WE CANNOT STOP GOING . . . WE SAW GOD’S HAND OPENING DOORS!

When I came to accept wholly the Lordship of our Savior Jesus Christ over my life on October 08, 1987, I have not gotten the faintest idea about the things that I would be doing in God’s Vineyard. All I did throughout those early years of my Christian life was to avail myself to everything that my elder brethren in the church asked me to do. I have a good feeling obeying them and winning their recognition, friendship and closeness. But one day, I considered like backing off as I sensed that they were going too far! It seemed that they were forcing me to become a pastor - something that I felt so awful because I don’t have the proper preparation in handling its inherent responsibilities.

After Rev. Wally Magdangal, our pastor, was deported by the Saudi Government in December 1992, there was no one among us who has the courage to take over the responsibilities he left. Three years later, the need of the Church to have a pastor became so crucial. This situation led the Board of Elders to make a group decision. And during this time, several brethren were already saying that they saw me in their dreams that I am the pastor of the Congregation. Sensing that there was no way that I could avoid the responsibilities as the Board of Elders has considered my name among the candidates for the position, I boldly came to the Lord and asked if these pronouncements of the brethren truly comes from Him. Praise the Lord! He did not fail me. For three successive nights He allowed me to see myself (in my dreams) that I was truly preaching His Word to various cultures and social status of people. Thus, on the final day of the Elders’ decision to ordain us to the position, without a hint of hesitation, I accepted the responsibility after they posed their final question. This relieved me from the feeling of stopping my involvement in the Ministry.

As an offshoot of the persecution that erupted in Riyadh sometime in June 1998, I lost my job in Saudi Arabia. Through this event, I ended up shepherding the local Church in Cubao, Quezon City. I did my responsibilities as an under-shepherd of the Lord according to what I saw my predecessors did. I worked and made decisions according to the likings of the majority in the leadership. I was at peace working in God’s vineyard and ushering the Ministry forward as I saw fit in every prevailing situation. This peace was only interrupted in September of 1999 after I reprimanded a seemingly untouchable couple in the congregation for disseminating unverified information. Out of this act that I did, fifty percent of the regular attendees of the Church sympathized with them and left.

This event hurt my ego so much that I decided, in my heart, to stop serving the Lord and His vineyard anymore. I felt so down that on the following Sunday I thought of abandoning the pulpit. And, as I was contemplating on this idea while lying on my bed, I heard a voice whispering into my right ear, telling me in English, “Read Revelations 3:8”. This was repeated to me three times. On the third time, inching myself to the table, I lazily lifted up my right hand and picked up my Bible to look for the aforementioned Scripture. I was so invigorated by the Word that I found, saying, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

The enlightenment that I received from the Holy Spirit on the above-mentioned Scripture changed my entire Christian perspective. I got a very clear understanding about the Lord that I am serving and the things that pleases Him. With certainty, like a noonday, nothing is hidden from Him. Everything we do is laid bare before Him. His pleasure does not rest on what people say about us, but rather on our doing His Will, and, thus serving His Holy Name! I realized that it is our simple dedication to follow Him wherever He opens a door for us to go through that brings the Ministry to the places of His choice. We anchored on this belief since the Lord put on our shoulders the responsibilities over CSAFMI.

But honestly, our commitment to follow the Lord is not worry-free. Every time He opens a door for us to advance the Ministry, we always find our hands empty of the necessary provisions. Yes, this is how we have lived throughout the years that passed by in the life of this Ministry. Nevertheless, these experiences have crystallized in us the faithfulness of the Lord because since then, He did not forsake us even in one situation. The word that the Lord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”, is constantly ringing in our hearts! Just very recently, the Lord did a marvelous thing before us. During our Ordained Leaders Operations (OLO) Meeting on February 04, 2008, Ptr. Sam Bontilao reported that the brethren in Cebu City called him and expressed their longing for the presence of CSAFMI there. This news touched our hearts. We felt their sincerity because for over a year, we have been promising them that we will go there. Yet, our willingness was conditioned by the absence of the financial provisions on hand. But this time, their yearning seized us! Thus, when Ptr. Sam boldly decided to go there on February 13, 2008 even with only a one-way fare, we lifted up this matter to Him as an immediate concern.

