we need not only committed people, · good leaders have a proper attitude.it's your attitude...
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We live in a fast and changing world. Within the past few years, changes have taken placein the world which has affected not only society, but the Church at large. There's been achange when it comes to the values and commitment within the Church. If we, as aministry, are going to inherit the promises God has given to us and still remain relevantand effective in these fast changing times, then there are three things we must do.
World Conference 2005 Sermon by Pastor Sonny Arguinzoni
1. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Up. We must
recognize God is our source. We have a
calling and mission God has given us to
accomplish. If we're going to be successful,
relevant and effective, then we must first
focus on God.
We must never forget that God is "number
one" and we always need to put Him first.
He's the One who saved us. He's the One
who called us. As the scripture says in
Psalms, "Unless the Lord builds the house,they labor in vain, who build it."
The reason Victory Outreach has come this
far is because our dependency has been on
God. It hasn't been on the government, or
big corporations, people, or on anything else,
but our dependency has been on God.
In Psalms 23:1, David recognized that God
was his source of fulfilling all of his needs.
David said, "The Lord is my shepherd and Ishall not want." He didn't say, "The
government is my shepherd," or "Social
Security is my shepherd," nor "My job or my
bank account is my shepherd." Not even
people were his shepherd. But David said,
"The Lord is my shepherd!"
Sometimes we tend to depend on people.
Many times this happens to pastors. You’ll
find them praying, "God, send me a
millionaire.” They think, if only God would
send them a millionaire all their financial
worries would be over. I have come to
realize in pasturing a church, my dependency
is not on the people to meet my needs nor the
needs of the ministry. My dependency is on
God, "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall
not want."
There are several reasons why we struggle
with God being our source. Largly, because
of the "Do It Yourself" culture we live in.
We live in a secular society and sometimes it
creeps into the church. "I'll work it out and
solve this problem myself," … without ever
consulting God.
We are told "God helps those who help
themselves." No where in the Bible does it
say that. But what it does say is that God
helps those who depend upon Him, who look
to Him as their source.
Sometimes we confuse the channel with the
source. We tend to think the source of our
supply is our work. If we lose our job, we
panic. Others look to people, or their bank
account, or other things within their lives as
being their source.
How do you know if you're guilty of doing
this? If you start looking to something else
to meet your need instead of God. Worrying
about how you're going to pay your bills, or
how you're going to make things happen
within your ministry. Any time you worry it
should be a warning sign that you have
stopped looking to God as your source.
We need not only committed people,
but we need committed and effective
leaders. Our ministry will only grow
as large as our leadership. We need to
make leadership development a priority. In
evaluating your leadership development,
you need to ask yourself these questions.
Do I have passion to develop leaders? Am I
targeting a small group of individuals into
whom I can pour my time and energy into?
Do I model for this group the character and
skills I would like to see instilled in them?
Remember, leadership is caught not taught.
This is what my wife and I are doing in San
Diego. We have a passion to raise up this
"Now Generation." We're targeting people
in whom we can pour time and energy into.
We model character and skills so they can be
instilled within the lives of others.
There are several things we need to look for
in potential leaders. We have to look for
people with searching minds, who are
hungry for growth. People who are
inquisitive, always asking questions, "Why
did you do that?" When I see someone like
that I think to myself, "This person sure is
hungry to learn and grow." We need to look
for people with a humble heart who realize
they haven't arrived yet. We also need to
look for people who are gifted and help
them identify their gifting. Then, we need
to look for people with a faithful spirit,
people that are consistent.
Good leaders have certain qualities ... they
are good followers! If you're not a good
follower, you'll never be a good leader.
There are some people who just want to
have people under them, but they don't
follow those above them. They may desire
to be good leaders but they've never learned
to follow. Jesus taught that the way to
greatness is through humility. “Follow-ship,”
not fellowship, precedes leadership.
Good Leaders have a proper attitude. It's
your attitude not your aptitude that
determines your altitude. People with
proper attitude are not afraid of hard work.
Good leaders are loyal. Not with conditional
loyalty or conditional commitment. There
are some people who are conditionally
committed or conditionally loyal. As long
as you don't rub them the wrong way they'll
be loyal to you. But as soon as something
happens they don’t like, they're no longer
loyal. All of a sudden they turn on you and
become your enemy.
There will be times when a leader has to
make some hard decisions. A person who is
loyal will accept those decisions. They won't
have conditional commitment or conditional
loyalty. They will be loyal to God, loyal to
the leadership and loyal to the ministry.
Good Leaders are enthusiastic. They think
excitement and talk excitement. Enthusiasm
is faith in action; and it's contagious.
We need to ask ourselves, are we
committed? What are we living for? For
money? For a better job? For a new car?
For a good time? For retirement? For a
meaningful relationship? Sad to say, most
people are living for themselves. Can you
imagine how different their lives would be if
they would apply themselves to God? What
an impact we could make for His Kingdom.
3. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Out. That means
reaching out to the mission field. We need
to keep in mind that God is the Lord of the
Harvest. He decides which field will be
harvested and when it's time to go. He's the
one that sends forth the laborers into the
harvest. Revelations 3:7 says, "This is themessage from the One who is Holy, True.The one who has the key of David, when Heopens no man can close; when He closes noman can open." He opens the doors, and He
shuts the doors. And we must depend upon
God to open the doors so that we can go in.
When God opens up the door for the Gospel
to be preached, that door will remain open
until He decides to close it. And I declare to
you, today the doors are open for Victory
Outreach around the world more than ever
before. So why haven't we been reaching
more people worldwide?
First of all, people do not reach out because
of fear. Some are just plain scared. What
are they afraid of? They're afraid of the
unknown. They're afraid of failure. They're
afraid to be alone. They're afraid to exercise
faith. Any time you're going to do
something for God, there's always going to
be a sense of fear. You must remember God
is with you and He is your source.
Secondly, people fail to reach out because of
apathy. If we really believe the lost are
going to hell, then we sure don't show it
sometimes. We're so concerned about what
is happening in our own little world that we
can't even see the need around us and the
need around the rest of the world.
Lack of commitment will keep a person
from reaching out. We need to be consistent
in our faith and consistent in sharing the
Gospel, not up and down Christians.
Another reason is materialism. Many
people won't heed the call because they don't
want to give up the good life here in the
good old U.S.A. You have to be careful of
materialism, it will keep you from fulfilling
the call of God upon your life.
Others fail to reach out because of the lack
of self-confidence. Many people think they
can't do the job or be successful at what God
is calling them to do. Perhaps they're
inundated with problems or feeling
insufficient and wanting to quit. That's
when they have to put faith into action and
place their trust and confidence in God,
because God equips those He calls.
Then, to effectively reach out, we need to
shift from local thinking to global thinking.
God is a global God. He has always cared
about the entire world. John 3:15 says, "ForGod so loved the world." Most of the world
already thinks globally. The largest medias
and businesses conglomerates are multi-
national. Our lives are increasingly
intertwined with other nations. Most of the
clothes you wear and much of what you eat
today is produced in another country. We
are more connected globally than we realize.
World Class Leaders Pray for the World.
The first way to think globally is to begin
praying for specific countries. The Bible
says, "If you ask Me, I will give you thenations. All the people of the earth will beyours." This is what God is saying to
Victory Outreach, "Ask of Me and I will
give you the nations."
Prayer is the most important tool for world
missions. People may refuse our love or
reject our message, but they are defenseless
against our prayers. Like inter-continental
missiles, you can aim a prayer whether
you're ten feet away or ten thousand miles
away. What should we pray for? Pray for
opportunity to witness. Pray for courage to
speak. Pray for rapid spread of the Gospel.
Pray for more workers.
Another way to develop global thinking is to
read and to watch the news with great
commission eyes. What do I mean by that?
Whenever there's a change or conflict taking
place in the world, you can be sure that God
will use it to bring people to Himself.
Because of the increasing changes in the
world today, most people are open to
hearing and receiving the Good News more
than ever before. Whenever there's crisis in
a nation or a country, that's an open door.
It's an opportunity for us to take the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. God has some open doors
for Victory Outreach and we must take
advantage of them.
The best way to switch from local to global
thinking is to get up and go on a short-term
mission project to another country. There is
no substitute to hands on, real life
experience in another nation or culture.
That's why we're going to Africa. What an
opportunity! We're taking Victory Outreach
teams in to invade that country with the
Gospel. I'm excited about going; and I'm
sure once we get there, we’ll come back
with a burden.
That’s how the ministry in England began.
Julie and I were in England and saw the
need. We came back with a burden, "We
have to reach Europe. We have to reach the
British Isles." It was the same for Holland
and for a lot of other countries we're now in.
It was because someone caught the vision,
someone felt the burden, someone came
back and said, "We have to do something."
We can always find excuses to keep us from
fulfilling the mission to global evangelism.
Sarah claimed she was too old; Jeremiah
claimed he was too young. God rejected
their excuses. In Jeremiah 1:7 the Lord said,
"Don't say I'm too young. For you must gowherever I send you and say whatever I tellyou. Don't be afraid of the people for I willbe with you and I will take care of you."
There are three things that can tempt you to
give up. First of all, problems. Every good
idea has problems; even the Promised Land
had problems. Secondly, pressure. Pressure
causes us to become discouraged and want
to quit, but don't let pressure hold you down.
People. People will disappoint you; people
will misunderstand you; people will criticize
you and have negative attitudes. But in
order to overcome - never give up! Put your
trust in God and in His dependability.
God has given us four promises to help us
accomplish the task. He promised us His
power. He promised Joshua, "I promise you
that no one will be able to stand against you
as long as you live. For I will be with you,
as I was with Moses, I will not fail you nor
abandon you." He's saying to us, "Nothing
will be able to stop you. If you trust Me, I
will put My power in you. I am with you."
Secondly, He offers us His protection. He
says, "Nothing can harm you. I will never
leave you nor forsake you." Not only will
we have His power but we'll also have His
protection.
Then God promises prosperity. If we follow
His instructions, "Don't let this Book of the
Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it
day and night. Be careful to obey
everything that is written therein and then
you will be prosperous and successful."
The most common thing that hinders us
from stepping out and taking our inheritance
is always the lack of faith. It hinders us
from being pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:6
says, "Without faith it is impossible to
please God." Do you know what faith is?
Faith is believing and trusting Him even
when you don't see it. Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now being sure of what we hoped for and
certain of what we do not see."
Faith is obeying even when you don't
understand. Hebrews 11:8 says it was faith
that made Abraham obey when God called
him. He left his own country without
knowing where he was going.
Faith is giving when you don't have it. By
faith Abel was commended as a righteous
man when God spoke well of his offerings.
Faith is persisting when you don't feel good.
Hebrews 11:27, "It was by faith that Moses
left Egypt and was not afraid of the king's
anger. He held to the promise like a man
that could see the invisible."
Faith is thanking God before we receive it.
Hebrews 11:30, "By faith the walls of
Jericho came down and the people marched
around them for seven days." Mark 11:26,
"When you pray and ask for something,
believe that you receive it and it will be
given to you."
