From Calling to Serving

God’s call to serve

I remember when I first saved! A zeal and fervor that could move mountains! I had come to the Saving Knowledge of Jesus Christ and I was on fire for the Lord. There was no one I would not challenge, debate, and argue with over my newly-found Faith. I had gone from “indifferent agnostic” to “belligerent zealot” basically overnight. Things were very simple, either you were with us or you were against us. I lost no opportunity, took every bait, and left no stone unturned in an effort to let everyone know that Jesus is Lord, that He’s coming back to judge the living and the dead, and one day soon He will rapture His Church. It’s safe to say that my approach created very few converts, meaning none at all.

I had not realized the necessary time between calling and serving. Paul's admonishments were totally wasted on me. As a consolation prize though, the Bible teaches I was in good company. Click To Tweet

Calling to Serving: Paul

Everyone knows about Paul’s “Road to Damascus” story: how Jesus forcibly interrupted Paul’s mission and life and completed the Work all the Scripture he ever learned had started in his life. Paul went from the lead Prosecutor and Persecutor of the Church to the Chief Proponent and Apologist for the Church in the space of a day. His encounter with the long-awaited Messiah gave his zeal and commitment to the Faith an even deeper anchor than he ever had as a Scribe of the Law.

In fact, Paul’s conversion had such a profound and complete effect on him that he could not keep himself from sharing it with all of his Jewish brethren, so much so that his ministry had to be put on hold for his own safety and Paul’s first missionary voyage would not take place until 13 years after his Damascus Road experience.

Paul’s conversion had such a profound and complete effect on him that he could not keep himself from sharing it with all of his Jewish brethren, so much so that his ministry had to be put on hold for his own safety Click To Tweet

Calling to Serving: David

Similarly, in the Old Testament, the period of time between David’s anointing as the next king and his coronation took approximately 13 years. Thirteen years of having to deal with his brothers’ calling him a shepherd boy; of escaping Saul’s attempts on his life while not acting on his own opportunities to kill Saul, and thirteen years of tending sheep and living in caves while fighting foes on both sides of the battle lines.

Surely, those years were not wasted on either one. In those thirteen years, God molded and melded and purified and polished and chipped and rounded and smoothed and sanded them into the vessels of honor He wanted them to be. Neither of them had asked for such a blessing or burden on their lives but both accepted it, in their heart, as their true purpose and Call on their lives: David would aspire to build the Temple and Paul to preach the Good News to all flesh.

The mess between calling and serving

When God “calls us out” of the old way and “into” something new, beautiful, exciting, and scary we are often overtaken with zeal. We have our own “Damascus Road” experience or a man of God speaks Truth and Power into our lives and alters the course of our life.

In this newfound purpose, we have a tendency to run ahead of God and skip the planning and growing stages. We go and tell everyone about the new ministry “God gave us”, spend all of our energy on trivialities such as logos and slogans and how to put our name on the ministry and “brand it”. Our visions of grandeur fill our eyes and minds and we begin picturing ourselves simulcasting around the world in many languages at the center of a ministry that blesses hundreds of thousands.

We exhaust ourselves in the process. Connections don’t work out. We are discouraged. We lose heart when the funding is never enough. Better yet non-existent. Reach? Limited. Our messages? Lackluster. The anointing is lacking and the ministry simply won’t grow. The results we expected are light-years away. Dazed and confused, we strain once more, by the force of our own will, to “make it work” putting undue stress on all the other parts of our lives: we let relationships wither, our work-life suffer, and health deteriorate for the sake of our new Purpose.

From the pot to the grill

Then things get tougher still: the schedule is never right, people disappoint, funding falls through, other things require your time. Feeling the weight of it all, we fall back on what we knew was true before and preach to ourselves with catchy phrases like “name it and claim it”, “little is much when God is in it”, or more historical like “God wills it!” We convince ourselves and say “Yes, it hasn’t worked because I have not been committed enough!” We then rededicate ourselves to the Cause further straining relationships, resources and time. Still, nothing changes, and our impulsiveness, stubbornness, lack of patience, and lackluster results turn into despair.

