Men in Ministry Depending on God

We must be like the little children to enter the Kingdom Of Heaven 

God has promised to meet all our needs. He has promised to defeat all our enemies. God has told us to Trust in Him with all our heart, all out soul, all out mind and all our strength. The results of trusting in God are clear and proven. Why is it so hard? We certainly have experiences in our own lives, which are direct words from God or a good result that we experienced because we trusted in God. Why is it so hard to do all the time?

Tonight I was reading the book of Judges where God tells Gideon to take out the armies of Midian. The Lord Himself visits Gideon. Gideon still tests God with the fleece, twice. In the first test, the fleece is soaked. The ground around it is dry. The second test the fleece is dry, the ground around it is soaked. The Lord visits Gideon and Gideon still tests God!

Abraham and Sarah did not believe when God told them directly that they would have children. Sarah laughed at the thought; she was very old and long past normal child bearing years. Abraham took Sarah's servant girl and had a child with her thinking God could not keep His promise any other way. Abraham thought he had to help God. Abraham and Sarah did have Isaac. The descendants of Abraham and Sarah were more than the sand on the seashore, just as God had said.

I think, why I do not trust God as God commands us too. He is a loving father; He gave His son so that I might have the gift of salvation. I know this and yet I do not trust that He can provide. I have been the witness of miracles. Why do we call them miracles, if we depended on God, miracles would be purely common occurrences.

Let us talk about Noah. God tells Noah it is going to rain there will be a flood, build an ark. Noah may not have ever seen it rain in his entire life. Noah trusted God and spent years building the ark, while his "friends" harassed him. Noah built this massive boat. The ark was 437 feet long, &2 feet wide and 43 feet high. The ark weighed about 14,000 tons. It was a big boat. It held about 125,000 animals the size of a sheep or larger. It also held Noah's family. We are told in chapter 6 verse 9 of Genesis we: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." Then in chapter 6 verse 22 the Bible tells us: "Noah did everything just as God commanded him" Noah was not perfect he was human, with human doubts and frailties.

The prayer the “Our Father,” which Jesus taught us, says: “give us this day our daily bread.” It does not say weekly or monthly provision the prayer says “daily bread.”

I think the message is to trust God one day at a time. Matthew 6:34 tells us; “...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This is the message trust God from the bottom of your heart one day at a time. He will provide all our needs.

In Glad Tidings Mens Ministry International, we are active men in ministry making a difference, one man at a time.

Men in Ministry Waiting on God

Levis Hernandez the Missionary to Nicaragua

In 2010 Glad Tidings Church took 41 people on a Mission Trip to Nicaragua. The trip was amazing. The learning experience of waiting on God to give us the destination was unbelievable. Here is part of the story. 

It started with “d-Class” discipleship class, early Sunday mornings. The purpose of the class is to learn obedience, holiness, process, priorities and to prepare everyone for the trip. This is where iron sharpens iron. The study is rich. The commitment of the people is evident. We washed cars and worked together to raise money and build camaraderie. Still there was not a country on Pastor’s Heart. We prayed together and worked hard together. We studied French. It was likely that the country we would go to in Africa would be French speaking. I was hoping for Burkina Faso as my friend, Barkwende Sawadogo, was from Burkina and I wanted to see where he grew-up. At the same time visit his Father John-Baptiste Sawadogo and his mother Marie Rose. I had not seen his parents for since his wedding, 2 years earlier. Lisa and Barkwende have gotten pregnant, since the planning began. Naomi would be born a few weeks before we leave for Nicaragua. The mission’s team stayed pretty much together during this time with optimism as to where we would go. Pastor announced the dates for the trip in December 2009. He told us about how much it would cost. There was still no decision on the destination. Pastor is decisive and direct. In this case God was just not speaking on the location he was speaking on preparation. It takes discipline to go into an environment that is in deep poverty and spiritually aggressive. We would prepare to conduct spiritual warfare; there is no such thing as enough prayer, enough Bible Memorization and enough dependence on God. Never enough!

