Ekklesia 2005
It's amazing how time passes by so quickly. It has already been a year since the last one. Ekklesia is a conference held at my church, always around this time of the year, end of January, beginning of February. It just started on Monday and it will go all the way until Saturday morning. Then on Saturday night we start a crusade until Monday night at a stadium here in Panama City. People come from different places to participate at the conference. It's amazing; it started as something really small a few years ago, only people from Panama and a few invited pastors from other countries to preach, but now it has grown to an international event. We, as people of God here in Panama, are truly blessed during this time. It is a time for refreshing and renewing. Why has God chosen such a small, third world country, to hold a conference that has grown to international proportions? Who knows, who can understand God's thinking? I can just thank Him for my country and for being part of all this, for being blessed and ministered by it...truly for being able to live and participate at this time and place in history.
We have pastors coming to preach and teach at the conference from different places. To mention a few: Ghana (Africa), Uganda (Africa), United States, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil. People participating basically come from the U.S., Central and South America. It just got my attention that this year, that the tsunami just happened, we have 2 preachers from that area of the world...one from Sri Lanka and another one from Malaysia. We will see what God will tell us through them.
I am expecting great things from God and that His word (preached all week) it's going to blow our minds away. This past year my church started a T.V. channel here in Panama. So many people that would probably not go to church, are able to turn on their T.V.'s and watch and listen (just out of curiosity). I believe this is a powerful tool. The word of God is alive (Hebrews 4:12...For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart), so if God chooses to touch somebody through the T.V., I believe He will. So this year people will be able to watch Ekklesia and listen to the preaching of the word of God by His servants, for the first time on T.V. here in Panama. I believe many lives are going to be touched and many will be called by the Spirit of God. It doesn't matter if they come to my church or not. What matters is that they have the opportunity to listen to the good news of the gospel (Mark 13:10...And the gospel must first be preached to all nations, Luke 21:13...This will result in your being witnesses to them). This year has been declared at my church as the year of the plenitude or fullness in God and the theme of the conference is power, passion and purpose.
Now I would like to share a little bit of Monday's message. It was very simple, easy to understand, probably something that I've heard many times, but good to meditate on, once again. The pastor that preached that night is from Ghana, Africa. His name is Dag Heward Mills, he is a doctor but left his profession to become a preacher. He was talking about the purpose of the church. Please note that I have also included some thoughts of my own.
John 3:16....For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loves us so much that He gave His only son for the world. Some will be saved, some will not, but our job is to share these good news, so that everybody is given the opportunity to listen to them. People have to be aware that there is a heaven, but there also is a hell. The pastor shared that in Ghana some prisons are now located on what used to be castles or fortresses, built by white men when they came to Africa. He was going to one of these prisons to preach, when suddenly God gave him a thought. Men have these places to keep other people in. People who have committed a crime or done something, are kept inside these prisons, inside these walls. In the same way there is a place where people who do not have Christ in their lives will go, they will be kept there, not for a while, but for all eternity...that place is hell. We have to let people know about such a place. Do not forget that someday, somebody shared this with you. It is not our responsibility for people to believe, that can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit, but it is our duty to share this with people who do not know Jesus.
Mark 9:43-48....And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
It is better to be without one hand, one foot or one eye, than to have all these body members and go to hell. Where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. Imagine a place where a worm never, ever dies and where a fire can't be put out...it just goes on and on for eternity. I think our minds can't truly grasp that, we can picture it a little bit, but the reality is much worst. When we have a problem in life, we know that at one point or another, the situation will come to an end. But not in hell...it will go and on, and there is nothing people that are there will be able to do about it. What a place it is that the Bible says it is better if we loose a part of our body than to go there.
Luke 16:19-31....There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
This is a well known story from the Bible, about Lazarus and the rich man. Whatever situation happens to you here on earth, and you are a born again Christian, you know it is not going to be forever and you have the hope of what it's to come. When you are a Christian you know your future. The pastor was saying that he graduated from medical school and became a doctor, but there was always a question nagging him that no doctor could answer for him. What happens after you die? Now he knows what will happen. When you have accepted Jesus into your life, you will be taken by angels to Abraham's bosom like Lazarus. But if you haven't, like the rich man you will be taken to hell, being in torments. The rich man then said please have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue. When have you seen somebody asking for a drop of water? People always ask for a glass of water, not for only a drop. Imagine how it will be that a tiny drop of water will be like receiving a pitcher. Then the rich man even turned into an evangelist. He asked if Lazarus could be sent to his fathers house, because he had 5 brothers, so that Lazarus could testify to them. The place is so awful that he wanted to let his family know, so that they wouldn't come into this torment for eternity.
