Throughout the Bible, prayer was a source of power, inspiration, comfort and deliverance. Whether it was Joshua before Jericho’s walls, Elisha facing off the prophets of Baal, David after his sin was revealed or Jesus at Gethsemane – we see how prayers moved God. As we begin our campaign, we as disciples of Jesus must re-commit ourselves to having prayers that shake the heavens and the earth!

For the rest of 2013, we will focus on begging God to move in our ministries and our lives. We will prepare our hearts and minds to see the many blessings that God will bestow to us. Indeed, we will be able to offer the same request that Moses, in Exodus 33, asked of God: “Show me your glory!” Then we will be able to light the fire within our hearts and the cities throughout metropolitan New York City and Long Island!

To God Be the Glory! – Andrew & Patrique Smellie

INSIGHT

Moses understood that to attempt anything without God’s power is futile. He prayed to God “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” (Exodus 33:15). As we begin our campaign, it is crucial to call on God’s presence to go with us and to prepare our hearts to be totally unified in our efforts. Read Exodus 33:7-23 to unite our focus, and pray specifically for God to show us His glory by giving us success!

WEEKLY FOCUS

• Pray specifically for the success of each church in our movement
• Pray for each Bible Talk to baptize by the end of the summer
• Set personal goals for May – dreams you want God to make come true
• Choose a “Tent of Meeting” – a place of prayer you will meet God each day this month
• Choose something to give up this month as a small sacrifice for God to aid your focus in prayer (i.e. meat, sweets, television, coffee…etc)
• Follow up with commitments for Sunday’s service and focus on baptizing our friends into Christ!

 An Hour of Prayer: Can you take the challenge?

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. — Matthew 26:40

Here’s a creative way of breaking down the hour down into [5] minute segments. Each has a unique focus.

Matthew 22:37 “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.’” [Pray about your love for God, (praise him)]

Luke 17:5 “The apostles said to the Lord: ‘Increase our faith.’” [Pray for God to give you more faith, especially in the area of forgiving one another.]

Acts 4:29 “Now Lord consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with Great Boldness.” [Pray to repent of fear and speak with great boldness as you get open about where you really are, disciple others, and share your faith.]

Luke 10:2 “He told them: ‘The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” [Pray for every disciple in your bible talk to be compassionate and work for the harvest. Pray for the lost by name. Pray for studies, open people from all nations, influential people, and who will get baptized this week.]

James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the Testing of your faith develops perseverance…” [Pray to be spiritual as you face the trials of the day, realizing that it is really your faith that is being tested. (Pray that those who are weak in their faith will not be discouraged)]

Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and Thankful.” [Pray for God to help you become more thankful. (Spend more time thanking him for all he’s done and does)]

Philippians 2:5 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he Humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” [Pray to have the humility of Jesus, to consider others better than yourself, and therefore, to be a servant. Note: if we are humble, we will ask God daily for wisdom (James 1:5), and ask people daily for lots of advice (Proverbs 12:15)]

1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an Example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” [Pray to be a great example for everyone in your life. Note: you may be the only Bible they will ever read.]

Job 42:10 “After Job had prayed for his Friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.” [Pray specifically for your friends. (family first)]

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and Imitate their faith.” [Pray to imitate the faith of God’s leaders here in New York City and all over the world (pray for them by name)]

Matthew 3:8 “Produce faith in keeping with Repentance.” [Pray specifically about what you need to repent of today to be more like Jesus (Get open and go for it)]

Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, Oh Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you and wait in Expectation.” [Pray specifically as you lay your requests before God, and watch throughout the day as he amazes you.]

Week One: “On God We Call”

“…far be it from me that I should sin…by failing to pray for you.” (1 Samuel 12:23)
“And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; there will be deliverance as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.” (Joel 2:32)
“Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.” (Numbers 33:53)

• Campaign Kick-off at Sunday Service
• Pray for all the Sold-Out Movement of churches & cities that need a church
• Pray that God’s Presence distinguishes us as his people as we set out to make a difference! (Exodus 33:16)
• Daily reading: Ephesians chapters 1-6

Sun 5 Belt of Truth (Eph. 4:15, 25)
Mon 6 Breastplate of Righteousness (Eph. 5:8-10)
Tue 7 Feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace (Eph. 3:7)
Wed 8 Shield of Faith (Read Eph. 2:8-10)
Thu 9 Helmet of Salvation (Eph. 1:13-14)
Fri 10 Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:19-20)
Sat 11 Prayer in the Spirit (Eph. 1:15-19a)

• Claim your “Jericho” (Neighborhood, school, community or workplace)
• Have a prayer walk around your “Jericho” once a day for 6 days, then 7 times on Sat.
• Pray the walls of sin in hearts will collapse and be replaced w/ devotion to God
• Goal: Pray for a record attendance on Mother’s Day!

Week Two: “Courageous Hearts”

“Even a child is known by his actions” (Prov. 20:11)
“Courage comes from acting courageously on a day to day basis.” (Brian Tracey)
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
“We must be willing to live our convictions and be willing to be misunderstood. Live in God!” (W.B. Musselman)

• Daily reading: Joshua chapters 1-11
• Choose your tent of meeting for the month
• Write down your personal goals for month
• Commit yourself, as Moses did, to being the Lord’s friend
• Show the world that we are a part of something special. Let’s be men and women of courage this week!
• Study the Bible with someone new this week
• Goal: Pray for a record number of Bible studies for the church!

Week Three: “Give Us Living Water”

“In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5)
“A man may be convicted yet never converted, but no man is converted unless he has first been convinced.” (D. Thurlow Yaxley)
“Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” (Acts 8:36)

• Daily reading: John chapters 1-7

Sun 19 Worship in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24)
Mon 20 Praise God and ask for great faith (2 Sam 22)
Tue 21 Faithful hearts (Acts 8:26-39)
Wed 22 Visualize the unseen (Heb. 11:1-3, Lk. 3:15-18, Lk. 5:1-11)
Thu 23 Visualize the unseen (Acts 22:3-16, Acts 16: 13-15)
Fri 24 Urgency (Lk. 16:19-31)
Sat 25 Urgency (Acts 16:25-34)

• Daily Mindset: Baptizing friends into Christ!
• Fast from all drinks except H20 (no coffee, no soft drinks, etc.) and when you drink H20, pray for the harvest.
• Goal Review: How are you doing with your personal goals? On pace? Off pace?

Week Four: “Finishing the Race”

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)
“God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas, but for scars.”

I “can’t” is a quitter;
I “don’t know” is too lazy;
I “wish I could” is a wisher;
I “might” is waking up;
I “will try” is on his feet;
I “can” is on his way;
I “will” is at work;
I “did” is a faithful servant

• Finish bringing in the remaining harvest
• Strengthen the new Christians
• Celebrate the victory God has given
• Keep praying for Miracles!

Jack & Jeanne McGee serve as one of our two Congregational Shepherding Couples!

“When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me.”  – Genesis 16:5

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ‘Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?’ They asked. ‘Hasn’t he also spoken through us?’ And the Lord heard this.”  – Numbers 12:1-2

“‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.’”  – Ruth 1:20

“In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.”  – 1 Samuel 1:10

“When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, ‘How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!’”  – 2 Samuel 6:20

These scriptures contain clear examples of directly stated or implied bitterness. Although sin is not gender specific, some sin appears to be more common among one gender than the other. Bitterness is one of those sins. Men are surely not exempt from ‘bitter roots’ but women just seem to be predisposed to it. Perhaps my bias comes from looking back over my own battle with bitterness.

