Antipolo/Ortigas
After Nueva Ecija, we headed back to the Ransom's house in Antipolo. That would be our home base for the next three days as we would attend the 2010 Purpose and Passion Conference
http://www.purpose-passion.org/Conference_Details.html
The day before the conference we were invited to a dinner/meeting with all the leaders. The church that was hosting the event was Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF). It was exciting to meet everyone and hear about their plans and goals for the conference. TMC (The Master's College) had students there in Ortigas who dropped by the P.I. after going around to different countries in the area (I forget which ones). But they came to the conference to help out too. It was wonderful to see Elder Dan Cura from Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) again. He spoke at CPC (my home church) a few times but we had never met prior to this. The last time I saw him, he was on such a tight schedule that we weren't able to talk. I was glad that we had time to converse before the conference and I hope to see him again in the future.
We also got to meet Dr. Rick Holland from Grace Community Church because he was the keynote speaker for the conference. It was very encouraging when we talked to Dr. Holland. I think the exciting part was knowing that we would be "co-laboring" (if you can call it that) with him at this conference. Since he was someone so familiar and so trustworthy to us, we were so happy to be there with him (Well, atleast I was). As we introduced ourselves, there was a sense of "familiarity" as the conversation went on and on. I noticed that a man's character is almost identical with their style/method of preaching (as it should). And since we've all heard him preach before, it was like conversing with an old buddy from back home. Dr. Holland was very excited to be there, and getting to meet him definitely lifted my spirit. On top of that, knowing that he just came from Singapore and still needed to plan for the Resolved Conference made us appreciate his presence even more. We knew he was tired but still he was encouraged to proclaim the Gospel. I praise Christ for his life and for the work that he is doing for the Kingdom.
Purpose and Passion Conference
This conference was very wonderful. It is evident that the Spirit is at work in the hearts of these people to give them a desire for Jesus Christ and to preach His Word with the utmost purity. Men and women gathered around from all over the P.I. to attend this wonderful conference. They would sit under a Plenary Session (for the most part Rick Holland) and then breakout sessions throughout the day. Rick's sessions were good, but I believe that if he preached more, the "art of the sermon" would have been modeled better. That is why I was glad he preached during the last session. But he did hit a lot of good and crucial points for the local church (Which was the goal). I also appreciated the fact that he did not shy away from the tough questions and pointed them back to scripture. He rocked the boat a little (with love if I may add), and that was definitely a good thing because it stirred up the hearts of the believers. Those people that skimmed over doctrines and had a shallow understanding were being convicted. Those who were unaware of what scripture said about these topics, were now having their eyes opened to the truth of God by the help of the Spirit. I came to greatly appreciate the training that we have here at home. Not to be arrogant or give myself pedastol praises, but to be thankful for what God has blessed me--a sinner who deserves none of this. I could take what I have learned and happily pass it on to those who would be able to teach others also.
Anyways, we were happy to help out with whatever they needed us to do. Pastor Felix and Pastor Sean both did breakout sessions during the conference and it was so great to see them in action. Pastor Felix's breakouts were amazing. I didn't get to see the modules that he did the week before we arrived so this was a real treat for me to witness this first-hand. His sessions were "Biblical Philosophy of Ministry" and "Building a Biblical Leadership Team" (You can already sense the theme). The response was wonderful. Looking at everyone and their faces were just a joy to me. It was almost as if people were thinking, "Wow, so there ARE Filipino Expositors!" Haha! You could see there excitement right on their faces. It was so encouraging for them to see a Filipino teaching in this manner (Not a different message remember? But the same one!). Of course, I mean no offense to our Anglo brothers (I'm one of them), but having someone of Pinoy blood that absolutely loved the scriptures was such an encouragment to them. And when that love for scriptures and love for THEM was evident in his sessions, you couldn't help but praise God for that. People were eating it up not because of Pastor Felix's eloquence or power of speech, but because the Spirit of God was with the message he was conveying. Eloquence does not convert the sinner, the Holy Spirit does. The only reason why there was conviction and encouragement was because it wasn't man's message, it was God's. And that is why we stressed "pointing it back" to a biblical philosophy of ministry, because any other idea, system, or philosphy only stems from the opinion of a fallen man. And that opinion is a foundation we as Christians must refuse to rest on. Our life must be built on nothing less than the solid Rock of Jesus Christ. And it is through the scriptures where we find out how to do that.
