church

We lived a great celebration this past March 19th, as a church we came together to thank God for 28 years of work, for being witnesses of many dreams come true. In this celebration the evangelist Alberto Motessi along with his wife, Noemi, were our guests. What a beautiful couple. They have been married 46 years; they have two sons and five grandchildren.

Last night we had dinner with them, what a fun loving couple, full of life and with so many teachings that an entire life in the ministry has given them. One of the things that he emphasized was that the church must be evangelistic in every area of society. As Christians we close our selves of in the four walls and for years we have forgotten the outside world. We have lived a great revival in our church, but now it is the time to take it everywhere. We have to be in the media, in the political field, in companies, in education, in sports, in the health industry, we need to be people of influence within our generation.

He said, “I would like to be 30 years younger and have the vision I now have. I wasted a lot of time,” and he went on to say, “Now that you are young, understand that the calling is not only to develop it within the church, our mission is to go out and take the gospel to the entire nation”.

I was impacted as I listened to what this couple has been doing, maybe they are at an age to begin thinking about retiring and resting, but with them it is the complete opposite, they are opening Schools of Evangelism that focus on impacting every area of a nation. In the next 5 years they are aiming have 400 schools in different nations of the world.

There is a lot to, God has given us skills, talents and gifts that we need to develop them to be able to impact our nation. I know that God gave us a mission, prepare yourself and be a person of influence. You can be that businessman that your nation needs, that political leader that governs with integrity, the sportsman that is admired by many and has a testimony of being an example. There is a lot to do, let’s not limit our vision. God has great things for each one of us. Blessings to you and may this be a great week.

My church just celebrated our 24th anniversary. It was timely that we celebrated our 24th anniversary right in the midst of our 40 Days of Faith campaign which reminds all FCBCians that as a people we are to be characterized by faith. That is why God gave us our name: Faith Community Baptist Church.

Firstly, we must understand that it is primarily a faith to win the multitudes. It is not to be a self-consuming faith focussing on our wants or even our needs. It has to be a self-giving faith committed to living for others in order that God’s Kingdom may be established on earth. Therefore let’s make Matthew 6:33 the main focus of our lives: “But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The Message Bible puts it in a very down-to-earth way:   “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Secondly, I have often said that it is not about the bigness of our faith but about the bigness of our God on whom we put our faith. Certainly these 24 years were not only 24 years of faith journey for us, but they have also been 24 years of God’s faithfulness. It is the faithfulness of God that makes our faith fruitful. I am more keenly aware of the faithfulness of God today than at any other time in my life. Today, FCBC is spiritually stronger than ever before, an evidence of God’s faithfulness to us.

Thirdly, these 24 years of faith in God’s faithfulness must give us a sense of hope for tomorrow. Every promise that God has given to FCBC will be experienced. Every prophecy that the Lord has released upon us will be fulfilled. Every dream that the Lord has deposited in our hearts will be realized. The faithfulness of God is not stale but fresh. Hence the prophet Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:23: “They are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.”  

We are into the 6th week of the 40 Days of Faith. The Lord is doing wonders in our midst. More than 1,600 groups with an attendance of more than 7,000 are meeting each week. Out of these 7,000 people, close to 50% are pre-believers. And more groups are starting!

Finally, this campaign is not about how many conversions we get. It is about releasing each of us in faith to touch lives. Some may feel discouraged because their group doesn't seem to be starting off well. They have to remember that they are part of a spiritual campaign and not get discouraged. Their efforts are contributing to the positive, pro-active spirit of faith in our Faith Community.  It is a collective exercise of faith where everyone counts. We rejoice in the lives that are being touched.

Our prayer is that every member and leader will stand firm in their position and press on for the glory of God, remembering 2 Corinthians 2:14-17: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God."

Be the aroma of Christ this week!

This is what happened during the three-day conference in Orlando, Florida. God knit our hearts and spirits together to enable us to change our generation as one body. Each day was filled with surprises but what impacted me most was seeing the longing and desire in each person to change this generation.

I had the opportunity to preach and spoke on a verse from Malachi 4:5-6, which says : “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." It was interesting because all of the speakers gave a similar message. It was God speaking and reconfirming what he wants to do in this time. I believe that what God wants to do is to pour out that same Spirit that was on Elijah, the Spirit that will change our generation, the Spirit that will bring something new, the Spirit that is not afraid of challenges.

At the time, I was studying a bit about the time that Elijah lived in and basically how he was facing a whole nation who worshipped Baal, a nation that knew about God but who had turned their backs on him. God spoke to my heart and said: This same spirit that was in the time of Elijah is the spirit that is rising in the world. It is a spirit that allows spiritual lukewarmness, that tries to appear unharmful but it’s taking over the hearts of the people, controlling their minds and emotions. Elijah saw this danger and he acted!

In this conference God spoke to me personally, because I know we have everything we need to stand up and act and become the Elijahs of this time but for some reason we haven’t done anything. But it all changed at this conference. My life changed at this conference. I didn’t just come out feeling sorry for those who are losing their lives to the things of this world but I came out knowing that it’s my responsibility to do something about it.

It’s my time to join thousands of others and receive the call to become part of the Elijah generation. You can also be part of this generation! Don’t just wait for something to happen, but stand up and receive the call! If I am certain of anything is that God has called you and me for this time.

I hope this helps you to start something big in your church, in your school, and in your city. Know that wherever you are you can make a difference!