WE CAME, WE PROCLAIMED, WE CONQUERED – Those people will never be the same again. H4U Siquijor is once again a victory we all share! Thank you church for partnering with us in this battle that was already won by Christ 2,000st 2,000
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin years ago. It will continue to rage until the end of time, but we are always assured of victory. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev.12:11)

Those people will never be the same again. H4U Siquijor is once again a victory we all share! Thank you church for partnering with us in this battle that was already won by Christ 2,000st 2,000
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin years ago. It will continue to rage until the end of time, but we are always assured of victory. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev.12:11)

1) THE BLOOD OF JESUS – When Satan comes sneaking up to you and starts whispering in your ear and starts accusing and telling you how dirty, rotten, sinful you are you just turn to him and you tell him, “Satan, my sins have been placed under the blood of Jesus Christ.” That’s how you overcome him according to the word Calvary.

The victory is NOT in ourselves but faith in the blood of Jesus! It’s not how loud we shout nor whatever religious calisthenics we do or how many catechisms we attend – it’s only through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ! When we confront Satan with the blood of Jesus, he remembers the cross – the sacrifice of Jesus that ultimately disarmed, dethroned and defeated him!

2) THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY – This is the 2nd weapon we believers have for defeating Satan’s attacks – the mouth that testifies of God’s goodness! You see the devil will use every clever devise to keep us from being willing to share our faith with others. He’ll say, “You’re inadequate!” “You don’t know the Bible!” “You’re too young,” “You’re too old!” etc… So many excuses! But beloved, you don’t have to know everything in the Bible to be able to witness. Do you have a testimony? How did you become a Christian? Start there! Every Christian has a testimony. What is a testimony? Acts 4:20Acts 4:20
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.  

WP-Bible plugin – “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

3) THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES SO MUCH –When the Roman Empire was expanding and sent out legions of soldiers to conquer new lands, every piece of property within sailing distance, they sent two or three ships to these remote countries and remote islands and they would bring their ships up on the shore. Then all the soldiers would get out with all of their weapons and all of their horses and all of their supplies. Then they would set their ships on fire and push them out into the water and watch as their ships would burn. The natives of those countries and those islands laid down their weapons and surrendered in the face of such commitment. The Roman soldiers said, “We did not come to retreat. We came to conquer or to die!” That’s commitment.

When you start burning your boats and start burning your bridges, you start discovering the kind of commitment that really does overcome the devil! This is what offends many people. We like Christ’s invitation, “Come and dine with me,” but when He says, “Come and DIE for me,” we think twice! But this is the cost! Because Jesus gave His life for us, “To live is Christ, to die is gain!” You live for yourself, you lose in the end; you live for Christ today, you gain even more in the end!

It was a great 25th Anniversary celebration Calvary Chapel Dumaguete had that culminated in the HOPE FOR YOU Concert last Nov. 28, 2010 at the Macias Sports Complex, Dumaguete City. It was indeed a display of God’s greater works! Praise be to Jesus Christ!

It was a great 25th anniversary celebration we had that culminated in the Hope For You (H4U) concert. It was indeed a display of His greater works! And that only is a preview of the greater things to come, of the greater works He will do in our midst for the coming years. Praise be to Jesus Christ the miracle-worker, the life-changer!

It was a blessing to worship the Lord together as one big family. Not only to worship together but to serve together. Seeing the pictures, hearing the testimonies during the preparations, I couldn’t help but thank the Lord for you church. Everyone did their part, every gift exercised, every precious time given. It was indeed a display of unity and cooperation for one purpose and goal – for God’s greater glory!

So, as your pastor, along with my wife and kids, thank you so much for the partnership in the gospel through the years. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6Philippians 1:3-6
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, remembrance: or, mention ⁴ Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, ⁵ For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; ⁶ Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: perform: or, finish  

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Yes, He’s not yet done with us. God never starts a work and leaves it unfinished, that would be a contradiction of His character. God is not like man. We start things but we do not finish them. Thank God that my hope in Christ does not rest upon my will power. It rests upon the fact that God would never have started the work in me if He had not decided to finish it. Paul says the same thing in Romans 5:10Romans 5:10
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  

WP-Bible plugin: “If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” In other words, if Christ died for you when you were an enemy and a rebel and hated Him; how much more, then, will God keep and sustain you and finish the work He began now that you are His child?! The character of God guarantees the completion of the work.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We don’t just do good works as a result of the work of grace in our hearts, we are a good work ourselves—God’s own good work. The word in the greek is “poeima” where we get the word POEM. But it’s more than a poem, it’s a work of art.

We are like a beautiful work of art, painstakingly designed and crafted by the Master Craftsman himself. We don’t yet see the final result, but God does.

You see, beloved, you are a work of art. If the work depended on us, we would fail. But it doesn’t. We are like a beautiful work of art, painstakingly designed and crafted by the Master Craftsman himself. We don’t yet see the final result, but God does. So we can trust Him when He gives us the promise, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

So, with one heart, one mind, one purpose – let Him continue to work in us and as we do, we shall see greater works done, for His greater glory!

ANNOUNCEMENT:



• H4U NIGHT OF TESTIMONY & THANKSGIVING on Dec. 9, Thursday at 5:30 pm, CCD! It’s a special night of testimony for the H4U Concert! Everyone is welcome, especially those who took part in the working committees:

- H4U Band & CCD Choir -H4U Counseling Team
- Physical Set-up & Aftercare - Security
- Transportation - Documentation
- Techical Team - Food
- Stage Crew/Stage Décor - Freaks Drama Team
- H4U Ushering Team - First Aiders

This is a lovefeast affair, so bring some simple snacks to be shared by everyone!