As a young disciple, I was a stay-at-home mom with preschoolers. Because I was at home, many disciples called on me to watch their children or to do them favors and I always complied with false humility. Inwardly, I resented being asked assuming they should just see how burdened I felt. The resentments grew into a deeply buried bitter root and consequently I was not able to see, receive or give the grace of God. Sadly, the bulk of my bitterness was toward my closest relationship. We had daily contact with one another and our children were together constantly. In my perception, I felt she took advantage of our friendship by asking me to watch her children while she ran errands. Every time I was around her or even thought about her, I felt bitter.

Thousands of people heard the Word of God from in front of the Capitol Building, making DC the first church in 223 years to hold a Worship Service on the lawns of the National Mall!

After living in this tormented state for years, I finally confessed the ugly truth to my friend. She seemed shocked and hurt but she quickly forgave me. Twenty years later, when she made the decision to leave the Lord, she shared candidly with me how much I, along with many others, had hurt her over the years. I realized that she had become the bitter one but her words pierced me because I knew there was truth in them. Her faith had been defiled; at least in part by the way I had treated her.

Another consequence of what I think of as the ‘years of blatant bitterness’, was the damage it did to my relationship with Jack. Although Jack worked long and hard, six days a week to allow me to stay home while our children were young, I resented him. I was bitter that I had to serve him when he came home because I was tired from the day and did not like denying myself. Once again, I submitted to my role and served him, but always with bitterness of heart. I never said it, but being an intuitive person, Jack sensed my heart and felt pushed away. He began to get with brothers after work to exercise and hang out. As a result, he would get home even later. Our marriage suffered severely.

Twelve years into our marriage, we went through an intense counseling session that came through a ‘reconstruction’ of the church we were attending. I saw for the first time the damage my bitterness had done and I repented, confessing my heart to Jack. He in turn, confessed to me that he had been tempted by another woman from his past who was interested in him. Though he had not given in to her advances, it would only have been a matter of time before my bitterness would have driven him away; as it was, it had caused plenty of trouble in our marriage.

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”  – Hebrews 12:15

All Nations converge for a 28 person multi-lingual welcome!

The irony is that while I was so bitter, I felt justified, even victimized. Like Sarai,  I blamed my friend and my husband for their treatment of me. I thought that if they changed their behavior, I would not be bitter. What I have learned is that circumstances don’t make me bitter; the way I view them leads to bitterness or to growth if I acknowledge that God has allowed me to suffer to make me a better vessel for Him to use.

Naomi understood that God allowed her trials but she did not know why until later. It was not to make her life bitter but better. Her suffering brought her back to God’s people.

Every hardship that I have had to endure has become a ‘talent’ allowing me to relate to more people. I would never have chosen to suffer as God has allowed me to but when I look at my suffering and see the refining it has produced I am grateful. Is your suffering still your excuse to be bitter or are you allowing it to enable you to become better?

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  – 1 Peter 1:6-7

God has allowed my heart to change over the years as a result of much weeping and praying when bitterness plagues my soul. He doesn’t always change my circumstances like He did for Hannah, but when I wrestle in prayer, He will change my heart and the bitterness subsides allowing me to become better. I get plenty of opportunity to experience this type of transformation, because bitterness is a default sin for me. I am tempted with resentful thoughts nearly every day.

Just a few days before I wrote this article, I woke up feeling bitter. I had dreamt about my first husband who had been unfaithful and abusive. I had an overwhelming feeling of resentment that God had allowed me to dream about this unhappy time in my life. I should have felt relieved when I awoke to know that it was only a dream but Satan had his claw in me and I knew I had to wrestle in prayer. After crying and praying, I still felt unresolved. I had been reading Deuteronomy for my quiet times and I went there to continue but when no heart change came, I prayed that God would direct me to a passage that would meet my needs. I began to flip through the Bible and ended up in Job.

“The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help. They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines. But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you.”  – Job 36:13-17

I was drawn in by the first line: when I harbor resentment in my heart I am godless. God and resentment do not share a heart; God will leave. Then in his mercy he will allow us to be fettered which means to be chained and to have our freedom restricted. He does this in the hope that we will seek the truth, which will set us free, but as long as we want to harbor and protect our resentment, we will not even ask God for help. I felt fettered that morning but I definitely wanted to seek the truth and be free of my resentment.

When I read the next line I told God that I was sure the one thing I had never been was a male prostitute, but immediately I thought about how I had prostituted myself to the shrine of bitterness over the years and I am sure that this is as offensive to God as the thought of male prostitutes is to me.

God had allowed me to suffer the first marriage perhaps to teach me or perhaps it was just a consequence of my own folly; either way he had delivered me and nearly 40 years later, on this particular morning, He was speaking to me in my affliction.

God was wooing me back to a spacious place free from restriction, a place of comfort with a table laden with choice food. That place is found through facing the truth and repenting and the result is a table laden with the fruits of the Spirit.

Until I return to that place of comfort, I am laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of me. When I read this verse, I had an epiphany; God will allow me to suffer the judgment that is due those who have sinned against me if I remain bitter against them. In bitterness I laden myself with the judgment due the wicked. It is not my place to judge even those who have hurt me; it is only my place to forgive, and even more to be grateful that they caused me to suffer!

After all this, my heart was still heavy. It wasn’t until Jack, who was aware of my emotional state as a result of my curtness that morning came and took my hand and said, “Let’s pray.” Before he even started the prayer, my heart softened. In retrospect, I decided that God did not allow my heart to change until that act of kindness on the part of my husband had occurred so that I might see the mercy of God. He had rescued me from a damaging, worldly relationship and given me a mighty man of God who loves me and leads me. I went on to experience a day ‘laden with choice food.’

Devante confessed “Jesus is Lord “ and was Baptized two days after our historic Service!

As I mentioned earlier, I have met many women who also struggle with bitterness. Actually, not all of them struggle with it, some just surrender to it like I did when I was younger. At times my struggle with these women is that I not allow myself to get bitter about their bitterness! Obviously, Satan has a great victory when he can get us to do just that.

Bitterness is logically directed toward those we know best: family members, spouses, and disciples we are closest to because these are the people who have the greatest opportunity to hurt us. As women we have a plethora of reasons to resent our husbands, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, in the world and in Christ. Maybe they don’t dance in the street like David or marry Cushite women, but they can embarrass us, infuriate us and deeply wound us through their actions and their words.

My own father was verbally and physically abusive. He was an angry alcoholic who seemed to me to have a penchant for creative cruelty. It took many tears, prayers, scripture reading and the perseverance of many patient disciples to heal my heart of the hurts that I harbored. By the grace of God I was able to come to a point of genuine compassion for my father and true forgiveness.

Cheryl Grady celebrates after she baptizes her daughter Cheryl Holmes!

God gives us examples in His Word of what to be and what not to be. Michal was cursed as a result of her bitterness, as was Miriam; whereas, Hannah was blessed. The first two voiced their bitterness and defiled others. Hannah cried out to God and was heard. My goal is to be like Hannah and cry out to God instead of running to another person to vomit my bitterness on him or her. Sometimes it takes a while to overcome, as it did with Sarah and Naomi but God in his mercy continues to lavish His love on us that we might learn; the quicker we learn, the less fettering we will experience.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  – John 8:31-32

The truth is none of us ever has an excuse to be bitter; when we are tempted with bitterness, as disciples, we have the power to be victorious over our temptations and live an unfettered life free of resentments filled with the fruits of the Spirit.

