Grace Retreat (Part 2)

Above is a well-made recap video of Grace Retreat 2014 by Jerico. He did such a great job capturing the main points of each speaker!

At the retreat, I learned a lot from Pastor Stephen Chandler's seminar and message. The seminar, titled "Death by Distraction," was based on Judges 4 when Gideon fought the battle with only 300 soldiers. I learned that God prefers to work with 300 people who has his heart rather than 10,000 people who don't know his heart. Pastor Stephen emphasized the importance of knowing what gifts we receive as Christians because if we don't know what gifts we are supposed to receive, we won't receive it. As Christians, we are not called to fight people, but we are called to fight against the lies the enemy has established in our world.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

I really liked when Pastor Stephen said, "Grace Retreat is where God taught me how to war. God will teach you how to war - how to fight for people." Our life isn't supposed to be easy and comfortable here on earth - that's what heaven is for. We are not civilians, but soldiers for the Kingdom of God. And here are the three main points he made:

To be an effective soldier, you need to:

1. Remain focused. There are so many Christinas abandoning what god has in store for them because they forget that they are not a civilian. They are soldiers, but they forget what they were fighting for. Gideon's soldiers who went home because they were afraid forgot that they were slave at home. As soldiers, God has called us to fight for others. 
2. Remain alert. Do not compromise on your relationship with God. I learned that the relationship I have with God is far greater than anything else.
3. Remain fearless. Everybody encounters fear, but how do we deal with it? Go to God.