Pastor’s Blog

Sometimes I wonder if we are crying out to God for the right things.  When we are sick, we cry out to God for His healing because we want the sickness to go away.  When we are struck by an economic downturn, we cry out to God for His provision and for His restoration.  When we are hungry we cry out to God for sustainment.  When we fall into sin, we cry out to God for forgiveness and His covering.

I’m glad that we serve a God who hears us in our time of need.  I’m also glad that we serve a God that loves us so much that he comes to the rescue.  I’m especially glad that we serve a God that loves us and forgives us in spite of our terrible failures.  But, if we find ourselves only crying out to God in our desperate time of need, I have to ask, “are we truly living our lives for Christ?”

Hebrews 6 encourages us to grow up and move on into maturity in Christ.  I think that is a resounding encouragement for us today.  I believe the Lord wants us to grow up so that He can reveal His heart to us.  As we see His heart, our pray focus begins to shift.  Sure, we cry out to God in our time of need, but we also cry out to God as the Holy Spirit leads us.

For several months I have been crying out to God to bring revival in our midst.  I have been asking Him to touch Germany and to bring the hearts of His people back to Him.  I have been praying that the lost would be radically saved and transformed into His image.  I have also been praying that He would bring increase to our church.  But these past few weeks I have found myself crying for something different yet within the same vein.  I am crying out to the Father for His mercy on us His children, on our home nation (USA), and on our host nation (Germany).  I am crying out to the Father for His mercy on the hearing impaired, that they would have spiritual ears to hear.  I am praying that God will reveal His mercy so that we can be all that He has called us to be.

Micah 7 tells us that God delights in showing us mercy.  In 1 Chronicles 21, the Lord offers David three choices for correction.  David tells the prophet Gad, “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord for His mercy is very great”.  I get the sense that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand and experience the incredible mercy of the Father because it will cause us to get serious with God and light a holy fire within us; a fire sparked by His incredible mercy that changes us and causes us to shine for Him.  After all, isn’t it His mercy that prompts revival in our midst anyway?

For the past couple of months, my heart has been drawn towards a more intimate relationship with Christ. I have a deep hunger to know Him more, and I want to see Him work powerfully in our church.

I think both of these desires are very attainable. The truth is God wants to do something amazing in our lives and in the life of our church. To get there, revival must begin in each of our hearts individually. Individual revival will turn into corporate revival, and corporate revival will change us and our world for Christ.

Just having a hunger and desire is not enough. We have to put legs to this vision in order to see it accomplished. The legs that we put to it start through prayer. It is getting on our faces before God and seeking Him first. For it is then that we will see the gifting of the Spirit and the power of God flowing in our church. I’m not talking about an emotional outburst that is built up in our own strength, I am talking about true revival where the presence of God is so real that we are changed.

I am ready to be changed; transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I can be everything that God has called me to be.

Pastor Ken

This week I traveled to Orlando, Florida for several meetings.  I started the week out by visiting an awesome church in the Orlando area called “Church in the Son”.  This church has grown immensely over the past couple of years and I was very interested to see the “look and feel” of this up and coming mega-church.  There are two things that I took away from this Sunday service that I thought I would share here.  They are issues that we have to address as we grow and do what God has called us to do.

First, we have to be and remain relevant to those in our circle of influence.  I am not talking about a relevance in words only, I am talking about being relevant like Jesus was relevant.  Jesus did not spend time just talking about touching those around Him with the power of God, Jesus took steps to reach out and touch people at the point of their need.  He then told us in His Word that if we DO (give a cup of water, etc…) that we are doing it to Him.  If we are going to be relevant to the community that Christ has called us to, then we have to be doers of the Word and not just hearers of the Word.  Being doers makes us relevant to our community.  One of the things I noticed about the Church in the Son was that they are taking great strides to ensure they  are relevant by touch as many as they can at their point of need.  They are relevant and they are growing.

Second, we have to maintain an attitude of love and acceptance to all that would come.  This is not a time for us to focus internally; this is a time that we must focus outwardly and expand our vision and influence.  We have to do this with genuine love, heavenly compassion, and unconditional acceptance.  I’m not talking about loving and accepting sin; I am talking about loving and accepting people in spite of their sin.  If we will do our job and bring them in, the Holy Spirit will deal with the sinful nature.  I love the way the Church in the Son took the time to ensure each person that came into the service knew that they were loved and that someone was glad that they were in service that Sunday morning.  It wasn’t just the staff that made you feel that way, but it was the people that made the difference.

I am very much excited about what God is doing and what God is about to do at Victory International.  Lets take a second to ensure that we are touching those that God has called us to at their point of need, and lets embrace people with the incredible love of the Father.

Last night, Bernd Nickolaus went to be with the Lord. The doctors will tell you that he succumbed to cancer. I will tell you that cancer did not take Bernd, God took Bernd home. I can say this with confidence because I strongly believe in the sovereignty of God. The bible tells us that there is a time to be born and there is a time to die, and that God has each one of our days numbered. Bernd, as a believer in Jesus Christ has finished his fight here on earth and is now in the very presence of Jesus. There is no more pain and there are no more tears.