January 12, 2010, 4:53 PM sent us to Nicaragua. This is the date of possibly the most horrific earthquake tragedy the world has every seen. On Sunday January 17th, Pastor said; "we may not be going to Africa." His heart is for Africa. Everyone knew how painful this revelation was for him. We knew we were not going to Africa. There was somewhere God wanted us, but it would not be Africa.

Pastor thought for sure it was Haiti. They needed us. We had 5 ministry teams prepared to go and minister. We had a connection through Convoy of Hope. They had been on the ground in Haiti for 18 years. They were there, we were connected and this must be the country. Two families in our church were from Haiti it seemed a natural.

Convoy did not need us in Haiti, they needed us in Nicaragua.

The two weeks leading up to the Nicaragua Trip were unbelievable. Starting with the Youth Convention and Pat Shatzline. Lives changed every night. Sunday 7-18-2010, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I was out of town and could only attend the Wednesday meeting. The meeting had over 350 people in attendance, on a Wednesday night in the summer! The Holy Spirit moved gently and mightily throughout the meeting changing lives.

A number of things about the trip challenged me. As Pastor would say “get over it." First is spiritual preparation, which after my morning prayer on Monday July 26th, I had a break through to the prayer preparation as to how to pray and what to pray. The second challenge is the total lack of a schedule for the trip other than the flight schedule. Obedience and following are essential. I had another break through when I realized that being a servant requires blind obedience.

The Wednesday before we are leaving, July 28th. I was getting ready to take a red eye to Boston for a one day meeting. The flight would leave at 10:50 PM. Oasis is essential I did not realize how powerful not only to me but to the Nicaragua Team, Glad Tidings and San Francisco.

I was late getting to Glad Tidings arriving about 7:20 PM. Worship was in full swing with 100's of people in the service was a bit overwhelming in a good way. It seemed to be a healthy mix of people. They were singing a new song. The presence of God was evident. The mix of people men, women, youth ..there was a difference about the place that was strongly evident as I entered. (I wrote this on the plane on the way to Boston, United 180 seat 12E)

Pastor Tim talked of the realness of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Beiser closed with simple stories of his experience of multiple realizations of the Holy Spirit, for him, during the meetings. He spoke of how he questioned Pat Shatzline's methods. He specially questioned “The Alabama Door.” He questioned it until he saw the Holy Spirit in action because of the expectations people had as they stepped over the threshold and were “blasted” by the Holy Spirit.

During the Pat Shatzline meetings, Pat said things to Pastor that were then immediately verified. One was of a little girl, who was not little anymore, but when she was 8 God told her would experience revival. The person was in the congregation. She had recounted to Pastor this word from God prior to the meeting. She was 8 years, when she received the word at the time of this meeting she is over 50. This was a testimony that Pastor recounted on this night.

Pastor stopped as he walked in the “pit” in front of the sanctuary as he often does when drawing the audience close to a message, a mission or a testimony. He then called Tim away from the electric keyboard replaced him with Pastor Isaiah, called Pastor Nathan and Pastor Catherine, the 8 year old girl to the front with him and simply asked people to come forward for prayer.

I knew I needed to be there and went quickly because I had a plane to catch. I stood in Pastor’s line. I was 4th in line. I do not know who was directly in front of me. Pastor prayed for the first two people and while I believe the Holy Spirit had an impact it was not visible, as a matter of fact the first person walked away and looked a little disappointed. I began to pray, eyes closed to block distraction. I was expecting God trying to block the mind distraction, praying for a new, fresh filling of the Holy Spirit.

I could feel movement around me. I prayed calling out in my spirit for a new, fresh filling. I was touched in a different way it was like a bolt of energy blew me backwards off of my feet. This was not after any audible prayer I just felt a touch. I was blown backwards on to the floor. On the floor, I could feel people around me. I was unwilling and unable to get up. Unwilling because I wanted more, unwilling because I wanted what I experienced not to end, I was at peace with everything. There is no other way to say it but peace came over me and continued.

