City Harvest’s advisory pastor Phil Pringle reminded the congregation of God’s power to turn things around even when a situation looks headed for disaster.
CN PHOTOS: MIchael Chan.
“Truth and integrity will always rise!” said City Harvest Church’s advisory pastor Phil Pringle, as he brought a timely message on the weekend of April 6 and 7, sharing with the churchgoers how God orchestrates turnarounds. Accompanying him on this trip was his youngest son, Joe, who led the congregation in a short time of praise and worship before the preaching of the Word.
The founder and president of C3 Global Network of Churches movement as well as the senior pastor of C3 Church in Sydney, Australia, Pringle sprung an extremely thoughtful and encouraging surprise gift on the CHC congregation—a collection of video greetings from preacher friends all over the world such as Dr. David Yonggi Cho, John Bevere, Paul Scanlon, Casey Treat, Mark Conner and Jeffrey Rachmat, all expressing their confidence in and love and concern for CHC in view of the upcoming court case involving a number of its church leaders and members.
From Prison To Palace
Kick starting his sermon with Romans 8:28 (NLT), “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them,” Pringle declared. “Faith is the environment in which miracles happen. Don’t let your circumstances overwhelm your emotions; let your emotions overwhelm your circumstances.”
If ever there was an epitome of a turnaround, it had to be Joseph. Sold to Egypt by his brothers, misunderstood and thrown in prison, it looked like there was no way out for Joseph. Yet, in one day he went from being prisoner to the prime minister of Egypt after accurately interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams by the anointing of God.
On the eve of a sinister plan by the evil prime minister of Persia, Haman the Agagite to exterminate all the Jews, Queen Esther understood her place in the destiny of her people, and with wisdom and courage, saved the nation by putting her own life at risk by approaching King Ahasuerus. Her act saved the bloodline out of which would eventually come the Savior of the world.
And then there was Daniel, a Hebrew captured and brought to Babylon as a youth and trained in its ways and culture. He became adviser to the King of Babylon, and was considered the wisest man in the land. But his success attracted the envy of his contemporaries, who plotted to get rid of him. Ignoring the royal decree that Babylonians could only bow to the King, he continued about his daily ritual of praying to God.
“Prayer got him into trouble; prayer would get him out of trouble!” said Pringle. Thrown into the lions’ den, Daniel emerged alive the next morning, for God shut the jaws of the predators. Revival came as King Darius decreed that all in the kingdom were to acknowledge the God of Daniel.
“There are all sorts of little things going on in the machinery of your life that are causing everything to work together for the good of those who love God,” said Pringle, reminding the congregation to keep having faith even when they do not perceive any changes in their natural circumstances.
Student Joshua Liew, 24, felt his faith elevated by Pringle’s message. “I love the stories of Esther and Daniel. The ‘for such a time as this’ factor was a powerful reminder of God’s grace and deliverance, and it really encouraged me to know that those who went before us emerged victorious from their trials because they held on to their faith in God.”
Another student, Wiki Tay, 20, was touched by the presence of God during the service and was ministered greatly by the Word. “Pastor Phil’s message reminded me to keep on trusting God especially in adverse situations, because God is able to turn things around.”
