Monday 25th of June 2012 | Posted by Dave Taylor
NEXT 2012... Testimonies Part One

Having heard such good feedback from the four folk that went to NEXT 2012 from Sovereign Grace Church Sydney, I couldn't help but want to share! Here's some of their highlights... Enjoy!


ANDREW LEUNG:

How did I find next 2012?

Well how do I start?

Amazing time of worship. Hundreds upon hundreds of like minded believers throwing themselves at worshipping God. Meditating on great words and truth about our Lord Jesus, supported by such skilful and gifted musicians! Thank God for the awesome worship culture that is associated with Sovereign Grace Churches!

Great teaching. How could it not be, with such a line up of faithful speakers!?! CJ Mahaney, Matt Chandler, Kevin De Young, Jeff Purswell, Jared Mellinger, Ian McConnell. Relevant and spirit filled messages, stirring my heart with thankfulness for Sovereign Grace Sydney - for Dave, the core team, their families, and everyone at church. We all have our part to play with each other.  I so missed my local church after the conference even though i still had about 2 weeks of my trip remaining!! Touched by the fact that God's eternal purpose is to dwell among a people that He has made his own.  From the garden, to the church we have now (yes, God rocks up in our congregation, and not only that, He wants us to bless us in our gathering together- he wants us to come to him with our burdens and our needs ....AND he wants to deal with them - isn't that awesome!). The church we have now is a foretaste of heaven...so we miss out when we miss church on Sunday...though the best is yet to come as we read in Rev 21. Then, we shall dwell in complete union with our Saviour.

The up close and personal interview was also inspiring!!!  After the messages each night, CJ would interview the guest speakers and we would get to know more personally each of Matt Chandler and Kevin DeYoung. Matt's story was most amazing, learning that he was diagnosed with brain tumour with a few months to live, a few years ago, and the emotion and struggle with God that he shared, and how he was to commit his family to the Lord. Doctors aren't sure how long he is yet to live - he is living on borrowed time, sustained by God's grace...... - but aren't we all!!! To see such whole hearted devotion and trust in the Lord stirs my heart and want to also throw everything I have to live for Him alone, every day, a day at a time, till I see him face to face.

It is meant to be the last Next. By God's goodness, we shall see another conference so more could be blessed like I was!!! Well, the talks are available for download, so you could at least get the benefit of 1 out of my 3 highlights from Next 2012! (ps don't miss the 7th talk, CJ Mahaney on church and disappointment!)


BRIAR THOMPSON

NEXT 2012 was simply amazing!! The conference was about “You and your local church’. The first message outlined God’s purpose in giving us the local church, in that the church is His dwelling place on earth. The other messages looked at different aspects of the church like membership, Sunday gatherings, friendships, holiness, church culture, and disappointment. The message that impacted me the most was Kevin DeYoung’s – ‘The church and holiness’. This message was primarily about our conscience. This was the first talk I have ever heard on the conscience and really how essential it is to listen to our conscience. Our conscience assesses what is good and bad but ultimately God is the judge. The bible tells us that we have a clean conscience before God because of the blood of Jesus. I think I was personally reminded to listen to my conscience because its there for a reason, to help us turn away from sin and to turn Christ.  

It was wonderful to meet a whole bunch of people from very different walks of life. We heard some interesting stories, which evidently showed God’s saving grace. It really put life into perspective. It was also incredible to see how passionately people were worshiping God. It made me think of what heaven is going to be like, praising God all the time. I was challenged to consider just how passionately I worship our Father at church on Sunday and throughout the week. NEXT 2012 helped me to see how privileged we are to be a members of a local church. All throughout the conference I was reflecting on our church in Sydney and how God has graciously blessed our church in so many ways. Thank you to all those who serve our local church and making it feel like a family.


Excellent stuff Andrew & Briar... Pleased to have you back in town!

Folks, there'll be two more wonderful testimonies to come in a few days time... Watch this space!

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