From calling to serving for dummies

Imagine the arrogance of starting a ministry with no preparation, no shaping or molding, and little to no prayer. So often, we quote David and Paul and Timothy and all the rest thinking that their lives really happened at the speed of the text in the Bible. Case in point. Have you ever pictured Paul working as a Tanner dealing with everyday issues? Things like disgruntled customers, taxes, bad fleeces, and every other mundane issue under the Sun. Not to mention his time in the Arabian wilderness!

We don’t picture Luke practicing medicine or James carving wood to raise a family and support his aging mother: we don’t even stop and realize that Jesus Himself started His ministry at the age of 30 and that He spent the greater part of His life-shaping, shaving and carving wood for the family business. Was He incapable of preaching and teaching and healing as a thirteen-year-old boy or as a twenty-one-year-old man, or any other time before the age of 30? Or did He not tell His own mother “My time has not come” at the wedding in Canaan?

Calling and Serving for misfit toys

The problem with us humans has always been the same: fickle and weak-minded with no true sense of what vision is and a poor understanding of what God can truly do when we let Him, no matter how many years you think you’ve wasted chasing your own pleasures or how many we have left on Earth! God gives us a ministry, we think legacy; God gives us a vision, we think well-being. We never stop and think of the valleys between where we are and where God wants us to reach.

Too broken?

Tired and defeated, we remember that the roadmap does not belong to us. Neither do the vision or the ministry. They belong to God. At this point, our internal sermon becomes “God makes all things beautiful in His time!” We start the slow and painstaking process of letting God put all the pieces together, both of our lives and of our Calling, remembering that in growth, preparation and prayer are still part of the equation: what a novel concept!

Too human?

The problem is that, as humans, as Christians, we want the reach of Paul’s ministry without his trials. We want the power of Peter’s ministry without his testing and failures. The affluence of David? Sure! Just not his heartbreaks. We want the mountaintop experiences only, forgetting that the growth, the foliage, the green pastures, the still waters, the milk, and the honey are all found in the valleys. In the valleys the Sun is either blocked out by the storm clouds or it’s so strong that it scorches the Earth. It leaves only dry bones.

But thankfully, God is the God of both the hills and the valleys. He is patient and kind and loving and patient and kind and loving and patient and kind and loving. No matter what your ministry is, there is no way you will ever reach on your own. In fact, it is impossible without a triple dose of God’s patient, loving-kindness. Not everyone is called to a total revamping of their lives, not everyone is called thousands of miles away to parts unknown, but everyone is called to share the Gospel message.

Too Troubled?

The trouble is exactly that! Our conversion creates an understandable zeal. However we have yet to learn how to pray. We have yet to learn how to hear from and wait on God. These are things that come with a relationship built over time with a heart toward discipleship. Unfortunately, many churches today is that we’re too busy making converts and not busy enough making disciples! We prefer quantity on Sunday mornings rather than a handful of Spirit-filled believers. The logic? If we don’t have crowds, the church cannot sustain itself! The church is not ours. The building might be ours but not the church. The Church belongs to God, and He can close it or keep it open as He wills!

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Then you’re perfect!

It is not my intent to discourage anyone to go full-blown, all-out, sold-out for Jesus but it is my intention to warn the Body as to prayerfully consider the ministry to which you have been called. The Church has had its fair share of well-intentioned Christians. These brethren “felt” called to a certain ministry or mission field. In the fullness of time they would make a mockery of their “calling”. Making matters worse, they become a stumbling block for others. Others who would otherwise have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Our admonishment to all Christians is to “mind the gap”! Be aware of the necessary time periods necessary and essential between calling and serving in Ministry. Be aware that, if Jesus started His ministry at 30 years old, having full and complete knowledge of the Word, your ministry cannot and will not be any different: God has his ways of doing things and he doesn’t need our advice nor our intellect to ensure the fulfillment of his Word; He doesn’t need us, He wants us to participate and be blessed from the furtherance of His Kingdom.

The Anatomy of an Insult – Part 2

Sticks and Stones

In a recent post, we discussed how Nathaniel’s unthoughtfully sincere words were not enough to cause offense to Jesus. We also learned how something good can “come out of Nazareth”: whether it be in the natural realm, meaning Jesus Himself, or in the spiritual realm: the majority of the people that will read these words are “gentiles” by birth but Jews and Royal Priests by our adoptions as sons because of what came “out of Nazareth: the Nazarene and His disciples.