Stories like his, propelled the church to superceed our goal for our annual missions contribution by 3,000 Pounds with a result of 34,228 Pounds for making more stories like Tosin’s to happen in Britian, Europe and the Commonwealth.
 

On Saturday, the sisters of the London International Christan Church welcomed more than double of their number as guests to our Third Women’s Day “The Search”. Our sister Coral from Oxford alone brought 12 guests in a mini-van to the Women’s Day. Coral’s oldest daughter Simone, is already an incredible teen disciple. But among her visitors this Saturday were her mother and two of her physical sisters.

Maria Hart, as our keynote speaker, told the women about her Search for God through troubles and tribulations. Even in terrible experiences like losing a child, she managed to reach out to God because she had confidence that He is holding out his hand all the time. Similar heart-touching confessions came from our sister Prisca Scheidecker leading the Paris church with her husband, Kia Pope and my wife Michele. Many women were so moved that they longed to sit down and study the Bible with our sisters.

 
Michael Williamson
 
 

 

Very vulnerable Maria Hart shared about her trials and tribulations in her search for God

 

Since September 2012, volunteers have been dedicating the first Thursday of every month to serve in group homes of people with mental and physical disabilities. The MERCY Family Nights are held at five assisted living homes in different neighborhoods and townships across Chicago. In the past 9 months, volunteers have dedicated hundreds of hours to the initiative. The response has been phenomenal. Every couple months, new group homes are added to the project, because people hear the inspiring stories and ask to volunteer.

Participants spend a “family night” with the residents, many of whom either have no family of their own, or have limited contact with their biological families. “You may not think of a game of Monopoly with someone as a life-changing event, but surprisingly, it can be. The second surprise comes when you realize that ‘family night’ has been just as life-changing for you, the volunteer, as for the people you came to visit,” says Denise Chiappetta, a Mercy Worldwide Coordinator on Chicago’s North Side. Daanyel George, a volunteer from Evanston says, “It has been good. It’s definitely taught me how to interact with a person according to that person’s needs and personality.”

People with disabilities are often overlooked and feel separate from the rest of the world, due to physical and programmatic accessibility barriers, as well as long-standing myths and stereotypes. Though the group home environment certainly seeks to bring people with disabilities further into “mainstream society” than the institutions of the past, there is still a gap in the amount of real interaction residents may have with society at large. It can be all too common for a group home resident to go straight from home, to a day program for people with disabilities, back to home, for a night of watching television. The bulk of interpersonal contact becomes other people with disabilities or paid staff. That’s not to say that the paid staff doesn’t do a good job, but imagine if the only people you interacted with were those who were paid to do so.

The MERCY Family Night’s “first Thursday” consistency allows the persons with disabilities and volunteers to build solid, long term friendships. Emily Fofana and her husband Oumar organize the volunteer effort at an all-women’s group home in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. Emily says, “The experience has been great! The more you go, the more you get to bond with the residents and build relationships. Then it is exciting to see how those relationships affect the residents in a positive way.” Emily and Oumar, and the half a dozen other volunteers who join them at that home play games, sing songs, do crafts, share meals and consequently build the relationship bridges which are so desperately needed. “You can see that it’s something they look forward to, you can see that they have fun too when we’re there!” said Emily.

Branden Traylor, a volunteer, enjoys spending time with residents in a group home in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, an experience he compares to the “warm feeling you get when coming out of the cold and drinking hot chocolate.” Branden shares the added value of the experience, aside from the warm feelings, when he describes how playing games like BINGO enhances hand/eye coordination for the residents with physical disabilities and UNO establishes the necessity of understanding rules in order to follow the flow of the game. By practicing these skills with volunteers who are compassionate and patient, the group home residents are better prepared for interaction with others.

Joe Chiappetta, the Chicago director of MERCY Worldwide shares, “I knew these group home volunteer projects were going to be a hit not only with the residents, but the volunteers as well, when on our first visit to a home, I rang the doorbell, and four women ran to the window, waved, clapped their hands and yelled loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear: ‘We are so glad you are here! We’ve been waiting for you ALL day!!!’”

Jim & Deborah Reali celebrate as they are now “united in Christ” with their son Jason!

It is the lifelong dream of so many disciples – to have their family members become disciples. We get inspired by the jailer who in one night saw his entire family baptized! (Acts 16:31-33) We dream about our mothers, our fathers, our brothers and sisters, our grandparents, cousins, and whoever else we’re close with to coming to know the truth which we ourselves have been so blessed with.

Talking about evangelizing the nations in our generation immediately makes us think about how long it will be before we have a church of SoldOut disciples in each city where we have family. Every year our annual special missions contribution reminds us that every penny we give contributes to making these dreams become a reality. The degree to which we contribute to planting churches worldwide is directly proportional to how much we understand, not only the heart of Jesus, but the very heart of God “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)

Ruth finds the Lord after being met by our “Sister of Sound” – Jasmin Hunger.

Every so often God reminds us that these dreams can become a reality. During our time in Portland, God allowed us to see 11 families become “united in Christ” as each family member was baptized one-by-one, including the baptism of my own father. The one that most touched my heart was our then new brother from Los Angeles, Owamabe “Owa” Odighizuwa – a starting UCLA football player baptized by the founding evangelist of the Washington, DC International Christian Church, Andrew Smellie – this dream became a reality, just six weeks after becoming a true follower of Christ. I was so grateful God allowed Portland to be the site for yet another one of these modern day miracles (third family united in Christ!) Right after becoming a disciple of Jesus, Owa shared his faith with his mother – Abieyuwa “AB” – and told her there was a church in Portland. She called me for directions and came to church the very next day. A few weeks later Owa traveled to Portland on spring break. He arrived just in time to baptize his mother Abieyuwa at our midweek service! At her baptism AB shared, “I searched and searched for a church and the moment I walked through the doors, I knew I had found my family. It was the first church I attended where I wasn’t thinking about what I was going to do when I got home during the sermon.” Owa’s 17 year old brother – Ighodaro “Iggy” – who had already begun studying the bible had a track meet that evening and was extremely disappointed that he would miss his mother’s baptism. Jeff Eitelbach, who was our first baptism in Portland (12 years after his mother and father were baptized) knew the importance of seeing this once-in-a-lifetime event. So he skipped the beginning of midweek, went to the track meet, and rushed Iggy to service the moment his meet was finished. The power of seeing Owa baptize his mother was so impacting that Iggy decided he was ready to get baptized as well. Eleven days later, Iggy became your brother in Christ! Since that time, he brings an average of 5-10 people to every Bible Talk.

A record breaking Sunday for DC: six baptisms and $121,015 given to Special Missions!