Faith is trusting if you don't get it. Hebrews
11:35-40, "They were all commended for
their faith yet none of them received what
had been promised. God had planned
something better."
If we are going to inherit the nations,
we need to be people of faith. The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 11:8,
By faith Abraham obeyed when God called
him to leave home and go to another land.
By faith Moses left the land of Egypt not
fearing the king's anger; he kept right on
going because he kept his eyes on the One
who was invisible.
By faith the children of Israel marched
around Jericho for seven days and the walls
came crashing down.
By faith Rahab the prostitute was not
destroyed with her city.
By faith Joshua claimed his inheritance and
conquered the land promised to him.
By faith God called an inner city
people who were no people and
promised them the treasures out of
darkness....By faith Ed Morales and his young wife
Mitzi were called of God to go to San Jose,
California and obediently went and believed
God for the impossible.
By faith Steve and Joesy went to Hayward
and conquered the city.
By faith Steve launched out into the
Philippines not knowing anyone, with only
two phone numbers in his pocket and
miraculously a church was built.
By faith Chuckie from Hayward and Barry
from Santa Rosa went to spy out the land in
Indonesia and within a year a hundred
Muslims declared Christ as Savior.
By faith Gerald and his family believed for
Israel and miraculously the Lord opened up
the doors and now Jews from all over the
world are coming to Christ.
By faith David Martinez in his sixties went
to Australia and New Zealand and planted
four churches and is now looking to plant
more works in Samoa and other parts of the
world.
By faith Sonny Arguinzoni, Jr. took over
pastoring the La Puente Mother Church.
By faith Al and Georgina went to drug
infested East Coast and opened up the first
Urban Training Center.
By faith Brother and Sister Masterson are
taking the city of Ontario, California in their
Golden Years.
By faith a team of workers are going into
Guatemala, even after the death and gun-
down shooting of two Victory Outreach
workers.
By faith this Conference there will be
hundreds of men and women launched out
to take the nations of the world.
Victory Outreach is once again in
church planting mode. We are
inheriting the nations of the world. We
are claiming all the land that God has
given to us as a people. Are you ready
for it? If you're willing to pay the
price, then step out and take the
nations of the world ... its Outreach
Time!
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Do not spare, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, for you shall expand to the right and to the left and yourdecedents will inherit the nations amd make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” ~ Isaiah 54:2-3
A good example of this is found in I Kings
17:2-6 with the story of Elijah. There was a
famine in the land. God was leading His
servant Elijah by the brook and the ravens
came and fed him. Then, the brook ran dry.
All along God had been providing, but when
the brook dried up, Elijah took his eyes off
God and started complaining saying, "God,
You don't love me anymore. You were
providing for all my needs but now it's all
dried up. You must not love me anymore."
In other words, Elijah was having a "Pity
Party." Just like many of us have at times.
When everything is going good we say,
"God, You sure do love me." But as soon as
things aren’t going the way we expect, we
start to cry, "God, You don't love me
anymore."
As long as the brook kept running, Elijah
would have stayed. But God wanted him to
move on. Sometimes God works like that
with us. He dries up the brook in your life,
situations go sour, and problems come in, or
there’s a lack or shortage. It is because God
wants you to take your eyes off of the
channel and place your eyes on the source,
which is God. He wants you to trust Him.
“We need to remember God is our
source. The brook may dry up and the
channel may dry out but God, who is
our source, will never dry up.”
All along God had another channel to meet
the needs of His prophet. God took him
from channel to channel, meeting Elijah’s
needs, as long as he kept his eyes on Him.
In Matthew 6:31-33, the Word tells us,
"Why are you worrying? Don't worry about
having enough food, or clothing. Why be
like the heathens? They are deeply
concerned about these things, but your
Heavenly Father already knows. Even
before you know it, He knows you have
need of them and He will give them to you."
Remember, God is your source and He’ll
always take care of business. He said, "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these things, will be
given to you."
Sometimes we have a preconceived
idea of how God will work. We think
He's going to work a certain way, then He
doesn't. Let Him choose the channel He will
use to fill your need. It may be different
than the one you would have chosen, but He
is a sovereign and all knowing God.
God works in different ways in our lives.
First, through divine intervention. He
reaches down into the difficult situation
we're in and works a miracle. We pray,
"Lord, 'I'm in this situation, You're a miracle
working God, work a miracle for me right
now!" Then He reaches down and not only
takes us out of the situation but He takes the
situation away.
We see God's divine intervention with the
children of Israel. He took them out of
Egypt by a string of miracles … plagues
turned the water into blood, the death of the
firstborn, the crossing of the Red Sea,
manna from heaven. Miracle after miracle
after miracle, God performed for them.
In the New Testament, there are many
accounts of God's miracle working power.
One situation in particular is when God
miraculously took Peter out of prison.
God is able to work through miracles.
Sometimes when we need a miracle, God
comes through with that miracle. But
sometimes we want miracle after miracle.
Then when we don't get it, we get
discouraged. I want you to know God also
works in other ways.
Secondly through the interaction of God.
That means He works in cooperation with
man. A good example of this is in the life of
Namaan. Namaan had a preconceived idea
of how he was going to get healed of
leprosy. His maid-servant told him, "There's
a prophet in Israel, just go to him. I'm sure
when he lays his hand on you his God will
heal you."
So what did Namaan do? Namaan was an
important individual. So Namaan went over
to the prophet's house. In his mind he knew
exactly how it was going to happen, "I'll go
to him and the prophet will come out and lay
his hand upon me and I will be healed." But
it didn't work that way. Instead the prophet
sent word, "Tell him to dip himself seven
times in the river and he'll receive his
healing." The prophet didn't even come out
to see him! This infuriated Namaan.
"Surely I thought he would at least come out
and meet me.” Namaan said, “But instead
he's telling me to jump in the river. Aren't
the rivers in my neigborhood better than all
the rivers over here? If I was going to take
a swim I would have stayed where I was."
Thank God for someone who had a little
wisdom. His servants said, "We've come so
far, you might as well do what he’s told you
to do, what do you have to lose?”
Namaan had to do something he did not
expect. God was saying to him, "Namaan,
you do this, and I'll do that." And because
he was obedient, he was healed.
What about the children of Israel? When
they were going into Jericho they had to
march around Jericho for seven days. Then
on the seventh day they had to go around
seven times around. God said, "I'll do My
part, but you have to do your part."
It’s the same with prosperity and God
blessing us financially. What does He say?
"You do your part in tithes and offerings and
I'll do My part. I will rebuke the devourer
and open up the windows of heaven and
bring blessing to you." He says, "You do
this, (be obedient), and I'll do that." There's
cooperation between God and man.
One area that it is important for us to
understand this concept is when it comes to
the evangelization of the world. God is God.
If He wanted to, He could easily save
everyone. He doesn’t need us, He’s God and
nothing is impossible for Him. Yet He chose
to use us in the evangelization of the world.
He chose to work in cooperation with man.
We're here because God chose to raise up an
army in Victory Outreach. He said, "Victory
Outreach, you do your part and I'll do my
part."
Romans 10:13 says, "But whosoever shallcall upon the name of the Lord shall besaved. But then how shall they call on Himin whom they have not believed. And howshall they believe in Him in whom they havenot heard?" Then notice what it says, "Andhow shall they hear without a preacher(Victory Outreach)?" Isn't that what God
has called us to do? We are called to work
in cooperation with God.
Thirdly, there's the inner working of God.
This is an area that many of us do not like.
It's through this growing process that God
doesn't take us out of the situation, but uses
the situation to produce His inner working
within our lives. God loves to work in this
way because it matures us and causes us to
grow ... it’s the inner working of God in us.
Just like the three Hebrew children, when
they were in the fiery furnace. God did not
take them out of the fire, but He was with
them in the midst of the fiery furnace.
What about Paul's thorn in the flesh? Three
times he pleaded with God to take it away.
yet God responded, "No, I'm not going totake it away. My grace is sufficient. Forwhen you are weak, then you are strong."
There are many others we read about within
the Word of God ... Moses was on the back
side of the desert for forty years, yet God
was with him; Joseph remained in prison
with the blessing and grace of God.
“You must go through the process.
God knows what He's doing within
your life. If He hasn't worked a
miracle in your life, you need to
know that God's grace is sufficient.”
James said, "The trying of your faithworketh patience, perseverance, endurance,stability." Some of you have been looking
for a miracle but you might not even get it.
God is saying to you today, "My grace is
sufficient. Put your trust in Me."
Remember, God alone is the source of your
supply. Paul was one who labored and
ministered with God as his power source.
He said, "With this end I labor, struggling
with all His energy that so powerfully works
in me." That’s why Paul was so powerful,
he wasn't doing it himself. He didn’t do it
with the energy of man, but with God's.
Regularly, we have to put gas in our car or it
stops running, doesn't it? Perhaps you've
experienced running out of gas from driving
your car too much. There are some
Christians like that, they drive hard and run
out of gas spiritually! By forgetting to "fill
the tank" they stop functioning. There may
be some of you who have "run out of gas."
In your heart you say, "I've been running on
empty and I need to be filled by God."
That's just what happened to the Israelites
when they were going to take the land they
had inherited. In Numbers 13 they cried,
"We can't attack; they’re stronger than we
are. Their cities are fortified and very large.
There’s giants in the land and we seem like
grasshoppers in our own eyes." They saw
themselves as being unable, insignificant,
too weak to accomplish the task. What’s
amazing is all along, while they were feeling
that way, God was just standing by saying,
"Why don't you let me take over now?"
They forgot how God had delivered them
out of Egypt. How He opened up the Red
Sea and led them by fire by night and by the
cloud by day. They forgot how God
miraculously fed them with manna from
heaven. They forgot all God had done for
them because they took their eyes off God.
We must never forget what God has done
within our lives. The children of Israel
failed to Reach Up and to trust God. There
are many of you who possibly looked for
different ways of meeting your needs and
you've taken your eyes off God. Today, you
need to reach up and connect with the main
connection. Remember God is your source.
2. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach In. Reaching in has
to do with the building process that takes
place inside of us. Joshua's generation knew
that if they were going to inherit the land
God promised to them, they needed to grow.
They needed to reach in before they could
reach out. They had to learn from mistakes
of the previous generation, and there were
three mistakes the previous generation made
that was important for them not to repeat.
First, they forgot the past. They forgot
everything God had done for them. All
those miracles and they still forgot.
Secondly, they became satisfied with the
present. We should never be satisfied with
the present, but always strive to be more and
do more for God. Thirdly, they were fearful
of the future. The previous generation was
afraid to step into all God had for them.
They were afraid of opposition, of the
giants, and if they had what it takes to go in
and possess the land God had given to them.
Joshua's generation had a different
mentality. They learned from the past. They
remembered what God had done for them.
They were not satisfied with the present, nor
were they fearful of the future. They were
willing to take their inheritance and step out
into new territory.
“If we are going to inherit the promises
God has given to us, then just like
Joshua, we need to remember who we
are as a ministry.”
First of all we are a vision driven ministry.