When we have our meeting again on the 11th, nothing has happened yet to our prayer. But we did not waver in our faith, believing that if this open door is ordained by Him, He will meet our needs. The following day, a Korean couple extended an invitation to us and the son of the owner of the Fellowship House we are renting. Because of the distance, they missed the occasion. Ptr. Sam and I accompanied them to the nearby Fast-food House for a short talk. We didn’t realize that while we were discussing the Ministry situation, Bro. Love Panaguiton and his wife, Sis. Sharon, have been touched by the Lord. Before we parted each other at 1:30 AM, Bro. Love handed us some amount of money for the Ministry. When Ptr. Sam counted it, he was surprised of the amount, Five Thousand Pesos! It was more than what we asked or imagined!

Many will call it occasional event or plain coincidence. But to us, this is how the Lord provides the needs of His children! Elijah was fed by the raven, remember? The Lord used and enabled this couple to travel over a hundred kilometers just to deliver this blessing to us on time! We saw the Lord’s Hand opening this door for us, and we cannot stop going to follow Him. In the midst of our voluminous pending ministerial obligations right now, we will still go on, as He opens new doors for us to go through. We know that His eyes are over all the earth. And there are still many Bro. Love and Sis. Sharon Panaguiton over there, whom He could bless and use for our greater needs!

THE LORD HAS A WORD . . . “NONE SHOULD BE MISSING.”