On another note, it was also fun trying to find Jeremy's future wife. Just kidding. (By the way, for those of you who thought we were serious, we apologize. We were just joking! You guys know that wasn't our original intent!) But any who, the conference was a great inspiration and you could definitely see the Spirit moving the hearts of the people. But I can see that it is still in its beginning stages. Though they look as though they are headed in the correct direction, my prayer is that they would keep there eyes on Christ and always strive for that biblical philosphy of ministry.
After Nueva Ecija, we headed back to the Ransom's house in Antipolo. That would be our home base for the next three days as we would attend the 2010 Purpose and Passion Conference
http://www.purpose-passion.org/Conference_Details.html
The day before the conference we were invited to a dinner/meeting with all the leaders. The church that was hosting the event was Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF). It was exciting to meet everyone and hear about their plans and goals for the conference. TMC (The Master's College) had students there in Ortigas who dropped by the P.I. after going around to different countries in the area (I forget which ones). But they came to the conference to help out too. It was wonderful to see Elder Dan Cura from Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) again. He spoke at CPC (my home church) a few times but we had never met prior to this. The last time I saw him, he was on such a tight schedule that we weren't able to talk. I was glad that we had time to converse before the conference and I hope to see him again in the future.
We also got to meet Dr. Rick Holland from Grace Community Church because he was the keynote speaker for the conference. It was very encouraging when we talked to Dr. Holland. I think the exciting part was knowing that we would be "co-laboring" (if you can call it that) with him at this conference. Since he was someone so familiar and so trustworthy to us, we were so happy to be there with him (Well, atleast I was). As we introduced ourselves, there was a sense of "familiarity" as the conversation went on and on. I noticed that a man's character is almost identical with their style/method of preaching (as it should). And since we've all heard him preach before, it was like conversing with an old buddy from back home. Dr. Holland was very excited to be there, and getting to meet him definitely lifted my spirit. On top of that, knowing that he just came from Singapore and still needed to plan for the Resolved Conference made us appreciate his presence even more. We knew he was tired but still he was encouraged to proclaim the Gospel. I praise Christ for his life and for the work that he is doing for the Kingdom.
Purpose and Passion Conference
This conference was very wonderful. It is evident that the Spirit is at work in the hearts of these people to give them a desire for Jesus Christ and to preach His Word with the utmost purity. Men and women gathered around from all over the P.I. to attend this wonderful conference. They would sit under a Plenary Session (for the most part Rick Holland) and then breakout sessions throughout the day. Rick's sessions were good, but I believe that if he preached more, the "art of the sermon" would have been modeled better. That is why I was glad he preached during the last session. But he did hit a lot of good and crucial points for the local church (Which was the goal). I also appreciated the fact that he did not shy away from the tough questions and pointed them back to scripture. He rocked the boat a little (with love if I may add), and that was definitely a good thing because it stirred up the hearts of the believers. Those people that skimmed over doctrines and had a shallow understanding were being convicted. Those who were unaware of what scripture said about these topics, were now having their eyes opened to the truth of God by the help of the Spirit. I came to greatly appreciate the training that we have here at home. Not to be arrogant or give myself pedastol praises, but to be thankful for what God has blessed me--a sinner who deserves none of this. I could take what I have learned and happily pass it on to those who would be able to teach others also.
Anyways, we were happy to help out with whatever they needed us to do. Pastor Felix and Pastor Sean both did breakout sessions during the conference and it was so great to see them in action. Pastor Felix's breakouts were amazing. I didn't get to see the modules that he did the week before we arrived so this was a real treat for me to witness this first-hand. His sessions were "Biblical Philosophy of Ministry" and "Building a Biblical Leadership Team" (You can already sense the theme). The response was wonderful. Looking at everyone and their faces were just a joy to me. It was almost as if people were thinking, "Wow, so there ARE Filipino Expositors!" Haha! You could see there excitement right on their faces. It was so encouraging for them to see a Filipino teaching in this manner (Not a different message remember? But the same one!). Of course, I mean no offense to our Anglo brothers (I'm one of them), but having someone of Pinoy blood that absolutely loved the scriptures was such an encouragment to them. And when that love for scriptures and love for THEM was evident in his sessions, you couldn't help but praise God for that. People were eating it up not because of Pastor Felix's eloquence or power of speech, but because the Spirit of God was with the message he was conveying. Eloquence does not convert the sinner, the Holy Spirit does. The only reason why there was conviction and encouragement was because it wasn't man's message, it was God's. And that is why we stressed "pointing it back" to a biblical philosophy of ministry, because any other idea, system, or philosphy only stems from the opinion of a fallen man. And that opinion is a foundation we as Christians must refuse to rest on. Our life must be built on nothing less than the solid Rock of Jesus Christ. And it is through the scriptures where we find out how to do that.