The last time you read the passage in John 1:43-51, what probably stuck out to you the most was Nathaniel’s “insult”. Nathaniel’s audacity to speak such a thing about Jesus is not a likely Sunday School lesson. But don’t forget, Nathaniel didn’t know then what he would know just a short time later. Although Nathaniel’s name doesn’t ever return to prominence in the New Testament accounts, his words would surely become the “faithful wounds of a good friend” in short order.

Fruits worthy of repentance

For too many people nowadays authentic Nathaniel-like sincerity is insulting. Unfortunately, all too often this is offense-taking sentiment is prevalent in the Church as much it is in the World. Thankfully Jesus shows us how to peer into the heart of the matter, overlook the “letter” of words and find hidden treasures in their “Spirit”. Jesus goes on to teach us the meaning behind “the faithful wounds of a friend”.

When looking at the loving way Jesus answered Nathaniel’s sincere heart cry for the Truth, it couldn’t have been any more different than the total disdain He reserved for those who insisted they knew better but in fact these scholars and scribes and Pharisees but could not bear witness to anything resembling “fruits worthy of repentance“.

One instance where the fruits worthy of such repentance were put on display immediately! In the account of Jesus’ resurrection (John 20:24-29) lies the well-known encounter of Jesus and the disciple Thomas. This passage is where we get the expression “Doubting Thomas”, which we use when people are distrusting of any news, no matter the source. Thomas demanded proof that Jesus had risen from the dead. Thomas told his fellow disciples that he would need to put his finger into His pierced side and perforated hands. An empty tomb is one thing; saying that the body in the tomb is not dead elsewhere is a whole different story.

Doubtful by default

To be honest, in a secularized modern world such as our own, no one blames Thomas for being so… rational. It is reasonable to imagine that Thomas had seen many people crucified in Palestine. The Romans had made crucifying enemies of the State into an art form. Thomas simply couldn’t conceive how anyone could survive such punishment. I’m sure that many other disciples had even shared his pragmatism until they saw Him in the flesh again. Thomas however, was bold enough and honest enough with himself to speak it out loud.

As they assembled there together days later, Jesus walks through the wall and puts His hands up for closer inspection by Thomas. He shows Thomas His chest wound where the spear had punctured all the way through to His heart. Thomas falls to his knees and bears witness that Jesus is truly the Son of the Almighty God.

So, what was it that offended Jesus? Was Jesus even offended at all? Were the “faithful wounds of a friend” that Solomon was referring to the insult and offense that comes from those who are the best positioned to do the most damage and yet handle their words with the dexterity of someone with no impulse control? If Jesus really was offended by Thomas’ words there is little evidence here. However, He does make an example of Thomas and his secularist, materialist mindset. After all, believing after having seen is easy. Jesus takes the opportunity to pronounce a blessing on the billions of Believers that would come to Him throughout the millennia: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed” (John 20:29). After all believing after seeing that no faith at all.

Friends and their faithful wounds

Jesus was surely not pleased. After raising the dead, walking on water, feeding the thousands, silencing a storm, and healing the sick, one of His most trusted friends doubted this final triumph over the forces and the Laws of nature. Thomas’s doubt was unbecoming of a man that had spent the better part of 40 months together with Jesus.

Unfortunately, Thomas’ doubt and double-mindedness were not exclusive traits to this one disciple. Judas’ internal conflict brought to the end of his rope, it brought Peter to deny Him to a little servant girl and caused the majority of others to run, scatter and hide. In fact, the Gospel accounts only place John the Beloved at the crucifixion of Jesus.

Unmitigated Tamarity

Thomas, like Nathaniel, spoke from his honest internal dialogue. Unlike the latter, Thomas had a purely worldly view of his surroundings. Thomas was perhaps the kind of man that struggled with his doubts even as he witnessed the miracles themselves. Thomas had room for miracles in his mind and as his relationship grew closer to Jesus he struggled less and less. But there was just something about Jesus raising Himself from the grave that was too much for him to handle.

Pearl of Great Price

It is therefore our greatest fortune that the “faithful wounds of a friend” are the ones Jesus bears on His body to this day. Jesus overlooked, covered, atoned, and erased the insults of both Thomas and Nathaniel. The blood that oozed out of His hands and gushed out from between His ribs paid for not only the insults of those that accepted His forgiveness; it lies in wait to be discovered as payment in full for the countless millions around the world that have not yet come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They unwittingly spew insults on Jesus all day long and bearing in their own lives the cost. It is our sacred responsibility to introduce the world to this magnificent Forgiver of wrongs. For those of us who have found this great Pearl, we too often discard it in the busyness of life.

