Lessons From Moses, The Prophet

Moses, one of my favorite characters in the bible portrays the perfect example of my own fear before. If you would remember his account on Genesis, Moses met the Great “I AM” through a burning bush. With all God has told him, the first fear he had was that he doesn’t know how to speak. Like Moses, I was at one time in my life afraid to be in front an audience and speak.

I remember those days when our youth adviser would ask anyone from the youth to either share a testimony, pray in front or be the emcee and I often make an excuse to go outside and come back when the activity already started.

Can you imagine yourself standing in front of a big crowd talking?

Fear always keep creeping at my back every time I am asked to go in front. I remember, Ate Charna, our National Director for the Youth Ministry sharing to us a few youth camp ago about our fear to be in front and we would all laugh about it.

But the real reason behind those missed opportunities is because I was afraid to make mistakes. Although I have this burning passion to share God’s word, I was afraid to speak. Like Moses, I was in the dillemma of trusting that the God who gave me these gifts will be there with me through thick and thin and He will give me the right words to say, even if it’s in broken english!

Our Common Mistake

Young people nowadays would say “NO” to opportunities. I’m  not generalizing everything here but maybe we don’t want to get involved  because we are all afraid to make mistakes. We fear that people will laugh at us with our grammar, or the way we walk or whatever our mind would tell us everytime an opportunity comes up. Like many of you, I also found out that those who often laugh at us would say no also because of the same fears.

With much guidance and perseverance, God made me speak in front of a crowd. The first time was during the Freshmen Treat with InterVarsity in Dumaguete.I vividly remember joining the said event for the first time and as a facilitator. I was new in the group but they saw the potential.

New Beginnings

That was the start of what I call “the new beginnings”, opportunities to do the things you missed because of fear.

When we decide to overcome the fear that we have, the Lord will help us out in this present need. After that perfect time when I said “yes” to these exciting opportunities, the Lord developed my self-confidence in being in front. Of course, there were times that I was pretty much afraid but there were a lot of times of humbling down before the Lord and asking for His much grace and anointing.

After so many years of practice in speaking infront of the mirror, the Lord expanded my influence. Together with Viz, my twin brother, we now facilitate our youth ministry activities ranging from a thirty to hundreds.  It’s the most exciting time when we serve our local church and beng given responsibilities to be in front. Not only do we facilitate activities, we now share God’s word as every opportunity permits us.

A Good Reminder

A good reminder for all of us is that everytime we have such opportunities, we  give back to God all the glory and due. If it’s not for him, we can only do little.  I always make it a point that after any sharing time, I pray and ask the Lord to move in the hearts of the people and whatever I shared and spoke of would be from Him. I remind myself that I am only an instrument,a  spokeseman for the King.

Ate Lala, my strongest and favorite critic, often shares to me my own flaws during those times, her insight and tips allows me to be more inclined to rely on the grace of God. One good example is that when I was the one who shared during the missions day in the Leadership camp, she told me to continue practicing because every time I speak of some issues, people really listens.

Although I still experience some “butterflies”, I seldom say “No” when in front of a crowd. Like Moses, it only took trust to change all that. There are a lot of reasons to say “No” but there are good reasons to say “Yes” to these exciting opportunities.

The “How To’s” with God

Moses was afraid to become God’s spokesman because He didn’t know how to speak but God dismissed that notion. When Moses decided to say yes to the Lord, He led the people of Israel out of Egypt, defeating the tyrannical Pharaoh and signs and wonders followed from then on.

Here are a few tips on how to develop your speaking skills -

1. Always practice in front of the mirror – Whether it’s leading worship songs or introducing a speaker, take time to practice in front of the mirror. This will allow you to see your facial reaction and boost your self-confidence in speaking.
2. Have a script ready – make sure you have a copy of the program and a script ready. The script will give you an idea for your “ ad libs” and makes sure you are in line with the activity.
3. Use your mother tongue – Yes, if you’re good in speaking in english – by all means, please use it. But if you still have a few doubts with your grammar, try practicing first with your native tongue or have it in tagalog or cebuano or taglish.
4. Always look at the crowd – don’t forget to look at your audience. This will allow you to get used to people. Don’t think they are laughing at you.

One Final Reminder

It is important to recognize our fears and bring it back to the feet of the Lord. It is because of what He did on the cross, that all notions from the enemy has been broken and His grace and favor to flow freely in our lives for His purposes and glory!

Covenants for God's Greater Glory!

Covenants are important to any relationship. As a christian, it is and should be the very strong foundation of our love for the Lord. The good news is, covenant relationships doesn’t start with us, it always starts with God.

