Preaching and calling

A minister called by God isn’t meant by God to be a good speaker/orator but a prophet because a minister is chosen by God to speak God’s Word which is inspired by and transmitted through the Holy Spirit.

Then another question arises: What is a prophet?

   - an ordinary person who received the call to transmit God’s Word and who pays the price to fulfill the call

   - a person who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open

   - a person transformed, educated, called, led, equipped, used and beloved by God, first

   - a person who doesn’t necessarily speak correctly, academically, with emphasis, humbly or without grammar mistakes but the Living Word of God only

   - a person whose purpose to live is for God’s Kingdom and for leading others to live in righteousness

   - a person whose best Friend and Partner is the Holy Ghost 

   - a person who draws more pleasure from getting God’s Word than to receive an increase of pay

   - a person that agonizes when a member (believer) of the Body falls into sin

   - a person unable to go in any other “direction” except the one in which the Wind (God’s Spirit) blows

   - a person that makes disciples and builds up an army of God  

   - a person shaped by God

   - a person who pays the price set before him/her by God, bearing the crown placed by people over his/her head until the Lord takes it off in exchange for His.

   - a person whose tears are counted by God Himself, and a person whose bended knees and arms lifted up – connecting heaven and earth all day and all night  

   - a person who knows how heaven and hells look like

   - a person chased by demons but ministered by angels  

   - a person who gets out of the wilderness in God’s power after being led by God into that same wilderness

   - a person who not only believes and trusts God but also knows, sees and displays God to others

   - a person who brings up the mind of Christ into Christ’s Church

   - a person not caring what happens to him/herself, as long as he/she finishes the work the Lord Jesus gave him/her to accomplish

   - a person to whom the world is not worthy and who does not love his/her life, even to death.

   - a certified preacher by God, a loving-kindness restorer, a tender minister, a great warrior and a spiritual guardian

   - a nobody for those who live by their own carnal desires but a prophet of God for those who want to do God’s will and long to live for Christ, in partnership with the Holy Spirit.

   - a person who doesn’t hesitate to preach and teach anything that would be helpful to others and in public as well as from house to house

   - a person whose teaching and message aren’t delivered with skillful words or human wisdom, but by a display of the Spirit's power

   - a person that brings God’s blessings whenever he/she is received as a prophet of God 

“Therefore, whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet receives the reward of the prophet.” Matt. 10:41)

First, I believed but now I know

“It is always darkest just before the day dawned.” by Thomas Fuller

It was my second night in Europe after a few years of being away from my “old continent”. It was difficult to have a normal sleep due to the time zone difference. While in Canada it was 8:00 pm, in Romania the watch was displaying 3:00 am. I went outside being determined to wait for the day dawn into God’s presence in prayer using the garden’s alleys to walk and enjoy a gorgeous display of a beautiful sky full of stars. On that night the Lord All-Powerful blessed my soul with His thoughts of understanding of some things that I was praying for, stirred up my heart with His living hope and blessed my spirit with a new dimension of His creation. It was about 4:10 am when my eyes experienced something unexpected, the darkness of the sky started to lose its power while the sky began to be penetrated by something that visibly dimmed the darkness that covered the sky. For a moment I didn’t know what happened but soon I understood that Fuller’s statement was true: “It is always darkest just before the day dawned.” I never met Mr. Thomas Fuller, but I believed his statement before I had to witness it with my eyes. Before that night I believed that “it is always darkest just before the day dawned”, but now I know that “it is always darkest just before the day dawned.”

I challenge you all to believe and to consider all good promises of the Lord All-Powerful and put Him to test while you’re fulfilling His will. Only then you too will experience the difference of believing and knowing. This experience will cost you PATIENCE ENDURANCE WHILE YOU CONTINUE TO DO HIS WILL through the darkest hour until you will see the day dawned. Then you will know that God’s Word is Yes and Amen!

“Nevertheless, this darkness shall not be the same as the affliction that came upon her when they lightly touched the land…”  (Isaiah 9:1a; Jubilee Bible 2000)

“I am the LORD All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test.” (Malachi 3:10a; CEV)

“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” (Hebrew 10:35-36 NLT)

“You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2Peter 1:19 NIV)

Consider Christ’s Rest 4 Your Soul

Matthew 11:25-30
"25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.""

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples because HE knew that they were walking through the dust and impurities of this world which impoverish people’s soul. He knew that being clean is a better way to get rest and to enjoy the taste of their food when they had to touch it with their hands. He knew that getting knowledge of the Father and of Himself is more than words, it’s experience and rest, by being released, restored, unburdened, renewed, empowered and strengthened. People aren't satisfied by words when they are thirsty or hungry but they need food and water.  Therefore, it is those people who need to experience God for their Life.  They do not need interpretations and nice words because they are looking for God to be experienced and for God to manifest himself in their hopes and needs.