What differentiates us from other ministries
is that we have a common vision that has
kept us together all these years, reaching the
treasures out of darkness. As the years have
gone by, the ministry has evolved. Before it
was so simple … just look for a dope fiend
or for a gang member.
Now we have a new generation God has
raised up. A generation that has never been
on drugs; many of who have grown up in
church. It's this "Now Generation" that
God's going to be using. Even now, and in
the coming years, they will be occupying
some of our pulpits. Are they going to
continue with the original vision? Or will
the vision change?
That's why we have to repeat it; we have to
tell this new generation what we are all
about. Even though they were never a gang
member or dope fiend, they must know and
remember that there's a uniqueness God has
given to our ministry. He has given us a
vision to reach treasures out of darkness in
every inner city of the world.
Secondly, we are a family oriented ministry.
There's a relationship we have with one
another. There's a respect we have among
each other. We are committed and loyal to
each other, to our church, to our leaders, and
to all those who are part of the family.
Thirdly, we are a value based ministry.
There's an emphasis on discipleship, not just
converts. We don't believe in just having a
rehabilitation program. But we believe in
getting people saved, then reproducing
ourselves in them by sharing and
transmitting the vision to them.
We instill in others a sense of dignity. It
bothers me to see other ministries selling
candies out on the street corners. We should
be a people of dignity. We're not street
hustlers anymore and our rehab people are
not street hustlers. But God has given to us
a sense of dignity not only as a ministry but
for our personal lives as well. This is why
we're always striving to improve; quality
within our churches, quality within our
literature, quality within everything we do.
Fourthly, we are a self-sustaining ministry.
We are an indigenous ministry; a self-
sustaining ministry through the principles of
tithes and offerings, "United We Can."
Many inner city pastors think the inner city
church cannot support itself. We've been
doing it by ourselves for over thirty-eight
years, through God's people committing
their finances in tithes and offerings.
Lastly, Victory Outreach is an inner city
focused ministry. We go where the need is.
We go where others fear to go. Victory
Outreach has an international scope. Our
vision is the inner cities of the world. That's
why we have works in Australia, Africa,
Israel, Latin America, the Philippines and
many other countries of the world.
“As we continue to reach out into new
lands and inherit nations, we need to be
continually willing to grow from
within; because a leader's growth is
what will determine the growth of not
only that individual but the church and
organization as well.”
It wasn't too long ago that we had to make a
self-evaluation; we had to Reach In and
make some necessary changes in order for
us to continue to effectively reach out.
One of the things we recognized was
if we were going to grow without
then we first needed to grow within.We realized that we were at a crossroads in
our ministry. Our vision had to enlarge and
grow and mature if we were going to be
effective, successful and relevant. What did
we do? We began to raise the standard
within every area of our ministry.
We began to require our ministers to
complete academic training in V.E.T.I. Bible
School. We began to build the technical
capacity of leadership staff. We realigned
our public image by building quality control
and strengthening our programs
effectiveness through the implementation of
new policies and standards. We set
standards for every Victory Outreach
recovery home and we created uniformity
within our ministry through policy manuals,
so that each church could follow the same
quality standards.
“We had to make some really tough
decisions, because we recognized
that in order to guarantee the vision
and claim our inheritance, drastic
changes needed to take place and we
needed to grow from within.”We knew we needed to raise up and equip a
radical new generation with a cutting edge
mentality; who would make an impact not
only in their local communities but make an
impact all over the world.
What kind of people do we need to
be if we are going to inherit the
nations?
First of all, God is looking for surrenderedand submitted people. Sadly, a lot of
churches today will not teach or preach on
being submitted and committed. They want
to "service" their people. But in Victory
Outreach we want to grow and develop you.
We don't want you to get spiritually fat and
just sit somewhere and do nothing.
The Bible word for "surrendered" is the
word, "broke or brokenness." Someone
once said, "A surrendered life in thehands of God is a fearful thing." God
uses broken things; He uses broken vessels.
Because brokenness represents someone
totally surrendered to God.
Throughout the Word of God we see this. In
Psalms 51:17, David said, "A broken and a
contrite heart God will not ignore." Peter,
before God was able to use him had to be
fully surrendered. Samson's greatest victory
came after his brokenness. And we need
people in Victory Outreach who are broken
and fully surrendered because God uses
broken and fully surrendered people.
There's another word that the church at large
doesn't like … we need committed people.
The Bible says that nothing affects your life
more than the commitment that you choose
to make. The commitment you make will
have three profound effects upon your life.
First of all, the commitment you make
shows your values. It shows what you really
think and value, what's important to you and
what you really love. If you say you love
your husband or wife, yet you don't really
commit to them, that's not real love. There's
no such thing as love without commitment.
You may say something is important to you,
but the way you spend your time and money
shows what is really important to you.
The uncommitted life is a selfish life. The
only thing important to you is you. Some
people get saved and cleaned up. At first
they're on fire for God, He rescued them.
Then they get a job and their interest is
elsewhere; they start getting cold. They no
longer want to hear about vision,
commitment, surrender and sacrifice.
Usually they end up going to a "user
friendly" church where they don't have to
hear about commitment. They end up sitting
in a church wasting their life, when all along
God had a divine purpose for their life.
Why? Because they got cold spiritually.
That's why it's so important for us to keep
our commitment level strong. Don't let
yourself be influenced by others. We don't
have to copy others. God has given us
uniqueness. Let's not water down the
message He’s given to us. Once you start
compromising, it’s the beginning of losing
that sense of vision within your life.
Secondly your commitment shapes your life.
You become whatever you're committed to.
Whether it's making money or having fun
that's the most important thing in your life,
your life will be shaped that way. Tell me
what you're committed to right now and I'll
tell you where you're going to be tomorrow.
That's why your commitment is so very
important. Your life is the sum total of your
commitment.
Thirdly, your commitment is your destiny.
When you make a commitment you choose
how you're going to invest your life. You
choose how you're going to spend your time
and resources. The truth is that some don't
continue in the faith because of their lack of
commitment. Why does this happen?
Because their roots of commitment aren't
deep, when times get rough, they leave. I
warn you, there are two things that can
divert you in your commitment.
Mark 4:19 refers to how the attraction of the
world, the delights of wealth, the search of
success and the lure of nice things come in
and begin to crowd out God. The Lord says,
"Don't make those things the most important
thing in your life." When you do, you
automatically take God out of being first
place within your life.
Another area that diverts you in your
commitment is complacency. You become
complacent, when you start living off past
commitments and don't make new ones.
I want you to know that commitment
of five years or ten years ago is not
good enough to keep you for the rest
of your life. We always need to be
growing in our commitment or else we'll
become complacent. Julie and I try to model
this example. We could have taken the life
of ease and just traveled around to the
various Victory Outreach works. But
instead we chose to pioneer all over again;
we chose to make a fresh commitment to
God and to the work of God.
The children of Israel are a good example of
those who became complacent. They came
to a plateau in their experience with God.
We need to remember that plateaus
of achievement are not permanent
stopping places. They are stepping
stones or springboards to greater
accomplishment for God.
The Bible says, "The eyes of the Lord rangethroughout the earth to strengthen thosewhose hearts are fully committed to Him."God is looking for people to use in this
world. And the qualification has always
been a committed life. Committed people
possess an extraordinary spirit. Committed
people are faithful. They live according to
God's Word. They pray continually despite
circumstances. They live under God's hands
of protection. Because of their commitment
to God, the lives of others are affected and
people are transformed.
A good example of this is found in I Kings
17:2-6 with the story of Elijah. There was a
famine in the land. God was leading His
servant Elijah by the brook and the ravens
came and fed him. Then, the brook ran dry.
All along God had been providing, but when
the brook dried up, Elijah took his eyes off
God and started complaining saying, "God,
You don't love me anymore. You were
providing for all my needs but now it's all
dried up. You must not love me anymore."
In other words, Elijah was having a "Pity
Party." Just like many of us have at times.
When everything is going good we say,
"God, You sure do love me." But as soon as
things aren’t going the way we expect, we
start to cry, "God, You don't love me
anymore."
As long as the brook kept running, Elijah
would have stayed. But God wanted him to
move on. Sometimes God works like that
with us. He dries up the brook in your life,
situations go sour, and problems come in, or
there’s a lack or shortage. It is because God
wants you to take your eyes off of the
channel and place your eyes on the source,
which is God. He wants you to trust Him.
“We need to remember God is our
source. The brook may dry up and the
channel may dry out but God, who is
our source, will never dry up.”
All along God had another channel to meet
the needs of His prophet. God took him
from channel to channel, meeting Elijah’s
needs, as long as he kept his eyes on Him.
In Matthew 6:31-33, the Word tells us,
"Why are you worrying? Don't worry about
having enough food, or clothing. Why be
like the heathens? They are deeply
concerned about these things, but your
Heavenly Father already knows. Even
before you know it, He knows you have
need of them and He will give them to you."
Remember, God is your source and He’ll
always take care of business. He said, "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these things, will be
given to you."
Sometimes we have a preconceived
idea of how God will work. We think
He's going to work a certain way, then He
doesn't. Let Him choose the channel He will
use to fill your need. It may be different
than the one you would have chosen, but He
is a sovereign and all knowing God.
God works in different ways in our lives.
First, through divine intervention. He
reaches down into the difficult situation
we're in and works a miracle. We pray,
"Lord, 'I'm in this situation, You're a miracle
working God, work a miracle for me right
now!" Then He reaches down and not only
takes us out of the situation but He takes the
situation away.
We see God's divine intervention with the
children of Israel. He took them out of
Egypt by a string of miracles … plagues
turned the water into blood, the death of the
firstborn, the crossing of the Red Sea,
manna from heaven. Miracle after miracle
after miracle, God performed for them.
In the New Testament, there are many
accounts of God's miracle working power.
One situation in particular is when God
miraculously took Peter out of prison.
God is able to work through miracles.
Sometimes when we need a miracle, God
comes through with that miracle. But
sometimes we want miracle after miracle.
Then when we don't get it, we get
discouraged. I want you to know God also
works in other ways.
Secondly through the interaction of God.
That means He works in cooperation with
man. A good example of this is in the life of
Namaan. Namaan had a preconceived idea
of how he was going to get healed of
leprosy. His maid-servant told him, "There's
a prophet in Israel, just go to him. I'm sure
when he lays his hand on you his God will
heal you."
So what did Namaan do? Namaan was an
important individual. So Namaan went over
to the prophet's house. In his mind he knew
exactly how it was going to happen, "I'll go
to him and the prophet will come out and lay
his hand upon me and I will be healed." But
it didn't work that way. Instead the prophet
sent word, "Tell him to dip himself seven
times in the river and he'll receive his
healing." The prophet didn't even come out
to see him! This infuriated Namaan.
"Surely I thought he would at least come out
and meet me.” Namaan said, “But instead
he's telling me to jump in the river. Aren't
the rivers in my neigborhood better than all
the rivers over here? If I was going to take
a swim I would have stayed where I was."
Thank God for someone who had a little
wisdom. His servants said, "We've come so
far, you might as well do what he’s told you
to do, what do you have to lose?”