Professional Profaners

In an upcoming post, we will discuss antiquity’s best orators of calumnies and Jesus’ favorite hypocrites. When it came to this group of people, Jesus held back no punches. He hit back hard in their war of words. His replies were pubic in the form of plain language as well as in the form of parables. I hope you’ll come back for part 3 when we discuss some of my favorite passages from the Gospels. Also, if you’ve missed out, be sure to read Part 1 of this 3-part series on the Anatomy of an Insult.

When Christians insult other Believers

It seems these days that everyone around you keeps getting more and more thin-skinned. Total strangers get third-party offended. Family members that don’t like what you think of a particular behavior of theirs. Church members, deacons, and even pastors. None of them can take any criticism of anything they say or do with the same “sweet reasonableness” they preach that others should have (Phil 4:5). Needless to say that people are easily insulted these days and some make a profession of it. Now please understand that we are talking about Christians here. Whether it is intentional or not Christians insult other Believers and, perhaps worse, Christians take offense at the words of other Believers.

Any cheek-turners in the room?

But what about Jesus, how did he handle Himself when people said unkind or insulting things about Him. Now, I’m not referring to the openly insulting statements that He received during His ministry, I’m referring to the little things along the way, the innuendos, the side jabs, the play on words, or simply the things that were not said in public where many would have heard and formed an opinion on. How did Jesus handle those?

The sin of sincerity

I’m sure our personal lives are full of instances where the words of other Christians have insulted us. By the same token, our own words have offended other Believers. Whether it was by sheer naivety or aimed with the intention to wound a friend, Christians have been as guilty at insulting other Believers as the “general population”. Fortunately, not many of Christiandom’s foot-in-mouth instances have been recorded in the annals of history. That is of course with the exception of the Biblical record.

One such comment that comes to mind is when Philip went and told Nathaniel that they had found the Messiah. Philip told him that His name of Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth. Nathaniel, thought to himself and said the first thing that came to his mind and said, “can anything good come out of Nazareth”? When he finally came to Jesus, the Master turned and said to him, “Behold! An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile”. Not only did Jesus know what Nathaniel had said and not only did He not take offense but rather commended Nathaniel for his sincerity of heart. You see, Nathaniel had his doubts. His doubts were sincere but he still had enough hunger for the Truth to go and find out for himself. When he finally arrived where Jesus was and heard Him say two things. He heard Him say that only was there no guile in him but He was aware of him under the fig tree beforehand, Nathaniel suddenly realized that he was in the presence of God.

Sincerity as a lifestyle

A little background may be called for. Why would Nathaniel blurt out at Philip’s announcement of the Messiah cause offense? In the Jewish custom of the time “nothing good could come from Nazareth”. This was a widespread proverb and this was for two particular reasons. Reasons that are intertwined and, if Jesus was and considered Himself a prophet, He should’ve known better. His (supposed) Nazarene pedigree would automatically bar Him from being considered a prophet by any self-respecting Jew.

The hometown of the thick-skinned

For starters, Nazareth is in Galilee. That’s significant because its border country. Samaria (of the Samaritans) is just southwest of Galilee. Nazareth was a fairly large commercial center. It would have lots of gentile influences (Greeks, Samaritans, Phoenicians, and all manner of other pagan cultural influences). Seeing as Galilee shared a northern border with Phoenicia (of the Syro-Phoenician woman) with cities such as Tyre and Sidon that, although had long outlived their glory days, were still important regional ports of call.

Galilee was not the ideal breeding ground for prophets. With such strong gentile influence, complicated allegiances to God, Israel, and Rome, Temple Jews considered Galilee to be a backwater sort of place. Far removed from the Temple cult of Jehovah. The Galileans’ tolerance for outsiders living and working among them made them, for the most part in the eyes of the Temple Jews, ritually unclean. By definition unfit for the office of prophet. This confluence of worldviews created a a “peculiar” people. Galileans were comfortable with speaking their minds and quite accustomed to hearing seemingly controversial comments. The insults and comments simply rolled off their back. It’s the biblical equivalent to being a new yorker. If we were to take offense at everything a stranger said, we would never make it past getting the car out of the parking spot.