         John the Baptist was not a theologian, nor a scribe, neither an ordained minister but he was the greatest servant ever born from a woman, and his message was: prepare a straight way to the Lord to come and visit you. Jesus referred to the signs and wonders that were performed in different places as evidence that God is at work and people should pay attention to Christ's visits, towards them.  When people awakened and figured out about God's visitations through Jesus, the priests and the leaders deliberately hindered them to approach Jesus through deception and deceit.  People became weary and impoverished, although God's incarnated peace, rest and freedom was present in the "Person" of Jesus Christ.

        I cannot decipher what it means to die of thirst living by a stream of water or to starve when your Father is the owner of a Foodland, Company. Although Jesus – the Almighty God and the Prince of peace - was there, many people were still impoverished and oppressed because they were deceived by others not to go to Jesus but to stay with their high spoken and devious words which kept them down in spirit and in doubt. Because Jesus loved them so much He took the risk and He did appeal to those people to come to know the Father. Jesus told them that He was the Only one who can reveal the Father and by coming to Him they will have the opportunity to experience the Father's love and grace for their souls. But they had to decide "who's" words they would listen: to those who would keep them away from God's blessings or from Jesus, whom spoke from God?

        The people’s souls were impoverished and weary with rules, regulations, commandments, religiosities and envies while God’s Love, Freedom, Salvation and Blessings were there waiting for them.

        Jesus is still here today for everyone who fell weary and overburdened. He is here waiting for you to come to him (as you are), to be released, healed, restored, empowered and strengthened to get rest for your soul. Jesus is calling you today to get rid of those words, thoughts, emotions and things of your Life that create internal chaos that dampen your soul.

        Jesus invites you to come to Him to be released, to follow Him by paying attention to His way of Living: to be kind and humble of heart. Through all of these Jesus is giving us today the keys of our peace and rest. So, “come” says Jesus “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Come says Jesus and take it “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” because he partners with us in everything that comes from Him for the Father’s glory.

         Jesus’ yoke is not a set of rules, regulations, traditions and prides which keep people away from God the Father. His yoke is love, compassion, grace, divine teachings and a call of dedication to God’s will. Jesus’ yoke can be set on the shoulders of those who acknowledge that the only way to approach God through Jesus is with gentle and humble heart.

  

         In others words, those who are gentle and humble hearts Jesus are ready for Jesus to reveal them the experience of the Father’s peace and rest for their souls.

So, come and approach Jesus in the way He can set His Father’ yoke of love, peace, and grace on your shoulder that we may follow and serve Him enjoying His company!

by Rev. Nick Pavel

Testimony by Henry Heindinga

I want to tell you a story. I need you to close your eyes please and keep them closed until I ask you to open the back up please. Relax. Think back to a time you went camping. It's late at night. It's quiet and still, except for some crickets in the distance. Some people are sitting in lawn chairs around a fire pit. The kids have wandered off, some chairs are empty. In that pit,  are the remains of an earlier fire. You can see the embers. They glow, with dark reds, purples, and a lot of gray. The people are quietly commenting on what a beautiful fire it had been, enjoying the left over heat and the slowly darkening color show from the embers. About this time someone reaches over adds a stick up against a charred log. People watch the stick. It slowly begins to turn dark and even smolders a bit. Some of the people look at each other and whisper: "that will never catch...why would you add a stick now? We're enjoying the remains and you might ruin it." 


Well fire as you know needs three things to burn.....heat, air, and fuel.  So suddenly the stick catches in a small flame. There is a bit of a fire going again. It's not quite so dark around the fire pit. A kid walks up, sits down, and tosses in some more fresh wood. One of the adults leans over and says " why would you do that to our nicely built embers, we were enjoying the afterglow". The kid looks up and says " Hi, I'm S.W." the adult says " S.W.? What kind of name is that?" "Oh it stands for Second wave. You paid for me to Come here., I brought a few of my friends, I call them community"
So now I like you to open your eyes again. Look around you. You can see people where before, with your eyes closed, you could only imagine and remember. That is kind of the story of Knox Palmerston this past year.


We are starting the Second Wave project. Reaching out to youth with programs, investing in youth. 
We are beginning to engage the community with programs here in the church and outside in the community. We are starting to see a small fire, and we are carefully adding sticks....sticks, like Sunday School and VBS -that haven't been here in at least ten years.  We now have youth nights where kids can come and hang out at a church instead of on the streets. We recently had international children's day at the park in the middle of town, with games, face painting, and Christian music from loud speakers. ..in a public park.....Sticks are being added to the fire.
The time for sitting around remembering the glow of past fire is over. We are not talking about Elijah pouring barrels of water on before God lit the fire, we need to feed the fire God gave us. We need to gather sticks from the darkness. 