A few minutes might have passed. I got to my feet a little wobbly I was glowing in my spirit. I have never experienced such a deliberate move of the Holy Spirit. It was fresh and new. I sat on the plane waiting for it to take-off I was still experiencing the Comforter. I am ready to go to Nicaragua! Holy Spirit, paraclete come you are welcome here.

In the morning on the plane as I arrive in Boston, last night is so real and still vibrant, still fresh and new.

I am flying back from Boston we have practice for the Puppet Ministry tonight I need to learn the songs.

Glad Tidings Men's Ministry International is a ministry of Glad Tidings Church, San Francisco. 

 

Men in Ministry, Effective Bible Study

Men in Ministry Bible Studies can be an effective way to get men to fellowship and learn more about the character of God. The study will be more than a one trim event. Plan a minimum of 4 to 6 sessions. The challenge is to keep each session appealing for the men, so they will return themselves and bring a friend. The Bible Study is a very good place for men to invite other men from the congregation and friends from out side the church.

The planning will begin with prayer and agreement from the Men in Ministry leadership and the senior pastor. The study to be effective will be Holy Spirit led.

Planning the sessions so they are engaging takes a couple of ingredients. First find compelling content, which can be found on the Internet in the form of a book or a study that can be downloaded. Studies I have found to be good, Ephesians by Max Lucado. I would suspect anything by him would be acceptable, always check with your pastor. The study we are currently using is "Living On Purpose" Doug Fields. This study is on Evangelism. In addition to the study guide, we are also using the book Face To Face with God, by Jim Maxim. The book takes the study into practical examples of evangelism. As a side note, I know Jim Maxim. I know that every word in the book is true.

Choose the content then select facilitators from the leaders of the Men in Ministry. The selection should include men that will prepare and the senior pastor approves. The variety of leaders brings diversity and various points of view to the men. The leaders must defer to the Holy Spirit in the preparation and delivery.

Each man should have access to a Bible during the study. I am always a little surprised with the men who come to a Bible Study, without a Bible. Have a few spare Bibles to lend to the men who do not have one. Be sure that if there are not enough Bibles that each man is sitting next to one.

It is an added dimension to have 2 or 3 Bible Verses that relate to the study. Assign these verses for memorization than review them each week. In the review allow a volunteer to say the verse, Once the volunteers speak the verse, with the leaders help if needed, then have all the men speak the verses as the leader leads. If only one man memorizes the verses by the end of the study, it is better than when the study started.

Each session of the study should be in the 90-minute range, Coffee and donuts for a morning study. The studies should be facilitated to encourage participation and not been a preaching opportunity. We use small groups during the study to encourage discussion. The small groups encourage to contribute more freely than in the larger group.

To summarize all the ingredients: Prayer, Holy Spirit, Good Content, Facilitator for Each Session, 90 Minutes in Length, Coffee and Donuts and do not forget planning by the Men in Ministry Leadership Team with approval from the senior pastor.

To see more on Men's Ministry Leadership you can go to Glad Tidings Men's Ministry International.  

We use Youtube to announce and review the studies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTVELm5XSc

Men in Ministry

Men in Ministry: What are we doing?

This past weekend we had a very well received Men's Ministry Core Leadership meeting for Glad Tidings San Francisco. It was great. The objective of the meeting was to get all the men on the same page as the leadership. We had a dinner of sausage and potato salad, good fellowship and a planned out meeting. It took place on Sunday night after a long day so I committed to just 90 minutes and we finished in less time.

Let me explain the core leadership concept: Glad Tidings Men's Ministry International has a leadership team of 3 "senior" leaders. These are the guys who are consistent in showing up to leadership meetings and creating the vision the action plans for the ministry. Most important these are the guys who with this consistent leadership role are living their lives in such a way that they are practicing iron sharpens iron. The next level of leadership is the Core Leadership. This consists of 10 to 15 men who are committed and will carry the message forward. They will be consistent participants and take on facilitation and small group leadership roles. They live for Christ as a good example and are in the iron sharpens iron category. With the leadership group formed this way it is effective to get the messages out and have the ministry talked up one on one!

