THE POWER OF FAITH

2 Kings 6:17 (NIV); “And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

When the servant saw the enemy with horses and chariots surrounding the city, he was afraid. He was discouraged. He felt the spirit of defeat come upon him. He felt that there was no way out. He felt that they were already trapped. He was willing to give up easily. Sometimes, you say the same thing: “I lack faith. I am discouraged. I am lonely. I am miserable. I am down. I have failed in the past. I have hit bottom. I have made a mess of my life.”

But look at Elisha. He was different. He was not fearful. He was not afraid. He was calm. He was composed. He was expectant for a great miracle from God. He was looking beyond with the eyes of faith. He believed that God would work among them and He did. In fact, he said to his servant in verse 16, “Don’t be afraid because those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” What a confidence! That is the power of faith at work.

This is what we should claim in our lives. We must believe by faith. We must develop a fresh vision. We must fill our minds with thoughts of hope, faith and victory. We must look at life with enthusiasm. We must never give up in spite of our difficulties. Just like what the title of the book by Joel Osteen says: “We must live our best life now.”

Looking closely, Elisha and his servant had a different perspective on life from each other. Even if they are both looking from the same position but sees different objects of faith. One has the eyes of faith in operation while the other has not. Elisha can see farther in the horizon while his servant’s eyesight was very limited. Elisha saw the angels ready to defend them but the servant saw the enemies ready to kill them. Elisha saw the solution, but the servant saw the problem. Elisha saw the victory, while his servant saw their defeat.

No wonder, it brought about a different emotional response from each: one faith, the other fear. One doubt; the other confidence. Then Elisha prayed a prayer to God that his servant’s eyes will be opened so that together they would look from the same level of faith. He wanted his servant’s faith to grow further, deeper and beyond the present situation. And this is my prayer for all of today. That we will all believe for more of God’s power in operation in our lives. That we will all think and experience better things ahead. Elisha’s prayer was answered. (I wonder if my prayer will also be answered). His servant’s eyes were opened. He was able to see the armies of God. The miracle was now in operation for both.

And just like Elisha, he too was able to see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire ready to protect them. He now sees the angels encamping around them. He now sees the great possibilities instead of the limitations. He now sees God’s deliverance rather than the impending danger. He now sees the solution instead of the problems. And so are you if you will believe by faith. Your spiritual horizon will be broadened. Your hope would come back. Discouragement and fear will vanish. You will now have a better outlook in life than before because faith has taken root within your heart. That is what the power of positive faith is all about. That is what God can do to each one of us who believe.

MANAGING OUR DEBT

“Owe no man anything.” Rom. 13:8

The dictionary defines debt as: “Money or property which one person is obligated to pay to another.” Debt includes money owed to credit cards companies, bank loans, money borrowed from relatives, the home mortgage and past due medical bills. Bills that come due, such as the monthly electric bills, are not considered debt if they are paid on time.

Debt can extract a great physical toll in our lives if we do not handle it well. It can actually increase stress, which contributes to metal, physical and emotional fatigue. Debt is not good for our health. Many people raise their life-style through debt, only to discover that the burden of debt actually controls their own lifestyle. We can be slaves of debt if we are not careful.

As Christians, we must learn to manage our debt well. Our text above says that, we must not owe anything to anybody. That means, as much as possible, we must not be in debt or we must avoid debt.

The above topic and many more regarding financial management were discussed in our small group Bible study last November 17, 2005 (Thursday) at the house of Elma Legaspi at 9745 Kester Ave., North Hills, CA. Those present were: Manny and Hanzel, Jigs and Prency, Elma, Cherry, Michael, Winnie, George, Jessie A., Raffy, Paul, O.G., Love H. and Rodel A.

Our next topic will center upon investment. All these are aimed to transform our character and learn financial integrity.

No small group meeting on December due to the Christmas season. Next meeting will be on January 5, 2006 (Thursday) at the house of Rodel Amante, 18701 Parthenia St., # 3, Northridge, CA, 91324. God bless.

