Our Journey of Faith

OUR JOURNEY OF FAITH

 

Jeremiah 32:17

 

17) "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

 

 

Matthew 19:26

 

    Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

 

 

            “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”

 

-         Joshua J. Marine

 

 

            Today, Bible Church International is facing a great challenge – The building of a bigger facility. There’s no doubt a part of us feels excited with everything that is happening in our midst, but at the same time, there’s also a part of us that’s fearful because our project is truly overwhelming.  

            In the Bible, our situation can be compared with David being an inexperienced soldier faced with a giant enemy by the name of Goliath.  He had to make a choice whether to retreat knowing his inferior abilities or to proceed believing that he has a great God who will give him victory.  Taking a leap of faith, he proceeded and saw a great demonstration of God’s power.

            As a church, the call from God for us is to proceed with our journey of faith, then wait and see on how He will manifest His power before us. The initial passages we read emphasize the fact that our God possesses all the power to accomplish even the impossible things. In essence, God is able to do everything He needs to do or wants to do.

      Now, the critical part is always the application of this theology. If you truly believe that God is able then you will dare to accomplish even the impossible. That’s our real challenge! Here are some of the reasons why we must proceed with our journey of faith:

 

I     WE MUST MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE OF OUR PAST:

 

            As we take this route, this is not something new for our church. We have a history that proves that God is able.

            I tried interviewing Pastor Romy Manansala with regards to the decision of the church to purchase the three-building complex in Garfield , where the church is presently located.

            During that time the church was running between 60 to 80 people with a monthly income of $4,000. They have about $60,000 in their building fund. And they voted to purchase the property worth $350,000. According to Pastor Romy, they needed to borrow $300,000 with a 13% interest rate. This means, they anticipated to pay around $4,000 for monthly mortgage.

            Did it make sense to buy the property? Some were really scared about the possibility of putting the church in a financial bind. But God was able to prove himself. After they purchase the property, the year ended; with a surplus of about $8,000. God is truly faithful!

            God doesn’t want us to forget His past miracles. In the Bible, there are examples of God setting some memorials:

·        Passover Feast – Exodus 12

·        River Jordan Monument – Joshua 4

·        Lord’s Supper – 1 Corinthians 11

 

            These memorials were all design to inspire deeper faith from God’s people. Remember, God never changes – He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He is Almighty God yesterday, He is Almighty God today, and He will continue to be Almighty God forever. We can keep trusting Him!

           

II   WE MUST MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE OF HIS PROMISES:

 

Mark 9:23

 

    “‘If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

 

 

            There is a very specific word from Jesus himself to everyone who is willing to believe Him – Everything is possible. A father was seeking healing for his son. When he finally had the opportunity to seek help from Jesus, he worded his appeal by saying, “If you can do anything, take pity and help us.” Those words did not seat well with Jesus Christ because there seem to be a shade of doubt with regards to his ability. In response He stressed that “everything is possible with him.  

 

            I am reminded of a passage in Joshua on how the Lord has kept his promises to His people. After 40 years of struggling to believe in God, the new generation under the leadership of Joshua decided to take God’s promises at face value. They obeyed him and trusted him to lead them to their Promised Land. After they have conquered the Promised Land, Joshua wrote about their journey with the Lord.

Joshua 21:44-45

 

 44) The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them.

 

45) Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

 

 

III  WE MUST MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE OF OUR PROSPECTS:

 

      Lastly, I want to impress to each one of us that our vision of building a bigger facility will help us meet some of our pressing needs. Allow me to enumerate some of these needs again:

·        More Sunday School rooms for children

 

·        An adequate nursery room for babies

 

·        A sufficient area where our children can play

 

·        A bigger stage for all our musical presentations

 

·        A bigger worship center that can house at least a thousand people

 

·        An ample parking space for all our attenders

 

·        Being the mother church of most Filipino churches, we can provide a center for training for all our daughter churches.

 

 

When I consider the Bible, I am convinced that God has intended to meet the needs of His church through His people.  God blesses his people so they in return will provide adequately for the work of the Lord. Look at this very familiar passage:

Malachi 3:8-10

 

8) "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me."But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'"In tithes and offerings.

 

9) You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.

 

10) Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

 

 

            Notice, that there may be food in my house. God provides for his church through his people, and when we fail to respond accordingly, God will withhold His blessings to us.

            I really believe that we have the prospect of seeing more people come to know Jesus Christ through our ministries. Let’s prepare our church to accommodate more people. And I know as God has promised, His blessings will continue to abound in us as we allow ourselves to be channel of His blessings.