Thanksgiving on the 10th Year of the Mercy Seat

It’s been ten years since the opening of the Mercy Seat and it is a great gift from God. Every time I worship there, I am filled with gratitude as we are so unworthy of all these blessings.

We moved to Tsuen Wan from North Point in 2007 and held our gatherings in the main hall of Wealthy Garden on the first floor. The old venue of the Mercy Seat on the second floor used to be a cinema and the former owner bought it and tried to rebuild it into an elderly home. The slanted floor was covered with iron materials, bricks, cements and so on to level it up. As a result, the floor was overloaded and sank and caused the leakage of water. Downstairs on the first floor, we placed 70 buckets to hold the dripping water. But God is the Wonderful Counselor! He turned the flooding into a blessing. At last the former owner could not carry on the work anymore, so the property was sold to us in 2009.

As the Mercy Seat was located on the top floor, we were able to build a glass cross on roof top to allow the sunlight in so that people inside could strongly feel God’s presence. The five-year renovation work was filled with difficulties and the companies involved in the project either quit or were closed down. But God’s grace kept pouring in and the Sanctuary as we see today was finally built up.

Together with the temple, God has given us new wine too. For two consecutive Sundays before the Dedication Ceremony held on June 11, 2014, messages delivered at the services were about new wine and new wineskin. Coincidently the name of the worship team from Indonesia who came for the Ceremony was called “New Wine”. God’s grace has been flowing out like the new wine, leading us to align with Him continuously, to keep longing, emptying, filling and overflowing.

In these two years God has given us two more core values, in which the “More Love More Trust” has brought us through the days of social movement and the pandemic. God has also revealed us messages on the Ten Heartified Commandments, Song of Songs and Creation Series and more, which are abundant, deep and wide, leading us to expand in capacity and to grow up gradually to become a Tree of Life. We have also started to plant the Trees of Life everywhere. Besides, the wide stage space and the giant LED monitors have had more than 30 large-scale musicals shown and young people have been risen up to fully develop their gifts from on-stage to behind the scenes. Their lives are connected with each other and uplifted continuously.

God keeps giving us His mercy at the Mercy Seat and it is filled with His presence and glory. In the Mercy Seat, all we can to is to give thanks upon thanks! May all glory and praises be to our God!■【2024.05.12】