Biblical backwater

Along similar lines, in all the history of the law and the Prophets, not one single prophet had ever come from Nazareth. The great majority of them were of Judean descent and many of them with traceable Davidic and/or royal lineage. Jesus, in their eyes, therefore seemingly lacked both the proper stock as well as the correct birthplace to hold such office, whether it be prophet or Messiah.

Surely Jesus was well-aware of the cultural and religious stigma that came from being a Galilean. Although not recorded in the Gospels, many others would have already said or thought such things. Both before then and afterward. However, Jesus was able to see into Nathaniel’s heart and saw the sincere heart-cry of a Seeker. It was “credited to him as righteousness“. When Philip came to Nathaniel he made specific references to the Law and the Prophets. Surely referring to the countless conversations they had together in the past. Perhaps they scoured the Scriptures together looking for a sign. I imagine many other would-be prophets and Messiahs had come before. As history tells us, many of them and their followers ended up dispersed, discredited, or dead.

An insult revisited

With all of this in mind we can take a fresh look at Nathaniel’s question. It was part incredulous and part hopeful. Nathaniel was open to the idea. He was also hopeful that he had misread or misunderstood something in the Scriptures. He hoped that with a sincere heart he had been sincerely wrong before. Perhaps the time had come for them to finally find the Messiah. Hopefully, to be found by the Messiah.

Jesus revealed to him the condition of his heart. He was perplexed. He asked “how do you know me”? Skipping the actual question He replies, paraphrasing, “not only do I know you, I even saw you under the fig tree”! Typical Jesus style. What Nathaniel responds tells us a lot about the situation that we, at first glance, are not aware of directly.

Low-lying fruit

Here’s the low-lying fruit here (pun intended). The fig tree must have been out of the line of sight for Jesus. It must have been hidden from from His view. Possibly over a hill or around a bend or something of that nature. From this Nathaniel would see two things. Not only was the man before Him master over men’s inner thoughts but the forces (read “laws”) of nature. Jesus had correctly identified his internal personal state and his specific geographic location. His thoughts and location would only have been known to Philip.

Foregoing what else Jesus tells the men there assembled about what else they will see and hear in the times to come, we learn a few things about both Nathaniel and the heart of Jesus. Nathaniel’s eagerness and thirst for Truth pays off. His first answer is a resounding “yes!”. Good things can come out of Nazareth. By association, good things can come from Galilee. Specifically, Jesus and His motley crew of friends. Those men would go on to change history. He also answers his second question. Jesus knows Nathaniel (read your own name there) like a “wheel within a wheel”. Jesus knows our innermost workings even when we are not aware of Him.

Insult, the teacher

Perhaps the most astounding discovery we can take away is His early interaction with His disciples. We see that Jesus is available for questioning. We will study in upcoming posts the way Jesus responds to other sorts of inquiries. Here, we are assured that Jesus does not turn away anyone searching with all their heart (Jer 29:13). Also, He answers the underlying question regardless of presentation. Jesus has no interest in form. His interest is function. Nathaniel’s question may have been or sounded course but it came from a ready heart, from a heart that wanted the Truth, was earnestly seeking the Truth. In exchange for his childlike sincerity, Jesus paid him a truly beautiful compliment, one that we should all aspire to hear from the Master: “an Israelite (read: Christian) indeed, in whom there is no guile”.

Patreon Debut!

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Who we are

Life More Abundant is a Ministry dedicated to spreading the Good News of the Gospel one life at a time! Our aim is to bring relevant and powerful testimony of the Gospel to the men of this generation. Firstly the Believer first, as a way to empower. Secondly to the skeptic, as a way to challenge. Our goal is to engage with skeptics, seekers and the mature Believers.

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Third Temple Believer

How shall we then live? A question for the ages, as the Jews watched the temple being destroyed. The answer can be found in Jesus alone.

In the beginning

Before there was the Temple, there was the Tent of Meeting. Before the Tabernacle in the wilderness, there was Beth-El. There, God’s servant spoke to Him in Spirit. In turn, He answered in Spirit and in Truth. Solomon’s Temple replaced the Tabernacle. Destroyed because of the people’s disobedience. The people rebuilt the Temple. However, because of disobedience, it was once again destroyed. Now both Believers and Jews alike await the final third Temple.

