WENT OFFLINE FOR A WEEK

Just in case you wonder why i went offline....let me explain first...

Last week the leaders decided to call a fast for the M.I. 5(Mission It'spossible 5) completion. We barely have a month to go for it. In full dependence for God to intervene we decided to knock heaven's door harder. Dont get me wrong. God is not a God who withholds good things from His people. That we need to beg, roll and do gymnastics to to receive what we ask according to His will. Instead, He delights to give good,even great things to His children. I've never known a Father who is so generous than our Heavenly Father. 

The purpose why we called for it? FIRST thing is because we want to be in SYNC, in TUNED with God on what to do for the remaining days before we call the goal to end.( Don't get me wrong again, discipleship is not a month campaign. We just want to plan strategically and be SMART in our moves.) SECOND reason is, we want to express full dependence to God as we do His will. We recognized that, Without God we can't, Without us God Won't.

Fast forward...after a week of praying and fasting. I sense a new momentum, a holy momentum, a fresh hope,a determined spirit, an inspired feeling, an expectant heart. That as we do what we can do, God will bless and show forth His miracles. And we are seeing it right this very moment.Agree JAMC pips?D10 Leaders?

We fired up the fast last Friday, EDSA  Holiday, we gathered the leaders, planned together, i gave a short talk on how Nehemiah built the seemingly impossible to build walls of Jerusalem, then prayed fervently. That afternoon was summed up by crafting our weekly FINISHLINES for the remaining month and 3 oneliners as OUR MOVE. 1. Pray Fervently. 2.Strategize Carefully. 3. Work Diligently.

So what's the "I went offline" thing all about? I decided to fast the internet, Daniel Fast and Fast Break Fast altogether.

Just incase, you ask why i went offline for a week. 

On FB I got, 26 notifications, 8 new friend requests and 2 new messages. Seems like not so many.

what's you recent story?

TOP 10 BOOKS I READ LAST 2010

Im fond of reading books. But I select what I read. Im bias when it comes to the authors. I usually buy the books of my favorite authors. Some books that I read were captivating. Finished in one seating, sometimes a week. Some are painfully boring. Check this out. Not in order.


1. MAKING VISION STICK- ANDY STANLEY
This is an awesome book about vision. How to seize it and how to keep it. 
Vision needs constant attention. How can the leader always keep it fresh and working!


2. SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP - J. OSWALD SANDERS
This pushed me to read because John Maxwell sites J.O. Sanders as the very person who influence him about leadership. Spectacular! Practical and Powerful. Foundational for everyone who's aspiring for leadrship. Leadership is an honorable ambition.


3. 7 PRACTICES FOR EFFECTIVE MINISTRY- ANDY STANLEY
This greatly changed my view about ministry and its process. 
A pure gold for those who are still early and even long years in ministry.


4. COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE - ANDY STANLEY
This influenced my preaching approach and methods. 
Awesome insights. Helpful, life changing and engaging to the listeners if applied.


5. VISIONEERING - ANDY STANLEY 
The best book I've ever read about vision. Highly recommended!


6. 60 SIMPLE SECRETS EVERY PASTOR SHOULD KNOW - DAVE STONE & RICK RUSAW
Tidbits of reminders filled with practicality and wisdom!


7. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF DISCIPLESHIP - BILL HULL
Gets ancient and fresh view of Discipleship. How it was practiced from the early church through different timelines in history and now. Helpful principles and strategies for discipleship making in our time!i like!


8. TOTAL QUALITY LIFE - STAN TOLER
A wholistic view on how to manage our life so we can sustain over the long haul. The value of rest, quality time, laugh, live and work. I love Mondays!


9. PARTNERS IN PRAYER (RE READ)- JOHN MAXWELL
A quick review on the power of payer in a person's life and in the ministry. Prayer is one foundational thing we do in church. It's almost everywhere and engraved! Effective leaders protect their quiet time. Closet prayer changes life!Corporate Prayer changes Cities!-Chris Galanos


10. THE HOLY BIBLE (NIV) - HOLY SPIRIT
Nothing beats this book!The Ultimate guide and source of life! This book never stops amazing me!real time!




They are the best but my Top 3 among the 10 are titles highlighted in RED.


Leaders are Readers!If you want to continuously lead then you have to continuously read!
What are you reading now?

MY TOP 3 IN 2009
1. THE HOLY BIBLE
2. COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP - BILL HYBELS
3.  7 KEY PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMIC CHURCH GROWTH- PAUL SEUNG-OH AN

INVEST AND INVITE part 5

We concluded last Sunday this month's series with a message of the importance of relational evangelism. We say that, FOUND PEOPLE, FIND PEOPLE. That's the title. Got from Perry Noble. Jesus' words in Acts 1: 8 is clear,"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Church people are familiar with this verse and far more to that, they also believe in it. Church people can recite it with force and clarity. But even so, the ministry feared by most Christians is evangelism. One Christian said, " I can be a part of any church ministry but not evangelism. I dont have gift in that."