As CSAFMI concluded her 6th year existence and crosses the threshold of the final year of her first 7-year generational life-cycle, the Lord has a word for all the remnants of His flock that He gathers in this pasture, saying, “None should be missing.” To most, it may sound an ordinary imperative statement. But to those whom it was meaningfully addressed to, it is life! Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ has good reasons to expect that none among His chosen people should be missing from His sight. His divine utterance in Jeremiah 23:3-4, saying, “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing”, spells out relevant matters to His longing that none should be missing.
First, He is the reason why we are in this pasture. He personally gathers us. He could not be wrong in picking us up from where we were and bringing us to this place of His choice. He could not be wrong in knowing that we are among those whom He sees to be deserving of His divine care. He could not be wrong in choosing us to be among those whom He qualified to perpetuate a life that truly reflects His goodness and love – as a true branch perpetually abiding in Him as the True Vine. He could not be wrong in determining that we are malleable enough to conform to His ways, thereby giving Him all the freedom to work in our lives as His touch-point in affecting this lost world. And it would be an insult to His omniscience if we – the people that He personally chose to gather, would again be missing before His Holy presence. How can He make us the people He wants us to be if we would be out of His touch?
Second, He expects that we should be fruitful and increase in number. He could not be wrong in assessing that we are capable of bearing fruit for His glory. No matter how we feel about ourselves, the Lord sees our capability! He could not be wrong in counting us to be among those qualified to multiply and increase in number. No matter how we feel about our specie, the Lord sees us to be precious enough to populate His Kingdom! He could not be wrong in determining that we are the kind of people that He wanted the world to see as citizens of Heaven, worthy enough to carry His Name! Yes, we may feel otherwise, but the Lord has high expectations about you and me – people who are remnant of His flock that He personally gathers for His very purpose. It would be tantamount to unbelief on our part if we disregard this high expectation of the Lord from us. How could He work in the lives of people who are absentees!
Third, He personally raises-up the shepherds that will tend us. He could not be wrong in placing these shepherds over us. No matter how limited these people may be in our assessment, yet to Him who cares for us, they are the best people that could best deliver the best things that He has for our well-being. He could not be wrong in charging these shepherds for our protection. No matter how vulnerable they are to our personal opinion, yet they are still the best people that the Lord sees as worthy to carry His authority and power to keep us from any harm. Our attitude towards these shepherds that the Lord has placed over us reflects our attitude towards Him who raised them up. There is nothing to concern about them, nor is there reason to be dismayed because of them. The Lord who gathers us is wide awake to protect us from them, if ever. Only, let us not be missing from His holy presence so that He may see us and our condition always!
At this time, we are enlightened of six activities through which the Lord may see us. These include the following: the Fellowship Service every Sunday, the Weekly Group Bible Study, the Weekly Group Prayer Meeting, the Daily Personal Bible Reading and Meditation, our personal involvement in the “Conquering the World” program, and our daily personal drawing of power from the Lord through the established “Christ’s Power Pool” program. Thus, to keep the word of the Lord alive in the hearts of the people He addressed to, CSAFMI has placed an open reminder for everyone to keep active participation in all these activities.
In the Fellowship Services every Sunday, the Lord expects us to be there, expecting among other things, our worship and praise for Him. Our presence before Him in this activity determines His worthiness in our lives. In Matthew 7:2 He says, “. . . . and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” We can communicate with Him enough, but if we don’t value Him enough how can our communication with Him be valued enough by Him?
In the Weekly Group Bible Study, the word of the Lord is being studied and discussed properly. The Lord sees our enthusiasm to know His Word in this activity. The Psalmist declares in Psalms 119:105 saying, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” It is the desire of the Lord that we should walk in His light so that we would not stumble in our walk with Him. Our presence in this Group Bible Study signifies how much we value His desire for us. Yes, we can continue bragging our relationship with the Lord, but it is still our action that will validate our words before His holy presence!
In the Group Prayer Meeting, the Lord also expects us to be there. Through this activity, everyone shares their life among themselves. The Lord desires that we should be fulfilling His law as we carry each other’s burden. This was highlighted in Galatians 6:2 saying, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Our sincere participation in this activity shows our love for one another – the real mark of a true disciple of Christ. (John 13:35).
Success and prosperity is one of the Lord’s ultimate desires for His chosen people. Although many Christians today employ various strategies to attain success and prosperity, but still the Lord guarantees it to us through our daily Bible Reading and Meditation only. The word of the Lord in Joshua 1:8 was echoed by the Psalmist in Psalms 1:1-3 saying, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Whatever others may say, the Lord expects us still to be doing and not miss His way.
The Lord also values our personal involvement in the “Conquering the World” program, one of His ordained activities for the Ministry. Through this program, the Lord placed every remnant of His flock that He gathers as a watchman and instrument of His blessings. In this program, everybody is encouraged to offer a specific time to pray daily for His chosen shepherds, His gathered flock, and His Ministry, so that He could continually act on their lives and the Ministry. “None should be missing” is a divine phrase that brings emphasis on how He values each one of us and made us part of His blessed endeavor. Yes, the Lord has disarmed all powers and authority on the Cross of Calvary, but He still needs our intercession so that He could act on our behalf. Our regular daily individual petition to Him for the things that we desire Him to do in the lives of our shepherds, His flock and this Ministry ensures our conquest of the world before us. It is His desires that we should be more than conquerors. And because of this, He is counting our individual participation in this activity for His glory.
Lastly, the Lord expects us to be drawing our power from Him daily through our “Christ’s Power Pool” program. This program is aimed at bringing every remnant of His flock in this pasture to be closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before the conclusion of His physical ministry on earth, He reminds us saying in John 16:33, “. . . In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He knows very well the rigorous hardships that we will be engaging our lives in this world. In His assessment, He is certain that our strength is matchless against the troubles that we will encounter daily and peace would be too distant for us. But in spite of this fact, He is still determined to give us peace through Him. Paul asserts the reality of His assurance for us to enjoy peace even in hard times in Philippians 4:13 saying, “I can do all everything through Him who gives me strength.” Through this affirmation, we established the “Christ’s Power Pool” program encouraging everybody to come to the Lord Jesus Christ daily at the dwelling place of His holy Name (sanctuary) between the hours of 4:00 to 6:00 in the morning to draw power from Him before they face the new day. He wants to see each one of us daily as it was His very secret of walking through this earth victoriously.
Our very presence in these activities that the Lord ordains for us to practice in this Pasture determines His effectiveness to bring to realization the things that he desires for our lives. Yes, nothing is impossible to Him. But how can He do the things He wanted to do over the life of a person who is not subjecting himself to Him? He already established the basic priorities for our lives if we want to benefit from His goodness. His declaration in Matthew 6:33 is a memorial for us, saying, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Yes, let us do His desires for us to expect our heart’s desires. The Lord knows that, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11).