Namaan had to do something he did not
expect. God was saying to him, "Namaan,
you do this, and I'll do that." And because
he was obedient, he was healed.
What about the children of Israel? When
they were going into Jericho they had to
march around Jericho for seven days. Then
on the seventh day they had to go around
seven times around. God said, "I'll do My
part, but you have to do your part."
It’s the same with prosperity and God
blessing us financially. What does He say?
"You do your part in tithes and offerings and
I'll do My part. I will rebuke the devourer
and open up the windows of heaven and
bring blessing to you." He says, "You do
this, (be obedient), and I'll do that." There's
cooperation between God and man.
One area that it is important for us to
understand this concept is when it comes to
the evangelization of the world. God is God.
If He wanted to, He could easily save
everyone. He doesn’t need us, He’s God and
nothing is impossible for Him. Yet He chose
to use us in the evangelization of the world.
He chose to work in cooperation with man.
We're here because God chose to raise up an
army in Victory Outreach. He said, "Victory
Outreach, you do your part and I'll do my
part."
Romans 10:13 says, "But whosoever shallcall upon the name of the Lord shall besaved. But then how shall they call on Himin whom they have not believed. And howshall they believe in Him in whom they havenot heard?" Then notice what it says, "Andhow shall they hear without a preacher(Victory Outreach)?" Isn't that what God
has called us to do? We are called to work
in cooperation with God.
Thirdly, there's the inner working of God.
This is an area that many of us do not like.
It's through this growing process that God
doesn't take us out of the situation, but uses
the situation to produce His inner working
within our lives. God loves to work in this
way because it matures us and causes us to
grow ... it’s the inner working of God in us.
Just like the three Hebrew children, when
they were in the fiery furnace. God did not
take them out of the fire, but He was with
them in the midst of the fiery furnace.
What about Paul's thorn in the flesh? Three
times he pleaded with God to take it away.
yet God responded, "No, I'm not going totake it away. My grace is sufficient. Forwhen you are weak, then you are strong."
There are many others we read about within
the Word of God ... Moses was on the back
side of the desert for forty years, yet God
was with him; Joseph remained in prison
with the blessing and grace of God.
“You must go through the process.
God knows what He's doing within
your life. If He hasn't worked a
miracle in your life, you need to
know that God's grace is sufficient.”
James said, "The trying of your faithworketh patience, perseverance, endurance,stability." Some of you have been looking
for a miracle but you might not even get it.
God is saying to you today, "My grace is
sufficient. Put your trust in Me."
Remember, God alone is the source of your
supply. Paul was one who labored and
ministered with God as his power source.
He said, "With this end I labor, struggling
with all His energy that so powerfully works
in me." That’s why Paul was so powerful,
he wasn't doing it himself. He didn’t do it
with the energy of man, but with God's.
Regularly, we have to put gas in our car or it
stops running, doesn't it? Perhaps you've
experienced running out of gas from driving
your car too much. There are some
Christians like that, they drive hard and run
out of gas spiritually! By forgetting to "fill
the tank" they stop functioning. There may
be some of you who have "run out of gas."
In your heart you say, "I've been running on
empty and I need to be filled by God."
That's just what happened to the Israelites
when they were going to take the land they
had inherited. In Numbers 13 they cried,
"We can't attack; they’re stronger than we
are. Their cities are fortified and very large.
There’s giants in the land and we seem like
grasshoppers in our own eyes." They saw
themselves as being unable, insignificant,
too weak to accomplish the task. What’s
amazing is all along, while they were feeling
that way, God was just standing by saying,
"Why don't you let me take over now?"
They forgot how God had delivered them
out of Egypt. How He opened up the Red
Sea and led them by fire by night and by the
cloud by day. They forgot how God
miraculously fed them with manna from
heaven. They forgot all God had done for
them because they took their eyes off God.
We must never forget what God has done
within our lives. The children of Israel
failed to Reach Up and to trust God. There
are many of you who possibly looked for
different ways of meeting your needs and
you've taken your eyes off God. Today, you
need to reach up and connect with the main
connection. Remember God is your source.
2. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach In. Reaching in has
to do with the building process that takes
place inside of us. Joshua's generation knew
that if they were going to inherit the land
God promised to them, they needed to grow.
They needed to reach in before they could
reach out. They had to learn from mistakes
of the previous generation, and there were
three mistakes the previous generation made
that was important for them not to repeat.
First, they forgot the past. They forgot
everything God had done for them. All
those miracles and they still forgot.
Secondly, they became satisfied with the
present. We should never be satisfied with
the present, but always strive to be more and
do more for God. Thirdly, they were fearful
of the future. The previous generation was
afraid to step into all God had for them.
They were afraid of opposition, of the
giants, and if they had what it takes to go in
and possess the land God had given to them.
Joshua's generation had a different
mentality. They learned from the past. They
remembered what God had done for them.
They were not satisfied with the present, nor
were they fearful of the future. They were
willing to take their inheritance and step out
into new territory.
“If we are going to inherit the promises
God has given to us, then just like
Joshua, we need to remember who we
are as a ministry.”
First of all we are a vision driven ministry.
What differentiates us from other ministries
is that we have a common vision that has
kept us together all these years, reaching the
treasures out of darkness. As the years have
gone by, the ministry has evolved. Before it
was so simple … just look for a dope fiend
or for a gang member.
Now we have a new generation God has
raised up. A generation that has never been
on drugs; many of who have grown up in
church. It's this "Now Generation" that
God's going to be using. Even now, and in
the coming years, they will be occupying
some of our pulpits. Are they going to
continue with the original vision? Or will
the vision change?
That's why we have to repeat it; we have to
tell this new generation what we are all
about. Even though they were never a gang
member or dope fiend, they must know and
remember that there's a uniqueness God has
given to our ministry. He has given us a
vision to reach treasures out of darkness in
every inner city of the world.
Secondly, we are a family oriented ministry.
There's a relationship we have with one
another. There's a respect we have among
each other. We are committed and loyal to
each other, to our church, to our leaders, and
to all those who are part of the family.
Thirdly, we are a value based ministry.
There's an emphasis on discipleship, not just
converts. We don't believe in just having a
rehabilitation program. But we believe in
getting people saved, then reproducing
ourselves in them by sharing and
transmitting the vision to them.
We instill in others a sense of dignity. It
bothers me to see other ministries selling
candies out on the street corners. We should
be a people of dignity. We're not street
hustlers anymore and our rehab people are
not street hustlers. But God has given to us
a sense of dignity not only as a ministry but
for our personal lives as well. This is why
we're always striving to improve; quality
within our churches, quality within our
literature, quality within everything we do.
Fourthly, we are a self-sustaining ministry.
We are an indigenous ministry; a self-
sustaining ministry through the principles of
tithes and offerings, "United We Can."
Many inner city pastors think the inner city
church cannot support itself. We've been
doing it by ourselves for over thirty-eight
years, through God's people committing
their finances in tithes and offerings.
Lastly, Victory Outreach is an inner city
focused ministry. We go where the need is.
We go where others fear to go. Victory
Outreach has an international scope. Our
vision is the inner cities of the world. That's
why we have works in Australia, Africa,
Israel, Latin America, the Philippines and
many other countries of the world.
“As we continue to reach out into new
lands and inherit nations, we need to be
continually willing to grow from
within; because a leader's growth is
what will determine the growth of not
only that individual but the church and
organization as well.”
It wasn't too long ago that we had to make a
self-evaluation; we had to Reach In and
make some necessary changes in order for
us to continue to effectively reach out.
One of the things we recognized was
if we were going to grow without
then we first needed to grow within.We realized that we were at a crossroads in
our ministry. Our vision had to enlarge and
grow and mature if we were going to be
effective, successful and relevant. What did
we do? We began to raise the standard
within every area of our ministry.
We began to require our ministers to
complete academic training in V.E.T.I. Bible
School. We began to build the technical
capacity of leadership staff. We realigned
our public image by building quality control
and strengthening our programs
effectiveness through the implementation of
new policies and standards. We set
standards for every Victory Outreach
recovery home and we created uniformity
within our ministry through policy manuals,
so that each church could follow the same
quality standards.
“We had to make some really tough
decisions, because we recognized
that in order to guarantee the vision
and claim our inheritance, drastic
changes needed to take place and we
needed to grow from within.”We knew we needed to raise up and equip a
radical new generation with a cutting edge
mentality; who would make an impact not
only in their local communities but make an
impact all over the world.
What kind of people do we need to
be if we are going to inherit the
nations?
First of all, God is looking for surrenderedand submitted people. Sadly, a lot of
churches today will not teach or preach on
being submitted and committed. They want
to "service" their people. But in Victory
Outreach we want to grow and develop you.
We don't want you to get spiritually fat and
just sit somewhere and do nothing.
The Bible word for "surrendered" is the
word, "broke or brokenness." Someone
once said, "A surrendered life in thehands of God is a fearful thing." God
uses broken things; He uses broken vessels.
Because brokenness represents someone
totally surrendered to God.
Throughout the Word of God we see this. In
Psalms 51:17, David said, "A broken and a
contrite heart God will not ignore." Peter,
before God was able to use him had to be
fully surrendered. Samson's greatest victory
came after his brokenness. And we need
people in Victory Outreach who are broken
and fully surrendered because God uses
broken and fully surrendered people.
There's another word that the church at large
doesn't like … we need committed people.
The Bible says that nothing affects your life
more than the commitment that you choose
to make. The commitment you make will
have three profound effects upon your life.
First of all, the commitment you make
shows your values. It shows what you really
think and value, what's important to you and
what you really love. If you say you love
your husband or wife, yet you don't really
commit to them, that's not real love. There's
no such thing as love without commitment.
You may say something is important to you,
but the way you spend your time and money
shows what is really important to you.
The uncommitted life is a selfish life. The
only thing important to you is you. Some
people get saved and cleaned up. At first
they're on fire for God, He rescued them.
Then they get a job and their interest is
elsewhere; they start getting cold. They no
longer want to hear about vision,
commitment, surrender and sacrifice.
Usually they end up going to a "user
friendly" church where they don't have to
hear about commitment. They end up sitting
in a church wasting their life, when all along
God had a divine purpose for their life.
Why? Because they got cold spiritually.
That's why it's so important for us to keep
our commitment level strong. Don't let
yourself be influenced by others. We don't
have to copy others. God has given us
uniqueness. Let's not water down the
message He’s given to us. Once you start
compromising, it’s the beginning of losing
that sense of vision within your life.
Secondly your commitment shapes your life.
You become whatever you're committed to.
Whether it's making money or having fun
that's the most important thing in your life,
your life will be shaped that way. Tell me
what you're committed to right now and I'll
tell you where you're going to be tomorrow.
That's why your commitment is so very
important. Your life is the sum total of your
commitment.
Thirdly, your commitment is your destiny.
When you make a commitment you choose
how you're going to invest your life. You
choose how you're going to spend your time
and resources. The truth is that some don't
continue in the faith because of their lack of
commitment. Why does this happen?