SPIRITUAL MATURITY CLAS Part 3

SPIRITUAL MATURITY CLAS Part 3

November 12, 2005 (Saturday)
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
New Hope center


TESTIMONIES

“Something that I have been doing is learning the names of God. I have the names of God memorized. It’s a great fun learning more and more about my God. I pray for His help in my studies and love the fellowship we have here at new Hope. Since I’ve started my quiet time, I have made peace especially since Jerry’s (my husband) sudden health problems.” – La Verne Wilkerson


“The most important thing I have learned from these latest lesson is that God wants me to seek Him, His kingdom and His righteousness. And these new habits if formed in a Christian will become a reflection of God’s expected response from someone he has called. It is important that I know Him through correct understanding of His word. Also, meditation is a big thing for me. I jut realized it’s importance. It is the time I reflect on what I learned of Him and what he had done in my life and others. Only then can I apply His words in my life.” Jojo Burgos

“I have learned that we should focus on the character of God in our prayers. My prayer would be more meaningful if I do this. I think that the teaching on tithing was very well presented. I want to be greatly used of God. – Charles Marion

“I’ve learned that the Lord encourages and commands us to tithe so that we will acknowledge that we need Him and His greatness. The Lord says that we have to give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God’s. Tithing is to be looked to as more of our obedience rather than a heavy obligation. When we look to God as our provider and the Creator or owner of everything, His being with us and His delight in us get bigger than our possession. Praise God for obedient and cheerful givers.” – J.C. kuizon


“Through the lessons about the habits of tithing and fellowship I have learned that I need to do my part with desire, dedication and trust. Many Christians are having a hard time especially in tithing. But it is very clear that God had commanded it and it is a direct disobedience NOT to do it. I realized that God has given us so much and that it should not be a problem if we give to the Lord. Instead be thankful that we are able to give and that we have something to give.” Pamela Burgos

“Give your tithe. Always give your first 10 per cent to God and before anything else give some more if you can. Fellowship with one another is important. Join a small group to start with your spiritual mission.” Vic Pasamonte

DISCOVER CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Believing and Belonging

You were designed to be part of a church family. That is exactly what New Hope church family is all about. This is now our family. Biblical Christianity is not only believing in Jesus Christ as Lord but also belonging to one another. Here at New Hope, we believe that everyone needs a church family that will support, care and encourage one another to spiritual grow and productivity.

That is why we have created Class 100 or DISCOVER MEMBERSHIP Class. This is the basic introduction to our church family, scheduled regularly. It is designed to clearly explain who and what our church is. The class, broken into sessions covering: Our salvation, our history, our statement of faith, our vision and mission, our strategy and our structure, our responsibilities and privileges of being a member of New Hope. This class is taught by the pastors and staff. This is a great opportunity to learn more about our church and thereby get to know others.

Those who attended our recently concluded Membership class last November 11, 2005 (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. were Louie Pinon, Winnie Wee, Celso and Neonita Carian, Tess and Gerry Micu, Anthony de Jesus and Dennis Obligacion.

SPIRITUAL MATURITY CLASS Part 2

SPIRITUAL MATURITY CLASS Part 2
November 5, 2005
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
New Hope center


TESTIMONIES

“The most important lesson I learned from the class is that it takes serious effort to become an effective and mature Christian- a Christian that is in the image of Christ. With this knowledge, we need to strive more towards perfection in the eyes of God.” – Arvi Pacoy

“I have learned that having a quiet time every single day with God should be the most important thing in my life. That by applying the Scripture to my life would not only make me a better person, but it would strengthen my relationship with God.” – Elaine Pacoy

“I’m learning to memorize more of God’s word every day in my quiet time. In the past, I would just put it off thinking I couldn’t do it. This is where Satan got to me. I didn’t realize it until I started my quiet time and this teaching of spiritual maturity. It takes discipline and a lot of time, but it’s worth it. I think that time with God has and will make me a s stronger and more mature as I grow in His knowledge and understanding.” La Verne Wilkerson

“The lessons on how to memorize and how to meditate on God’s word are very helpful in my spiritual growth. I realized that these are important ways I need to develop to live and to find directions for my life. The lessons helped me to make a commitment to these things in order to be a good teacher someday and a good witness today.