God is so amazing! Before Iggy’s baptism, he (with direction from his coach) had already made plans to forgo his full-ride to Dartmouth and attend Riverside Community College. So the Lord had already decided Iggy would live in Riverside (Acts 17:26-27) as a disciple before any of us knew he would even become a disciple! With the dream of being a full-time minister. Iggy is now an intern in the Inland Empire Region of the great City of Angels Church in Los Angeles! A few months later, their brother their brother Ihoghama “Iho” was baptized, then a month later the youngest brother Osawaru “Osa.” Excitingly, as a disciple of Jesus, Iho won the Oregon State Championship in wresting in 2011. He had a full-ride to Boise State University, but refused it because we had no church in Boise. But then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord initiated a remnant group in Boise, Idaho and Iho has accepted his full-ride scholarship! It’s so awesome to be part of a worldwide movement with God leading the way! Wouldn’t it be great to be able to send our children to any city in the world and have a church of SoldOut disciples already there? By faith, I’m happy to tell you that God has already given us this victory! (Mark 11:22-24)

Jeremiah Clark presents most of the members of the Denver Mission Team on Special Missions Sunday!

Not everyone’s family is so quickly converted. But, after 20 years of seeing different family conversions, I’ve noticed a phenomena which holds true no matter how long it takes to convert your family. Not every SoldOut person has their family truly converted to Christ but, I’ve never seen a lukewarm, independent, unrepentant, or ungrateful disciple convert their family. It always seems to be the disciples who have deep convictions about being bold, grateful and totally committed who make the big catch when fishing for their family’s souls. That was what I appreciated about Owa as I spent time with him on his visit. Even as a young Christian he had deep convictions and was extremely grateful for the Kingdom and our movement. After seeing his family converted, I said, “Who would have thought your brother would be converted by the time you went back home.” Owa simply replied, “Well, I prayed it would happen before I returned home from spring break.”

Carla finds the Lord and hope for her and her five children!

We have been so blessed here in DC to see the amazing trend of people’s family’s beginning to be converted with the baptism Kadiah’s father Amidu two weeks ago and then the baptism of Jim & Deborah Reali (along with four others) last Sunday!

Amidu is united in Christ with his daughter Kadiah!

If there was ever someone who knew how to convert his family it was Jesus. His family persecuted him, mocked him and they were threatened by the extreme nature of his commitment, yet he did not waiver. Instead he used their lack of understanding as a lesson for how to eventually win them over. He stood before all those who were his true followers and uttered some earth shattering words, “’Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked…. ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’” – Mark 3:33-35 Jesus understood that everyone is someone’s mother, brother, sister, father, uncle, etc. Let us approach Christianity by imitating the faith of Jesus to have equal concern for all who are lost and trust that God wants our families to be with him more than we do ourselves!

Antonio, a Howard University Baseball player gets baptized, then runs off for his game!

Only the unadulterated Word of God can convert our family members. Shared with boldness, patience and love, the Gospel not only changes lives, but also changes relationships. True disciples of Jesus will not only obey his teachings, but they will have his same mindset in saving the lost, giving unity, a common purpose and right priorities. When we have this kind of faith and these kind of lives, we will not just save a lost world, we will give our physical mothers and brothers the same chance that Jesus gave his own mother and brothers. Then and only then does our physical family have a chance to become our spiritual family!

Michael & Sharon Kirchner

The population of the world is 7.1 billion people and growing exponentially! The Population Reference Bureau estimates that a total of 107.6 billion have lived throughout the history of the world. That means 6.5% of all people that have ever lived are living today! According to Internet World Stats, 360,000 births occur each day (250 per minute) and 151,600 deaths occur each day (105 per minute)! The evangelization of the world may seem “impossible” to those lacking faith, as we attempt to reach the six populated continents, hundreds of islands, and billions of people speaking some 7,000 languages. In fact, Wikipedia lists 196 sovereign countries and another 46 territories by population, including the Pitcairn Islands with a population of 48! However, we know that “God determines the exact times and places each person should live… so that we would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

The global population across the various regions of the world breaks down as follows:

Asia                             59%
Africa                          15%
Europe                        11%
Latin America             9%
North America            5%
Oceana                        1%
(Australia & Pacific Islands)

Joe & Kerry Willis will lead the Sydney Mission Team assisted by Mason Fetelika and his fiancée Nathalie Moningka, who will build the campus ministry !

Within every one of these regions a very interesting phenomenon is occurring: people are leaving the rural areas and migrating more and more to the urban areas. According to National Geographic, in 1975 there were only three “mega-cities” with populations greater than 10 million – Mexico City, Tokyo and New York City. Today there are 21 such cities! If all 7 billion people stood side-by-side they would take up an area equal to the greater Los Angeles area. We must remember that Jesus himself said, “And the gospel MUST first be preached to all nations.” (Mark 13:10) This is what our 2013 Missions Contribution is all about: taking the gospel of Jesus Christ “to all nations.”  Jesus emphasizes that this “MUST” be done!

So often, disciples ask, “Why are we taking-up a Missions Contribution and how does the leadership determine the multiple versus our weekly contribution?” The answer is simple: We are resolved to preach the gospel to all nations in our generation. Each year we develop specific Prayer Goals for the City of Angels Church and all the other SoldOut Movement Churches with the foundation built on our Crown of Thorns Project developed in 2009 to reach 12 of the most influential cities in the world. Those cities in turn will evangelize the surrounding nations and cities, and so the world will be evangelized! (Acts 13:49; 19:8-10) To date, we have reached five of the 12 Crown of Thorns Cities – London, Mexico City, Paris, Santiago, Sao Paulo, and we will be half way to planting all 12 with the sending-out of the Sydney Mission Team later this year! Through the Spirit’s guidance and power, we now have churches on all six populated continents with an average Sunday attendance reaching 3,500! God’s new movement is seeing additions every six hours! This has been accomplished in only six years and we are just getting started!

The Las Vegas Mission Team Leaders – Jason & Sarah Dimitry – and their “Casino Table” Mission Cake which reads, “All In!””

America represents almost one third of the world’s monetary net worth. God has granted us religious freedom and incredible wealth in the United States. American wealth – combined with our generosity – is the source to raise the funds and fuel the growth of God’s churches, thus fulfilling the mission to evangelize the nations in our generation. Our dear brother Joe Willis – who Lord willing will plant Sydney, Australia later this year – has done a remarkable job in inspiring those of us in LA in the City of Angels Church to better understand what the Bible says about giving. Each week at the City of Angels Church Staff Meeting, Joe gives a five-minute charge regarding weekly contribution and missions. This, along with convicting teaching from our brother Kip, has allowed us to get in touch with the fact that the “American Dream” is really the “American Scheme!” (Luke 12:14-21) People are so focused on material possession and wealth that they totally miss out on the true purpose of “seeking and saving the lost.” (Luke 19:10) Our congregation’s leaders have worked very hard at helping disciples to live within their means, as well as to plan and budget properly. Our leaders have also taught from the Scriptures the benefits of giving their tithes and offerings to God. (Malachi 3:6-12)

Michael & Michele Williamson are the Lord’s “servant leaders” in our incredible London Church!

The time is now for us to share with every disciple the specific SoldOut Movement Mission Goals for 2013. We are calling all USA congregations to take up a minimum 15X Missions Contribution in April and to budget for a 6X Missions Contribution in November. Los Angeles will collect a 20X Missions Contribution in June. This is what the movement needs in order to support the mission work to be completed over the next year.

As the Administrator for the SoldOut Movement, the Lord has put it on my heart to help everyone better understand the overall collection and distribution of all of God’s funds. Similar to Paul, “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer [your] liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.” (2 Corinthians 8:9-10) Within our movement of churches there are four primary budgets: 1) The local weekly contribution on Sundays and the benevolence collection at Midweek Services support the daily operation of each local church. 2) The Central Administration payments of 15% of the Sunday collections support the Central Leadership, our Global Internet Ministry, legal counsel expenses, and church governance. 3) MERCYworldwide payments of 3% of each Sunday’s contribution support the “benevolent arm” of the SoldOut Movement. 4) Missions Contributions support existing international churches, missionaries, USA and international church plantings. In setting a Missions Goal of 15X or 20X our average weekly contribution, we are planning for that money to support these endeavors. Our 2013 Missions Contribution Goal is to collect nearly $1.1 million!

