THE ARROW OF GOD by: Les D. Crause

As an archer places his arrow into his bow and launches it out against the target, so I would do with you. I want to use you to destroy the enemies of my Kingdom. I want to use you to capture the prey. I want to use you to defend my Body from harm and attack. But there are some important conditions that need to be met. For the archer does not use any arrow to do his work. His arrows are hand picked and have been prepared carefully for use. They have been made from green branches that have been stripped of their bark and left to dry in the sun. They have been kept straight so that they can fly straight and hit their target. For how can an arrow hit its target if it is bent? And as the archer prepares different arrows for different tasks, so I am preparing you for the task that I have in mind for you. For you are a very special arrow to me, and I have gone to a lot of trouble to prepare you for my use. It hurts when the bark is removed from the green branch. It hurts when the wet stick is allowed to dry in the sun. It hurts when the arrow is stretched under pressure as it dries, to prevent it from curling or bending. It hurts when it is cut and carved and shaped into a weapon of war. But look at the end result. It is an arrow that the archer can be proud of! It is a weapon of war. It flies proudly through the air and finds its target. And all the pain of preparation is forgotten. Will you be my arrow? Are you prepared to submit yourself to the arduous preparation of one who is to be my instrument of war? The price is great, but oh how wonderful the end result! How marvelous it is when I fit you into my bow and send you forth in flight to do my work.

Thought: Are you more than willing to be THE ARROW OF GOD this CONQUEST???

Bring back the PASSION!

G12 Mentoring with Ptr. Oriel

PASSION

What is passion?

--it is the strongest God-given emotion

Example: John F. Kennedy

When JFK said “We will send men to moon!” no one believed him. In those days, even fluorescent lamp is still a dream. And so no one had the slightest faith that what JFK will happen. But by 1964, man landed on the moon. The impossible suddenly became a fact. All because JFK had the passion for his dream—he did everything in his power to make his dream come true. Because he had PASSION.

· If you do not have the passion, you don’t have the fire!

· PASSION WILL RULE AND OVERCOME!

--this is because passion belongs to great men! To people who dream [and believe] the impossible.

· Passion will make the difficult easy!

· Passion will make the impossible possible!

AND GOD”S POWER RESIDES IN OUR PASSION!

If we increase our passion, we increase our power!

** WE HAVE TO RESTORE PASSION IN THE CHURCH!

- Thus, we should know and believe that every Filipino is a gift of God to the world.

- The Filipino people have a destiny to fulfill!

è To restore the passion in the church

Ø A church that exists to change the nation!

§ This is a new season, new seed! And as Christians, we have the responsibility to plant the new seed.

Joel 2 : 28 –in the last days, I will pour out the Spirit to all men

In this generation, we have to “REFIRE” NOT “RETIRE!”

+ The season with NEW PASSION!

§ New season, NEW ATMOSPHERE= NEW SEED

- Time to change and sow!

§ NEW SEED PLANTED= NEW HARVEST

- This is our turn! WE WILL POSSESS THE LAND!

FOUR (4) REASONS WHY THE CHURCH LOST ITS PASSION

1. WE MAKE THE EXTRAORDINARY, ORDINARY.

Ex. Loving souls

- Soul winning is so important to God, but we make it ordinary.

Ø Start showing you passion in the family.

- If you can’t, you cannot show the passion in the church.

Ø RESTORE YOUR PASSION IN THE FAMILY.

2. WE DEMOTE GOD

- We keep on challenging God.

- We become the master; and Him the servant.

· We may not deny God but we demote Him. This is the most subtle deception of the devil regarding our faith!

- When you are commanded something and you struggle, something is wrong in the throne!

- If we demote God, we lose the passion.

· God is the owner! We are only His stewards (manager).

Example: John the Baptist

n We should decrease, and God, increase!

Our Work: we humble ourselves before God

God’s work: He lifts us up (IF we are humble)

** WAG KANG MAGMAMALAKI!

If you forget this, God will do your work! He will demote you!

3. WE PROMOTE OURSELVES

** DON’T EVER PROMOTE YOURSELF!

n Promotions belong to the Lord

n “Jealousy” is our wrong address.

4. WE ENTERTAIN THE “ICE-MAN”

- We are surrounded by people who lack passion!

- If you always entertain passionless people in your lives, then you will lose the fire!

n This can only be helped by ATTACKING THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM.

- When you are being attacked, THANK GOD! Because it’s a sign that you are really an enemy to the devil.

HOW TO HAVE PASSION?

1. Find your “fireplace.”

- It takes another fire to produce another fire.

- Fire comes from GOD!

( GOD is the God of consuming fire!)

FIREPLACES—“May lugar ng apuyan”

1. Devotion Life

2. Cellgroup

3. Sunday Service (Word of God)

4. PEPSOL Training

Extra:G12 Mentoring Centers, G12 Conferences

· RECOVER THE ADDRESS OF YOUR FIREPLACES!