I also learned today the importance of quiet time. Not only will I develop the discipline but it will bring me closer to know God and keep me grounded on His word. This way, I always have my armor on to protect myself from temptation. A quiet time also made me realize that all the temptations, all problems can be overcome.” – Pam Burgos

“I’ve learned that there is an effective pattern to follow in order to obtain the most out of studying and applying God’s Word. Our God is a very systematic and orderly God. We can see everything that he has created all works out together harmoniously for the purpose of their creation. Therefore, if we are to reflect our God, we need to be systematic and orderly as well. I haven’t really had an idea where to begin my quiet time, but now there is a guide for me to follow. By being disciplined and purposeful in my daily meeting with God, I get the freshest revelation from Him, and carry this on for the rest of my day.” – Jeanine Kuizon


“My private time with God is crucial in my Christian walk. It is through this time that I allow God to reveal Himself and His will for me. In return I get to learn how to listen to His voice (Word), to reflect it and to respond to it. It is vital for my growth that I “take the trouble and time” to know God. I really need to make a daily schedule giving at least an hour to God for my personal time with Him.” Jojo Burgos


“It has been a big question mark on when and how to start my daily devotions to Jesus. It’s like being lost in the jungle without a map and a compass. By attending this class (Maturity class), I was able to gather the tools and techniques needed to start with my devotions. Now I have a better insight on where I would like to go with my walk with Christ.” – Manro Abundo

MOTIVATED BY THE POWER OF LOVE

When Jesus and his disciples one time were leaving Jericho, there was a large crowd that was gathered and was following him. Among the crowd were two blind men who were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” They were persistent in getting the attention of Jesus. The crowd was bothered by it, but Jesus was not.

In fact, he called the blind men and asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” they answered, “We want our sight.” And the Bible says in Matthew 20:34 “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” Jesus ministered to these blind men because of a sense of love and compassion. He was motivated by his sympathy for them including his desire to help them in their predicament. They were blind, yet they were seeking the Savior to give them sight. He gave them what they asked for because he was motivated by his love and compassion.
In the same manner, when we minister or share the gospel, we must be motivated by love not selfishness. We must show that we care for them. In fact, the power of love can motivate us to do great things for others. When we love, we are willing to make great sacrifices. When we love, we are willing to take the extra mile. We must be motivated by the power of love when we share the gospel: Love for God and love for others.

There was a story of a young man who has just departed from this world then went on to his heavenly reward. As he was going through the way to heaven, he was met by an angel to guide him. They came upon a place where people were seated around the banquet tables piled high with the best of food and drink. “I must have misunderstood,” thought the man. “Is this purgatory?” However, he noticed as he came closer, that the people were thin and seemed to be starving. Not a single person was eating. Everyone looked sad. “Why don’t they eat?” asked the young man. “Why are they so sad with all the food before them?”
“Look closely and you will see that each person has a special fork attached to one hand and a special spoon attached to the other. The handles are so long that it is impossible to get the ends of these utensils into one’s mouth. So even though they are surrounded by food, they suffer and starve,” explained the angel.

They continued their journey and came upon another place where people were seated around banquet tables again piled high with food and drink. However, as they drew closer, he could see that these people were both joyous and well fed. “Is this heaven?” asked the young man.
“Yes,” replied the angel. “As you can see, it is just like the other place which you called purgatory. The tables are the same. The food is the same. Even eating utensils are the same. The only difference is that, rather than starving, the people in heaven are well fed.”
“How is this so?” asked the young man.

The angel smiled. “Here in heaven, the people feed each other.” Did you hear that? The people feed each other. That is heaven. That is the power of love. That is what keeps us going for the ministry. That is what sustains us. That is what inspires us. That is what gives us passion. That is what motivates us to share the gospel. Unselfish love. We love because he first loved us.

And what is love?
It’s silence when your words would hurt.
It’s patience when your neighbor’s curt.
It’s deafness when the scandal flows.
It’s thoughtfulness for another’s woes.
It’s promptness when stern duty calls.
It’s courage when misfortune falls.

Love is important. We must love those that have never heard the gospel even if we dislike their actions. We must love them even if they do not speak our own language. We must love them even if they came from different country. For how can we share our light to them if we turn away from them? We must be motivated by the power of love and compassion that only God can give us.