Excitingly , the Spirit moved Renato Tria (left) – along with those under his leadership from the Sao Paulo ICOC – to join Raul Moreno in God’s new movement!

Internationally, these precious funds will be distributed to support our churches and fulltime ministry staff in Chennai, India led by Raja & Debs Rajan; Kiev, Ukraine led by Eugene & Yulia Sobolleff; Manila, Philippines led by John Malnegro; Mexico City, Mexico led by Victor & Aurora Gonzalez Jr.; Paris, France overseen by Tim & Lianne Kernan; Santiago, Chile led by Carlos & Lucy Mejia; Sao Paulo, Brazil led by Raul & Lynda Moreno; and the upcoming Sydney, Australia planting led by Joe & Kerry Willis.

Excitingly, the 2013 Missions Contribution will also support the Las Vegas Church Planting being sent-out today from LA and led by Jason & Sarah Dimitry. Additional distribution of funds includes missionary training support for Argo & Anu Arneson – who oversee Stockholm, Sweden and the Scandinavian nations; Kyle & Joan Bartholomew – who Lord willing will plant the Manila, Philippines Church in 2014; Tyler & Shay Sears who we pray will plant Dallas, Texas in June 2014; and Oleg & Aliona Sirotkin, who if the Lord wills, will plant Moscow, Russia in late 2014 or early 2015! Additionally, the 2013 Missions Contribution will be applied for travel, relocation and training.

Raja & Debs Rajan spearhead the Lord’s work not only in Chennai, but throughout all India!

God continues to gather His remnant and this has provided us with the opportunity to welcome into our fellowship so many former fulltime ministry couples! Of note, Mike & Dena Sanicola will be assisting Jeremiah & Julie Clark in planting the Denver, Colorado Church in August 2013! Also encouraging, Renato & Maria Jose Tria recently joined us in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will work alongside Raul & Lynda in reaching the 194 million lost souls in Brazil! In addition, Gustavo & Claudia Escobedo will be establishing a remnant group in Guatemala City, Guatemala. God is gathering His leaders as well as His people as we lay the foundation on Jesus Christ. (Nehemiah 1:8-9; 1 Corinthians 3:11)

In sending out the 72, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.” (Luke10: 2) The City of Angels Church has sent out 200 disciples in the past five years to either plant or strengthen seventeen different churches! God desires our USA congregations to join the City of Angels Church in sending-out workers into the harvest field. This is beginning to unfold, as this past year the Washington DC Church sent-out Carlos & Lucy Mejia along with 10 disciples to lead the Santiago Church! It is so exciting this year to see the DC Church welcome Steve & Kithy Ranga to further train in the ministry and walk with Ron & Tracy Harding. In August, Lord willing, the Washington DC Church will also send-out Jeremiah & Julie Clark along with 10 other disciples to plant a discipling congregation in Denver, Colorado! Ron and the DC Church are imitating the Los Angeles Church! (1 Thessalonians 2:14)

Tim & Lianne Kernan and the Paris Mission Team!

Could you only imagine if all the people of the world gathered in Los Angeles and stood side-by-side for the most amazing church service of all time? We could share the gospel with each and every one so much easier. Unfortunately that is not the way it works! In America, we plan for vacations, school, our careers, getting married, having a family, retirement and we even plan for death with funeral arrangements! So it should not surprise us that we need a financial plan for Missions Contributions that will allow us to send-out disciples to all the nations to preach the good news because, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” (Colossians 1: 6) Let’s continue to be in God’s grace and let the world know that like Jesus, “we do exactly what the Father commands,” which is to “go and make disciples of all nations!” And to God be the glory!

Michael Kirchner

Coltin is a great friend, a phenomenal disciple and a powerful evangelist for our Lord! He was converted from the efforts of the newly planted (in 2006) Phoenix International Christian Church in 2007. Chris and Sonja Chloupek began the remnant group in Phoenix and later Helen and I led the planting and still later I took on Mike Patterson as our campus minister for one of the largest Universities in the U.S., Arizona State University. Our faithful and extraordinarily evangelistic brother Donterrius (Jamal) Ellis of the fledgling campus ministry at that time met Coltin. He greatly impacted the ASU campus ministry, became Mike’s right hand man, a very good friend and it was clear that God intended something great for him. The kingdom has never been the same with the impact of this young man fighting on the Lord’s side! We are excited to announce that Coltin Rohn will be arriving in Orlando this next Thursday night to preach, teach and fellowship at our campus ministry’s first annual Campus Conference 2013 and then will be preaching to the entire church on Sunday April 14! Read and study this article as I believe brother Coltin has spelled out fantastically the reason, purpose and desperate need for Special Missions. Orlando Church- let’s give to God’s glory!
- Matt Sullivan

Special guest editorial by Coltin Rohn, evangelist of the incredible Boston International Christian Church

Yes, those two words can bring so many feelings to the surface of your heart. As baptized disciples we understand that we have to give up everything (Luke 14:33). But sometimes we can wonder where “Special Missions” came from? And why would disciples have to give a certain amount (4x’s or 15x’s) on a certain day? If you have ever wondered about the answer to those two questions, you’re not alone. Other disciples have as well. Special Missions wasn’t something that was created in the 21st century, but in fact was something that was used by the first century church.

1. The charge for all the churches!

1 Corinthians 16:1-5 “Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made… After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you.” ~54AD~ Paul writes to the disciples in Corinth and calls them to raise money. Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch (the churches in Galatia) had already been instructed to do so as well. Not only the disciples in Galatia were called to this “Special Missions”, but also Philippi, Berea and all the churches in Macedonia. And now Paul is calling for the churches in Achaia: Athens and Corinth, to do the same. In the 21st century we call every disciple in all the churches do be united in a “Special Missions”: Alakanuk, Boston, Boise, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Eugene, Hilo, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Syracuse, Washington DC, and all the churches in the United States, along with Tallinn, Stockholm, Sao Palo, Santiago, Paris, Novosibirsk, New Delhi, Nairobi, Mumbai, Moscow, Mexico City, Manila, Madrid, London, Kinshasa, Kiev, Hire, Guam, Ethiopia, Curacao, Columbo, Chennai, Brisbane, Abidjan and all the International Churches. The call is the same now, 1958 years later, every disciple in every church would be able to save money until the day that it is collected, calling it a “Special Missions”. Six months later, Paul writes the church again:

Coltin, and Mandee Rohn – Leaders of the Boston International Christian Church with their daughter Hailee!

“2 Corinthians 8:1-6 ” And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, … And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will”
Out of extreme poverty, far worse than that of the United States, God allowed the churches to raise more than their goal. That means they were assigned a special amount to raise, either a 4x’s or 15x’s. The amount was up to the leadership and the need for the movement (Hebrews 13:17).
But they did not rob God in the process; they still gave their weekly contribution. God doesn’t look favorably on disciples who try to rob Peter to pay Paul, in other words to rob God to pay special missions. We have to make sure that disciples continue to give themselves first to the Lord in their weekly contribution, and then to the movement for special missions (which is also to God).

