Maranatha Demonstrates the True Essence of Christmas

When a heart is full of love, it will always have something to give. If this statement is true, then the folks at the Maranatha Christian Fellowship (MCF) must have hearts overflowing with love as demonstrated by their recent gift-giving activity.

On December 19, the Simbahang Pambata Ministry of MCF gave some 8,500 bundles of joy to street children and urban poor families at their church building at the Maranatha World Outreach Center on V. Gullas corner P. Burgos streets. It was on this location that the true essence of Christmas was demonstrated as ministry workers and volunteers handed out gift packs that contained simple, daily necessities such as rice, noodles and sardines to men, women and children who flocked to this local church.

The gift-giving activity has become an annual event for the Simbahang Pambata Ministry (SPM) team, as well as the street children and their families who come to receive their Christmas presents from Maranatha.

For its eleventh year of giving, the SPM was able to expand its goals and extend its borders. SPM Head Jesse Saberon said they intended to give 7,000 bundles of joy this year but ended up with more than they expected as donations came in from businessmen, students, ministry members, people who wanted keep their anonymity and people who wanted to give to their less fortunate brothers and sisters in the community.

This year's gift-giving event was also the first time local media covered Maranatha's annual activity. Broadcast journalist Leo Lastimosa and his team from the Halad sa Kapamilya TV program was on hand to witness the occasion and to air the SPM activity to thousands of ABS-CBN televiewers in Cebu and parts of the Visayan region. The media attention widens the exposure of the Simbahang Pambata Ministry beyond the four walls of the Maranatha building and way beyond the confines of Manalili Street.

The demonstration of the true essence of Christmas -- the spirit of love, giving and sharing -- has reverberated from the hearts of the folks from the Maranatha Christian Fellowship through their outreach to the urban poor. Indeed, when a heart is full of love it will always have something to give.


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a post Christmas look by Michael Anthony Machacon / photo by Ingrid Mae Codilla Tadlas

I've Seen Jesus... and Jesus is Alive!

Easter Sunday is fast approaching. Our congregation is looking forward to two major events in April. The first one is the Fresh Fire 2009 Youth Conference, which will be held from April 9 to 11.

The second one is the Easter presentation of the New Life Sounds Choir. The cantata is called "I'VE SEEN JESUS", and I am believing that each one of us will get a fresh encounter with Jesus through this season's cantata.

Jesus rose from the dead, overcoming the power of sin and death. Before He went back to the Father in Heaven, He appeared to His disciples for a period of 40 days.

The Easter cantata focuses on the experiences of Jesus' followers -- like Mary Magdalene, Thomas and Peter -- of seeing Him after His resurrection. The songs tell of each disciple's internal conflict of faith and doubt, of fear and hope, of sorrow and joy.

The emotions laid out in these songs resonated with me personally, and I believe, by God's grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that these songs will be used by God to not only resonate with people who hear them but also bring a new perspective of who the risen Jesus is.

I am believing that at the end of this cantata, we will all say, "I've seen Jesus and Jesus is alive!"

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"I've Seen Jesus"
Easter Cantata 2009

April 4, 2009
Saturday
7pm

April 5, 2009
Sunday
9am

at the Maranatha World Outreach Center
Manalili corner Burgos streets
Cebu City

Admission is free
Come, bring your friends and loved ones
and be blessed.

The French Connection

The Maranatha Christian Fellowship will be having nightly meetings for healing and revival on September 7 (Sun), 8 (Mon) and 9 (Tue) at the Maranatha World Outreach Center [Manalili corner Burgos streets, Cebu City].

Pastor Mikel French will be ministering on these nights and everyone is encouraged to bring their loved one, families and friends who need to connect with the Lord in a fresh way and get a touch from God in their lives -- for healing, blessing and more.

The services start at 7pm. Come and be blessed.

Run With Me

[for the "Circle of Prophets"]

Let us run the race together
This time is set before us
Our feet are ready for better
To join the mighty chorus
Of pilgrims and warriors straining
To gain the glorious prize
To lay hold of Him who’s worth it
The beauty of my Christ

We fall – sure – but we get up
Stand on our feet again
We dust ourselves off forcefully
We press on and contend
This race, this running battle
May weary out our souls
But new strength always finds us
The Lord always restores

I help you with your burden
You help me carry mine
For when we lend a helping hand
His love in us will shine
Preferring one another
As Christ preferred the lost
We can give more of ourselves
For we now know the cost

Let’s speak life to the dry bones
Let us encourage all
Who need to hear the war cry
And hear the Master’s call
We’ll speak life to this nation
With words of faith and love
Let us persist and call on Him
To come down from above

So run with me my brothers
This purpose that He’s set
For us to be His prophets
Forerunners for the rest
Until the destined time comes
When we can finally see
The life restored and Kingdom come
And everyone set free

Run with me

Let the River Flow 2008: Called to Be Miracle Workers

Feb. 19, 2008 Tuesday 7:00 pm
Pastor Rich Oliver

Spread revival and restoration now.