Because their roots of commitment aren't
deep, when times get rough, they leave. I
warn you, there are two things that can
divert you in your commitment.
Mark 4:19 refers to how the attraction of the
world, the delights of wealth, the search of
success and the lure of nice things come in
and begin to crowd out God. The Lord says,
"Don't make those things the most important
thing in your life." When you do, you
automatically take God out of being first
place within your life.
Another area that diverts you in your
commitment is complacency. You become
complacent, when you start living off past
commitments and don't make new ones.
I want you to know that commitment
of five years or ten years ago is not
good enough to keep you for the rest
of your life. We always need to be
growing in our commitment or else we'll
become complacent. Julie and I try to model
this example. We could have taken the life
of ease and just traveled around to the
various Victory Outreach works. But
instead we chose to pioneer all over again;
we chose to make a fresh commitment to
God and to the work of God.
The children of Israel are a good example of
those who became complacent. They came
to a plateau in their experience with God.
We need to remember that plateaus
of achievement are not permanent
stopping places. They are stepping
stones or springboards to greater
accomplishment for God.
The Bible says, "The eyes of the Lord rangethroughout the earth to strengthen thosewhose hearts are fully committed to Him."God is looking for people to use in this
world. And the qualification has always
been a committed life. Committed people
possess an extraordinary spirit. Committed
people are faithful. They live according to
God's Word. They pray continually despite
circumstances. They live under God's hands
of protection. Because of their commitment
to God, the lives of others are affected and
people are transformed.
A good example of this is found in I Kings
17:2-6 with the story of Elijah. There was a
famine in the land. God was leading His
servant Elijah by the brook and the ravens
came and fed him. Then, the brook ran dry.
All along God had been providing, but when
the brook dried up, Elijah took his eyes off
God and started complaining saying, "God,
You don't love me anymore. You were
providing for all my needs but now it's all
dried up. You must not love me anymore."
In other words, Elijah was having a "Pity
Party." Just like many of us have at times.
When everything is going good we say,
"God, You sure do love me." But as soon as
things aren’t going the way we expect, we
start to cry, "God, You don't love me
anymore."
As long as the brook kept running, Elijah
would have stayed. But God wanted him to
move on. Sometimes God works like that
with us. He dries up the brook in your life,
situations go sour, and problems come in, or
there’s a lack or shortage. It is because God
wants you to take your eyes off of the
channel and place your eyes on the source,
which is God. He wants you to trust Him.
“We need to remember God is our
source. The brook may dry up and the
channel may dry out but God, who is
our source, will never dry up.”
All along God had another channel to meet
the needs of His prophet. God took him
from channel to channel, meeting Elijah’s
needs, as long as he kept his eyes on Him.
In Matthew 6:31-33, the Word tells us,
"Why are you worrying? Don't worry about
having enough food, or clothing. Why be
like the heathens? They are deeply
concerned about these things, but your
Heavenly Father already knows. Even
before you know it, He knows you have
need of them and He will give them to you."
Remember, God is your source and He’ll
always take care of business. He said, "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these things, will be
given to you."
Sometimes we have a preconceived
idea of how God will work. We think
He's going to work a certain way, then He
doesn't. Let Him choose the channel He will
use to fill your need. It may be different
than the one you would have chosen, but He
is a sovereign and all knowing God.
God works in different ways in our lives.
First, through divine intervention. He
reaches down into the difficult situation
we're in and works a miracle. We pray,
"Lord, 'I'm in this situation, You're a miracle
working God, work a miracle for me right
now!" Then He reaches down and not only
takes us out of the situation but He takes the
situation away.
We see God's divine intervention with the
children of Israel. He took them out of
Egypt by a string of miracles … plagues
turned the water into blood, the death of the
firstborn, the crossing of the Red Sea,
manna from heaven. Miracle after miracle
after miracle, God performed for them.
In the New Testament, there are many
accounts of God's miracle working power.
One situation in particular is when God
miraculously took Peter out of prison.
God is able to work through miracles.
Sometimes when we need a miracle, God
comes through with that miracle. But
sometimes we want miracle after miracle.
Then when we don't get it, we get
discouraged. I want you to know God also
works in other ways.
Secondly through the interaction of God.
That means He works in cooperation with
man. A good example of this is in the life of
Namaan. Namaan had a preconceived idea
of how he was going to get healed of
leprosy. His maid-servant told him, "There's
a prophet in Israel, just go to him. I'm sure
when he lays his hand on you his God will
heal you."
So what did Namaan do? Namaan was an
important individual. So Namaan went over
to the prophet's house. In his mind he knew
exactly how it was going to happen, "I'll go
to him and the prophet will come out and lay
his hand upon me and I will be healed." But
it didn't work that way. Instead the prophet
sent word, "Tell him to dip himself seven
times in the river and he'll receive his
healing." The prophet didn't even come out
to see him! This infuriated Namaan.
"Surely I thought he would at least come out
and meet me.” Namaan said, “But instead
he's telling me to jump in the river. Aren't
the rivers in my neigborhood better than all
the rivers over here? If I was going to take
a swim I would have stayed where I was."
Thank God for someone who had a little
wisdom. His servants said, "We've come so
far, you might as well do what he’s told you
to do, what do you have to lose?”
Namaan had to do something he did not
expect. God was saying to him, "Namaan,
you do this, and I'll do that." And because
he was obedient, he was healed.
What about the children of Israel? When
they were going into Jericho they had to
march around Jericho for seven days. Then
on the seventh day they had to go around
seven times around. God said, "I'll do My
part, but you have to do your part."
It’s the same with prosperity and God
blessing us financially. What does He say?
"You do your part in tithes and offerings and
I'll do My part. I will rebuke the devourer
and open up the windows of heaven and
bring blessing to you." He says, "You do
this, (be obedient), and I'll do that." There's
cooperation between God and man.
One area that it is important for us to
understand this concept is when it comes to
the evangelization of the world. God is God.
If He wanted to, He could easily save
everyone. He doesn’t need us, He’s God and
nothing is impossible for Him. Yet He chose
to use us in the evangelization of the world.
He chose to work in cooperation with man.
We're here because God chose to raise up an
army in Victory Outreach. He said, "Victory
Outreach, you do your part and I'll do my
part."
Romans 10:13 says, "But whosoever shallcall upon the name of the Lord shall besaved. But then how shall they call on Himin whom they have not believed. And howshall they believe in Him in whom they havenot heard?" Then notice what it says, "Andhow shall they hear without a preacher(Victory Outreach)?" Isn't that what God
has called us to do? We are called to work
in cooperation with God.
Thirdly, there's the inner working of God.
This is an area that many of us do not like.
It's through this growing process that God
doesn't take us out of the situation, but uses
the situation to produce His inner working
within our lives. God loves to work in this
way because it matures us and causes us to
grow ... it’s the inner working of God in us.
Just like the three Hebrew children, when
they were in the fiery furnace. God did not
take them out of the fire, but He was with
them in the midst of the fiery furnace.
What about Paul's thorn in the flesh? Three
times he pleaded with God to take it away.
yet God responded, "No, I'm not going totake it away. My grace is sufficient. Forwhen you are weak, then you are strong."
There are many others we read about within
the Word of God ... Moses was on the back
side of the desert for forty years, yet God
was with him; Joseph remained in prison
with the blessing and grace of God.
“You must go through the process.
God knows what He's doing within
your life. If He hasn't worked a
miracle in your life, you need to
know that God's grace is sufficient.”
James said, "The trying of your faithworketh patience, perseverance, endurance,stability." Some of you have been looking
for a miracle but you might not even get it.
God is saying to you today, "My grace is
sufficient. Put your trust in Me."
Remember, God alone is the source of your
supply. Paul was one who labored and
ministered with God as his power source.
He said, "With this end I labor, struggling
with all His energy that so powerfully works
in me." That’s why Paul was so powerful,
he wasn't doing it himself. He didn’t do it
with the energy of man, but with God's.
Regularly, we have to put gas in our car or it
stops running, doesn't it? Perhaps you've
experienced running out of gas from driving
your car too much. There are some
Christians like that, they drive hard and run
out of gas spiritually! By forgetting to "fill
the tank" they stop functioning. There may
be some of you who have "run out of gas."
In your heart you say, "I've been running on
empty and I need to be filled by God."
That's just what happened to the Israelites
when they were going to take the land they
had inherited. In Numbers 13 they cried,
"We can't attack; they’re stronger than we
are. Their cities are fortified and very large.
There’s giants in the land and we seem like
grasshoppers in our own eyes." They saw
themselves as being unable, insignificant,
too weak to accomplish the task. What’s
amazing is all along, while they were feeling
that way, God was just standing by saying,
"Why don't you let me take over now?"
They forgot how God had delivered them
out of Egypt. How He opened up the Red
Sea and led them by fire by night and by the
cloud by day. They forgot how God
miraculously fed them with manna from
heaven. They forgot all God had done for
them because they took their eyes off God.
We must never forget what God has done
within our lives. The children of Israel
failed to Reach Up and to trust God. There
are many of you who possibly looked for
different ways of meeting your needs and
you've taken your eyes off God. Today, you
need to reach up and connect with the main
connection. Remember God is your source.
2. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach In. Reaching in has
to do with the building process that takes
place inside of us. Joshua's generation knew
that if they were going to inherit the land
God promised to them, they needed to grow.
They needed to reach in before they could
reach out. They had to learn from mistakes
of the previous generation, and there were
three mistakes the previous generation made
that was important for them not to repeat.
First, they forgot the past. They forgot
everything God had done for them. All
those miracles and they still forgot.
Secondly, they became satisfied with the
present. We should never be satisfied with
the present, but always strive to be more and
do more for God. Thirdly, they were fearful
of the future. The previous generation was
afraid to step into all God had for them.
They were afraid of opposition, of the
giants, and if they had what it takes to go in
and possess the land God had given to them.
Joshua's generation had a different
mentality. They learned from the past. They
remembered what God had done for them.
They were not satisfied with the present, nor
were they fearful of the future. They were
willing to take their inheritance and step out
into new territory.
“If we are going to inherit the promises
God has given to us, then just like
Joshua, we need to remember who we
are as a ministry.”
First of all we are a vision driven ministry.
What differentiates us from other ministries
is that we have a common vision that has
kept us together all these years, reaching the
treasures out of darkness. As the years have
gone by, the ministry has evolved. Before it
was so simple … just look for a dope fiend
or for a gang member.
Now we have a new generation God has
raised up. A generation that has never been
on drugs; many of who have grown up in
church. It's this "Now Generation" that
God's going to be using. Even now, and in
the coming years, they will be occupying
some of our pulpits. Are they going to
continue with the original vision? Or will
the vision change?
That's why we have to repeat it; we have to
tell this new generation what we are all
about. Even though they were never a gang
member or dope fiend, they must know and
remember that there's a uniqueness God has
given to our ministry. He has given us a
vision to reach treasures out of darkness in
every inner city of the world.
Secondly, we are a family oriented ministry.