2. Right understanding of Giving Special!

2 Corinthians 8:9 “9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
The disciples in Corinth needed to be persuaded to imitate Christ, who left his home in Heaven, left his Father to come to Earth, gave up his kingdom to become a servant, and gave up his life to die on a cross. Sometimes we get focused on the wrong things during Special Missions when what we should be focused on is what it took for us to be saved. What if Jesus had held back? What if he had thoughts like “if I don’t die, someone else will. After all, how important is my sacrifice?” We have to understand it was because Jesus was willing to sacrifice everything that we can share in having eternal salvation.
In the same way, whether we sacrifice everything, or fail to do so, determines if others can share in this eternal life. Your sacrifice means all the difference. When you hold back, it might mean the impossibility of someone being saved. Souls are on the line in proportion to your sacrifice.

Arizona State University – the largest University in the USA, followed very closely by our own University of Central Florida!!

2 Corinthians 9:9-13 “As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”… This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
God rewards with eternal life those who are willing to obey the calling. Not only does a special missions (contribution) supply the physical need of your brothers around the world, it results directly in people receiving salvation, and so results in praise to God. Your sacrifice saves souls. How much is a human soul worth?
The City of Angels Church was planted on a sacrifice of the Portland Church giving 15x March 2007. The church then became self-supporting because each member gave 10x November 2007 (remainder of the money used to send out other churches). They gave 15x April 2008, 2009 along with a 4x November 2009. They then continued to sacrifice 15x April 2010, 2011 and again a 4x November 2011. They gave another 15x in April 2012 and 4x November 2012. And they plan to continue to sacrifice with a 20x in June of this year! This will bring their total sacrifice to 132x their weekly contribution! What did their sacrifice produce? Well, in just 6 years the City of Angels Church has sent out over 200 disciples, 55 just this past summer to plant mission field churches or to strengthen the leadership of preexisting fellowships! Lord willing 33 more will be sent out this summer as well! And Los Angeles is now having Sunday Services with over 1000 in attendance! Disciples were sent to Boston, Chicago, Hilo, Honolulu, Kiev, London, New York City, Orlando, Paris, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Washington DC! That means in just 6 years the Lord took 42 members of the original City of Angels Church and multiplied them to 2,500 disciples around the world with a Sunday attendance approaching 3,300! In just 6 years the Lord took that 1 church and made it into 41 churches in 20 different nations (“church plantings” and “remnant groups”) and is still counting to this day! What can a “special missions” do? Simply show God that we have the faith to evangelize the world! Simply show God that we have the faith to evangelize the world! Again you can ask the question, how much is a human soul worth? Better yet, how much was yours worth?

Eldrin & Mariela Rojas, leaders of the Curacao Remnant Group who recently visited with their two awesome children, Daniela and Joshua!

3. Special Missions isn’t optional, it’s an obligation!

Romans 15:26-29 “For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.”
Special Missions isn’t an option for disciples, in fact we are obligated to do it! Where did you hear the Gospel? From whom did you hear it? How is it that you have come to know Christ? I tell you it was from a baptized disciple. It was from a church that is composed of only sold-out disciples and has the dream to reach the ends of the Earth in one generation. The reason that church is there is because people were willing to sacrifice everything they had. As Paul tells the Church in Rome, the reason all the churches gave was that they understood that without the church in Jerusalem there would be no movement around the world. In the same way, we can understand that without the movement, most of us wouldn’t be saved. And because we owe our salvation first to God and then to our brothers and sisters and to the movement, a “Special Missions” of 15x is nothing compared to that. Let us now do more than our leaders ask this “Special Missions” and let us give at least 15x’s and see the movement grow daily in numbers. And to God be all the Glory and Honor, Amen.

Love,
Coltin Leondus Rohn

God’s desire is that we might “walk with Him”! Very often people think that to be a Christian means that “God walks with me” – in other words, “wherever I go, God goes.” But we are called to align our lives to the life of God, not the other way around! We need to decide to walk with God (Amos 3:3). As we celebrate the life and resurrection of Jesus during this Easter season, let’s consider three examples of godly men that should inspire us to “walk humbly with [our] God” no matter the challenges and “storms” of life: Enoch, Noah and Abraham.

Enoch’s Walk – “Living in Revelation of Judgment”
“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Gen 5:21-24 – emphasis added)

Something happened to Enoch when Methuselah was born. Up until that time, Enoch had probably believed in God, but had not walked with God. What happened to change all this? As a father of two young children, I can definitely attest to the fact that your kids will inspire you to draw closer to the Lord! But let’s examine God’s plan in further detail…

Methuselah became the oldest man to ever live (969 years) and the year he died God sent the Flood in judgment against a wicked world (The floodwaters came when Noah was 600 years old – Genesis 7:6. Methuselah was 369 when Noah was born – Genesis 5:25-29). It seems that God had revealed to Enoch that his son was the “time-clock” for God’s judgment. In fact, Enoch saw beyond even the Flood to the Second Coming of Christ! Consider the epistle of Jude, verses 14-15, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

This revelation of judgment launched Enoch into a close walk with God! Enoch’s fellowship with God was so close that God caught him straight up to heaven to be with Him, without Enoch having to taste of death first (Genesis 5:24)! This is a picture of what it will be like for Christians alive when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)! “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5 – emphasis added).

Noah’s Walk – “A Preacher of Righteousness”
Noah was one of a handful of men that impressed the heart of God (Ezekiel 14:12-20). Like Enoch, he is described as a man who “walked with God”. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” Genesis 6:9 – emphasis added). In the midst of his corrupt generation, Noah was blameless because of three key areas:

a) Noah had the FAITH to see things unseen
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7). The Bible talks about two “worlds” – the “seen” world and the “unseen” world (2 Cor. 4:18; Heb.11:1). Noah’s faith to trust God in things that were not yet seen affected his walk on the earth and inspired him to save his family!

b) Noah’s PREACHING and LIFE condemned his generation
“By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7). Noah was a “preacher of  righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), but it wasn’t his words that condemned the world, but rather his life of righteousness. Through his life, Noah proved that it was possible not to walk a way of violence and depravity, thus leaving his generation with no excuse for their condition (Romans 1:18-20).

c) Noah was SAVED from a corrupt generation
In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus said that the generation alive at the time of His return would be just like that of Noah’s generation. Noah’s generation was judged because of its violence and corruption, not because they were “eating and drinking.” Their daily lives numbed them to the reality of their evil condition. Our generation is no different. As the apostle Peter preached to those who would become the original members of the 1st century church, “With many other words he warned them; and pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’” (Acts 2:40). Our salvation does not just mean we are rescued from an eternity in hell (the future). Our salvation extends into the here and now, as we save others from the captivity of sin!

Abraham’s Walk – “Becoming God’s friend”
“…’Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” (James 2:23 – emphasis added).

Like Enoch and Noah, Abraham walked with God (Genesis 24:40). But the New Testament describes the walk of Abraham in a way different from Enoch and Noah. Abraham’s fellowship with the Lord was so great that he was called a “friend” of God (2 Chronicles 20:7). This did not just mean that God was Abraham’s friend. Even more than that, Abraham was God’s friend. God felt He could share the depths of His heart with Abraham, just as two friends might do. God is looking for the same kind of deep friendship with you (John 15:13-15)!

