15 | July | 2007 | kennyvoon's Xanga Site

Sydney! The prettiest city in Australia.. in fact the prettiest in the world (voted best city by some survey). I've been there once in 2003.. four years later I'm back to attend the Hillsongs Conference.

I came with my bunch of OCFers, around ten of us who decided to go for the more cost effective option - the train. It was a gruelling and uncomfortable 11 hour ride from Southern Cross Station to Sydney Central.. mainly due to the poor vantilation (stuffy and hot).. otherwise we could've slept throughout the trip. We got to Sydney at about 7am or so.. making another transit from Central Station to Town Hall. Checked into a fair backpackers hostel called X-Base. Some of us slept in while others walked around.

Hillsong Conference 2007 was AWESOME! The atmosphere created.. the lights, sound and sights were just extrodinary. Imagine worshipping with thousands of people from different nations and churches under one roof. God was truly awesome.

There were many high profiled guess. Of course the Hillsong team were there with people like Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan and other famous Hillsong worship leaders and writers. There were additional worship leaders from abroad this year such as Chris Tomlin, Israel Houston and Steven Curtis-Chapman. There were also several high profiled speakers such as Bishop TD Jakes (which during this conference became my all time favourite speaker), Louie Giglio, John Bevere, Joseph Prince, Ed Young and of course Brian Houston.

I wish I could list down the details of every worship session and sermon.. but there's really just too much to tell! Surfice to say, each session was beneficial and impactful. I've never got so much out of a week before. But the time slots were demanding.. it literally took the whole day. Session 1 (9.00-10.30am), Session 2 (11.00-12.30pm), Elective 1 (1-2pm), Elective 2 (2-3pm), Session 3 (4.30-6.00pm) and Session 4 (7.30-9.00pm). Some of us got sick.. cause we came just a day after Winter Camp.

What I got out most from the conference was that seeking God first above all things is crucial towards.. well.. everything. It is also important not to ignore Gods calling when He calls us to do something.. it may not be church, but can also be stuff in the workplace, studies and all other aspects (John Bevere). For instance, God may have called you to be an accountant but you choose to be a pastor instead, therefore compromising Gods plan (perhaps His plan was for you to reach the lives of your collegues in the firm?). How will you then be judged? The only way we would know what He truly wants us to do is by seeking Him first and He'll reveal His plans for you.

TD Jakes gave a massive sermon. Each of us are given the chance to soar like eagles thanks to the sacrifices Jesus has made. We must not be pulled down by "chickens" cause we as eagles only click with other eagles who soar high in the sky.. instead of the chickens who can only hop off the ground for a short period of time (so his first session was really a BGR topic. Haha) He also talked about reaching new levels and not be comfortable where we are. Everytime we're established with something, it's best to move on to something bigger.. and bigger. This ties in well with what Brian Houston spoke off about being predictably unpredictable.. that we need to keep up with the times and not be stuck at a certain level. Tradition and laws which in the past has brought success may not be able to duplicate the same results and can also potentially be a hindrace towards God's plans (Joseph Prince). Keeping ourselfs focused on God not being too comfortable.. keeping our cages rattled will bring us "to a whole-natha-level" (Ed Young). There is a season for everything. Sometimes we may be sowing during the wrong season.. that's why we are not getting the harvest. So best do a reality check - is it the right season?

Another session done by Louie Giglio was presented in an unusual way where be spent half the time talking about astronomy. It was almost like science lecture.. so much so till someone in the crowd screamed "what about Jesus??" However, most of us knew it was a build-up towards something big. It was to put into perspective how big our God is. He created trillions of stars and He knows them by name - He knows each and everyone of us by name. Undescribable.

Sounds all good from the conference isn't it? Sign up for next years one. =)

Prior to this conference, I've been asking God if He really wants me to initiate the OCF at Monash Berwick. Through Bevere's session, it came quite obviously.. that if I don't do it.. someone else will.. so why not me? After that I asked God how He wants me to proceed. The answer came quickly - Seek Him first!

After a 5 day conference we have only a couple of days left to explore Sydney. We covered several places like Darling Harbour. The visit to the Sydney Fish Market was one of my favourite.. typical Malaysian.. can only think of food. Though the place was small, it had cheap and very, very fresh seafood which I was unfortunately allergic to. But I tried those which I could eat.. like the raw salmon (ichiban!!!!) and varity of oysters. Man, nothing beats eating them fresh. The sights and smell from that place really knocked my socks off. I don't mind going there everytime the next time I'm in Sydney.. cause it's that good!

Here are some lame-o shots of me and Jeffrey. He's the vice president of OCF Clayton.. pictures by Jeremy Ye.

Hanging Out with Parkvillians
Hanging out at the Parkvillian OCF bunk

Sydney Opera House at Night

Sydney Town Hall next to QVB

An estatic experience post conference happened on Sunday hours before we were to leave when I paid a visit to the USS Kitt Hawk, a US aircraft carrier which so happened to be visiting Sydney. You see.. since I was very young I admired the US military. Watched many war movies, brought many books and looked up millions of picturs over the internet. Never in my life I thought I'd be able to see one of these things.. so when the oppurtunity presented itself there was no bloody way I was gonna miss it.

As I approached Mrs Macqurie's Chair (a place).. I could recognise the carriers island tower. Moving nearer and nearer.. the super structure of the carrier rose from the horizon. Man. It was huge! Believe it or not.. it's the smallest and lousiest carrier the US has in it's active fleet.. and this one you see its going to be decomissioned next year to be replaced by a new one. The Kitty Hawk (CVN-63) is a conventional, non-nuclear powered carrier which was based in Yokosuka, Japan. It will be replaced by the USS George W. Bush (I think).