There are many churches in Canada where the kids have drifted away and people are left sitting, watching the remains of the fire. The pleasant afterglow doesn't last long. Then the fire goes out, the stones grow cold and the campsite is left empty.

Don't sit around.

Don't let your church fire slowly go out.

Nurture it.

Welcome the flame.     

Pilate’s Words on Jesus’ Cross

   Those (Pilate – the governor  and Caiaphas - the high priest) who concurred with the condemnation  of Jesus were people with authority and power to influence others. Unfortunately their own interest and personal plans prevailed people’s interest to have Jesus as King, and God’s plan to bring back His own people into righteousness’ obedience.

     The roman governor added on Jesus cross words which revealed his own understanding and his own belief about the One he sentenced to death. If you were in Pilate’s shoes what would you do or state about Jesus or about someone who walks in righteousness and does God’s will, as Jesus did?

When God sent Jesus on the cross He did send a message to everyone   

   -   “For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish , but have eternal life.”   (John 3:16)

   -    “Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sin of the world!”     (John 1:29)

Although Pilate grasped priests’ wicked plan and although he figured out that Jesus was innocent he used his authority and position to fulfill the wishes of wicked ones. When Pilate sent Jesus to Golgotha he did send a message to the world that the injustice of the wicked just took place.

 “Give someone power and soon he/she will reveal his/her true character… and if his character is not clear. Look at his/her friends.”         (Unknown author)

       To experience God’s incarnated loving Word hanged at Golgotha, people need to  believe and to accept God’s words expressed by Pilate on Golgotha’s cross.

      Not Golgotha was crated for Christ’ cross, neither the cross was made for Golgotha, but Jesus use them to fulfill God’s will of saving the world and to express His unlimited love.  So, it’s not about me, nor about you but about Jesus Who brought us together at the feet of Golgotha’s cross to receive God’s salvation and to enjoy God’s love. If you don’t know where is Golgotha, don’t worry. It’s not an issue if you can’t see the cross.

COME TO JESUS; then Golgotha and the cross will be “useful” for you, too.

Golgotha’s Cross

When we talk about the cross we relate to the truth of God and how His Son was treated by the world for which He came to save it.

The Cross:

It’s Christ’ trade mark and of His believers.

It’s the “vacuum” of everyone’s sin and the heavenly river of life set on earth.

It’s the preferable place of sinners who wants to be forgiven and from  where the christian journey starts.

It’s Christ way to conquer the world, to defeat sin and to call those who want to follow Him.

It’s not an object to be worshiped but a lifestyle of true believers.

If true or false believers are recognized by their fruits, then those who live for Christ are recognized by hanging and giving up their lives on Christ’ cross.  

First, Christ’ cross brings sacrifice, then the manifestation of His glory. (Probably that’s why in our days we don’t see  so much of Christ glory.)

When we refer to Christ’ cross we also have to consider Golgotha.

Golgotha:

It’s the paramount  of sin “gathered” on Earth and the most sacred place on this planet. refer

It’s the place from where people can get (for free) one way ticket to heaven.

It’s the place where someone saved looked the first time for Jesus, in His eyes.

It’s the place where Mary, the mother of Jesus, started the river of tears which continue to flow through everyone who gets salvation and comfort.

It’s the place where people experience deliverance from pain and sorrows enjoying heavenly peace and happiness.   

It’s the place where you can find Jesus hanged for you; where people walk on their knees in humbleness and exaltation, and where the cross walk started first towards all the corners of the Earth.

It’s where God’s salvation is at work everyday & night; the cross is not present phisicaly but its power is still fully active.

COME to GOLGOTHA to find rest for your soul at the shadow of Christ’s Cross and of God’s love by receiving forgiveness of your sins, eternal life and divine joyful’ peace.

Faith

“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:17)

To say that faith is similar with religion is like saying that a penguin is similar with octopus. “ Mr. Penguin” is a bird while “monsieur  Octopus” is a cephalopod mollusk.

Faith gives wings and exalts people on high heights where we can get divine dreams.

Faith comes from above and can dive with us in deep “waters”, and if we stick with it (faith) we will not sink (die) but we’ll experience victory (life) which will enable us to testify about its power.

Faith has in itself the ability not only to save people from deep “waters”, but to make us fly and to surf great “waves”.

If faith’s power and its ability are missing then we’re not talking about penguin but octopus which never knows or experience heights except if a penguin will speak about it. Even so, faith is not what heard from others (that’s a challenge or a testimony) but what we personally experience with God.

That’s why salvation is personal, so is the relationship with God.

Have a blessed week!