Like Enoch, Noah and Abraham, each of us has a choice between two walks – walking with the world or walking with God (1 John 2:15-16), as we focus on the “seen” world or the “unseen” world of God’s promises (2 Corinthians 5:7). The choice we make will determine how we live – our outlook, our values, and our lifestyle (Hebrews 11:32-12:2). As we celebrate the Easter season, allow God’s word to inspire you to have faith in Jesus’ return so you can preach His word and encourage many to become friends of the Lord! Decide to “walk with God” and become His friend today!

Andrew Smellie,
Missions Evangelist

Jesus sets the standard for his followers on the level of sacrifice it will take to win this World!

Easter is not only the joyous celebration of Jesus’ life, but a time to reflect on our own lives as well. The call for every true believer is to walk as Jesus walked. Jesus himself made this calling in, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23. This means we must consider how we may better follow him in his death, in his Burial and in his resurrection. Let us examine these three areas of following Jesus:

Following in His Death:

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who loves his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:23-25. During the fateful week before his crucifixion, while predicting his approaching death, Jesus stated this paradoxical truth about how to live a life of impact. Success demands sacrifice. Nothing worthwhile comes without costs. We know this to be true in the secular world. The most successful businessman is successful, the most prominent athlete is prominent, and the greatest artist is great, because each has denied other goals and interests and has devoted time, energy, thoughts and resources to the achievement of success, prominence or grandeur. The most loving families are close and loving because time, energy, and concern have been devoted to each other, and competing interests and distractions have been denied in order to achieve closeness.

No less is required of the disciples of Christ. Jesus demanded self-denial of his disciples. He also demanded that God be given first priority in their lives. Not only did he expect this to be the intention of their lives, but he expected to see the visible, living result of his way: in holding to his teachings (John 8:31-32), in loving each other (John 12:14-15), and in bearing fruit (John 15:8). But Jesus did far more than make demands of his disciples; he provided a living and powerful example – a life of sacrifice where he took up his cross and died to himself every single day. The rule of Jesus’ entire life was his eminent death. He voluntarily left heaven to die the most painful of deaths in order to provide a way for mankind to share in the wealth of eternal life with God. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though  he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might, become rich.”  - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Not only did he die and then resurrect on Easter morning, but he practiced his death every single day providing the ultimate example of self-sacrifice. This demands that our lives reflect a similar sacrifice in every area as a daily part of our discipleship. With God as our first priority and self-denial as our model, our energy, our time, our thoughts and our resources must be given first to God. Having died to self and to sin we have become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6). Everything we once had, has been purchased by God and belongs to Him and He has left those resources in our hands as His stewards. With this perspective, it is unthinkable to leave only left-overs for God. God is unimpressed, indeed He is insulted by such an offering of leftover time, leftover money or leftover thoughts (Malachi 1:6-14). If our secular pursuits had first priority, we would never dream of giving only the leftovers to them . When we attempt to give God only what is left after other interests have been served, we mock Him and treat Him like an entity to be ritually appeased. God does not expect rituals but changed lives (Psalm 51:16-17). “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”  – Galatians 6:7

Following Jesus in his death involves giving up of something precious, of something that really costs the giver (Luke 21:1-4, 2 Samuel 24:24). To give such a sacrifice requires true faith in the power and resources of God . Abraham had such faith when he was called upon to offer Isaac in sacrifice to God . In Abraham’s mind, Isaac already was dead as they climbed the mountain and he trusted in God’s power to restore what was sacrificed (Hebrews 11:17-19). That is why. in response to God’s intervention to spare Isaac’s life Abraham said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:14). We must strive to imitate this example of faith . For example, the DC Congregation is preparing for a Special Contribution for world missions in conjunction with the upcoming Global Leadership Conference. Each of us here must consider prayerfully how to achieve sacrifice in our giving, trusting in God’s resources and power (Malachi 3:10, Philippians 4:11-13). In every area of our lives, each of us must consider how to reflect Christ’s example of death and sacrifice. Undoubtedly, we would be remiss if we did not follow Jesus wholeheartedly by imitating how he died for each of us. God has given us his best! How can we offer anything less to him?

“Therefore. I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy. to offer your bodies as living sacrifices. holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship”  – Romans 12:1

Following in his burial:

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  – Romans 6:4

In John 3:3-13 Jesus scolded Nicodemus saying, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again…..You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit….You are Israel’s teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things?…I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”

The plan of men dying and being buried with Jesus in his baptism!

If these things should not have surprised Nicodemus, how much more should they not surprise us?

So what things?

• First and foremost, we must be baptized? Baptism is the vessel through which God gives us forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Secondly, Nicodemus didn’t understand that not only can you NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven without being baptized, but you can’t even see it. It should not surprise us that we can’t see the true church if we haven’t been baptized.
• Thirdly, baptism and the lifestyle of being a Christian. When we were buried with Christ and  born of water and the Spirit, God began to move and change things in our lives according to his purpose and what’s best for us as he sees fit. We should not be surprised when we feel the “winds of the Holy Spirit” blowing in our lives as God does things we don’t understand to help us grow and mature. Just like when we were babies, we couldn’t just go where we wanted or do what we wanted, when we’re buried with Christ and are born again our lives become subject to the Holy Spirit, blowing us where He wants us to go or blowing us back when he wants us to stay.

Personally, I find it exciting that being buried with Christ opens peoples’ eyes to the full truth of his scriptures, his plan and his church!

Following in his resurrection:

“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”  – Colossians 2:11-12

I am so proud of our Campus and Singles Ministries. They serve in every area of the church. They help in every move. They are the heart and soul of zeal and additions in our services. Now they are leading the way in sacrificing their time and setting an example of “giving beyond their ability” (2 Corinthians 8:3) by giving up their Saturdays to raise money for our annual Special Missions Contribution to raise money to plant churches in Las Vegas, Dallas, Sydney and Denver (which is being planted from DC!) In two Saturdays they have raised a total of $3,496! Thank you for inspiring us with your love for the Lord and His dream to see the nations evangelized in THIS generation!

God never intended for us to only be resurrected once—the day of our baptism. Nor did he intend for us to get stuck in life or to stay the same person our entire life. He intended for us to grow and change and mature as we imitate the savior and become more and more like him. What God was going for was not superficial changes and things added to our existing lives, but real, deep permanent changes on the inside. The troubles of life keep us stuck and stunt our spiritual growth if we do not rely on the power of the Holy Spirit which we received at baptism. The only way to overcome is through a daily renewal of the mind and heart. Through his promise of “daily renewal” we overcome life’s challenges – “…Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16  Thus, we die every day, but Jesus resurrects us and renews us every single day. Is that not awesome?!

As we consider the meaning of Easter and as we celebrate what our Lord and Savior did for us, let us also consider the response he expects us to have and the rewards and benefits which he bestows upon us as we follow in his footsteps and walk as he walked. There is no more fulfilling and impacting way to live than to be like Jesus. He knew the degree to which this world would be changed, is to the degree to which each person lives like he lived. This is undoubtedly why he called everyone who would take the ultimate challenge of being his follower to also be his imitator. Let us understand the full meaning of Easter and so live in such a way as to turn this world upside down—that is to imitate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our own life. And to him be all the glory, honor and praise. Amen!

A few people were back in the fellowship last Sunday. Cat Corrigan is back from her missionary travels. She was at our church in New York City. She is my mother in the faith. That’s how the kingdom of God is: You can be an Afro-American and you have an Irish mum in the faith.