• ATTN: H4U Committee Heads Debriefing tomorrow night, Monday, at 7 pm here at CCD.

• Since we no longer have the parking area across the street, PLEASE COOPERATE WITH OUR PARKING PERSONNEL. Please park properly, no double parking; park on the west side and don’t block any driveways. If possible, share a ride, car pool, or ride a pedicab.

• We are now accepting donations in cash or in kind for our yearly CHRISTMAS GIFT-GIVING for our dear brothers and sisters from our outreaches. More details to be announced later.

• Berean Getting Deeper Class resumes this Tuesday, Dec. 7.

• We are now forming the team for next year’s THAILAND TRIP. Please be praying. There will be a sign-up sheet at the back.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE on the following schedule:

• CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE on Dec. 24, Friday. (There will be no Thursday Bible Study on Dec.23.)
• YEAR-END SERVICE on Dec. 30, Thursday.

“The Lord did an amazing work through H4U…to Him be all the glory, honor & praise!!!” This video shares with you scenes just before the concert, the actual concert and the celebration! For those who prayed with us, you are a big part of this. “When He comes may He find a faithful Bride in us.”



I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest...

Two weeks from now we get to witness again God’s power and grace through our Hope For You concert. What a privilege that the Lord counted us worthy to be part of His harvest. I remember what Jesus said in John 4:35John 4:35
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.  

WP-Bible plugin. He said, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

The soul-harvest is a matter of immediate urgency. There are many who still need to be saved. It’s easy to lose the burden for the lost or think that the work is done! The truth is there’s a lot of work yet to be done! Jesus said the harvest is before us. The lesson for us is: The Time is NOW! The time is now to do God’s will. The time is now to reach out to the lost; the time is now to share the love of God.

“Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”

What are we waiting for? To hear a voice from heaven? Don’t you know that thousands die and slip into eternal fire without Christ? I’m not saying that we could save the whole world but I’m saying that God has called us to participate in the harvest. And you know what’s God’s number one priority is? His glory in the saving of souls! We need to pray toward that end, we need to give toward that end, we need to serve toward that end.

Jesus continued in vs.36 of John 4, “Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.” Notice the idea of rejoicing there. What great joy there is in serving God, in doing His will, in finishing His work – and hearing those words, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter in to the joy of the Lord!” There will be rewards for faithful service.

Now is the day of salvation! There is no day that God stops from reaching out to somebody needing His salvation!

In John 4:37-38John 4:37-38
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. ³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.  

WP-Bible plugin, Jesus followed up, “Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” In other words, this is the work of everyone! Your prayer, your witnessing, your giving, support in anyway contribute to the work of spreading the gospel! One sows another reaps. And there’s joy, there are rewards for everyone!

The Bible says, “Now is the day of salvation! There is no day that God stops from reaching out to somebody needing His salvation! There’s a harvest out there – what is needed are faithful witnesses, faithful workers who will bring in the harvest to God’s kingdom! What is your priority? What is most important to you? Is your priority in line with God’s priority? Do you seek to know God’s will for your life, do it and continuing in it? This is God’s best for you, for us all. This is the secret of satisfaction!

“The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” (1 Samuel 10:61 Samuel 10:6
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6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.  

WP-Bible plugin). The past week was one of those times when my mind’s running 100 kilometers per hour! It was so far my tightest, most hectic week so far since we had our H4U Ozamiz outreach. No. I’m not complaining. The truth is I enjoy what I do. It’s always an honor and a privilege. But sometimes you get tired too, physically, mentally and emotionally. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

“How did I make it through. How did I accomplish those things needed to be accomplished?”

So looking back to that week I pondered, “How did I make it through. How did I accomplish those things that needed to be accomplished?” And the answer is clear – the ministry of the Holy Spirit! Have you ever looked at ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things in the kingdom of God and wonder how they do it? Our mistake is that we look only at the person rather than at the power behind the person – the Holy Spirit.

The subject of the Holy Spirit evokes uneasiness among some. Excesses they’ve seen in the past come to mind and, as a result, they want nothing to do with Him. Then there are the thrill seekers who think there must be emotional drama manifested or the Holy Spirit wasn’t present, so they feel disappointed. Both are extreme positions that require balance. The Holy Spirit is our divine Helper – that’s how Jesus described Him. He’s not just an observer but an active participant in the believer’s life: strengthening, advocating, interceding, and helping. (I say we can use all the help we can get!) In our own strength, the Christian life is impossible. The Holy Spirit gives us the help to pull it off.

Let Him fill you today, let Him pour His life in you, and then let Him flow through you!

So what does the Holy Spirit do? Jesus said, “He will glorify Me” (John 16:14John 16:14
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14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.  

WP-Bible plugin). That’s the Spirit’s primary task – to point people to the Savior and in doing so bringing Him glory. Everything else He does is built upon that. When He gives gifts, when He heals, when He manifests Himself in any way, it is for the sole purpose of glorifying Jesus. And how does He glorify Jesus? One way is through us, His people. He empowers us to do that which we cannot do on our own strength! Yes, there’s power available for living and for service!

Beloved, the Holy Spirit wants to take your ordinary life and help you to do extraordinary things for His glory. Let Him fill you today, let Him pour His life in you, and then let Him flow through you!

This was during our outreach in Ozamiz last June 25-26. Jesus once again did the wonderful thing of saving souls! 85 of us, not only were His instruments, but witnesses of His grace and power!



Watch and relive what the Lord has done during our H4U Outreach Concerts in Dapitan and Dipolog!



Watch the slideshow presentation of the H4U Praise & Worship Seminar and Night of Psalms in Dipolog City held last Aug. 29-30, 2009.