My Secret Place - written by royson
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The verse above inspired me to release my spirit onto God. It is also a powerful verse that keeps me in good align with God. Asking favor of him, for healing, for renewing mind and my spirit.

Well, the pictures you have seen above is a place where i spent most of the time working on my skool projects. After all, i called it My Secret Place. Why?. Its because i do spent my time reading and meditating the words of God, praying, and also spent time worshiping him. Its is a place that i can just sit there enjoying the presence of god flowing through my place. A place where i can listen to music, surfing, chatting, practising my guitar skills, writing down my thoughts and many more. A place that my friends will fill comfortable with. Spending more time fellowshiping together.

My point is that i do not want you have all things i listed above to be exactly the same what i do, but i want to share and to encourage you that start finding a place where u can release fully onto God. A place that will keep your spirit alive, your inpsiration stronger each day and of cause, a place where u can spent your time with God. Once you have done that, it takes a little bit of practises getting used with this routine of spending your time purposefully. When you have finally achieve that purpose, you will be filled with joy, faith and freedom with God and your daily lifes. Finally God promised that if you do this with all your heart, declares that your God is a God of Love and refuge, he will reward you abundantly - Amen.

1.a.m Youth !! - written by royson
Check out the photos of myself standing on 1.a.m stage preparing, practising for youth conference. Proudly to partner with a new acoustic guitarist, neil from philipines (left) and myself ( right).- royson

Its really exciting this year. God has always answered my prayer because of my passion and desire to glorify him, honor him, and worship him in spirit and in truth. God has also put me in great oppotunity and greater challenges so that i am prepared to be sent out and to reach nations in this generations. 1stly, i would like to thank God because his love for me is far greater than anything and he has faithfully chosen me to minister the world with the talents and giftings he has given me. Praise God !!

1.a.m youth project has just begun past 2 weeks ago. We are being challenged to write songs, to walk with God deeper. To have a deeper relationship with one another in a band enable ourselves to have the same mind, same spirit worshiping God in all. I really thank God who placed me in this church (Eaglepoint Corvenant Fellowship) to be eqquipped and to be able to freely communicate with God deeper within my heart. Remember it is not just about the band we involve, its not about the performance we involve, it is about worshiping God and Have greater relatonship with God who is our Creator.

In this commitment i have made, i have started to pray faithfully to give me the inspiration to write songs for God. This also helps me to reflects on the things God did for me. He has forgive me for all my sins, saved me from the lost, gave me new spirit everyday whenever i am feeling down, upset, dry or having fear. Reading bible is the sourse of the living Word, living lifes with great purpose and to keep away from all sins and temptations. Through this, it will also help me better in writing songs because it may also teach me in the word and applying it in my daily life.

Right now we have about 10 to 12 youths in a band. It is a big number but its really good as we can combine in a bigger band, bringing stronger atmosphere for God's presense to touch lifes of the young people. We have Victor and Carlos (drummer), Adrain and Neil (acoustic guitartist), TJ and myself ( electric guitarrist), Debora and Carolyn (keyboadist), Calob (pianist) and lastly, Daniel (bassist). I enjoyed worshiping and partnering with them as they are also a passionate youth who really love God.

All these i also want to thank and honor my leaders in church who faithfully partnering with me serving God. Kelvin Lim the music director who has taught me many things about how to be a true worshipper. He has also corrected me in many ways that he want me to do best not just 80% but 200% for God. Steven Teoh who has also walked with me in relationship someone whom i loved much. He has taught me to be strong not to give up but continue to submmit every thing that is in me unto God because he knows best for my future. Giving Thanks to my Brothers sisters in christ including my friends who believed in me putting and inparting faith into my life that i can be a worship leader reaching out the nations.

The Adventurous Pursuit of Creativity
‘Searching for answers serving God the best with your gifting and your talents?’- royson

We worship the God of all creation. Everywhere we look, from the tiniest atom to the grandest galaxy, we find evidence of an extravagant and exuberant creator God. Scientists and artists alike marvel at the dazzling design of creation. Whether we peer through a microscope at the detailed design of a butterfly wing, or through a telescope at the star-filled canvas a night sky, we find the stamp of the Creator´s artistry.

We human beings are made in such a way that our ears can hear around 300,000 different tones, and our eyes distinguish between 8 million colour differences. God has designed us to recognize and value His astounding creativity. More than that, He has formed us to be creative ourselves. As worshippers of the Creator God, and as those made in His image, one of the best ways we express what´s going on "inside" is through outward displays of creativity.

