CSAFMI Senior Pastor's Messages

THE LORD IS WITH US!

2008-05-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

When we started the Ministry in 2002, we were in high hopes of attaining the goal that the Lord has set for us with ease. We have seen the Hands of the Lord always acting favorably for us even in troubled times. In several occasions, He allowed us to experience passing through difficult situations victoriously. These blessed moments truly filled our hearts with optimism, especially in 2005 when the Lord allowed us to see a bunch of souls coming to us and confessed their willingness to be prepared and equipped for the work of the Ministry. In that year alone, thirteen of them successfully found acceptance at the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries (ASCM) to start their formal preparation for the Lord’s work.

Seeing these brethren actively pursuing their needed education to serve the Lord better according to their gifts was truly a blessing in itself. Being a former Senior Supervisor of the Accounting Department in the Hotel where I worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I could not avoid forecasting the produce of their unified efforts in God’s Kingdom! And as I spread out this magnificent scenario before me, my spirit is overwhelmed with joy, always shouting ‘Hallelujah!’. Until the conclusion of 2006, I never expected that the Ministry will have to pass through a terrible terrain, so steep, that by just viewing it will cause one’s heart to melt.

At the onset of 2007, many unfavorable circumstances beset us. Some of the students failed to meet the standard requirements of the Ministry and opted to be out of the workforce of CSAFMI. Replacing them with new recruits became impossible because the financial supports we were receiving from the brethren outside the Ministry stopped coming in, for reasons only the Lord knew. Even our very Church in Ireland who provided us the main bulk of our operational funds was constrained to send in their support for reasons beyond their control. As our initial hopes were ebbing, this question, “Are you seeing our situation Lord?” always escaped my mouth every time I meet the Lord.

The pain we suffered from these situations was even nourished by fresh opportunities to advance the Ministry that were made open before us. Our commitment and dedication to go wherever there is an opening for the Lord’s work is always seasoned by our financial limitations to do! And most of the time the longing of the brethren for the presence of the Ministry in their area are unavoidable and leaves us no other alternative except to heed their call. Thus, at the conclusion of 2007, we found ourselves literally walking through the valley of the shadow of debts. We owed the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries (ASCM) a significant amount for our students’ unpaid tuition fees. On top of this, our unpaid rentals for the sanctuaries reached to an alarming level also. And a Ministry whose population is largely made up of unemployed, being remnants, this situation is truly beyond our capacity to bear.

Seemingly, the Lord has truly forsaken us! But every time I entertained the thought of holding onto the hemline of hopelessness, immediately my spirit is reminded of the many real events that have transpired in our midst – events that signify the Lord’s active participations in our every situation. Yes, every time our effort to go on is punctuated by impossibility, His divine intervention always sets-in. He was with us in all those situations! His enabling power continued to manifest in our midst, allowing us to continue doing the work that He initially ordained us to do, that even in this very difficult time of our existence, He still allows us to bear fruit for His glory. Seeing these things, one can easily confirm that truly "The Lord is with us!".

Considering the face value of our situation, many times I have thought of slowing down the pace of our activities. But the more I considered this option, the more I felt the Lord’s intervention. Either He softened our situations or He touched the hearts of several people to come to our aid. Honestly, I could not fully imagine how we crossed-over those difficult times. These are the times where we found ourselves totally hopeless and helpless. But these are the times also that strengthened our faith to hold on to every Word of the Lord and magnified the truth that truly He is with us always!

I have not been so convinced of the many teachings on the Lord’s faithfulness until this very moment when He exposed us to our present situation. Now I can boldly attest to the seriousness of the Lord Jesus Christ in His parting Word to His chosen disciples as recorded in Matthew 28:18 – 20 saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The last phrase contains a promise and a guaranty for every servant of the Lord who does His Will accordingly.

This promise of the Lord to be ever present in us emboldens us to go on doing our ordained task, especially after He manifested His enabling power that allowed us to do the impossible. It is hard to think that in the midst of these difficulties, we will still be able to usher the Ministry forward. Truly without Him actively participating in our endeavors, we will never accomplish anything for Him and His glory. But as it is, the Ministry is still striding forward in all aspects.