Back to the meeting, we did many things to organize the ministry for the year. The center was to have each man, in leadership and in the core, to sign a "contract" committing to the ministry. The contract looked like this:

As a leader with Men in Ministry at Glad Tidings and GTMMI you are willing to make the following commitments.

1. Fully support Vision 2012

a. Honor your pledge on time

b. Actively support the vision as expressed by Pastor Beiser

2. Tithe

3. Commit to reading the One Year Bible everyday

4. Pray for the Glad Tidings Leadership everyday

5. Pray daily for the youth and Teen Challenge

6. Support GTMMI and the activities

Name:___________________________________

All the men signed the contract! We will follow up to remind the men, in love, to keep the agreement they made. If they fall off just get right back up and start again, that is OK.

In addition to the contract we brain stormed at each table (31 men, 6 tables) about things we should do in 2012. Then each tabled narrowed their list to 2 activities then 2 people from the table took responsibility to make each of the top 2 activities successful. The result is 12 good activities that everyone agreed to and 24 leaders heading them up. Ministry leaders die a painful death when they try to do everything themselves.

We also had some of the youth leaders participate. I want them to see how Godly Men act and the commitments they make and keep.

Men in Ministry Praise the Lord!

During a recent Wednesday night service, we were continuing in a series on Praise. The Bible endorses Praising the Lord over 300 times in the Bible. At Glad Tidings Church, in San Francisco, we are praise fanatics. In a good way, praise has become the foundation of our lives. The results, which we have seen because of this, is amazing, every day. David in Psalm 34 says: I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Then in Psalm 52:9 David says: For what you have down I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people.

It is necessary to praise God. First and could be only reason God tells us to praise Him. Praise Him for the magnificent things he has done and what He is going to do. Everything he has done is great! Everything he will do is also great. He commands us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. We show this love through praise.

It is not always comfortable to praise Him. As Men in Ministry sometimes we do not feel like it. That does not matter, at all. Praising God affects us in many ways 2 that I think of all the time. First is right now. When I praise God, it changes my outlook on everything. It takes the thoughts I have away from me and puts them on God. All good things come from the God who loves us. When I praise Him, The attention is on the good and the positive rather than anything else. The most worldly psychiatrists will tell us that focusing on the positive, focusing on good, will cause a positive attitude change. Focusing on good changes us physically, reduces stress and will give a more pleasant life if not a longer one. Praising God and focusing on the good He has done is eternal, it will never change. Thinking or meditating on worldly good is temporal. Praising God will produce an extremely beneficial outcome emotionally and physically. It will also have a positive outcome in all relationships. When we are praising the God who loves us, for all the good He has done, it is eternal and never ending, it is hard to be mean, sarcastic or a grump.

The second effect that praise has on us is eternal in the spirit world. The battles, we face, are not of flesh and blood, but they are in the heavenly world. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12: 2 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. There is and will never be a better way to fight these battles than by praising the Lord.

A notable example is the Israelites taking the city of Jericho. They had just crossed the Jordan. The river was raging over its banks. They walked through on fry land! Now time to take the first city in the Promised Land. God told Joshua to have the priests walk around the city blowing their horns. We praise God with all kinds of music, In Psalm 150: “Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet” and we praise Him with obedience. The priests and the soldiers walked around the city each day for 6 days, praising God. On the 7th day, they walked around the city 7 times and when the horns sounded they all shouted. The walls came tumbling down.

The Israelites praised God with obedience, the horns and shouting. God won the battle. God is with us in all battles. Praise Him all the time. The results are immediate and eternal as are praises fight the battles that have eternal consequences.


As Men in Ministry we should be taking a leadership role Praising the Lord. 

Men in Ministry, Get Ready Get Ready

It has been 12 years since Pastor gave his first sermon to 37 people at a beaten down church in San Francisco, California. The church was Glad Tidings Assembly of God. The congregation was in disarray, as was the property.

Pastor Beiser had a vision. He had a vision from the almost 100 years of prayers for this church congregation and the impact it would have on San Francisco.