Creativity is essential when it comes to our congregational worship. Firstly, it´s a sign of "life". A healthy church will be bursting with new songs, new sounds and new sights. They are explosions of the heart - souls so caught up in the glories of God, that they cannot help but respond in imaginative and artistic ways. Creativity in its purest form is a reflex - a flash of inspiration coming forth from the artist who has glimpsed the splendour of the Divine. Putting that into the context of a church worship service, creativity does not come from a desire to be musically clever, or do something new just because "variety is the spice of life". Instead, it´s an imaginative and heartfelt response to the received revelation of God. As we see more and more of the goodness, greatness and majesty of God, we find ourselves imaginatively responding with creative expressions of joy, thanksgiving and reverence.

As well as being a response to God, creativity is also a reflection of Him. God reveals and expresses Himself creatively, and we find ourselves responding in a creative way. Yet as we do so, we also reflect Him to those around. The whole of creation tells of the glory of God:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

(Psalm 19:1)

And in the same way, our artistic expression through songs, sounds and sights, are to be reflections of Him. Of course, they will always be just the faintest whisper and the subtlest echoes of His true worth, and yet they are an important part of our proclamation of God. I recently traveled to Australia for the annual Hillsong worship conference, and encountered one of the most creative congregational worship expressions I have ever seen. The band brought innovative and interesting musical arrangements to the fresh worship songs. But it went far beyond the music. There was colour everywhere - lighting and visuals all conceived in an original and tasteful way. There was movement everywhere too - teams of dancers, and over a hundred singers, who at times all moved in unison. Most visually stunning of all were the huge fireworks which lit up the whole place at appropriate moments during the worship songs. In a sense, it was a display of the Lord´s splendour - a call to worship, reminding us of the wonders of our God. It was a banner held high, to the lost and the found, which spoke of the greatness of the God we were worshipping.

Now obviously we don´t get chance to create this sort of display every time we gather to worship. And yet, why in the church do we so often see a lack of creative expression? As worshippers and lead worshippers of the Living God, we are called to the adventurous pursuit of creativity. In times past, the church has led the way in the whole of society in many forms of art and music. Look through history and you´ll find that many of the great artists and poets were simply giving creative expression to their walk before God. A few hundred years ago, many looked to the church to lead the way through music as they saw that the "ecclesiastical style" was the most pioneering and exciting sound around. And we must pray for the same in this day and age, for the arts are fantastic pointers to the glory of God. It´s time to become more adventurous in our pursuit of creativity in worship. Through visual art, through musical sounds, through poetry, and through movement, how can we point people to the glory of our God? We can start with the simple things - paintings, banners and backdrops which, rather than remaining the same for months upon end, change every few weeks, as a way of awakening us to the splendour of God. Songs arranged in fresh musical styles, with a variety of instruments, or vocal groups. Perhaps a string arrangement, if you never before have used strings in worship, but have able players. It can start with the simple things.

Creativity is sometimes a mindset we must develop, especially if we have fallen into a "this is the way we do things" trap. I recently returned from a conference where on consecutive nights the worship band were joined by a gospel choir, a group of hand percussionists, and a DJ. Each evening we journeyed before the throne of God with a slightly different musical flavour. And each one of these creative expressions unlocked a freshness in our time of worshipping through music.

One of the reasons we sometimes encounter a lack of creativity in the church is that we have not created the right environment for it. Creative expression thrives under certain conditions, and dies under others. In an environment of harsh criticism of artistic experimentation, or no room for risk-taking, the creative flow will soon perish. Too often in the church we live under these conditions, and all too quickly clamp down on any new forms of expression. Of course, creative types must learn to be submit to authority, and to love the people of God in such a way that they will always seek to bring in new expressions in a pastoral and humble way. As C.S. Lewis reminded us, Jesus´ charge to Peter was "feed my sheep", not "try experiments on my rats". That being said, there must be space to experiment, and room to grow in the arts. All too often, the blunt and practical tendencies of a pastor clashes with the sensitive and reactionary personality type of an artist, and creative expression is squeezed out. In truth, the world often uses the arts as rebellion, and pastors are rightly concerned that this tendency does not creep into the church. Yet, it is time to redeem the stolen goods, for the very best use of creativity is to praise and proclaim the Living God. We must make room for our artists to lead us in this. If you can´t be creative in the church, where can you be creative?

One thing we must note, is that creativity is not always about new and innovative expressions. It can be equally powerful to re-present something "old" - a song, a sound or any art form from our church heritage. And, as the biblical saying goes, there is nothing new under the sun, and an "old" thing may in fact become to us a "new thing" again. Introducing a five hundred year old hymn may be just as creative as introducing a five day old song which has just been written. Both can be an expression of creativity, and both can unlock freshness in our congregational worship.