Have an INTENSE PASSION FOR JESUS and an incredible hate for the devil to IMPACT THE WORLD.

YOU CAN’T BE AN OVERCOMER IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO OVERCOME. RISK IN THE LORD. STEP OUT and pray for someone for healing, for deliverance, for restoration, for a miracle in Jesus.

Miracle is from a Latin word that means “A WONDER, A DIVINE INTERVENTION IN HUMAN AFFAIRS.”

THE CALLINGS OF A BELIEVER:

SIGNS ACCOMPANY BELIEVERS.
MARK 16:17-18 NIV AND THESE SIGNS WILL ACCOMPANY THOSE WHO BELIEVE: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO DO MIRACULOUS ACTS.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, TO ANOTHER MIRACULOUS POWERS,..

BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE WITNESSES.
ACTS 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH."

BELIEVERS ARE MIRACLE WORKERS AND CAN EVEN DO MORE.
JOHN 14:12-13 12 I tell you the truth, ANYONE WHO HAS FAITH IN ME WILL DO WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING. HE WILL DO EVEN GREATER THINGS THAN THESE, BECAUSE I AM GOING TO THE FATHER.

THINGS TO DO TO BE A MIRACLE WORKER:

Believe that JESUS DESIRES TO MANIFEST MIRACLES TODAY
PRAY FOR THE LORD TO WORK MIRACLES THROUGH YOU for the glory of His Name
MARK 11:24-25 24 Therefore I tell you, WHATEVER YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

If you are going to risk, FIND A NEED AND DECLARE WITH FAITH THE PROMISES OF GOD INTO THAT NEED. WE’RE TO HEAL THE SICK.

MATTHEW 10:8 HEAL THE SICK, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

MARK 16:18 … THEY WILL PLACE THEIR HANDS ON SICK PEOPLE, AND THEY WILL GET WELL."

ACTION IS IMPORTANT. BELIEVING IS NOT ENOUGH BECAUSE FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.

JAMES 2:20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that FAITH WITHOUT DEEDS IS USELESS?

We are called to say that as the river of life flows, I will be involved in the move of God because faith without action is dead.

PERSEVERE IN YOUR FAITH and in the operations of healing miracles.

Keep sharing even when you don’t seem to see any results. The result and the time is not up to us, it’s up to God.

Minister to as many people as you can.

Out of us will flow rivers of living waters. BECOME BELIEVING BELIEVERS, a follower of Jesus Christ. Do not be moved by lack of results. Keep pressing in. Continue to do the work of miracles.

WORSHIP THE LORD AS A MIRACLE WORKING GOD.

Ask Him to let you see Him as a miracle working God.

LAUNCH FAITH BOMBS IN THE MIDDLE OF CHALLENGES.

Let His wisdom and grace carry you throughout any of your circumstances.

You have the faith of Christ within your born again spirit and in Him, you can do all things.

He strengthens you and enables you to be an overcomer.
Say to yourself “I WILL BREAKTHROUGH AS I FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH.” (1 TIMOTHY 6:12 FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF THE FAITH. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.)

The Word + Music = Powerful Evangelism

I am currently listening to the songs that the choir is going to present on the March 15th Easter cantata and I really believe these are some of the most moving and anointed songs I have ever heard and sung with the group.

The Word of God as it is already powerful enough, but setting them into music transforms them into something quite different on its own. Personally, I find it easier to absorb scripture when set to music, and most of the verses that I have memorized are the ones that I have heard through songs.

Five years of ministry with the New Life Sounds Choir has taught me this: relaying God’s Word through music is a powerful tool of evangelism.

For this set of 15 songs that we will be singing, I am firmly believing that the Lord will do something awesome in the heart of those appointed to watch the musical. With songs based on passages of scripture – like Zephaniah 3:17 [“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”] and Micah 7:8 [“Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.”] – I am confident that people’s eyes will be opened to the Father’s love for His children, that He truly, madly, deeply cares for us.