There are people who believe that heaven and hell are just a myth. What a lie they are believing. The opportunity is here and now to share with others, what we already know for a fact.
We have pastors coming to preach and teach at the conference from different places. To mention a few: Ghana (Africa), Uganda (Africa), United States, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil. People participating basically come from the U.S., Central and South America. It just got my attention that this year, that the tsunami just happened, we have 2 preachers from that area of the world...one from Sri Lanka and another one from Malaysia. We will see what God will tell us through them.
I am expecting great things from God and that His word (preached all week) it's going to blow our minds away. This past year my church started a T.V. channel here in Panama. So many people that would probably not go to church, are able to turn on their T.V.'s and watch and listen (just out of curiosity). I believe this is a powerful tool. The word of God is alive (Hebrews 4:12...For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart), so if God chooses to touch somebody through the T.V., I believe He will. So this year people will be able to watch Ekklesia and listen to the preaching of the word of God by His servants, for the first time on T.V. here in Panama. I believe many lives are going to be touched and many will be called by the Spirit of God. It doesn't matter if they come to my church or not. What matters is that they have the opportunity to listen to the good news of the gospel (Mark 13:10...And the gospel must first be preached to all nations, Luke 21:13...This will result in your being witnesses to them). This year has been declared at my church as the year of the plenitude or fullness in God and the theme of the conference is power, passion and purpose.
Now I would like to share a little bit of Monday's message. It was very simple, easy to understand, probably something that I've heard many times, but good to meditate on, once again. The pastor that preached that night is from Ghana, Africa. His name is Dag Heward Mills, he is a doctor but left his profession to become a preacher. He was talking about the purpose of the church. Please note that I have also included some thoughts of my own.
John 3:16....For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loves us so much that He gave His only son for the world. Some will be saved, some will not, but our job is to share these good news, so that everybody is given the opportunity to listen to them. People have to be aware that there is a heaven, but there also is a hell. The pastor shared that in Ghana some prisons are now located on what used to be castles or fortresses, built by white men when they came to Africa. He was going to one of these prisons to preach, when suddenly God gave him a thought. Men have these places to keep other people in. People who have committed a crime or done something, are kept inside these prisons, inside these walls. In the same way there is a place where people who do not have Christ in their lives will go, they will be kept there, not for a while, but for all eternity...that place is hell. We have to let people know about such a place. Do not forget that someday, somebody shared this with you. It is not our responsibility for people to believe, that can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit, but it is our duty to share this with people who do not know Jesus.
Mark 9:43-48....And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
It is better to be without one hand, one foot or one eye, than to have all these body members and go to hell. Where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. Imagine a place where a worm never, ever dies and where a fire can't be put out...it just goes on and on for eternity. I think our minds can't truly grasp that, we can picture it a little bit, but the reality is much worst. When we have a problem in life, we know that at one point or another, the situation will come to an end. But not in hell...it will go and on, and there is nothing people that are there will be able to do about it. What a place it is that the Bible says it is better if we loose a part of our body than to go there.
Luke 16:19-31....There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
This is a well known story from the Bible, about Lazarus and the rich man. Whatever situation happens to you here on earth, and you are a born again Christian, you know it is not going to be forever and you have the hope of what it's to come. When you are a Christian you know your future. The pastor was saying that he graduated from medical school and became a doctor, but there was always a question nagging him that no doctor could answer for him. What happens after you die? Now he knows what will happen. When you have accepted Jesus into your life, you will be taken by angels to Abraham's bosom like Lazarus. But if you haven't, like the rich man you will be taken to hell, being in torments. The rich man then said please have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue. When have you seen somebody asking for a drop of water? People always ask for a glass of water, not for only a drop. Imagine how it will be that a tiny drop of water will be like receiving a pitcher. Then the rich man even turned into an evangelist. He asked if Lazarus could be sent to his fathers house, because he had 5 brothers, so that Lazarus could testify to them. The place is so awful that he wanted to let his family know, so that they wouldn't come into this torment for eternity.
There are people who believe that heaven and hell are just a myth. What a lie they are believing. The opportunity is here and now to share with others, what we already know for a fact.
posted by Mary Gaby at
10:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home