The worshipping church should be leading the way in all things creative. After all, it makes sense that those most in touch with the Creator should have more insights into the creative than others. Besides, in the church we have more to sing about than the rest of this world. We have more reason to celebrate, more inspiration to dance, and more grounds for all kinds of artistic expression. For we have seen the glory of the One and the Only. And this revelation leads us to explosive and imaginative heart responses.

And there is one final reason too why the church of God should be the standard bearer for creativity. We are those in whom the Holy Spirit lives, and He will inspire and equip us to respond to the Father in colourful, imaginative ways. A.W. Tozer puts it best:

"If the Holy Spirit should come again upon us as in earlier times, visiting church congregations with the sweet but fiery breath of Pentecost, we would be greater Christians and holier souls. Beyond that, we would also be greater poets and greater artists and greater lovers of God and His universe."

Let us never give up the adventurous pursuit of creativity in worship.

by Matt Redman

Worship comes from the heart
‘A Powerful Anointing Message that inspired me to walk with God stronger’ - royson
Testimony by Matt Redman.

I’ve participated in a few interviews recently for different parts of the Christian press. And there’s one little question which keeps coming up time and time again. "What do you think of the current emphasis on ´worship´ within the Christian music industry?" Then follow some comments on the dangers of marketing and selling worship. Laurie Hill sings that "Hip-hop started off in the heart; now everybody’s trying to chart." So, is the same true of worship?

The first thing to say is I’m glad we’re asking these questions. That can only be a healthy sign. The danger with momentum is we become so consumed with ´riding the wave´ that we cease to keep asking the most important question - "What does God think of all this?" At the end of the day, that’s a question for everyone involved in the worship music ´industry´ to ask themselves. Personally I’m encouraged though that so many seem to be asking the hard question. After all, it’s a pretty biblical one - as the psalmist himself prayed, "Search me O God, test me and see if there’s any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

" That phrase from the Psalms is actually a fantastic test through which to check all of the different ways we minister. Are we ministering in "the way everlasting"? With our songs, with our albums and all of these things, are we building towards eternal things - things that will edify the church and strengthen her mission? Or are we simply jumping on to current trends with less admirable motives? Here’s another way to ask it: "Whose Kingdom are we building?" Writing a song, accepting an invite, recording an album, or whatever it is - whose Kingdom am I building? Is it the ´Matt Redman´ kingdom - (the infantile pursuit of making myself look much better than I really am) -or is it the holy, unshakeable and eternal Kingdom of God? Are all of my efforts in ministry truly for the King and for his Kingdom? Pretty tough questions. Especially if we’re looking for very honest answers.

Now you may be thinking, "This isn’t relevant to me. O.K, I do a few home recordings of my songs and burn a few CDs of them, but I’m unlikely to be signed up by a record company and get sucked into this crazy Christian worship music ´scene´" But you may be more involved than you thought. For actually, this article isn’t fundamentally about worship music and an industry that’s grown up around it. This article is really about motives, and heart standards. As the Proverbs tell us, no one can really tell what his own motives are. That’s a job for the Lord - the scrutinizing spotlight of His Holy Spirit. It’s time for us to invite some more psalmist-style heart searching.

The Holy Spirit of God is the ´investigator´ when it comes to pursuing pure worship. And He is also the ´orchestrates´. Congregationally I always say that nothing deep, pure, meaningful and spiritual can happen in worship without the Holy Spirit. As Philippians 3:3 tells us, we "worship by the Spirit of God." He is the agent of our worship - He always has been (since the day we first confessed Christ as Lord), and He always will be. Now, if it’s true congregationally, it must also be true when we come to talking about worship music that’s written and resourced out through albums and the likes. If we want the fruit of our labor to be deep, pure, meaningful and spiritual, it must be something that’s birthed by the Holy Spirit of God. Record companies, songwriters, sounds engineers, worship leaders - are we listening out for God-ideas, birthed by the Holy Spirit, or have we settled for good ideas that seem to be meeting a ´gap in the market´? I have no doubt that this whole new wave of worship music that’s sweeping across the world is Holy-Spirit breathed and conceived. But here is the challenge for this stage of the journey - that we make sure that what was started ´in the Spirit´ doesn’t get followed up ´in the flesh´. Sadly, that is the death of many a wonderful ministry.

There’s no formula by which we do this ´worship thing´. In its purest form it is ´deep calling to deep´ - the deepest places in our hearts encountering the deepest places in God’s heart, under the divine unction of the Holy Spirit of God. The point is this. We can manufacture CDs, but we can never manufacture true worship.