A group of youth from City Harvest Church gather for a night of worship and edification.
Contributed By Cara Ang
“Youth is more than just enthusiasm and excitement. All of you are the future leaders of the church,” preached Wu Yuzhuang, a youth pastor in CHC. His words resonated among the young people who were gathered in the main auditorium of the Jurong West St. 91 premises. It was a night that was organized by the youths, for the youths from the WYZ zone.
There was a flurry of activity before the meeting began as members and their friends participated in games and competitions in a bid to win attractive prize vouchers. The atmosphere was full of joy and anticipation as cheers and laughter rang out across the room.
The meeting began with a time of praise and worship led by a team of young worship leaders and musicians; the youngest among them was just 16. As the youths came together to worship, each one reached out to God in their own personal way.
 |
| CN PHOTOS: Gay Sen Min & Ben Lee |
Serene Tan, 15, remembers the assurance she felt during worship. She shared, “[I believe that] God has put me here for a greater purpose and even though I may be 15 years old, I know I can do things that others have yet to achieve!”
One of the members, Lim Shu Hui, 16, then took to the stage to share her testimony about how God transformed her life in CHC. Through the genuine love she experienced from the friends in the church, she in turn shared this love at home and eventually brought her family to Christ. Apart from this breakthrough at home, Lim is also shining for God in education, as she is one of the top students in her school.
Wu preached a message of empowerment that night as he spoke on the importance of focusing on God. In the “I-driven” world today, there is a lot of emphasis on self. Using the Bible reference in Galatians 2:20, he went on to explain about what it means to be born again and redeemed. He then shared the three areas that a believer should deal with: “I Am”—which deals with a person’s self-image and identity, “I Must”—which talks about a person’s purpose, and “I Can”—which refers to a person’s ability.
To illustrate his first point, Wu referred to Matthew 4 in which Jesus was led into the wilderness and challenged by Satan in the area of His identity. “Being secure in one’s identity is essential because there is no need to prove to others,” said Wu, challenging the youths to always choose to do the right thing rather than what is popular.
Wu followed with the importance of having purpose in life and knowing what things are mandatory and what are not. Knowing the difference will enable one to deal with his or her convictions in life and will result in the “I Must” attitude in accomplishing God’s purpose for one’s life. He cited the example of David and how he rose up in God’s timing and defeated Goliath even when others were running away. David carried the “I Must” attitude and prevailed.
Finally, Wu touched on the “I Can” aspect and how one needs to lean on God and know that with God, anything is possible. “It is not about our own ability but God’s ability,” he preached. When a believer holds firm to this stance, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.
With this message of encouragement, Wu exhorted the young people in the room to rise to their fullest potential and start to do great things in life for God’s glory.