On another note, it was also fun trying to find Jeremy's future wife. Just kidding. (By the way, for those of you who thought we were serious, we apologize. We were just joking! You guys know that wasn't our original intent!) But any who, the conference was a great inspiration and you could definitely see the Spirit moving the hearts of the people. But I can see that it is still in its beginning stages. Though they look as though they are headed in the correct direction, my prayer is that they would keep there eyes on Christ and always strive for that biblical philosphy of ministry.
We couldn't have asked for better fellowship opportunities. We had dinners every night with many different people. Pastors Abel, Allan, and Darwin were basically with us all the time. And we got to know them very well and they have become very special to us. Pastor Joy of MCC was also there with his family. We got to meet Pastor Virly (who knows Ate Cat and J.R. very well, like EVERYONE else did hahahha!) for the first time, and I took a picture with him just so that we could show J.R. We also fellowshipped with Pastor Dennis and Pastor Lito who both asked Pastor Felix if he could disciple them. Just more affirmation that Christ is working in the hearts of these people. With all these Pastors and church leaders that we met, I was so honored be given this opportunity to build new relationships. It was great to just listen to their ministries and struggles and just reflect upon what God has placed before them. Even discussing theology overseas still gave me the same joy as it does here in the States. But I love and appreciate these people so much. I hope that they will not be easily influenced by the filthy philosophies and different gospels that are coming out of America and other places, but I pray that they hold fast to Christ Jesus and the pure Gospel of Grace that we have set our hope upon. My deepest desire for these beloved leaders is that they may be rooted in the rich Word Christ, so that, when trials come their way, they will have their feet planted firmly in hallowed ground.
I pray that more and more godly men, who are equipped to do the work of the Lord, are able to help guide this conference to the place that it should be at. There is so much potential there with those people, they just need the correct encouragement. I have taken for granted the training that we have here at home. Sound biblical preaching is just a mouse-click away for us, yet it is so rare to find in the P.I. There is spiritual starvation in the Philippines, people are hungry; they just need the correct nutrition. Giving them what they want may satiate temporarily, but like the one that relies on candy for sustenance the rest of his days, it shall only bring death. But giving these people the truth that they need will help them to bear fruit for eternity. My prayer is that more men of God will endeavor to do that for our brethren there.
People have been asking me if I would be willing to move to the Pinas for ministry. And to be honest, the thought has definitely crossed my mind. You see the opportunities and the hunger for the Word is great, that is undeniable. And in every circumstance, you kind of ask yourself, "Okay, if the Lord were to move me here, I wonder where he would place me." So for different places and people, you play out different scenarios in your mind. Yet aside from all the "potential ministry opportunities," the Lord has placed a burden in my heart for the local church here in LA. For some strange reason my heart has always been here with these people. So as of now, my desire to minister is here in Cali. And though I will submit myself to the will of the Lord and whatever He decrees, I can't help but have this burning passion for the people here in my hometown. Grace and peace to all of you in LA in the name of our Lord Jesus. I love you all, and yes, there is more to come.
- Brother MJ
P.S. - go lakeshow! :D
I pray that more and more godly men, who are equipped to do the work of the Lord, are able to help guide this conference to the place that it should be at. There is so much potential there with those people, they just need the correct encouragement. I have taken for granted the training that we have here at home. Sound biblical preaching is just a mouse-click away for us, yet it is so rare to find in the P.I. There is spiritual starvation in the Philippines, people are hungry; they just need the correct nutrition. Giving them what they want may satiate temporarily, but like the one that relies on candy for sustenance the rest of his days, it shall only bring death. But giving these people the truth that they need will help them to bear fruit for eternity. My prayer is that more men of God will endeavor to do that for our brethren there.
People have been asking me if I would be willing to move to the Pinas for ministry. And to be honest, the thought has definitely crossed my mind. You see the opportunities and the hunger for the Word is great, that is undeniable. And in every circumstance, you kind of ask yourself, "Okay, if the Lord were to move me here, I wonder where he would place me." So for different places and people, you play out different scenarios in your mind. Yet aside from all the "potential ministry opportunities," the Lord has placed a burden in my heart for the local church here in LA. For some strange reason my heart has always been here with these people. So as of now, my desire to minister is here in Cali. And though I will submit myself to the will of the Lord and whatever He decrees, I can't help but have this burning passion for the people here in my hometown. Grace and peace to all of you in LA in the name of our Lord Jesus. I love you all, and yes, there is more to come.
- Brother MJ
P.S. - go lakeshow! :D
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