3 Kinds of Fire

1. Apoy ni Lola—“no fire, only smoke”

2. Apoy ng Kandila—“small; attracking insects kind of fire”

3. Large Fire—“Wild Fire”

--attracts people

n FIRE ATTRACTS!

n YOU ATTRACT WHO YOU ARE!

2. FIND YOUR “FIRE-MAN”

- Man of fire

- Claim double portion of your fire-man’s fire!

Example: Apostle Paul

Acts 19:11 “God did extraordinary things through Paul!”

WHY?

Because of Paul’s PASSION!

- The more you release the passion, the more your power is released!

- Kaya walang narerelease the power, kasi walang narerelease the passion!

-- GOD IS LOOKING FOR A MAN WHO CAN MATCH THE PASSION INSIDE HIS OWN HEART!

> Sabayan mo si Lord!

-- The more you increase in passion, the more GOD WILL INCREASE THE POWER!

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN THERE IS A BURNING PASSION!

PASSION DESTROYS THE IMPOSSIBLE.

§ PASSION and POWER cannot be separated from one another.

3 Components of Fire (Galatians 2:20)

1. Every fire needs FUEL. --Us

2. IGNITER – GOD

3. OXYGEN – Holy Spirit

· Only God can start the fire.

· The fuel is a must!

--must be like a fossil fuel—the longer they have died; the better they burn!

· A DEAD MAN IS THE BEST FUEL!

DIE IN YOURSELF AND HAVE PASSION!

Disipleship (Jessie V. Ocampo)

Winning
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught".
John 21:10


Then Paul and Barnabas answered boldly

The word of the Lord spread to the whole region

There they spoke so effectively that the great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.
Acts 13:46 13:49 14:1q



Obedience
As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to OBEY. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in number!
Acts 12:4-5



Being Courageous
Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent for I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.
Acts 18:9


This way the word of the Lord
spread widely and grew in power.


Kindness in Winning.

The islanders in Malta showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.
Acts 28:2


Not Ashamed

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles.

We must not be ashamed to share the gospel for if you ashamed sharing God's word so that you ashamed Jesus Christ.

Focus and Navigation

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep knows me.
John 10:14


Loving God, Loving People....
You are caught by the vision!

What Every Leader Must Have.

WHY DID JESUS EVANGELIZE?

Luke 5:1-11
Now it came about that while the people came pushing to be near him, and to have knowledge of the word of God, he was by a wide stretch of water named Gennesaret; And he saw two boats by the edge of the water, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. And he got into one of the boats, the property of Simon, and made a request to him to go a little way out from the land. And being seated he gave the people teaching from the boat. And when his talk was ended, he said to Simon, Go out into deep water, and let down your nets for fish. And Simon, answering, said, Master, we were working all night and we took nothing: but at your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they got such a great number of fish that it seemed as if their nets would be broken; And they made signs to their friends in the other boat to come to their help. And they came, and the two boats were so full that they were going down. But Simon, when he saw it, went down at the knees of Jesus and said, Go away from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner. For he was full of wonder and so were all those who were with him, at the number of fish which they had taken; And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were working with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from this time forward you will be a fisher of men. And when they had got their boats to the land, they gave up everything and went after him.

TOPIC: WHY DID JESUS EVANGELIZE?

Exact answer:

• Jesus selected 12 to become his disciple.

know your purpose first.

• many Christiasn live without knowing their purpose.

with the help of this principle, The "SELECTION PRINCIPLE." you can select your 12.

EVANGELISM:
(What is it's purpose?)

1. Selection - Mark 1:13 says And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; And he was with the wild beasts; And the angels ministered unto him.(ASV) - please comment if you don't understand this.ü
   
   • Means we must "select the right person whom we like".
     
   • Love people but not like people.
   • In short you have the "passion" for his/her life.
   
   

2. Formation - now you are setting goal for them. "GO BEYOND"

• Leader must have a long time goal with your G12.
• STANDARD-
  
1. Christ likeness
   
• when we evangelize,start feeding them how to be Christ like image.

2. Multiplying the Ministry

• feed them that someday they will be a leader.

EVANGELIZING TECHNIQUES:(SECRET ON EVANGELISM)

• You must enter their life. How? Discover his/her life want/need so you can manifest easily with them.

• Like Jesus did to Peter,He found out what Peter must have.
  
• We must find the "kiliti" of that person in order we can gain relationship with them.
• NOTE: Leader must enter,adopt and adjust to the world of that guy for us we can meet their heart and have intact relationship.
• Be flexible. - God will manifest.

3. Navigation - pagpihit sa new believer

• Before you stop ministry-ing them.You must clarify to them what is right.Because there is a tendency that they may be lost again.The leader is the one liable tothat soul.
• give them a new destiny.
• Take note:If one person doesn't know his/her destiny, one day he/she will return back to their sinful life. Be responsible.
• Also as a leader, do not spoiled your flock anymore . Navigate them into a new life!The old has gone the new has come, mold them as you have the authority and responsibility of their spiritual growth.
• Navigate them to pray.
  