Last March 2008, we were able to officially open a new local church in Mandaue City, Cebu. This event brought the Ministry farther south of the Philippines. Last April 2008, we were blessed with another graduate of the SHARE Program in the person of Ptr. Almelyn B. Alejado. Her graduation increased the number of our Committed Servants Armed For Ministry Impartation Workforce (CSAFMI Workforce). This month of May, the Lord allowed us to commission one of our workers, Ptr. Analiza C. Cabayao, as a Pastures-Finder in Doha, Qatar. This commissioning increased the visibility of the Ministry internationally as her primary responsibility is to find and establish pastures for the remnant of the Lord’s flock outside the Philippine territory.

And now, at the threshold of the opening of the new semester for the school year 2008-2009, we are hopeful that the Lord will still allow our students in the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries to go on with their needed education to serve Him well and better, with additional new faces of course. His presence in our midst is our hope!

AN OPEN OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN HEAVEN

2008-04-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

When God spoke to me His words in Jeremiah 23:3-4 saying, “I Myself will gather the remnants 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, declares the Lord”, I immediately felt the Lord’s displeasure over the condition of His flock at this point in time. This is well attested by His self-involvement in the raising-up of a new breed of shepherds over His people.

Well-meaning servant of God will sense that the prevailing situations in the greater part of the Body of Christ today truly call for God’s intervention. Many Christian churches are being run like profit organizations by people who are in sheep’s clothing whose primary concerns are not the welfare of the flock of the Lord entrusted to their care and protection, but themselves. Personal growth, social connections, and financial gains define the meaning of their servanthood. The call to give up one’s life for God’s service is becoming foreign to most. The Lord’s disapproval of what is happening to the lives of His people – the people He had saved with His own Blood, calls for our active involvement!

I was fully persuaded to act on this cause of the Lord when He spoke to me again on September 19, 2001 using the same Scriptures. This led to the birthing of a new Ministry after I met another servant, Ptr. Samuel Bontilao, whom the Lord also touched with the same burden. Thus, Christ’s Shepherds and Flock Ministry International came into being on January 11, 2002, exactly a year after I’ve received God’s word in Jeremiah 23:3-4 while I was in Sacramento, California visiting my spiritual father in the faith, Bishop Wally Magdangal. But like young soldiers entrusted with a big mission, we were stunned upon realizing the immensity of the task involved. But we thanked the Lord because He fully understood our frailty and limitations.

The Lord did not fail us. He honored the hours we spent before Him by allowing us to see the things He wanted to accomplish through this Ministry. The greatness of the vision He showed us made us wondered how we would accomplish it. It was at this instance that He made it very apparent to us that we are not alone in this blessed endeavor. He constantly reminds us that the task of preparing, equipping, and reproducing Spirit-filled and faithful servants of God who will stand ready to answer the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to shepherd over the flock that He gathers, and who will make certain that none of them are found needy and are missing, is not a work of one man but of everyone who love Him. This was made plain to us when He opened our eyes to the part of the letter of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:15 saying, “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.”

From this enlightenment, we no longer feel the heaviness of the load that the Lord burdened us. Instead, the joy of serving Him and His will has overtaken us. We come to realize that every person who has tasted the goodness of God through the life that the Lord Jesus Christ has imparted to him will find the full meaning of his existence only in serving the Lord’s Will. It is only sad to note that the complexities of our needs in life hindered most from realizing this truth. Even highly dedicated children of God are being affected by this dilemma. But, praise the Lord because He is so familiar with this very condition. He too was exposed to the same situation during His time on earth.

The Gospel account vividly shows us how those people who have the heart for Him and His work managed their affairs through the account in Luke 8:1-3 saying, “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” Their enthusiasms to serve the Lord and His Ministry were never affected by their predicament.

These early beneficiaries of God’s goodness demonstrated to us that they served the Lord not because they have the time, but rather they serve because they have the opportunities. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ personally called the twelve apostles and gave them opportunities to work with Him according to the will of God, thus they made the time for these opportunities to serve His purpose. The others who were healed of their diseases and were set free from their inabilities were blessed materially and were confronted with opportunities to give, thus they made the time for these opportunities and served God’s purpose through their wholehearted giving.

Now, an opportunity to serve the Lord and His Ministry is opened before us who love God and are called according to His purpose. We have now some of the people who are making the time, leaving their personal pursuits like the early apostles, because they were called by the Lord to serve in His ministry. (We believed that there are lots of them yonder as our feelers continue to advise us of the souls who are praying for inclusion in the SHARE Program of the Ministry.) They are now being prepared for the work of the ministry in formal Seminaries. We believe that this opportunity to help them is God’s call of the hour for us, through whom He will accomplish His plan of bringing the situation in His vineyard back to His expectations.

