It's great to be back in Jakarta after 2 Sundays away! This last Sunday was an Amazing Return! Joy and I feel like some of the most blessed Pastors in the world to lead this wonderful Church in Jakarta! There is no place like HOME!!!
However, we had a wonderful time on this trip in the United States! We visited family, tied up loose ends and engaged in powerful ministry. The service on Sunday, February 17 at Crosslight Family Ministries (www.crosslightfamily.org) in Alta Loma, California was truly awesome! Pastor Paul Scheumack is a wonderful and great man of God and this Church is on the verge of great enlargement for God's Kingdom!
During the closing prayer for that service, I encouraged the congregation to continue to release Pastor Paul to traveling, especially to places like Africa which he has been going to. The reason is that as a spiritual Father, he brings spiritual "gifts" home just as any Father brings gifts back home from a trip abroad. It is important for Pastors to travel and to bring "Amazing Returns" back home to their Churches.
I want to thank the people of ICCJ for investing... for allowing Pastor Joy and I to sometimes go so that we can gain what we need in order to bring gifts back home to share.
If you are a Church leader and it is a stretch for your Pastor to "go" somewhere, either financially or because of time restraint... let me encourage you that for the sake of your Church, that you need to encourage him or her to go and get that refreshing so they can then bring a refreshing to your Church. To go and take care of personal business so that the business of the Church can be better accomplished.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Building God's House with Spiritual Kids
When Solomon wrote Psalm 127, he explained in verse 1 that "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain." This is one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible, commonly used to encourage Church leaders to make certain that we are not building our ministries according to our own agendas, plans and with our own strength. Though I agree with these applications to this scripture, if we take the time to read further in Psalm 127 we find greater application relevent for us to better build God's Church. Let's look...
Psalm 127 (NIV):"1Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves. 3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."
Solomon immediately begins to discuss the blessing of having many sons, calling them a heritage from the Lord and arrows in the hands of a warrior. He says that to have a quiver (archers arrow holder) full of them is a powerful thing. The promise is that if we have many spiritual off-spring, that when we contend with enemies at the gate of God's city on the day of battle, that we will not be put to shame... we will not lose.
Jesus commanded us in the Great Commission to (Matthew 28:19) "go and make disciples", the basis of everything that we do as a Church. I explained to our Church this last Sunday that God is looking for us to produce fruit which is going to last. I believe according to my understanding of scripture, that the person who stands before the Lord having "discipled" (mentored) 5 people will have acheived a greater reward then the person who has "converted" 500 people. Why? Because the command is to disciple, to raise up spiritual sons and daughters. How pleased do you think God is really, when we convert someone and then leave them hanging indefinitely to live a life of Christian mediocrity? Much of that kind of fruit will not remain.
The kind of house that God is building is filled with disciples. The kind of house that survives when the rains come down and the floods rise is built on the Rock and on His command. We build God's Church through discipleship, through mentorship. Unless God builds His house, the builders labor in vain. But He builds His house through us. If we fail to raise up sons and daughters then what we build will crumble and will have been built in vain.
This scripture has personally challenged me in recent weeks. The Lord and I were talking about this a few weeks back. He said that the Television ministry will yield great results, that the Church planting efforts and mission projects that we have going are going to yield incredible results... He confirmed that much of what we are doing at ICCJ will acheive lasting fruit. Then the Father told me that the greatest result that I can acheive for His Kingdom with my life is to raise up leaders, to raise up sons. I have decided to develop a quiver full of spiritual off-spring. It is the best thing that I can do for my Lord! And on the day of battle, we will stand together and not be put to shame!
Let us consider the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10 (NIV) "But each one should be careful how he builds."
Joy, Ethan and I are in Chicago this week and will be in LA next week. We have some business and ministry to attend to and we will miss the people of ICCJ for these two Sundays! I have asked the Lord to show me who I am to mentor over the next few months. I have laid the names of all the possibilities before the Lord and I am confident that He will show me. Please pray with me and also with Pastor Joy because she is going through the same process of asking the Lord to show her who to invest the bulk of her time with mentoring for these next few months. We appreciate your prayers during this time. Not only prayer that God will lead us specifically, but that those who are chosen will respond appropriately and also that those who are not chosen at this time will be patient and understanding until their time (or mentor) comes.
After we arrived, the snow started to fall heavily and we ended up trapped in the home we are staying in for the first two days. Ethan loved it and has spent hours and hours in the snow! We have enjoyed "catching up" with family and friends!
Psalm 127 (NIV):"1Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves. 3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."
Solomon immediately begins to discuss the blessing of having many sons, calling them a heritage from the Lord and arrows in the hands of a warrior. He says that to have a quiver (archers arrow holder) full of them is a powerful thing. The promise is that if we have many spiritual off-spring, that when we contend with enemies at the gate of God's city on the day of battle, that we will not be put to shame... we will not lose.
Jesus commanded us in the Great Commission to (Matthew 28:19) "go and make disciples", the basis of everything that we do as a Church. I explained to our Church this last Sunday that God is looking for us to produce fruit which is going to last. I believe according to my understanding of scripture, that the person who stands before the Lord having "discipled" (mentored) 5 people will have acheived a greater reward then the person who has "converted" 500 people. Why? Because the command is to disciple, to raise up spiritual sons and daughters. How pleased do you think God is really, when we convert someone and then leave them hanging indefinitely to live a life of Christian mediocrity? Much of that kind of fruit will not remain.
The kind of house that God is building is filled with disciples. The kind of house that survives when the rains come down and the floods rise is built on the Rock and on His command. We build God's Church through discipleship, through mentorship. Unless God builds His house, the builders labor in vain. But He builds His house through us. If we fail to raise up sons and daughters then what we build will crumble and will have been built in vain.
This scripture has personally challenged me in recent weeks. The Lord and I were talking about this a few weeks back. He said that the Television ministry will yield great results, that the Church planting efforts and mission projects that we have going are going to yield incredible results... He confirmed that much of what we are doing at ICCJ will acheive lasting fruit. Then the Father told me that the greatest result that I can acheive for His Kingdom with my life is to raise up leaders, to raise up sons. I have decided to develop a quiver full of spiritual off-spring. It is the best thing that I can do for my Lord! And on the day of battle, we will stand together and not be put to shame!
Let us consider the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10 (NIV) "But each one should be careful how he builds."
Joy, Ethan and I are in Chicago this week and will be in LA next week. We have some business and ministry to attend to and we will miss the people of ICCJ for these two Sundays! I have asked the Lord to show me who I am to mentor over the next few months. I have laid the names of all the possibilities before the Lord and I am confident that He will show me. Please pray with me and also with Pastor Joy because she is going through the same process of asking the Lord to show her who to invest the bulk of her time with mentoring for these next few months. We appreciate your prayers during this time. Not only prayer that God will lead us specifically, but that those who are chosen will respond appropriately and also that those who are not chosen at this time will be patient and understanding until their time (or mentor) comes.
After we arrived, the snow started to fall heavily and we ended up trapped in the home we are staying in for the first two days. Ethan loved it and has spent hours and hours in the snow! We have enjoyed "catching up" with family and friends!
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