“Worthy of Worship” – the 2008 Easter cantata will be presented at the Maranatha World Outreach Center in Manalili corner Burgos streets, Cebu City. Everyone is invited to come, be blessed and be overwhelmed by the heavenly Father’s love.

Switch/Accelerate

Half way into the preparations for the Easter cantata, one of the tenors in the choir decided to bow out of the season due to some unknown reasons [to me at least]. It would have been okay on any given day that he pulled out, but under the circumstances -- with one of the older members of the tenors taking a leave of absence at the start of the year, leaving a shortage of tenors -- it was ill-timed and unexpected.

Nevertheless, God always has a better plan in mind. He always raises up another person to fill in and fulfill the vacated duty. In this case, it was I who was called on from the basses to take the slot with the tenors and help fortify the group -- at least that's what I feel the Spirit is leading me to do.

So, now I have officially switched sides -- I'm singing with the tenors for this Easter cantata, which by the way is called "Worthy of Worship!"

And that's not all. As this has been identified as a season of acceleration, a lot of things in my life and in the ministry has been moving, shifting, changing. The Lord has been calling His children to rise up, go further and do more for Him this year.

Not only is there choir practices for me these days -- three days in a week until we sing on March 15 -- there's also a project that needs to be done by March 5 for my discipleship training class. Then there's also the upcoming cafe/outreach activity that will be taking place in front of our church building, which should be very exciting.



Amidst all these, God reminds me: "It's not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord."

Assignment

2008 is a NEW year. For me and for everyone else.

I started the first few hours of 2008 in prayer and received revelations from the Lord. One of these revelations, which became clearer to me as the days passed, was my assigment to encourage and pray for young men, beginning with the four teenagers in my congregation the Lord showed me while in prayer.

In the weeks that followed since that commission, God has been giving me prophetic words for the Four and He's been showing me who they are in the Spirit. One of the things the Lord told me about them is that they are great men of God. I really believe the Lord is leading me to guide these young men and just cover them in prayer. It's not an easy task.

As I continue to entrust them to the Lord, He keeps giving me nuggets about each young man's spiritual identity. God would give me words like "integrity", "obedience", "victorious" and "intensity" to describe each of the Four. I get the feeling that I'm unequal to the task but I guess that's a good thing -- it proves that this is not me and that this is a God thing.

I also believe that I am to reinforce and remind these guys of their spiritual identities. Aside from including them in my prayers, the Lord has also given me prophetic words for them through poetry.

This is something that really is new to me and I am in over my head on this one. But I have heard the call to "watch over" these guys for this season and I know that since it was God who called, He will be the one to enable.

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"Father, use me to bless the Four. I am a vessel of Your grace and You know what is best. Lead me and use me, Holy Spirit, in this assignment."

'Forever' and a Day

The New Life Sounds Choir had a very fruitful season of evangelism this Christmas. We presented our 2007 holiday cantata entitled "Christmas is Forever" at Cinema 1 of SM Cebu and got a huge response from people who were seeking the Lord. It was a powerful cantata and many of our brethren said it was heavily anointed. I think we all felt the anointing on the ministry that day.

More than 500 people responded to the invitation to receive Jesus Christ into their lives during the cantata presentations in the afternoon and in the evening. Talk about getting a big harvest. The net was cast. Now the job of pulling the fish in begins. I pray, along with my congregation and fellow ministers, that all of the seeds sown will find fertile ground for growth and fruitfulness. Help us usher them to the kingdom, Lord, so we can disciple them and teach them your ways.

For this season of ministry with the choir, I'd say the Lord has taken us -- individually and corporately -- to yet another level of dependence on Him, another level of receiving and extending His grace, another level of intimacy that translated to a more powerful time of ministry during the cantata. Everybody who put in their time, talent, energy and heart into the production and presentation of the musical sowed not only in the physical but also in the spiritual, which is why I believe the Lord moved so mightily last December 8 at SM.

Kudos to all the members of the New Life Sounds Choir: the singers, the dancers, the actors, the stage directress, the choir directress, the kids' choir and dance team, the cantata support group, the backstage/behind the scenes crew, the sound and light crew, the narrators, the logistics team, the connectors, the consolidators, the facilitators, the ushers, the intercessors and everyone who did their best for the Lord. All glory and honor goes to Jesus for what He has accomplished.

Up next: the Easter cantata! Haha!