There's a relationship we have with one
another. There's a respect we have among
each other. We are committed and loyal to
each other, to our church, to our leaders, and
to all those who are part of the family.
Thirdly, we are a value based ministry.
There's an emphasis on discipleship, not just
converts. We don't believe in just having a
rehabilitation program. But we believe in
getting people saved, then reproducing
ourselves in them by sharing and
transmitting the vision to them.
We instill in others a sense of dignity. It
bothers me to see other ministries selling
candies out on the street corners. We should
be a people of dignity. We're not street
hustlers anymore and our rehab people are
not street hustlers. But God has given to us
a sense of dignity not only as a ministry but
for our personal lives as well. This is why
we're always striving to improve; quality
within our churches, quality within our
literature, quality within everything we do.
Fourthly, we are a self-sustaining ministry.
We are an indigenous ministry; a self-
sustaining ministry through the principles of
tithes and offerings, "United We Can."
Many inner city pastors think the inner city
church cannot support itself. We've been
doing it by ourselves for over thirty-eight
years, through God's people committing
their finances in tithes and offerings.
Lastly, Victory Outreach is an inner city
focused ministry. We go where the need is.
We go where others fear to go. Victory
Outreach has an international scope. Our
vision is the inner cities of the world. That's
why we have works in Australia, Africa,
Israel, Latin America, the Philippines and
many other countries of the world.
“As we continue to reach out into new
lands and inherit nations, we need to be
continually willing to grow from
within; because a leader's growth is
what will determine the growth of not
only that individual but the church and
organization as well.”
It wasn't too long ago that we had to make a
self-evaluation; we had to Reach In and
make some necessary changes in order for
us to continue to effectively reach out.
One of the things we recognized was
if we were going to grow without
then we first needed to grow within.We realized that we were at a crossroads in
our ministry. Our vision had to enlarge and
grow and mature if we were going to be
effective, successful and relevant. What did
we do? We began to raise the standard
within every area of our ministry.
We began to require our ministers to
complete academic training in V.E.T.I. Bible
School. We began to build the technical
capacity of leadership staff. We realigned
our public image by building quality control
and strengthening our programs
effectiveness through the implementation of
new policies and standards. We set
standards for every Victory Outreach
recovery home and we created uniformity
within our ministry through policy manuals,
so that each church could follow the same
quality standards.
“We had to make some really tough
decisions, because we recognized
that in order to guarantee the vision
and claim our inheritance, drastic
changes needed to take place and we
needed to grow from within.”We knew we needed to raise up and equip a
radical new generation with a cutting edge
mentality; who would make an impact not
only in their local communities but make an
impact all over the world.
What kind of people do we need to
be if we are going to inherit the
nations?
First of all, God is looking for surrenderedand submitted people. Sadly, a lot of
churches today will not teach or preach on
being submitted and committed. They want
to "service" their people. But in Victory
Outreach we want to grow and develop you.
We don't want you to get spiritually fat and
just sit somewhere and do nothing.
The Bible word for "surrendered" is the
word, "broke or brokenness." Someone
once said, "A surrendered life in thehands of God is a fearful thing." God
uses broken things; He uses broken vessels.
Because brokenness represents someone
totally surrendered to God.
Throughout the Word of God we see this. In
Psalms 51:17, David said, "A broken and a
contrite heart God will not ignore." Peter,
before God was able to use him had to be
fully surrendered. Samson's greatest victory
came after his brokenness. And we need
people in Victory Outreach who are broken
and fully surrendered because God uses
broken and fully surrendered people.
There's another word that the church at large
doesn't like … we need committed people.
The Bible says that nothing affects your life
more than the commitment that you choose
to make. The commitment you make will
have three profound effects upon your life.
First of all, the commitment you make
shows your values. It shows what you really
think and value, what's important to you and
what you really love. If you say you love
your husband or wife, yet you don't really
commit to them, that's not real love. There's
no such thing as love without commitment.
You may say something is important to you,
but the way you spend your time and money
shows what is really important to you.
The uncommitted life is a selfish life. The
only thing important to you is you. Some
people get saved and cleaned up. At first
they're on fire for God, He rescued them.
Then they get a job and their interest is
elsewhere; they start getting cold. They no
longer want to hear about vision,
commitment, surrender and sacrifice.
Usually they end up going to a "user
friendly" church where they don't have to
hear about commitment. They end up sitting
in a church wasting their life, when all along
God had a divine purpose for their life.
Why? Because they got cold spiritually.
That's why it's so important for us to keep
our commitment level strong. Don't let
yourself be influenced by others. We don't
have to copy others. God has given us
uniqueness. Let's not water down the
message He’s given to us. Once you start
compromising, it’s the beginning of losing
that sense of vision within your life.
Secondly your commitment shapes your life.
You become whatever you're committed to.
Whether it's making money or having fun
that's the most important thing in your life,
your life will be shaped that way. Tell me
what you're committed to right now and I'll
tell you where you're going to be tomorrow.
That's why your commitment is so very
important. Your life is the sum total of your
commitment.
Thirdly, your commitment is your destiny.
When you make a commitment you choose
how you're going to invest your life. You
choose how you're going to spend your time
and resources. The truth is that some don't
continue in the faith because of their lack of
commitment. Why does this happen?
Because their roots of commitment aren't
deep, when times get rough, they leave. I
warn you, there are two things that can
divert you in your commitment.
Mark 4:19 refers to how the attraction of the
world, the delights of wealth, the search of
success and the lure of nice things come in
and begin to crowd out God. The Lord says,
"Don't make those things the most important
thing in your life." When you do, you
automatically take God out of being first
place within your life.
Another area that diverts you in your
commitment is complacency. You become
complacent, when you start living off past
commitments and don't make new ones.
I want you to know that commitment
of five years or ten years ago is not
good enough to keep you for the rest
of your life. We always need to be
growing in our commitment or else we'll
become complacent. Julie and I try to model
this example. We could have taken the life
of ease and just traveled around to the
various Victory Outreach works. But
instead we chose to pioneer all over again;
we chose to make a fresh commitment to
God and to the work of God.
The children of Israel are a good example of
those who became complacent. They came
to a plateau in their experience with God.
We need to remember that plateaus
of achievement are not permanent
stopping places. They are stepping
stones or springboards to greater
accomplishment for God.
The Bible says, "The eyes of the Lord rangethroughout the earth to strengthen thosewhose hearts are fully committed to Him."God is looking for people to use in this
world. And the qualification has always
been a committed life. Committed people
possess an extraordinary spirit. Committed
people are faithful. They live according to
God's Word. They pray continually despite
circumstances. They live under God's hands
of protection. Because of their commitment
to God, the lives of others are affected and
people are transformed.
We live in a fast and changing world. Within the past few years, changes have taken placein the world which has affected not only society, but the Church at large. There's been achange when it comes to the values and commitment within the Church. If we, as aministry, are going to inherit the promises God has given to us and still remain relevantand effective in these fast changing times, then there are three things we must do.
World Conference 2005 Sermon by Pastor Sonny Arguinzoni
1. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Up. We must
recognize God is our source. We have a
calling and mission God has given us to
accomplish. If we're going to be successful,
relevant and effective, then we must first
focus on God.
We must never forget that God is "number
one" and we always need to put Him first.
He's the One who saved us. He's the One
who called us. As the scripture says in
Psalms, "Unless the Lord builds the house,they labor in vain, who build it."
The reason Victory Outreach has come this
far is because our dependency has been on
God. It hasn't been on the government, or
big corporations, people, or on anything else,
but our dependency has been on God.
In Psalms 23:1, David recognized that God
was his source of fulfilling all of his needs.
David said, "The Lord is my shepherd and Ishall not want." He didn't say, "The
government is my shepherd," or "Social
Security is my shepherd," nor "My job or my
bank account is my shepherd." Not even
people were his shepherd. But David said,
"The Lord is my shepherd!"
Sometimes we tend to depend on people.
Many times this happens to pastors. You’ll
find them praying, "God, send me a
millionaire.” They think, if only God would
send them a millionaire all their financial
worries would be over. I have come to
realize in pasturing a church, my dependency
is not on the people to meet my needs nor the
needs of the ministry. My dependency is on
God, "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall
not want."
There are several reasons why we struggle
with God being our source. Largly, because
of the "Do It Yourself" culture we live in.
We live in a secular society and sometimes it
creeps into the church. "I'll work it out and
solve this problem myself," … without ever
consulting God.
We are told "God helps those who help
themselves." No where in the Bible does it
say that. But what it does say is that God
helps those who depend upon Him, who look
to Him as their source.
Sometimes we confuse the channel with the
source. We tend to think the source of our
supply is our work. If we lose our job, we
panic. Others look to people, or their bank
account, or other things within their lives as
being their source.
How do you know if you're guilty of doing
this? If you start looking to something else
to meet your need instead of God. Worrying
about how you're going to pay your bills, or
how you're going to make things happen
within your ministry. Any time you worry it
should be a warning sign that you have
stopped looking to God as your source.
We need not only committed people,
but we need committed and effective
leaders. Our ministry will only grow
as large as our leadership. We need to
make leadership development a priority. In
evaluating your leadership development,
you need to ask yourself these questions.
Do I have passion to develop leaders? Am I
targeting a small group of individuals into
whom I can pour my time and energy into?
Do I model for this group the character and
skills I would like to see instilled in them?
Remember, leadership is caught not taught.
This is what my wife and I are doing in San
Diego. We have a passion to raise up this
"Now Generation." We're targeting people
in whom we can pour time and energy into.
We model character and skills so they can be
instilled within the lives of others.
There are several things we need to look for
in potential leaders. We have to look for
people with searching minds, who are
hungry for growth. People who are
inquisitive, always asking questions, "Why
did you do that?" When I see someone like
that I think to myself, "This person sure is
hungry to learn and grow." We need to look
for people with a humble heart who realize
they haven't arrived yet. We also need to
look for people who are gifted and help
them identify their gifting. Then, we need
to look for people with a faithful spirit,
people that are consistent.
Good leaders have certain qualities ... they
are good followers! If you're not a good
follower, you'll never be a good leader.
There are some people who just want to
have people under them, but they don't
follow those above them. They may desire
to be good leaders but they've never learned
to follow. Jesus taught that the way to
greatness is through humility. “Follow-ship,”
not fellowship, precedes leadership.
Good Leaders have a proper attitude. It's
your attitude not your aptitude that
determines your altitude. People with
proper attitude are not afraid of hard work.
Good leaders are loyal. Not with conditional
loyalty or conditional commitment. There
are some people who are conditionally
committed or conditionally loyal. As long
as you don't rub them the wrong way they'll
be loyal to you. But as soon as something
happens they don’t like, they're no longer
loyal. All of a sudden they turn on you and
become your enemy.
There will be times when a leader has to
make some hard decisions. A person who is
loyal will accept those decisions. They won't
have conditional commitment or conditional
loyalty. They will be loyal to God, loyal to
the leadership and loyal to the ministry.
Good Leaders are enthusiastic. They think
excitement and talk excitement. Enthusiasm
is faith in action; and it's contagious.
