you know, the Break.Build blog/podcast is completed today and starting May 10(Friday) 12 a.m. I am going back to Discipler123: http://discipler123.blogspot.co.uk/

and Devotion on Fire 2:http://bishopsilas2.blogspot.ca/

Break.Build blog/podcast will be there forever to help those who would like to take that 40 days to build their first experience of having a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus.

The big thing is, Jesus told me an hour ago to write an email to the two of you everyday. Send you an email by writing down what I told you to do in your Spiritual Journal everyday. Jesus told me that He understand that you are human beings and you are weak, just like me. We need to encourage each others by doing something more. So, besides doing my two blogs and podcasts I am going to write you an email each day telling you what I heard from Him and my prayer that day. Hoping and praying that you can do the same thing following my example. The best way is to write the same thing in a short form by replying my daily email. I know everyone would think that it is a time consuming act, crazy and foolish. But, what if it is really from Jesus calling me to spend more time for the two of you so that later you can spend time on those who Jesus prepares for you to coach and mentor. Jesus did that to His 12 apostles, but mostly to only three, Peter, James and John. And now Jesus prepares me to have Bernie and Gary. Hope you know that's from Jesus and start to do it just for the period of three months. We have been through one month, so just two more months.

What I got from Jesus today is what I just said. A tailor-made plan for the two of you. Jesus is calling your name, Bernie and Gary!

By the way, I got a very, very striking message from Jesus in tomorrow's two blogs. Please visit that two blogs after 12a.m. today.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Please lead Bernie and Gary to have the willingness to be with you daily so that they can be filled by the Holy Spirit daily. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Gary's reply on May 10

Thanks for the email. I was so caught up in doing things today I almost forgot to have devotional time today. Now, I am taking a break from marking and spending some quiet time with Jesus.

What I got from God today is that I am very much like the disciples, who are still thinking of things in the old way but Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is what is most important. That's probably what Jesus is trying to tell me, to stop working and thinking about things and allow the Holy Spirit to talk to me. And through that I would change into the new wine skin.

Hope you're having a fun trip!

Bernie's reply on May 10

Hi Silas,

Thank you for the kind email. I did something new today - I ended up going on your blog first thing in the morning, and starting off my day with some devotional time with Jesus.

What I got from God today is that I should try to keep trying to do devotion in the morning rather than at night, that way I can kick off each day with quality time with Jesus, and a message that I can think about the whole day. The part where you mentioned that Jesus is the instructor that can be with us anytime and anywhere really stuck out to me, further focusing on the fact that I should take the messages from these devotions in the morning, and fully experiencing them over the course of my day.

Have a great trip Silas! And Gary I hope your teaching is going well!

You may not understand how hard I have been trying to teach and lead Christians to have a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus the past four years. When I talked and shared to many people including pastors, they all said they know but I know that most of them cannot live it out. We really need more Christians who are willing to become disciplers and mentors leading and pushing two people at a time to have daily devotion. Without a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus, in time everything will collapse, and collapse greatly!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Lead us to be willing to courageous take the role of being a discipler, evangelist and mentor helping two people at a time so that we become one of the examples to put back the missing DNA in discipleship development. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Photos of our weekly mentoring session and how I taught them to write down in their spiritual journal what Jesus tells them each day

I was invited by Nicky Gumble to share the wonderful experience of our Emmanuel 330 church plant in two Sunday services: 9:30a.m. Holy Trinity Church Brompton then 11:30a.m. HTB Onslow Square(the 11:30a.m. service was broadcast to all four HTB churches through satellite) . Please click this link to read more information on the birth of Emmanuel 330: http://discipler123.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/day-286-birth-of-new-church-emmanuel.html