Shadows and dust

Just like anything made by men, the second temple also did not last. After the prophecy of the coming Messiah had been fulfilled, the Lord kept His word and the Temple was destroyed once again.

However, something was different this time. The people scattered to the winds and to the four corners of the earth. Many of them were taken to Rome. They were to become slaves. Others, put to death. Although any hopes of rebuilding the Temple had all but vanished, by some type of miracle, “Jewishness” survived.

To the utter dismay of the Jewish people, millennium-old Temple Judaism came to a sudden and abrupt end. The sect of Judaism that depended on the Temple itself, the Sadducees, disappeared; the Essenes, that preached against the corruption of the Temple, lost their raison de vivre. This left only the Pharisees. These would become what we know now as the rabbinical schools. Also, a new Jewishness also appeared. Christianity.

Honest misunderstanding?

Although no rabbinical scholar would admit, Christianity is Judaism. The reason for not agreeing on this point is purely of a personal nature. Personal in this context refers to Jesus. There is only one difference that separates Temple Judaism from Church Age Christianity. While Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to their own detriment, Christians believe the Messiah has come.

All else being equal, Christianity is the logical next step of historic Judaism. This is in a very crucial way very unfortunate. I say this because they are scheduled to accept the imitation over the real thing. When the antichrist comes, their eschatology will resemble very closely our own. Obviously with their tragic misunderstandings built in.

Accepting the imitation

When the antichrist arrives on the scene they will accept as completed all of the Scriptures that Christians already know as fulfilled. This counterfeit Messiah, I believe, will not be Jewish. Neither will he adhere to the ways of his forefathers. Scripture even references him not being…very manly.

Essentially, there are two types of third Temple believers in this world. On the one hand there are those waiting for the Temple to be built again. On the other hand, although they might not actually be aware, Christians believe it will descend from Heaven in the the form of the Heavenly Jerusalem. So the question is, “who’s right”? Both are.

Built to last

Scripture tells us clearly in Daniel 11 that the antichrist will sit in a physical temple and declare himself to be God. This will come with the initial adoration of the Jews. But in the fullness of time, as Zechariah 14 shows us, Jesus will return and rule the Earth from the Mount of Olives. Having destroyed the antichrist He will bring down the new, permanent, Jerusalem. Enthroned in His rightful place, He will wipe “every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21).

One third Temple only

Here’s the clincher. There are only two possibilities for who is reading this post. The first option is that you’re waiting for the third Temple. Both Christians and unbelievers alike are on this Earth together at this point. The other possibility is that you’re living in a time of it being physically present. If the second possibility is true, then you have missed the Rapture of the Church. It also proves that no one bothered to take down this post, at which point I’m insulted. However, I’m glad you’re here. The people that went missing around you haven’t vanished. They’ll be back soon. Then, you’ll see what the real Temple of God looks like! But this is your opportunity to repent. Say these simple words, from the heart:

Dear Jesus,

I repent of my sins. I agree with you that I sinned against You and Your perfect Law. I receive you as Lord and Savior of my life. I accept the free gift of Salvation. I know that it is not by anything that I have done that I have deserved this. I welcome you into my heart, my mind and my life. I thank you for Eternal Life that you have provided for me.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Like sheep among wolves

Friend, if you have said that simple prayer, from your heart, you are born again. Whether you are in the Tribulation right now or still awaiting the Rapture of the Church, we want to encourage you. Find a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled church and look for ways to serve God by bringing this Gospel to others in your life. God bless you

A call to Ministry – July 12th, 2020 – Lighthouse Assembly of God

Receiving the call to Ministry

From the moment God saves you, you receive a call to ministry: a ministry of service to Him. “Rocking chair” Christians is not our calling in life. We are swim upstream like salmon. Against the current! We are not here to run out the clock. We are to be a visible sign of the invisible God and of the life-changing Power that He has displayed in our lives!

The goal of the life of every Christian? to be like Jesus! Click To Tweet

Answering the Call to Ministry

Today’s message is drawn from the Epistles to the Colossians, where the Apostle Paul explains what is it, exactly, that we can expect from living, or attempting to live, a life that is pleasing to God. Look at shiny tv preachers. Observing them you would think that a call to ministry is a way to be “served” rather than to serve. They mistake the prosperity of the Gospel with a Gospel of Prosperity. I like the way William Carey, the Father of modern-day missions, put it.