The benefit of sharing in the burdens of these brethren who are personally called of the Lord to serve in His ministry is guaranteed in Heaven. This was sounded off in Hebrews 6:10 saying, “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.” There is no greater opportunity of winning the attention of the Lord than helping His people. History tells us that those whom He called to work with Him opted to leave their secular trades. Thus, when we look over their welfare, there lies a big variance between their needs and their provisions. Truly, the Lord did not forget this aspect. He intentionally left this gap visibly open as an opportunity for others, like you and me, who love Him to invest and be blessed by Him. Yes, the Lord desires that we receive the fullness of His ordained blessings when He comes again. Let us value this opportunity together for His glory!

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

2008-02-29T03:04:00.000-08:00

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.”

2008-02-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

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).

God's Call Of The Hour

2008-01-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

When God spoke to me His words in Jeremiah 23:3-4 saying, "I Myself will gather the remnants 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, declares the Lord", I immediately felt the Lord's displeasure over the condition of His flock at this point in time. This is well attested by His utterance that He will raise-up a new breed of shepherds to oversee the affairs in His vineyard.Well-meaning servant of God will sense that the prevailing situations in the greater part of the Body of Christ today truly call for God's intervention. Many Christian churches are run like human organization by people who are in sheep's clothing whose priority of serving is not the welfare of the flock of the Lord entrusted to their care and protection, but themselves. Personal growth, social connections, and financial gains define the meaning of their blessedness. The call to give up life for God's service is becoming foreign to most. The Lord's sounding off His approval of what is happening in the lives of His people- the people He saved with His blood, demands our attention.I was fully persuaded to act on this cause of the Lord when He spoke to me again on September 19, 2001 using the same Scriptures. This led to the bithing of a new Ministry after I met another servant, Ptr. Samuel Bontilao, whom the Lord also touched with the same burden. Thus, Christ's Shepheds and Flock Ministry International came into being on January 11, 2002, exactly a year after I've received God's word in Jeremiah23:3-4 while I was in Sacramento, California visiting my spiritual father in the faith, Bishop Wally Magdangal. But like young soldiers entrusted with a big mission, we were stunned upon realizing the immensity of the task involved. But thanks be to god because He fully understood our frailty.God did not fail us. He honored the hours we spent before Him by allowing us to see the things He wanted to accomplish through this Ministry. The greatness of the vision He showed us made us wondered how we would accomplish it. It was at this instance that He made it very appparent to us that we are not alone in this blessed endeavor. He constantly reminds us that the task to prepare, equip, and reproduce Spirit-filled servants of God who are faithful and stand ready to answer the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to shepherd over the flock that He gathers, making certain that none of them are found needy and are missing, is not a work of one man but of everyone who love Him. This was made plain to us in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 when the Apostle Paul said, "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."From this enlightenment, we no longer feel the heaviness of the load that the Lord burdened us. Instead, the joy of serving Him and His will has overtaken us. we come to realize that every person who tasted the goodness of God through the life imparted to him by the Lord Jesus truly find full meaning of his existence in serving the Lord's Will. Only the complexity of our life's needs hinders most from carrying it out. This disabled many, even highly dedicated servants of God, from delivering the first fruit of their labor to the Lord's work.The Lord Jesus Christ is very familiar with the condition we are in now. He too was exposed to the same situation during His time on earth. The Gospel account vividly shows us how those people who have the heart for Him and His work managed their affair through the account in LUke 8:1-3 saying, "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." Their enthusiasms to serve God were never affected by their predicament.These early beneficiaries of God's goodness demonstarted to us that they served the Lord not because they have the time, but rather they serve because they have the opportunities. We know that the Lord Jesus called the twelve and He gave them opportunities to work with Him, thus they made the time for these opportunities to serve His purpose. Others were blessed materially and were confronted with opportunities to give, thus they made the time for these opportunities and served God's purpose through their wholehearted giving.Now, an opportunity to serve the purpose of the Lord is opened before us who love God and are called accoeding to His purpose. We have now some of the people who are making the time because they were called by the Lord to serve Him. (we believed that there are lots of them yonder.) They are now being prepared for the work of the ministry in formal Seminaries. To us, this opportunity to help them is God's call of the hour for us, through whom He will accomplish His plan - restoration of His vineyard.