I was also encouraged about someone who found us online. She hails all the way down from California. This is Pam Jackson who worshipped with us on Sunday here in London. She says, You know what, Today is my day to be in the presence of God. So if you see Pam in the fellowship, wrap your arms around her and make sure she feels at home.
The following scripture is one of my favourite about God’s presence. I hope all the scriptures are your favourite. But God’s presence is what it is really all about. Being in the Presence of God. Feeling the Presence of God. Knowing the Presence of God is with God’s people.

Jacob says after waking up from his sleep in

Gen 28:16-17:

“Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I was not aware of it.”
He was afraid and said, “How
awesome is this place! This is none
other than the house of God; this is the
gate of heaven.”
By faith this is hopefully what you believe. You believe this church is the house of God. You believe, you come here to stand in the presence of God Almighty.

Psalm 16:11:
You have made known to me the path
of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence, with eternal pleasures at your
right hand.

See, the psalm says, the person who is in the presence of God has joy in their heart. They have joy in their life. And so we understand right away, if you lack joy you may not be in the Presence of God.

Psalm 34:17-18:
The righteous cry out, and the Lord
hears them; he delivers them from all
their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in
Spirit.

If you are down, if you go through some things, if you fell crushed, don’t lose heart – God is close to the brokenhearted.
Often we think, God must not be with me because my heart is broken. No!

God is with you even when you’re heart is broken!

Psalm 100:1-3:

Shout for joy to the Lord , all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness; come
before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who
made us, and we are his ; we are his
people, the sheep of his pasture.

He says here, Shout for joy to the Lord…
…all who are in California
…all those who are in Nigeria
…all those who are in Ireland
…but in fact he says “all the earth”

That means, even here in London. We have to shout for joy to the Lord! We have to practice that. We got to stand up. Shake the snow off. And then we need to shout for joy to the Lord!

We just have to say: Lord, we love you!

It is awesome to be with the disciples in the church. It is awesome to be with God’s people. It is awesome to be in the presence of God.

I have studied through a few books in the Bible that helped me to shake off everything when I don’t know my way. Then I say, Wait a minute! I just need to go back to these books of the Bible and focus in on God. I have to get my eyes off my marriage. I have to get my eyes off my ministry. I have to get my eyes off the individual friends I have. I have to get my eyes off my finances. I have to focus then on God and God alone!

By faith you also will be able to focus on God again. Because whatever you do and it is not for the Glory of God, you are in trouble. You might not get in trouble right away. But let me tell you, you are definitely heading for some trouble if you are not doing what you do to be in the presence of God.

1 Samuel is such a powerful book in the Old Testament as well as 2 Samuel. We understand, that these books were written during a time when there were some harsh challenges. God’s people had forgotten God’s presence. It was always like this, that God’s presence always went before God’s people before they did anything. We know that, because Joshua didn’t do anything unless the ark of the Lord’s covenant was ahead of him leading him into whatever battle he did. And because of that, God gave them great victory.

We come to 1 Samuel where things start to become really challenging because God’s people had started to get disobedient. They started to not getting focused on God. In the book of Judges God had to raise judges (leaders) to focus the people on God’s presence. In 1 Samuel here we come to a time that references to the last judge, the last leader, that was Samuel himself.

The book of 1 Samuel starts with the birth of Samuel. And his birth was not an easy one. Hannah, his mother, was struggling. But when she focused on God again he gave her this child Samuel. I remember the great testimony of our sister Jeanette Groenewald about a week ago. She prayed to the Lord to bring her a child. And now she is pregnant!
In the same mood Hannah gets very grateful to God in chapter 2 of 1 Samuel. In chapter 3 the Lord calls Samuel. He is a little boy (See, the kids are called by God). I was so encouraged to see all the children sitting in the church service, not on the iPad or in the back on their phone, but in the church, with the church in the house of the Lord. They see they need to be in the Presence of God along with all of us. I have to lift up some of the mothers in the church who made this happen.

In the following chapters we come to a sad part of the history of Israel, of God’s people’s history. A time when God’s presence wasn’t felt. The Glory that was in God’s house had departed. God said, I have to send a man who focuses the people back on me. That was Samuel.

Using God or serving God

Keep in mind that the Israelites represent the people of God, the Christians:

1 Samuel 4:1-3:

And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.
Now the Israelites went out to fight
against the Philistines. The Israelites
camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines
at Aphek.
The Philistines deployed their forces to
meet Israel, and as the battle spread,
Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who killed about four thousand of them
on the battlefield.
When the soldiers returned to camp,
the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the
Lord bring defeat upon us today before
the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of
the Lord ‘s covenant from Shiloh, so that
it may go with us and save us from the
hand of our enemies.”

Michael Williamson and Michael Hart helping each other to be in God’s Presence

Ok, now you have a defeat, now things aren’t going so well, let’s bring God back in the picture. Have you ever been there? Although it sounds good that they bring the ark, they are using God here.

Have you realized that you can use God? You know, no one likes being used. The question here with the Israelites is, why haven’t you had the ark there before you went into battle? That is what history records how Israel won. They knew of all the men in history who won with the ark of God’s presence before them.

Do you have a conviction that God is leading you everywhere you go?

1 Samuel 4:4-5:
So the people sent men to Shiloh, and
they brought back the ark of the
covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is
enthroned between the cherubim. And
Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas,
were there with the ark of the covenant
of God.
When the ark of the Lord ‘s covenant
came into the camp, all Israel raised
such a great shout that the ground
shook.

Now they realize they have to be spiritual. And they shout. It doesn’t matter how loud you shout if haven’t a loud faith. Just because you say it means nothing to God! I can visualize all the Israelites shouting and getting excited about the ark coming back. But they still using God. And not serving God.

What happens?

1 Samuel 4:6-10:

Hearing the uproar, the Philistines
asked, “What’s all this shouting in the
Hebrew camp?” When they learned that
the ark of the Lord had come into the
camp,
the Philistines were afraid. “A god has
come into the camp,” they said. “We’re
in trouble! Nothing like this has
happened before.
Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the
hand of these mighty gods? They are
the gods who struck the Egyptians with
all kinds of plagues in the desert.
Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you
will be subject to the Hebrews, as they
have been to you. Be men, and fight!”
So the Philistines fought, and the
Israelites were defeated and every man
fled to his tent.

The ark of God was captured!!! The enemies of God stole God’s presence from God’s people. The enemy can steal the Presence of God from your Life!!! If you are only using God and not serving God. He can steal it right from your heart. And if someone looks at you he will not see the the presence of God.

I had to wrestle with this myself. I saw the sins coming out, my pride and all these issues. And I asked myself:

Where is God?

Where is God’s Presence?

Not the presence of pride, impurity, criticality. If God was a critical God we wouldn’t be disciples (christians). We have a lot to critisize, don’t we? If God was a proud God we woudn’t be disciples. He could easily be a proud God. In my situation I just had to get humble and get my eyes back on God. But I had my eyes focused on everything but God. God stole the presence of God from my life. Can you relate?:

Is God’s presence in your every morning quiet time reading the Bible?

Did you have time with God this morning where you feel the Holy Spirit is speaking directly to you about what you need to work on to be a better Christian, what you need to do to be a sold-out disciple of Jesus Christ, what you need to do to become an incredible leader who draws in people focussing them on God? What did the Lord say to you today?

 
 
Michael Williamson