It is not just because he loves us so much but this is due to the fact that we ourselves cannot fulfill such a covenant on our own. God knows our frailty and made sure that we have Christ to lead us to the right path once again. 

I know that I have not been honest lately about my relationship with the Lord. After 13 years of growing with my relationship with the Lord, I have seen myself slowly deteriorating. To be honest, I find myself in the “pit” of being carnal. I strive, desire and press myself to do stuff that my flesh wants and loves which contradicts to what God wants for me.

And yet, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL.

Can you just imagine what God does when He sees us wasting our lives?

He rebukes us like a Father rebukes his son, sometimes in a manner that is unexpected but effective. I thank God for opportunities to sit and just listen. And sitting earlier at the church listening to the sermon made me feel uncomfortable enough that I know, God was speaking to me. I felt that nudge to examine myself and see myself in the mirror of God’s word.

If you’re experiencing the same thing today, let me encourage you that there is still hope and whatever happened to you can be a situation to fall down again but is not an excuse to not pursue faithfulness and purity.

But God’s covenant is strengthened by repentance.  

Repentance, by it’s very word means “to seek forgiveness and turn away from it, no longer doing what is wrong.” And we are to repent, no longer seeking what consumes the flesh but to what brings glory to our God.

I actually know it’s hard but I have this confidence inside me that God is in control and will carry me through this up to the point where I can stand again (not on my own) but on his grace.

My prayers for the next few weeks is that the Lord will open an opportunity for me to become a “servant” once again and get right on track in using my spare time, potential and giftings to “disciple, equip and expand” for GOD’s GREATER GLORY!

Praying and My Blindspot

One of the hardest thing in being in a youth ministry is that we deal with different people. Although we are united to serve our Lord we oftentimes juggle up with other people who are not familiar with us or the way we do things. When I reflect on my flaws before, I honestly considered myself a curse rather than a blessing to my friends back then. My personality made me look bad and lost my effectiveness in becoming an ambassador for Christ.

When the Lord gave me the opportunity to lead, one of my greatest challenge is my personality. I was the kind of person who is a perfectionist and dominant. People around me noticed that and it hindered them to grow and mature in their gifts together with me. It was actually my "blind spot" and it was blocking me to make friends with my fellow youth.

The Lord slowly changed my personality after the group leaders decided to have an open forum and shared our difficulties and challenges in working with one another. It was during that time when the group decided to pray for one another and seriously ask the Lord to change us and mold us in his likeness. That the fruits and character of the spirit will be present in our lives so we can be effective witnesses of His Kingdom purpose.

It's amazing how prayer changes everything. I committed myself to pray daily for the Lord to change me inside-out. I was so conscious at that time that every time I speak or do something, I asked the Lord to guide me and have self-control, to be patient and mindful of my words when dealing with people. God used those unforgettable prayer times to change me.

After 3 months of praying people noticed a big changed in me. A close friend of mine told me that they've never heard me complain about something and that I was more approachable than before. I was no longer strict and that people liked me a lot when I talk. God was gracious enough to let me experience being changed slowly through prayer.

And I would like to challenge you, if you are a leader or aspiring to be one, ask the Lord to show you your own "blind spot" or weakness(es) and pray that He will change you. Ask a friend or two to pray with you and remind you always whenever your attitude changes. Although sometimes its hard to changed, I believe practice really makes perfect. Add prayer to that and you'll see exciting changes in your life from that moment on.

Thank You for reading!

A Dream Birthed

Dreams, they say, if coming from God is far beyond bigger and wilder than we have to expect. As one author defines it – it’s bigger than you are that it seems impossible to be done in one’s lifetime. I have to agree with what he said. Part of my God-given dream is influencing other youths to bringing change and impact to this world for His glory. That dream birthed six years ago and the same craving to see this dream come true is still alive in my heart today.

I always believe that the Filipino youth has so much potential that once it’s tapped, there’s no sense of knowing how it will ignite a movement of the new breed of leaders God is calling. These thoughts inspired me to start where I was and fulfill, one step at a time, what God has for me.  Understanding that God’s eternal clock is different from mine, I'm starting this blog to write about my own personal experiences in becoming a leader and the lessons it entailed.

Perhaps many of you are in the same situation as to where I am now. Like me, God has given you a desire to do something for Him only to find out you don’t have the idea on how to start with it. And yes, I am still in the process of pruning and has not reached the fulfillment of God’s dream for me, but I pray, that whatever things I’ve learned and experienced so far, can help you jumpstart your own journey as well in fulfilling your own God-given dream.