We need to ask ourselves, are we
committed? What are we living for? For
money? For a better job? For a new car?
For a good time? For retirement? For a
meaningful relationship? Sad to say, most
people are living for themselves. Can you
imagine how different their lives would be if
they would apply themselves to God? What
an impact we could make for His Kingdom.
3. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Out. That means
reaching out to the mission field. We need
to keep in mind that God is the Lord of the
Harvest. He decides which field will be
harvested and when it's time to go. He's the
one that sends forth the laborers into the
harvest. Revelations 3:7 says, "This is themessage from the One who is Holy, True.The one who has the key of David, when Heopens no man can close; when He closes noman can open." He opens the doors, and He
shuts the doors. And we must depend upon
God to open the doors so that we can go in.
When God opens up the door for the Gospel
to be preached, that door will remain open
until He decides to close it. And I declare to
you, today the doors are open for Victory
Outreach around the world more than ever
before. So why haven't we been reaching
more people worldwide?
First of all, people do not reach out because
of fear. Some are just plain scared. What
are they afraid of? They're afraid of the
unknown. They're afraid of failure. They're
afraid to be alone. They're afraid to exercise
faith. Any time you're going to do
something for God, there's always going to
be a sense of fear. You must remember God
is with you and He is your source.
Secondly, people fail to reach out because of
apathy. If we really believe the lost are
going to hell, then we sure don't show it
sometimes. We're so concerned about what
is happening in our own little world that we
can't even see the need around us and the
need around the rest of the world.
Lack of commitment will keep a person
from reaching out. We need to be consistent
in our faith and consistent in sharing the
Gospel, not up and down Christians.
Another reason is materialism. Many
people won't heed the call because they don't
want to give up the good life here in the
good old U.S.A. You have to be careful of
materialism, it will keep you from fulfilling
the call of God upon your life.
Others fail to reach out because of the lack
of self-confidence. Many people think they
can't do the job or be successful at what God
is calling them to do. Perhaps they're
inundated with problems or feeling
insufficient and wanting to quit. That's
when they have to put faith into action and
place their trust and confidence in God,
because God equips those He calls.
Then, to effectively reach out, we need to
shift from local thinking to global thinking.
God is a global God. He has always cared
about the entire world. John 3:15 says, "ForGod so loved the world." Most of the world
already thinks globally. The largest medias
and businesses conglomerates are multi-
national. Our lives are increasingly
intertwined with other nations. Most of the
clothes you wear and much of what you eat
today is produced in another country. We
are more connected globally than we realize.
World Class Leaders Pray for the World.
The first way to think globally is to begin
praying for specific countries. The Bible
says, "If you ask Me, I will give you thenations. All the people of the earth will beyours." This is what God is saying to
Victory Outreach, "Ask of Me and I will
give you the nations."
Prayer is the most important tool for world
missions. People may refuse our love or
reject our message, but they are defenseless
against our prayers. Like inter-continental
missiles, you can aim a prayer whether
you're ten feet away or ten thousand miles
away. What should we pray for? Pray for
opportunity to witness. Pray for courage to
speak. Pray for rapid spread of the Gospel.
Pray for more workers.
Another way to develop global thinking is to
read and to watch the news with great
commission eyes. What do I mean by that?
Whenever there's a change or conflict taking
place in the world, you can be sure that God
will use it to bring people to Himself.
Because of the increasing changes in the
world today, most people are open to
hearing and receiving the Good News more
than ever before. Whenever there's crisis in
a nation or a country, that's an open door.
It's an opportunity for us to take the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. God has some open doors
for Victory Outreach and we must take
advantage of them.
The best way to switch from local to global
thinking is to get up and go on a short-term
mission project to another country. There is
no substitute to hands on, real life
experience in another nation or culture.
That's why we're going to Africa. What an
opportunity! We're taking Victory Outreach
teams in to invade that country with the
Gospel. I'm excited about going; and I'm
sure once we get there, we’ll come back
with a burden.
That’s how the ministry in England began.
Julie and I were in England and saw the
need. We came back with a burden, "We
have to reach Europe. We have to reach the
British Isles." It was the same for Holland
and for a lot of other countries we're now in.
It was because someone caught the vision,
someone felt the burden, someone came
back and said, "We have to do something."
We can always find excuses to keep us from
fulfilling the mission to global evangelism.
Sarah claimed she was too old; Jeremiah
claimed he was too young. God rejected
their excuses. In Jeremiah 1:7 the Lord said,
"Don't say I'm too young. For you must gowherever I send you and say whatever I tellyou. Don't be afraid of the people for I willbe with you and I will take care of you."
There are three things that can tempt you to
give up. First of all, problems. Every good
idea has problems; even the Promised Land
had problems. Secondly, pressure. Pressure
causes us to become discouraged and want
to quit, but don't let pressure hold you down.
People. People will disappoint you; people
will misunderstand you; people will criticize
you and have negative attitudes. But in
order to overcome - never give up! Put your
trust in God and in His dependability.
God has given us four promises to help us
accomplish the task. He promised us His
power. He promised Joshua, "I promise you
that no one will be able to stand against you
as long as you live. For I will be with you,
as I was with Moses, I will not fail you nor
abandon you." He's saying to us, "Nothing
will be able to stop you. If you trust Me, I
will put My power in you. I am with you."
Secondly, He offers us His protection. He
says, "Nothing can harm you. I will never
leave you nor forsake you." Not only will
we have His power but we'll also have His
protection.
Then God promises prosperity. If we follow
His instructions, "Don't let this Book of the
Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it
day and night. Be careful to obey
everything that is written therein and then
you will be prosperous and successful."
The most common thing that hinders us
from stepping out and taking our inheritance
is always the lack of faith. It hinders us
from being pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:6
says, "Without faith it is impossible to
please God." Do you know what faith is?
Faith is believing and trusting Him even
when you don't see it. Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now being sure of what we hoped for and
certain of what we do not see."
Faith is obeying even when you don't
understand. Hebrews 11:8 says it was faith
that made Abraham obey when God called
him. He left his own country without
knowing where he was going.
Faith is giving when you don't have it. By
faith Abel was commended as a righteous
man when God spoke well of his offerings.
Faith is persisting when you don't feel good.
Hebrews 11:27, "It was by faith that Moses
left Egypt and was not afraid of the king's
anger. He held to the promise like a man
that could see the invisible."
Faith is thanking God before we receive it.
Hebrews 11:30, "By faith the walls of
Jericho came down and the people marched
around them for seven days." Mark 11:26,
"When you pray and ask for something,
believe that you receive it and it will be
given to you."
Faith is trusting if you don't get it. Hebrews
11:35-40, "They were all commended for
their faith yet none of them received what
had been promised. God had planned
something better."
If we are going to inherit the nations,
we need to be people of faith. The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 11:8,
By faith Abraham obeyed when God called
him to leave home and go to another land.
By faith Moses left the land of Egypt not
fearing the king's anger; he kept right on
going because he kept his eyes on the One
who was invisible.
By faith the children of Israel marched
around Jericho for seven days and the walls
came crashing down.
By faith Rahab the prostitute was not
destroyed with her city.
By faith Joshua claimed his inheritance and
conquered the land promised to him.
By faith God called an inner city
people who were no people and
promised them the treasures out of
darkness....By faith Ed Morales and his young wife
Mitzi were called of God to go to San Jose,
California and obediently went and believed
God for the impossible.
By faith Steve and Joesy went to Hayward
and conquered the city.
By faith Steve launched out into the
Philippines not knowing anyone, with only
two phone numbers in his pocket and
miraculously a church was built.
By faith Chuckie from Hayward and Barry
from Santa Rosa went to spy out the land in
Indonesia and within a year a hundred
Muslims declared Christ as Savior.
By faith Gerald and his family believed for
Israel and miraculously the Lord opened up
the doors and now Jews from all over the
world are coming to Christ.
By faith David Martinez in his sixties went
to Australia and New Zealand and planted
four churches and is now looking to plant
more works in Samoa and other parts of the
world.
By faith Sonny Arguinzoni, Jr. took over
pastoring the La Puente Mother Church.
By faith Al and Georgina went to drug
infested East Coast and opened up the first
Urban Training Center.
By faith Brother and Sister Masterson are
taking the city of Ontario, California in their
Golden Years.
By faith a team of workers are going into
Guatemala, even after the death and gun-
down shooting of two Victory Outreach
workers.
By faith this Conference there will be
hundreds of men and women launched out
to take the nations of the world.
Victory Outreach is once again in
church planting mode. We are
inheriting the nations of the world. We
are claiming all the land that God has
given to us as a people. Are you ready
for it? If you're willing to pay the
price, then step out and take the
nations of the world ... its Outreach
Time!
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Do not spare, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, for you shall expand to the right and to the left and yourdecedents will inherit the nations amd make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” ~ Isaiah 54:2-3
We live in a fast and changing world. Within the past few years, changes have taken placein the world which has affected not only society, but the Church at large. There's been achange when it comes to the values and commitment within the Church. If we, as aministry, are going to inherit the promises God has given to us and still remain relevantand effective in these fast changing times, then there are three things we must do.
World Conference 2005 Sermon by Pastor Sonny Arguinzoni
1. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Up. We must
recognize God is our source. We have a
calling and mission God has given us to
accomplish. If we're going to be successful,
relevant and effective, then we must first
focus on God.
We must never forget that God is "number
one" and we always need to put Him first.
He's the One who saved us. He's the One
who called us. As the scripture says in
Psalms, "Unless the Lord builds the house,they labor in vain, who build it."
The reason Victory Outreach has come this
far is because our dependency has been on
God. It hasn't been on the government, or
big corporations, people, or on anything else,
but our dependency has been on God.
In Psalms 23:1, David recognized that God
was his source of fulfilling all of his needs.
David said, "The Lord is my shepherd and Ishall not want." He didn't say, "The
government is my shepherd," or "Social
Security is my shepherd," nor "My job or my
bank account is my shepherd." Not even
people were his shepherd. But David said,
"The Lord is my shepherd!"
Sometimes we tend to depend on people.
Many times this happens to pastors. You’ll
find them praying, "God, send me a
millionaire.” They think, if only God would
send them a millionaire all their financial
worries would be over. I have come to
realize in pasturing a church, my dependency
is not on the people to meet my needs nor the
needs of the ministry. My dependency is on
God, "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall
not want."
There are several reasons why we struggle
with God being our source. Largly, because
of the "Do It Yourself" culture we live in.
We live in a secular society and sometimes it
creeps into the church. "I'll work it out and
solve this problem myself," … without ever
consulting God.
We are told "God helps those who help
themselves." No where in the Bible does it
say that. But what it does say is that God
helps those who depend upon Him, who look
to Him as their source.
Sometimes we confuse the channel with the
source. We tend to think the source of our
supply is our work. If we lose our job, we
panic. Others look to people, or their bank
account, or other things within their lives as
being their source.
How do you know if you're guilty of doing
this? If you start looking to something else
to meet your need instead of God. Worrying
about how you're going to pay your bills, or
how you're going to make things happen
within your ministry. Any time you worry it
should be a warning sign that you have
stopped looking to God as your source.
