15th Sept 2012 , Natasha Kim , CM writer – FGA first came to life in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Koh Eng Kiat in the year 1979. Dr. Koh together with his brother-in-law Mr Ang Chui Lai along with many other Christians used to come together for weekly gatherings for prayer and worship. A short time after, it became clear to them that God was leading them to start a new Church where the full gospel of the bible could be preached without any restraints. By early 1980 they had to moved to a shop house in Petaling Jaya . The number increased to about 400 and by mid 1981 they had to move again .
This time they rented the top floor in Majestic Hotel , Kuala Lumpur. When the government decided to take over the Majestic Hotel to convert it into an art gallery , the leaders sought the Lord in prayers for a new premise as they are fast growing . A defunct cinema for sale at off Old Klang Road was suggested to the leaders . The leaders took a leap of faith , purchased the Goodwood cinema and after some minor renovations, held its first service in December 1983 .
With time and effort and the power of the Holy Spirit , the Church began to grow spiritually and numerically with many more people coming into the Church and through that growth , various ministries were birthed as well.
Glory to Jesus , they planted many satellite Churches and outreaches to accommodate their growth and expansion. Overall FGA has a long history of gathering people and helping others grow as they grow as well. At the moment the Church has grown dramatically over the years and sees thousands of people coming to them each week to praise and worship the Lord. The growth of the Church is indeed the work of God as God continues to use this mega Church to bless and influence the community.
Recent sermon 09/09/2012
Dr. Greg Smalley flew down to Malaysia all the way from Colorado to give a talk in FGA. He is well known as an Executive Director of Marriage and Family Formation at Focus on the Family. Here is where he develops and oversees initiatives that prepare individuals for marriage. He also helps to strengthen and nurture existing marriages and counsel couples in marital crisis.
Dr. Greg has also written a number of books namely, The DNA of Relationships, The DNA of Parent and Teen Relationships and The Wholehearted Marriage.
The main significance of his sermon on this day is of course on the topic that he is well versed in, and that is about Marriage and Family. He began by playing a video, the video talked about how within our words a small power is set in motion. That the tongue, how it’s a small thing but like a tiny spark can set a whole forest on fire. One kind word can demolish guilt and inspire hope but the same words have also embraced hatred and executed innocence. Once spoken our words can scorch through feelings and emotions only they can produce.Your words set up a chain of events of which you will never know, but it can also demonstrate faith, display forgiveness and nurture love. The power of life and death lies in a single word and we the image of God have this power in one word.
He starts off with a scripture saying according to James 3:10 it says, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing” and explained that, that it is not okay. Dr. Greg then began to tell his story about when he was younger where he remembered his good memories with his father but how he also remembers the words that he used that really hurt him. Words have the power for life or for death, it happens when we use words that are hurtful. More than anything it speaks of the death of the heart when one is hurt. When you hurt someone their heart closes, and overtime a closed heart will eventually harden and that can happen because of the things we choose to say.
In the Bible, King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived said, above all else, guard your hearts. He says, “Helping people keep their hearts open is the greatest things that we can do”. We do this by speaking life into our family members every single day.
“It is human nature that so often we fail to notice these incredible people that are in front of us because of the busyness”, he added. In 1 Samuel 16:7 it says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. Kind words are short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless. Hurtful words can cause a ripple effect in our lives.
He also talked about 5 ways to speak life into someone namely by, using words of praise, words of gratitude, words of honour, words of validation, and words of encouragement. He ended by saying that, “We should make it our goal to choose one of these 5 ways everyday and do it for your loved ones”.
To find out more about FGA visit http://www.fga.my