 However, Evangelism is not a ministry. It's a mission.When Jesus said, we all become His witnesses He wasn't just talking for a few, but to all who will have the Holy Spirit. Which means all Christians can be witnesses because we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Over the long haul, evangelism however, starts to gain different meanings and create negative mental pictures. Like a man holdinga  REPENT sign board on the streets, long hair and beared men yelling with a megaphone on the corner "JESUS IS COMING", or people who preach on buses and jeepneys then pass around offering plates. These make more people hesitant and afraid to be involved with evangelism because of the stigma.

To put simply, Evangelism is "ONE BEGGAR TELLING ANOTHER BEGGAR WHERE TO FIND BREAD."- Perry Noble. It's pointing people to the source. Pointing people to the real life giver, difference maker and source of hope of life. Jesus started the deal of relational evagelism when He chose His disciples. Flip your bibles to John 1: 43-47. Four things I want to share from this passage.

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip...

I - JESUS FOUND US.

Who found who? Jesus found Philip. Why? because Philip wasn't looking for Jesus. All the time, it was Jesus who was looking for people. If someone's lost and now are found, it was never by that person's actions that he was found. As a matter of fact, the bible calls us blind, broken and lost before we met Jesus. If you are a Christian right now that is all because by God's love and mercy and when Jesus went down from heaven and looked for us.

he said to him, “Follow me.”⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.

II - JESUS INVITES US TO FOLLOW HIM.

I hear many people say, they don't want or they are not ready to commit or be a Christian because they can't follow all the rules. Exactly, so do I. We are not called to follow rules but follow a person. We called to follow a Savior not a religion or tradition. Rules are really a heavy yoke to follow.

Most of us, if not all, at one point decided to imitate someone secretly.Right? Maybe that's our favorite actor or actress, or spiritual model or admired leader. We act like they do, dress, talk, behave and observe their cues. Granting we are successful in becoming like one, do you ever feel bad or guilty about it? Surely not, the more you'll be inspired to keep it up and do better even the next time. It's not really a burden to follow or imitate a person. Jesus called us to follow HIM. As Apsotle Paul said, "imitate me, as I imitate Christ. The more you'll get to know how Jesus as you scan in the gospels how he lived His life it makes you want more to be like Him. His humility, submission and obedience to the Father, compassion to the lost, courage and boldness.The list could go on. A Christian is a follower of Christ not rules. Are you becoming like Christ or the Pharisee who's all about the rules?

  ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

III - FOUND PEOPLE INVESTS.

Jesus found Philip, Philip found Nathanael. Because found people, find people. Philip was overwhelmed to bring this great good news to Nathanael.  Jesus was the person they are all  been waiting for. Like the one talked about by Moses and the prophets thousands of years ago. Literally, the Israelistes are everyday waiting for the promised Messiah who will save them.

Have you ever watched a really great movie? or read a book that blew your mind? or owned a gadget that's one of a kind? or eat in a very exquisite restaurant? Haven't you walk around your neighborhood and circle of friends to talk about it? I have my share of that kind of experience. I was like becoming an evanglist of a movie and talk about it to every person i meet everyday. That's what happened to Philip.

He din't point him to set or religious rules of Do's and Dont's. He din't introduce a ritual or 5 things to do to be accepted before God. He just simply pointed him to Jesus. The real life changer, difference maker and source of hope and salvation. Jesus is our deal and our offer. Who is it that you know who needs a personal relationship with Jesus?Invest.

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

   “Come and see,” said Philip.

IV - FOUND PEOPLE INVITES.

At first, almost anyone who choose to go and invite and share the gospel, we experience turndowns. It is normal for people to doubt, probe, fear or hesitate at first. This was Nathanael's initial response. We dont need to be discouraged. Instead Philip invited Nathanael. He said, " Come and see." He's saying, I'm sure of what I'm telling about Jesus! You've gotta try this! You've gotta have this! Come  and see for yourself. To see is to believe! When we continue to persevere amidst doubts and turndowns we will surely bring people to Jesus. To continuously read the next verses we'll come to know that Nathanael also became one of the twelve disciple's of Jesus!

Jesus wasn't mistaken when He said everyone can be a witness of Him. Let's face that even seasoned Christians are sometimes afraid of really doing the one-on-one evangelism. But i believe everyone has a friend in whom he can invest and when the right time comes invite them to church where they can be introduced to who Jesus is. In that way we can partner with everyone in the church to be a part of the great commission!

INVEST AND INVITE!

Who am I investing and inviting in?