Pastor knew the prayers that had been prayed by the faithful every day for a revival in San Francisco. When he came to the church, he had opportunities to go a number of other places, which could have paid his salary and provide a very nice living for him to raise his young family. But, he knew where God wanted him to be and what God wanted him to do.

Pastor showed pictures of the sanctuary, when it was filled with 2,000 people, with a full orchestra and a huge choir. He showed these pictures so the congregation would catch the vision. As in all visions, God weeded out those that just would not get it.

I came to Glad Tidings 6 months after Pastor gave that first sermon. It already had a spark. For sure the presence of God was mighty in the place. The visitors started to come. They came, some stayed, some became leaders, but the wheat was always separated from the chaff. God knew whom the right people were to do His work in this place in His time. God always knows.

God created leaders for Pastor out of former drug users, alcoholics and former back- sliders you name the background and that is who God chose. He created a congregation that is as diverse as any organization on the planet. Over forty countries are represented, all levels of socio-economic and education background. You meet the world at Glad Tidings Church.

The vision was set, the promise was made and confirmed many times. Most recently: “open the balcony” the crowd is coming, open it now, do not wait. The naysayers kept at it, much like in the Book of Nehemiah. Much like Nehemiah, Pastor has the vision from God.

We are praying church, a fasting church and most of all a praising church.

Isaiah 54:2 became the watchwords: “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”

On Easter Sunday all was ready.

God filled the house to worship Him. This is a mere foretaste of the the future. In 2013 the building will not be larger enough to handle the crowds, San Francisco will become the city leading the revival of God's Church in America and throughout the world. Amen

In Glad Tidings Mens Ministry International, we are active men in ministry making a difference, one man at a time.

Our vision is to love God, Love our families, love each other and love the community of San Francisco, CA. It is our mission to demonstrate this love in all aspects of our lives.

Men in Ministry

Men in Ministry, Evangelism Study

For the past few weeks, the Men in Ministry at Glad Tidings Church have been conducting a Bible Study on evangelism. We are using, Making Your Life Count; Living on Purpose Evangelism for the study guide and the book Face to Face with God, by Jim Maxim for its testimony and examples.
On each Saturday, we have about 35 men that come to the study. The study will be 6 Saturdays. Each Saturday by a different man leads the study. The participation through the first three weeks has been good.
This is a proper subject but also a difficult one because most of us avoid or miss the opportunities which the Holy Spirit presents to us for evangelism.
The Great Commission was the subject of the discussion this past Saturday. Matthew 28:19-20: "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 Great Commission at its application directly to us inspired a number of opinions. We have to be ready was the most popular opinion. Ready, from their perspective, is to have plenty of Bible Versus memorized, which is a marvellous thing to do.
Not so! If we try to out Bible someone we will, more than likely get slaughtered. The devil knows the word of God. I advocate that we are ready. We simply have to give testimony to what Jesus has done in our lives and let the person know that Jesus loves them. In fact, He died a brutal for them. That is it.
The men in the study range from new Christians to long time Christian Men. One of the newer Christian Men came up with the best analogy. He said if we were only ready for bunny slopes, the Holy Spirit would provide us with bunny slope situations for witness. As we gain confidence, we will experience greater challenges. Wow! This was great! Jesus said; "and surely I am with you." Jesus loves us. He is with us. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, which means along side. Paul tells us do not worry about what to say. The Holy Spirit will give us the words.
This was great. So we agreed, that we need to pray to the Holy Spirit to show us who He wants us to witness too. Then we need to pray to the Holy Spirit to give us the confidence and the words to follow his direction.
The Bible Study is Saturday Morning. The following Sunday two of the less seasoned Christian men came to me, between services on Sunday to tell me that it worked! What they meant was they both used the teaching and were each able to witness that Saturday afternoon and pray the sinners pray with their now new friend.
When a Bible Study produces immediate results it is overwhelming. The results demonstrate God's Work. In this example, the results, which 9 guys witnessed, were extraordinary!
Men in Ministry