A Milestone of Faith

  • Rev. Jerry Lepasana
  • Dec 30, 2007

A MILESTONE OF FAITH

Matthew 19:26

26) Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 9:29

29) Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you."

            Faith is absolutely necessary in order for anyone to experience the supernatural activities of God. Undeniably, we as a church have seen the power and presence of the Lord because we were willing to believe that He is able to do the impossible for us.

            In April of 2006, we launched our Capital Stewardship program, which we appropriately called Our Journey Of Faith - Moving Into a Great Future. Through this program, we openly declared that God is more than capable to give us a bigger and better church facility. We know that our vision is definitely beyond us, but as an expression of our faith, we have made the financial commitment that totaled to $1, 131, 684.   

            This day is certainly a milestone of faith. We are holding our last service on this property in Garfield, which had been our home for 22 years, and we are moving to a bigger and better facility in Randolph, New Jersey. Although this property has been valuable to our church family for many years, our new facility affords us with great potential for growth. Just as we have envisioned, the Randolph facility can house up to 700 people, it provides parking to about 190 cars, it has sufficient space to our growing number of youth and children. Furthermore, the facility is even adequate for us to begin a Day Care and a Pre-school ministry, which can service our new community.   Without any shadow of doubt, it was God who led us to find this property. God is good!

            Going back to the texts we read earlier, it is very clear that God specializes in accomplishing the impossible, but faith is the only route in experiencing it. This morning, it is my desire to magnify the activities of God in our journey of faith. I know that the journey is not over yet, but I want us to see traces of God's hands from the time we have started until today, so that we can honor the Lord for His goodness and greatness to us:

I           GOD BUILT OUR FAITH WHILE WAITING FOR THE BEST LOCATION:

            Arriving to where we are today had been an exciting ride. We saw God closing a lot of doors in order to show us that He has prepared for us is the best.

            It has been more than a year already. The building committee has seen approximately 6 possible locations. Every single one has great potential, but every time we have seriously pursued it, it became obvious that God was closing the door.  Were there times of discouragements? Absolutely! But God has constantly assured us that He has the best for us.

            Then, we have found a great property in Florham Park. It is a 13 acre land with a 50, 000 square feet building, and about 120 parking spaces. We were convinced that it's perfect for our needs. However, the setback was we needed to go to the zoning board and seek for a variance. So, we hired the best lawyer we can find, and an engineering team that will represent us to the town. We even gave a deposit of $200, 000 to show our commitment to the seller of that property.

            But, God truly knows the best. When the need arose for us to find a temporary place of worship since the closing of our sale for Garfield will come much earlier than expected. God led Bro. Rey Canlas and Roldan Manlapig to check the property of Randolph Christian Church for a possible rent. When they met with the Pastor of the church, they were told that they have changed their mind. They no longer want to have their church rented; instead, they now want to sell it.  To make the story short, we ended up checking the property and deciding to buy it.

            Looking at how everything has worked out, I cannot help but be reminded of the precious words of Romans 8:28:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

            There is absolutely no doubt that God has given us the best. In Randolph, it's a move in condition - no need for zoning variance, no need for renovations, no need for additional furniture, and we have a CPA company that is leasing a portion of the church property to help assist us in our monthly mortgage payments. God is good!

            I have taken the time to narrate all of these things for a purpose. You see, along the way, we needed to take some risks:

  • We were selling our building without any guarantee that we will have a place to go.
  • We were pursuing a variance for a place of worship without a guarantee that we will be approved. This involved some expenses already.
  • Even when we have our financial challenges, we envisioned the kind of property we said we need, and trusted the Lord to provide.

Beloved, faith in God requires some risks. If we are only willing to do what we are able, then that would be very limited. If everything is regulated, kept under our control, and safe, then we will miss on God's surprises. I hope that seeing what God has already done for us can propel us to trust the Lord in a much greater way. There are still a lot challenges in the future. May God's past activities serve as inspirations for us to keep trusting Him.

II         GOD BLESSED US WHILE WE WERE BLESSING OTHERS:

            One of the major concerns of our leadership when we were considering our Capital Stewardship program was how this will impact our missions program. We definitely did not want to lessen or eliminate our financial support to our churches  and the prospect for doing medical missions this year simply because of our building program.. We have always been convinced that we are called to expand the kingdom. And the principle we have put before us is - We have been blessed to be a blessing. This principle emanates from the words that God has given to Abraham:

Genesis 12:2-3

 2) "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

 3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

            In here, God clearly told Abraham that He will be a great nation filled with God's blessings so that all the nations of the world will be blessed through him.

            The same principle applies even today. Every Christian and every church must recognize that if we want to seek God's blessings upon us, we must be a channel for missions. Our blessings are not for personal consumption, they are for world evangelization - "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

            Considering what God has done for our church, I firmly believe that we can go back to 2003 when we started our medical missions to the Philippines. We raised as much money as we could and there were at least 12 of us to join that trip. Out of it, several thousands of people were helped and Bible Church International Philippines was born.

This year, despite our building campaigns, we did not set aside missions. We challenged our church people to participate in our commitment to do medical missions. As a result 97 people went to the Philippines. Again more than 3 thousand people were helped. The best part is that another church will be launched beginning next year.  Also, we still proceed with our missions trip to the United Arab Emirates, which also resulted to another BCI church starting January 2008.

For many this won't add up. Why would you spend money for others, when you have personal needs? The answer is simple - because we want God's blessings to keep coming to us. God has sufficient promises to generous givers:

Proverbs 3:9-10

9) Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;

10) then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

            Never miss those words, "barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Surely, none of us can out give God. Practically speaking, because of our being open- handed to the work of the Lord, we have also gained prayer supporters. Aside from our people in New Jersey, we have 9 additional churches in the Philippines who are placing in the throne of grace regularly so God would bless us. Beloved, generosity works!

III        GOD BINDED US IN ONE SPIRIT:

            I consider it a very strong confirmation from the Lord that we are right in His will because from the leadership to the congregation, there was unity in spirit.

            I'm sure many of you can remember when we considered a property in Paterson several years ago prior to our CSM program. All of us went there, and when we voted if I was not mistaken, it was 51 to 52. The no vote won by one point. The Randolph property was different, when we voted, it was not only unanimous, even the kids were voting raising both of their hands. God is good!

            Of course, I am aware that some of us may have some fears about this move. I believe that is quite normal knowing there are great challenges before us. When I have my fears, I am comforted with the words of God to Joshua:

Joshua 1:8-9

8) Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

            Joshua was about to lead Israel into the Promised Land, and God assured him that as long as he keeps himself close to God, then it is God's duty to sustain and bless him. So, I hope we all will do the same. Let's keep us lives fully surrendered to God and seek His help and blessings. 

I also know that with all the transitions, we might have some people who will be discouraged, or may have some complaints. My request is for those people is to approach  the right individuals. Please approach our leadership - pastors and deacons. The worst you can do is influence someone else with your concerns. Remember, we have not yet arrived. We are not a perfect congregation. There are still enormous challenges before us. But I like what I read in one of the walls in Crystal Cathedral when Pastor Ed and I had attended a leadership summit there. Here's what it says:

When faced with a mountain I will not quit! I will keep striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath- or simply stay and turn the mountain into a miracle with God's help.

            Again, with our journey of faith, we have not yet arrived. We have to keep the faith. Thank God for milestones because they can stimulate greater faith. Let's keep the faith till the end:

Isaiah 40:31

31) but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.