Always remind them to do their journals, always bring their notebooks to cell group and their envelopes (for tithes and offering) to Sunday worship. Teach them how to be faithful with their tithes!

• Jesus hates hypocrites.
• Navigation of new believer is sometime hard. But the hardest thing to do is to correct those have stone heart.

We must start this by......

"AYUSIN KO MUNA ANG PERSONAL KONG BUHAY..."

Thank you for reading....
Godbless....

ICARE

I CARE… We usually hear these 2 words from people who want to show their concern, their apprehension and even their love for us. But what do these words really mean for us Christians??

The leaders of our church were blessed to have Pastor Phil with us to talk about “The Life Behind the Mission”. And with this blog I want to discuss with you some of the points he shared on how to enhance our mission.

Many churches have wonderful mission statements and visions, but often times these weren’t accomplished because the spirit of mission isn’t simply there. But praise God!!! He revealed to us the key on how to make our vision happen.

Main Text: Matthew 9: 35-38 (The Workers Are Few)

I. Initiative (v.35)

Why Christ died for us?

~ he loves us..

~ he wants us to be saved..

~ he obeyed the Father..

~ it’s his mission..

** all of these are correct, but we’re missing one thing..

~ 2 Corinthians 5:15 “And he died for all, that THOSE WHO LIVE SHOULD NO LONGER LIVE FOR THEMSELVES BUT FOR HIM WHO DIED FOR THEM AND WAS RAISED AGAIN.”

“Every Christian is a missionary and every unbeliever is a mission field”

Let’s take the INITIATIVE to go to DARKNESS that we may bring LIGHT

II. Compassion (v.36)

Did you know that in Greek COMPASSION means BOWELS YEARN??

BOWEL?? As in the bowel in LBM??

Yes!! It refers to our gut; thus, compassion isn’t all about the heart, our intestines are also part of it. This means that we should give it our all, if our brethren need food then feed him/her, show them you care. :D

Let’s look at the story of the Samaritan woman… Jesus showed his compassion to the woman and that woman became a revivalist because of the compassion she experience through Christ.

Problems are opportunities for us to show our compassion for our fellowman. It is through pain that we experience God’s compassion.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.”

III. Alertness

We are often blinded by our ambitions; we concentrate on our work, our business that we tend to focus on our physical harvest and close our eyes to the multitude. (John 4:35)

For 40 days and 40 nights, Goliath (Spirit of intimidation) has been daunting the Philistines. In our present times, our Goliaths are those thoughts that bother us day and night like unpaid bills and other problems that seem to be hopeless.

Your dominant thought upon waking up and your dominant thought before you sleep will determine your course of life. So if your thought is bombarded with problem you’ll definitely live a problematic life. For us to conquer our Goliaths in life, we need to meditate on the word of God day and night.

IV. Responsibility

A lot of Christians nowadays love comfort more than responsibility. In short, they are irresponsible!

Responsibilities are like WINGS on our back, they are not necessarily heavy, and they can make us soar high ~^_^~

Pastor Phil shared the story of Wally Wild duck and it goes like this…

One day, Wally and his team are migrating to the south when he suddenly saw the barnyard ducks that did nothing but to eat corn, Wally got envious and he decided to stay with them for a while and he’ll just join his team when they’ll head back to the north. After sometime, he saw his team returning to north but when he flap his wings he couldn’t fly so he decided to stay there and wait until his team migrate to the south for winter. They again came but Wally can no longer fly for he got even larger than before. (ayun.. nilechon nlng siya..)

Moral of the story… (wag hayaang masira ang figure dhl sa katamaran!! Joke!!)

Don’t let laziness overpower you! Be RESPONSIBLE! If we’ve got the ability then do it! Don’t waste your God given talents and abilities! Don’t be jealous of those Christians who are irresponsible; be on fire when they’re cold!

Here is another story Pastor Phil shared… the story of the Perfect Pastor…

Perfect Pastor does everything on church, he plays the keyboard, he’s the worship leader, after the worship he goes at the back to usher the people and goes to the pulpit to preach. After the service he cleans the church and washes the curtains. The sad part of the story is that he died at 25 years of age.

Lesson…

Leaders, teach your members to be responsible.

Members, stop depending on your leader if you know you can do it.

Be RESPONSIBLE!!!

V. Entreaty

~earnest request

~a prayer

~a plea

Never go out of the house without praying

Mission is a lifestyle!!!

“The first answer to your prayer is you”

And that’s the meaning of the word ICARE…

Initiative

Compassion

Alertness

Responsibility

Entreaty

We should care for our flock, we should care for the unbelievers, we should care for people…

Loving GOD… Loving PEOPLE… the Life behind the mission… :D God bless!! <tine garcia>