Phil Pringle taught City Harvest Church the importance of creating and staying in momentum in 2013.
By Sandy Poon
CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh and Michael Chan.
“Worship is the key to you and I being anointed,” said the advisory pastor of City Harvest Church, Phil Pringle, as he led the congregation in a time of worship before his sermon.
“Moments [filled with the presence of God] are opportunities for us to understand what it means to flow in the spirit of worship. That is how we get new power in a new year,” he explained.
Phil Pringle is the founder and president of C3 Global Network of Churches, a thriving movement of more than 200 churches worldwide and the senior pastor of C3 Church in Sydney, Australia. He was in City Harvest Church on the weekend of Jan. 12 and 13, teaching the churchgoers how to gain momentum to start the year right.
SETTING THE SAILS RIGHT
Against a backdrop of sailing boats, Pringle used the sport of sailing to explain the concept of momentum. “The truth is, sails cannot do without wind, no matter what kind of principles of sailing you have. The amazing thing is, it does not matter which direction the wind is blowing, as long as you understand momentum and set your sail right, even when the wind is blowing against you, you can still move forward,” he said.
Momentum, however, is not easy to regain once it is lost. “Just like a car stuck in soft sand, no matter how much the engine moves, the car is not going anywhere. But when we rock the car back and forth, gaining momentum, the car will get out of the sand and move forward.”
GRACE NOT LAW
The congregation burst out in laughter when Pringle commented that New Year resolutions always involve three things: losing weight, earning more and spending less.
“Making a new year’s resolution is like putting a law in your life. Instead of empowering us, laws disempower us—it is just human nature to rebel against laws,” Pringle said. “Only when we lose the law and begin to rely and believe in the Spirit of God can we start to get out of the rut and gain momentum.”
In Acts 14:8-10, Paul spoke to the lame man, told him to get up and walked and the man was healed instantly. Paul knew that he did not have the healing power but he simply believed that as he spoke miracles would happen.
“What do you believe you can do in 2013?” Pringle asked.
Faith, said the preacher, is believing the Word of God. Everyone has faith on the inside of him, but until he believes in it, it remains dormant.
Having said that, he encouraged the congregants to get started on the things they want to achieve this year. “The Holy Spirit falls on faith. God moves when we start moving—so get moving!”
At the end of the service, Pringle prayed for the church and the church leaders a powerful prayer to anoint and strengthen them.
Cyril Toh, 20, a student was tremendously blessed by the message Pringle shared. “My greatest takeaway is that we can achieve positive results no matter what is coming against us, and that what we visualize cannot be created without the right momentum that helps us to achieve the impossible.”
Student Bernard Chua, 21, said, “As Pastor Phil said, I feel that it is important to not just set resolutions but to stay committed. As the saying goes, it’s not how you start the race but how you end it.”