We need not only committed people,
but we need committed and effective
leaders. Our ministry will only grow
as large as our leadership. We need to
make leadership development a priority. In
evaluating your leadership development,
you need to ask yourself these questions.
Do I have passion to develop leaders? Am I
targeting a small group of individuals into
whom I can pour my time and energy into?
Do I model for this group the character and
skills I would like to see instilled in them?
Remember, leadership is caught not taught.
This is what my wife and I are doing in San
Diego. We have a passion to raise up this
"Now Generation." We're targeting people
in whom we can pour time and energy into.
We model character and skills so they can be
instilled within the lives of others.
There are several things we need to look for
in potential leaders. We have to look for
people with searching minds, who are
hungry for growth. People who are
inquisitive, always asking questions, "Why
did you do that?" When I see someone like
that I think to myself, "This person sure is
hungry to learn and grow." We need to look
for people with a humble heart who realize
they haven't arrived yet. We also need to
look for people who are gifted and help
them identify their gifting. Then, we need
to look for people with a faithful spirit,
people that are consistent.
Good leaders have certain qualities ... they
are good followers! If you're not a good
follower, you'll never be a good leader.
There are some people who just want to
have people under them, but they don't
follow those above them. They may desire
to be good leaders but they've never learned
to follow. Jesus taught that the way to
greatness is through humility. “Follow-ship,”
not fellowship, precedes leadership.
Good Leaders have a proper attitude. It's
your attitude not your aptitude that
determines your altitude. People with
proper attitude are not afraid of hard work.
Good leaders are loyal. Not with conditional
loyalty or conditional commitment. There
are some people who are conditionally
committed or conditionally loyal. As long
as you don't rub them the wrong way they'll
be loyal to you. But as soon as something
happens they don’t like, they're no longer
loyal. All of a sudden they turn on you and
become your enemy.
There will be times when a leader has to
make some hard decisions. A person who is
loyal will accept those decisions. They won't
have conditional commitment or conditional
loyalty. They will be loyal to God, loyal to
the leadership and loyal to the ministry.
Good Leaders are enthusiastic. They think
excitement and talk excitement. Enthusiasm
is faith in action; and it's contagious.
We need to ask ourselves, are we
committed? What are we living for? For
money? For a better job? For a new car?
For a good time? For retirement? For a
meaningful relationship? Sad to say, most
people are living for themselves. Can you
imagine how different their lives would be if
they would apply themselves to God? What
an impact we could make for His Kingdom.
3. To Inherit the Nations We
Need To Reach Out. That means
reaching out to the mission field. We need
to keep in mind that God is the Lord of the
Harvest. He decides which field will be
harvested and when it's time to go. He's the
one that sends forth the laborers into the
harvest. Revelations 3:7 says, "This is themessage from the One who is Holy, True.The one who has the key of David, when Heopens no man can close; when He closes noman can open." He opens the doors, and He
shuts the doors. And we must depend upon
God to open the doors so that we can go in.
When God opens up the door for the Gospel
to be preached, that door will remain open
until He decides to close it. And I declare to
you, today the doors are open for Victory
Outreach around the world more than ever
before. So why haven't we been reaching
more people worldwide?
First of all, people do not reach out because
of fear. Some are just plain scared. What
are they afraid of? They're afraid of the
unknown. They're afraid of failure. They're
afraid to be alone. They're afraid to exercise
faith. Any time you're going to do
something for God, there's always going to
be a sense of fear. You must remember God
is with you and He is your source.
Secondly, people fail to reach out because of
apathy. If we really believe the lost are
going to hell, then we sure don't show it
sometimes. We're so concerned about what
is happening in our own little world that we
can't even see the need around us and the
need around the rest of the world.
Lack of commitment will keep a person
from reaching out. We need to be consistent
in our faith and consistent in sharing the
Gospel, not up and down Christians.
Another reason is materialism. Many
people won't heed the call because they don't
want to give up the good life here in the
good old U.S.A. You have to be careful of
materialism, it will keep you from fulfilling
the call of God upon your life.
Others fail to reach out because of the lack
of self-confidence. Many people think they
can't do the job or be successful at what God
is calling them to do. Perhaps they're
inundated with problems or feeling
insufficient and wanting to quit. That's
when they have to put faith into action and
place their trust and confidence in God,
because God equips those He calls.
Then, to effectively reach out, we need to
shift from local thinking to global thinking.
God is a global God. He has always cared
about the entire world. John 3:15 says, "ForGod so loved the world." Most of the world
already thinks globally. The largest medias
and businesses conglomerates are multi-
national. Our lives are increasingly
intertwined with other nations. Most of the
clothes you wear and much of what you eat
today is produced in another country. We
are more connected globally than we realize.
World Class Leaders Pray for the World.
The first way to think globally is to begin
praying for specific countries. The Bible
says, "If you ask Me, I will give you thenations. All the people of the earth will beyours." This is what God is saying to
Victory Outreach, "Ask of Me and I will
give you the nations."
Prayer is the most important tool for world
missions. People may refuse our love or
reject our message, but they are defenseless
against our prayers. Like inter-continental
missiles, you can aim a prayer whether
you're ten feet away or ten thousand miles
away. What should we pray for? Pray for
opportunity to witness. Pray for courage to
speak. Pray for rapid spread of the Gospel.
Pray for more workers.
Another way to develop global thinking is to
read and to watch the news with great
commission eyes. What do I mean by that?
Whenever there's a change or conflict taking
place in the world, you can be sure that God
will use it to bring people to Himself.
Because of the increasing changes in the
world today, most people are open to
hearing and receiving the Good News more
than ever before. Whenever there's crisis in
a nation or a country, that's an open door.
It's an opportunity for us to take the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. God has some open doors
for Victory Outreach and we must take
advantage of them.
The best way to switch from local to global
thinking is to get up and go on a short-term
mission project to another country. There is
no substitute to hands on, real life
experience in another nation or culture.
That's why we're going to Africa. What an
opportunity! We're taking Victory Outreach
teams in to invade that country with the
Gospel. I'm excited about going; and I'm
sure once we get there, we’ll come back
with a burden.
That’s how the ministry in England began.
Julie and I were in England and saw the
need. We came back with a burden, "We
have to reach Europe. We have to reach the
British Isles." It was the same for Holland
and for a lot of other countries we're now in.
It was because someone caught the vision,
someone felt the burden, someone came
back and said, "We have to do something."
We can always find excuses to keep us from
fulfilling the mission to global evangelism.
Sarah claimed she was too old; Jeremiah
claimed he was too young. God rejected
their excuses. In Jeremiah 1:7 the Lord said,
"Don't say I'm too young. For you must gowherever I send you and say whatever I tellyou. Don't be afraid of the people for I willbe with you and I will take care of you."
There are three things that can tempt you to
give up. First of all, problems. Every good
idea has problems; even the Promised Land
had problems. Secondly, pressure. Pressure
causes us to become discouraged and want
to quit, but don't let pressure hold you down.
People. People will disappoint you; people
will misunderstand you; people will criticize
you and have negative attitudes. But in
order to overcome - never give up! Put your
trust in God and in His dependability.
God has given us four promises to help us
accomplish the task. He promised us His
power. He promised Joshua, "I promise you
that no one will be able to stand against you
as long as you live. For I will be with you,
as I was with Moses, I will not fail you nor
abandon you." He's saying to us, "Nothing
will be able to stop you. If you trust Me, I
will put My power in you. I am with you."
Secondly, He offers us His protection. He
says, "Nothing can harm you. I will never
leave you nor forsake you." Not only will
we have His power but we'll also have His
protection.
Then God promises prosperity. If we follow
His instructions, "Don't let this Book of the
Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it
day and night. Be careful to obey
everything that is written therein and then
you will be prosperous and successful."
The most common thing that hinders us
from stepping out and taking our inheritance
is always the lack of faith. It hinders us
from being pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:6
says, "Without faith it is impossible to
please God." Do you know what faith is?
Faith is believing and trusting Him even
when you don't see it. Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now being sure of what we hoped for and
certain of what we do not see."
Faith is obeying even when you don't
understand. Hebrews 11:8 says it was faith
that made Abraham obey when God called
him. He left his own country without
knowing where he was going.
Faith is giving when you don't have it. By
faith Abel was commended as a righteous
man when God spoke well of his offerings.
Faith is persisting when you don't feel good.
Hebrews 11:27, "It was by faith that Moses
left Egypt and was not afraid of the king's
anger. He held to the promise like a man
that could see the invisible."
Faith is thanking God before we receive it.
Hebrews 11:30, "By faith the walls of
Jericho came down and the people marched
around them for seven days." Mark 11:26,
"When you pray and ask for something,
believe that you receive it and it will be
given to you."
Faith is trusting if you don't get it. Hebrews
11:35-40, "They were all commended for
their faith yet none of them received what
had been promised. God had planned
something better."
If we are going to inherit the nations,
we need to be people of faith. The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 11:8,
By faith Abraham obeyed when God called
him to leave home and go to another land.
By faith Moses left the land of Egypt not
fearing the king's anger; he kept right on
going because he kept his eyes on the One
who was invisible.
By faith the children of Israel marched
around Jericho for seven days and the walls
came crashing down.
By faith Rahab the prostitute was not
destroyed with her city.
By faith Joshua claimed his inheritance and
conquered the land promised to him.
By faith God called an inner city
people who were no people and
promised them the treasures out of
darkness....By faith Ed Morales and his young wife
Mitzi were called of God to go to San Jose,
California and obediently went and believed
God for the impossible.
By faith Steve and Joesy went to Hayward
and conquered the city.
By faith Steve launched out into the
Philippines not knowing anyone, with only
two phone numbers in his pocket and
miraculously a church was built.
By faith Chuckie from Hayward and Barry
from Santa Rosa went to spy out the land in
Indonesia and within a year a hundred
Muslims declared Christ as Savior.
By faith Gerald and his family believed for
Israel and miraculously the Lord opened up
the doors and now Jews from all over the
world are coming to Christ.
By faith David Martinez in his sixties went
to Australia and New Zealand and planted
four churches and is now looking to plant
more works in Samoa and other parts of the
world.
By faith Sonny Arguinzoni, Jr. took over
pastoring the La Puente Mother Church.
By faith Al and Georgina went to drug
infested East Coast and opened up the first
Urban Training Center.
By faith Brother and Sister Masterson are
taking the city of Ontario, California in their
Golden Years.
By faith a team of workers are going into
Guatemala, even after the death and gun-
down shooting of two Victory Outreach
workers.
By faith this Conference there will be
hundreds of men and women launched out
to take the nations of the world.
Victory Outreach is once again in
church planting mode. We are
inheriting the nations of the world. We
are claiming all the land that God has
given to us as a people. Are you ready
for it? If you're willing to pay the
price, then step out and take the
nations of the world ... its Outreach
Time!
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Do not spare, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, for you shall expand to the right and to the left and yourdecedents will inherit the nations amd make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” ~ Isaiah 54:2-3
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