PERCENTAGE GIVING part 4

The series is almost to end. We are down to the last 2 parts and as the series is moving the exciting it becomes! I got most of the truths from Andy Stanley's talk about Consumption Assumption. Today (Sunday) we are going to talk about money. I titled the preaching MONEY MATTERS.Kinda odd huh? questions surface like. How can we talk about money in the church? Money is secular while the church is spiritual.Money is dirty while the church is divine. Money is the root of all evil while the church is holy.  At a glance, we can almost impossibly talk about money in the church. No connection. Except of course for some bills to be paid. Just that. Some pastors are even fearful and hesitant to preach about it. 

But if you go through the gospels, you will find out that Jesus talked more about money than He talked about salvation, heaven and hell clumped together. Amazing huh? Maybe Jesus was trying to surface something about money that we need to thoroughly understand. 

When I was still 7 years old, I stayed in my grandma's province till I got 10. Every Sunday we go to church. The venue for the adults is separated from the Kids, they call it Sunday School. One morning, as I trod the  half kilometer distance to church my one peso coin fell. Every Sunday, we (my cousin) are given two pesos, one for offering, one for merienda. My one peso got lost, I asked, "whose one peso is that? God's or mine? That thought kept on wrestling in my mind, as i cant make up who owns the lost one peso?

That led me to a breakthrough question as I looked back. I told myself, "well if God is the creator of heavens and earth and all that is within, my one peso wont matter to Him.right?" If that question is left wrongly answered I will have a life view that is, everything that comes my way is for my own consumption. Well, anyway God owns everything He doesnt need money in heaven.

That answer will lead most of us into two ditches of our financial system. Consuming and Hoarding. (andy stanley) We are either one or the other or both. We factor God out in our financial equation. Isn't it true for most of us, when we receive our salary what first comes to mind is the dress in the mall, the jeans, blouse or new beauty kit or gadget? We either consume it or hoard it or both. One similiraty of these two is that they are both self-centered. Consuming is "me" now. Hoarding is "me" future. And we'll fall into a "G" word sin-- GREED. Greed is the assumption that everything is for my own consumption. When you assume that everything  comes inside your pocket is yours, you have a sickness/sin called greed.  Whether you are poor or rich you are not exempted from greed.

Jesus says, in Matthew 6: 21. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It is a principle. It is as real as the world is round, birds fly and gravity. Your heart always follow where your treasure is. We cant fully follow Jesus if our treasure is not surrendered to Him. Its either we serve Him or we serve our money.

In verse 24 the bible says, We cannot serve both God and Money. We must hate the one and love the other, devoted to the one or despise the other. Jesus understood that God's number one competition in our lives is money. As far as God is concerned, God's number one competitor for our time and attention is money. We dont think in those terms, we think of money as just a piece of paper with the face of a dead person we haven't even met. But money has a mysterious force of leading and directing our hearts. No wonder Jesus always talks about money and our proper approach towards it. Jesus is not interested in getting our money, He is interested of capturing our hearts. As a matter of fact, Jesus is not trying to get people's money, He is trying to keep people's money from them. That's why Jesus emphasize so much about money because He understood that it is God's number one competition in our lives.

Now, the answer to making God Lord over our finances is not necessarily praying a prayer, we already tried that but still are financially lost. Not even a financial decision. But it is a decision to fully submit ourselves to the will of God on how we handle our money. The key is a habit to practice.  That is the GSL. Give, Save and Live.

GSL, is a simple financial plan that will help us break the cycle of greed and mishandling our finances. 

GIVE 10% of your income as your tithe. Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar, give to God what is due to God." When we put God at the top of our list we include God in our financial equation. Well, anyway when hard times come its God we call.

SAVE 10% of your income for rainy days. Solomon  shows us how wise the ants are, saving for the rainy days. One thing is sure, rainy days are coming, we better be prepared for it. You can use this for emergency purposes, so you wont resort to panic borrowing or loaning. Also to purchase worn out things and furnitures etc.

LIVE 80% of your income for "now" use and make sure to stick with it. We always spend a percentage of our income whether we are conscious or not. Why not decide in advance what percentage is that. You'll never get to overspend. Divide the 80% to the daily needs you have for a month or 15 days or a week.

Im no expert in this, I'm not a business man, I'm not handling large sum of money. But here's something I know about you and me, at one point in our lives we all struggle to keep up to our budget. Most often than not, we factor God out and use the tithe. If self comes in, greed comes in. Everytime we minus or use the tithe, we allow greed to creep in our hearts. Why not choose to honor God. This system is not perfect but maybe for some of us this is what we need to start with.

Verse  ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

When we seek God first and put Him at the top of our list. Include Him in our financial equation and make Him Lord over our finances. All of what we desire  will just be added to us.

What's your percentage GIVING? 

Mine is 10%.