MOTIVATED BY A SENSE OF PURPOSE

This is the motivating force behind the conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4. He had a sense of purpose. He had a rationale behind his every action. He had principles for living. Actually, while speaking to her, his disciples looked at him and marveled at what His real motive might be in John 4:27. They don’t know the real reason why he had to take time and talk with a woman, a Samaritan at that during that time of the day. It was high noon. They were all hungry. Instead of having lunch and resting, Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman. But Jesus later explained to them that his real purpose was: “To do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34). He was doing the will of the father whenever there is an opportunity. And what was the will of the Father for Him? To “seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10). That is also the will of the Farther for all of us to do: That we will look for and save what was lost. We must seek out and reach them with the gospel. We have a goal and a purpose in life on why we are here.

Do you also have the same sense of purpose in life? Are you seeking out for the unsaved friends? Do you have the desire to share the gospel to them? Remember that we are not here by accident. Therefore, we must always act according to our life’s purpose.

Rick Warren in his book: Purpose Driven Life says; “You weren’t put on earth to be remembered. You were put here on earth to prepare you for eternity.” How true this it! Each day, we are being prepared for eternity. Purpose always produces passion. Purpose always produces joy. Purpose produces motivation. Purpose gives meaning to our action. It is not meaningless anymore to work. We work because we get in contact with the lost so that can we invite them to our church and consequently bring them to Christ. We work so that we can manifest the life of Christ in our testimony and therefore shine our lights. We work to seek out and reach them with the gospel. Now that we know our purpose, we have the passion and the joy to do our job well. Life can be exciting if you know your purpose!

A few years before the death of Charles Spurgeon, that famed Prince of Preacher in England, he received a great offer. The American lecture Bureau tried to hire him to come to America to deliver 50 lectures, speaking in all the large cities of America. As compensation, the Bureau offered to pay all expenses of Spurgeon, his wife, and private secretary, and to pay $1,000 per night for each of 50 lectures. In 1857, that was a big sum of money. But Spurgeon promptly declined to make $50,000 in 50 days, saying, “I can do better. I will stay in London and try to save 50 souls. That is a lot better. That is my calling.” He was not motivated by money but by his sense of life’s purpose.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION IN LIFE?

What drives you to do something? Why are you doing what you are doing right now? If you are not motivated by something worthwhile, you might not be doing what you are doing right now. That is always the root of any problem. If there is no motivation in your service for God, then there is no drive and there is no purpose at all.

Why are you doing that particular ministry? If you are not yet in a ministry, then, before you go into any ministry, you must know why you must be involved. Why are we sharing the gospel to people? Why are we here in church? Why are you singing in the Praise and Worship? Why are you in the Instrumentalist? What motivates us to do such things that other people call as foolishness and waste of time?

To be able to answer these questions intelligently, let us first of all make some definitions:
What do you mean by motivation?

Dictionary definition: “The act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to do something. It is a feeling of interest or enthusiasm that makes somebody wants to do something.”

Dennis Watley in his book, “The joy of Working…” defined motivation as; “ an inner drive, an idea captured in the imagination.”

Motivation therefore is something that can harness our skills, time and energy to an intense drive toward a goal. Men and women who are highly motivated push themselves forward. They plow through in spite of the inevitable setbacks they experience. They head onward to their dreams. They accomplish their goals.

It is essential that we have motivation in any endeavor that we may try whether in starting a business, in having a family marriage or in the ministry.

Somebody likened motivation as a “steam” that if properly channeled can move large objects forward. This steam can power the entire train. But without it, the train remains motionless, stationary and immobile. All the careful planning and preparation for travel is nothing if there is no steam to propel the train forward.

The same thing with us! If we are properly motivated and our talents or giftedness are enhanced and correctly channeled, great things can be done with easier and faster results especially in the area of our ministry. However, there is a problem. Many people, despite all the spiritual education that they have received on the subject of ministry, still do very little with what they know. They are still ineffective and goes tired easier. What is the reason? There is lack of proper motivation! Therefore, we need motivation for living. We can only get motivation through Jesus Christ as our example. Let us learn more from him.