Expect great things from God; attempt...great things for God Click To Tweet

Never the same again

As Spirit-filled, Bible-believing Christians we must, as the Pastor Geer proclaimed, “shine”. Let people see the Light in you. Once they do, they’ll want to talk to us about Jesus. Our prayer is that you are blessed as you take time out of your day to be in God’s presence and grow spiritually from the sharing of His Word.

Shameless Plug

We want to remind everyone that Life More Abundant is an outreach ministry of the Men’s Ministry of Lighthouse Assembly of God in Glendale, Queens, New York. Prayerfully consider coming alongside Lighthouse Assembly of God with a gift of any amount. We encourage you to do so through our Venmo Page. Every penny you donate goes fully and directly to the Church. Please share this link with someone, anyone, and everyone you know. May God continue to richly bless you and His Church. Also, please prayerfully consider becoming a patron of Life More Abundant.

Father’s Day Message -June 21st – Lighthouse Assembly of God

You do the best you can: bring them to church every week, prayers in the morning before school, at dinnertime and at night before bed; you surround them with godly influences and sound biblical advice but, one day, they are out there, in the wide wide world making decisions, on their own. Today’s message, drawn from 1 Samuel Chapters 9, 10, and 15, Pastor Geer shares with us a familiar story of a once-great man and a father’s heart cry for his wayward son.

Our prayer is that you are blessed as you take time out of your day to be in God’s presence and grow spiritually from the sharing of His Word.

Click the link below to watch the video from a secured server.

What shall I do about my son?

Life More Abundant International Ministries is fully funded and maintained by the Men’s Ministry of Lighthouse Assembly of God in Glendale, Queens, New York. If you would like to prayerfully consider coming alongside Lighthouse Assembly of God with a gift of any amount, we encourage you to do so through our Venmo Page. Every penny you donate goes fully and directly to the Church. And if you have been blessed, as we’re confident you have been, please share this link with someone, anyone, everyone you know. May God continue to richly bless you and His Church.

Folly of Indiscretion – June 7th, 2020 – Lighthouse Assembly of God

You don’t often hear preachers talk about such topics; but, after all, Pastor Geer, is not just any preacher. Western Christianity has, unfortunately, become too accustomed to soft, soothing words that build ego rather than character, remove insult rather than faults, and instill a false sense of righteousness rather than fear and trembling before a Sovereign God. People tend not to want to know: “What does Jesus have to say on the subject”? In today’s message, entitled The Folly of Indiscretion, Pastor Geer teaches us from the Book of Proverbs on what happens to an unruly youth and how, through God’s saving Grace, even the most far-gone sinner can find his way Home.

Our prayer is that you are blessed as you take time out of your day to be in God’s presence and grow spiritually from the sharing of His Word.

Click the link below to watch the video from a secured server.

Warning Against Adultery

The Blame Game – May 31st, 2020 – Lighthouse Assembly of God

In today’s message entitled “The Blame Game”, Pastor Geer brings us to a very familiar but often overlooked passage of Scripture about accountability and personal responsibility, where the echoes of this oversight are apparent all around us in our modern world. But first, we invite you to worship along with us to the praises and glory of God the Father through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.

Our prayer is that you are blessed as you take time out of your day to be in God’s presence and grow spiritually from the sharing of His Word.

Click the link below to watch the video from a secured server.

The Blame Game

The Tragedy of Rejection – May 17th, 2020 – Lighthouse Assembly of God

For many people around the world, including in the view of many Christians, God is a Universal Acme Bag that is constantly at our beck and call; an errand boy that is there to give us what we want with little to no consideration towards Him before or After we have received.

But, have you ever heard the phrase, “God is not mocked”?

This is exactly what Pastor Geer’s message is about today. Reading from the book of 2 Chronicles, we read about one of the many times in the Bible where God shows up in a mighty way and reminds His people of the Order of the Universe and our place in it.

But first, we invite you to worship along with us to the praises and glory of God the Father through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.

Our prayer is that you are blessed as you take time out of your day to be in God’s presence and grow spiritually from the sharing of His Word.

Click the link below to watch the video from a secured server.

The Tragedy of Rejection