March 5-6, 2009
Kerteh Charismatic Assembly
Kerteh, Terengganu, Malaysia
Kerteh Charismatic Assembly received The Elijah Challenge training back in 15-17 November 2007.
In March 2009 about 13 people arrived for the first session. Elder Eli led us in a wonderful time of spiritual worship. Though the congregation was small, the people knew how to worship God with all their hearts. I encouraged the people with a message of what the Holy Spirit is doing today through ‘Kingdom Stewards’. This is the era where we are all called to do the works of the Lord.
At the end of the sermon, I asked to those who have been trained in Elijah Challenge to pray for the sick. An elderly lady came forth to get her eye healed. She was suffering from slight pain and irritation in her left eye. The vision in that eye was also affected. Six sisters volunteered to lay hands on this lady. One of the volunteers was Sister Alice who was healed of her arthritic fingers two years ago. As I spoke forth the commands, these precious sisters repeated in faith. The rest of the Christians also raised their hands in supportive prayers. After about three times, the elderly lady declared that both the pain and irritation were gone. Her vision had also improved. She was to be completely healed the following day.
Friday came early for me. After prayer and my own personal Bible study, I was ready for the Worship Service. (Offices in all Malaysian states are open from Mondays to Fridays with the exception of three states in the East Coast. Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu follow the Islamic calendar and close their offices on Fridays. As Kerteh is a town in Terengganu, churches held their worship services on Fridays).
By 9.30 AM, about thirty people gathered at the bungalow to worship God. Among the congregation were Christians from India, Philippines, South Africa and of course, Malaysia. Many of these work for Petronas, the national oil company and some for its auxiliaries. As usual, the worship was amazing. Being the only church in Kerteh, the Christians there know that they have to take every opportunity to gather and worship God. Brother Tong Sin led us in many beautiful worship songs. The presence of God was there and so it was easy to preach. I told the congregation that I would give them ‘meat’ and preached from Hebrews 11. Encouraging them all to not only have faith, I challenged them to allow faith to affect and change their lives.
To evangelize the neighbourhood, Kerteh Charismatic Assembly organized a barbecue that afternoon. A group of six Hainanese ladies joined the rest of the congregation for the event. Since they had yet to believe in Christ, I took the opportunity to minister to them in my very limited Hainanese. They asked many interesting questions about God and Christ.
After the food, we had a worship session and I shared the message. I presented the basic gospel for the benefits of the Hainanese ladies. At the conclusion of the service, I asked the infirm to come forward. Some of these ladies came forth plus a brother from South Africa. One of the ladies then excused herself to go home and lock her door. We thought it was an excuse for her to leave the church. However, to our pleasant surprise, she rushed back for her healing. Five ladies were healed of their ailments – one was healed of shoulder pain, another from stomach ailment, the third from headache and two from painful ankles caused by gout. After the healing, we spent time to encourage them to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.
It was a very good two days of ministry. We also rejoice that we could spend time with Elder Ashok and his family, Elder Tan and his family, and also the other precious brothers and sisters. Even though Kerteh Charismatic Assembly is small but it is an important lighthouse in Kerteh. God has sent many people from all over the world to this little town and this church is creating a great impact in their lives. We pray that God will give them many opportunities to win many souls.
Pastor Albert Kang
Coordinator
Elijah Challenge Asia