We on the other hand are dealing with pain and tears because of the loss of our dear brother. During such times, people may begin to question the healing power of God. Let me tell you that I saw amazing healing take place in Bernd’s life over the past few days. God healed Bernd spiritually; he had truly made a decision to pursue Christ with his all. God healed Bernd emotionally; that’s Melanie’s story to share. And Last night God healed Bernd physically by taking him home.

So why didn’t God choose to heal Bernd physically right here on earth? Was it a lack of faith? Could anyone including Bernd have done anything to change the outcome? The answer is the providence and sovereignty of God. We as believers in Christ stand in faith, but we do not use our faith to direct God. He is God and He is sovereign. We prayed for Bernd’s healing, we commanded the cancer to go, we agreed together that healing was on the way, and God was faithful to bring that healing in His own way.

So where do we go from here? We take time to grieve because we will miss Bernd and at the same time we celebrate in our hearts because we know that he is with Jesus. We also focus on taking care of the needs of those still here on earth; Melanie, and Bernd’s family. As more information becomes available concerning these needs, we will contact our church family for help.

We love you!

Pastor Ken and Danine

I’ve been thinking about prayer over the past few days.  So what is prayer?  No really, take a second to close your eyes and answer the question before you continue reading this blog.  What is prayer?  I’m sure most of you answered “communication with God”.   Good answer!  Prayer is a church word for communication with God.  It is a time when we talk to God, and a time when we listen so God can speak to us.  That’s right, two-way communication.  Prayer is the fertilizer for growth in our relationship with the Father.  That is what personal prayer is all about.  

So how about corporate prayer… Why is it important to pray together in the church?  What is the purpose of corporate prayer?  I think the purpose of corporate prayer is so that two or three of us can come into agreement over one thing (Mt 18:19).  Corporate prayer can be a powerful time where we hear God individually and then speak God’s truth and will into a specific area of need, or to a specific situation that we are facing.  It is a time where we can minister to one another through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.  

I love corporate prayer.  What I do not love is what we sometimes turn corporate prayer into.  I often wonder, why do we turn prayer into something it is not?  So, here’s what corporate prayer is not.  Corporate prayer is not the venue for counseling; “God, just show them that if they love their wives like Christ loves the church then the situation will be taken care of”.  Be honest now, who is that prayer too… God or the person you’re praying for?  Nor is corporate prayer a way to tell someone how you feel about them; good or bad:  “God, just let them know how much we care about them and how important they are to us”.  Is the intent to really have God show them, or is it just a message that we want them to hear?

I think speaking the counsel of God’s Word and speaking words of encouragement to one another are biblical and extremely important; But, prayer is not the right delivery method.  When we use “prayer” to communicate OUR MESSAGE to the person we are praying for, we end up cheapening our communication with the Father and limiting the effectiveness  of building relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ.    Come on now… wouldn’t it mean so much more if instead of praying your encouragement, you went to the person and just told them… “Jim, I just want you to know that we really care about you.  You are so important to us”.  

Honestly, I think it is time to get real with God and with people.  Being genuine believers in Christ and being genuine lovers of people are important.  We are in the redemption business my friends.    So lets get real in prayer, lets encourage one another, and lets touch this world with the power and love of Christ.

Many years ago I traveled from my home in Miami, Florida to Texas to visit friends and family. During my stay, I attended Rose Heights Church of God with a friend. I left church that May Sunday morning with a decision to make, “what was I going to do about Christ?”.  Two days later in a back bedroom of my parents home, I knelt before the Lord and surrendered my life to Him.

I had gone to church during my childhood, but the church I attended was very “works” oriented and I therefore did not have an understanding of God’s grace. There were a couple times before this decision-point that I had stood during church meetings “professing” Christ, but those professions were based on fear of the wrath of God and not a relationship with Christ and I immediately returned to my old lifestyle.

As I was on my knees surrendering my life to God that Tuesday evening with my bible open in front of me, I began to cry out to God. I told the Lord that I wanted to be in relationship with Him but I needed His help. I told Him of my fear of falling away. I told him of my fear of returning to the “old man” lifestyle in Miami and not living for God. I cried out to the Lord and He heard my cry. At that moment a light wind blew through the bedroom window and the pages of my bible blew open to the book of Proverbs. Something inside of me told me to look down and read. I read:

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the destruction of the wicked, for the Lord shall be your confidence and keep your foot from being taken.

There are some of you reading this post today that need to make a decision for Christ. You have failed in the past, and the fear of failing again is keeping you from being what God has called you to be. Maybe you are a Christian and you have slipped into the bondage of sin. No matter what is keeping you away from the Father, it can be changed today by surrendering yourself to Christ. You CAN live your life for Christ. Do not fear for the Lord shall be your confidence if you will just surrender to Him.

When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my hearts delight, for I hear Your Name, O God Almighty (Jer 15:16 NIV)

The power and beauty of God’s Word is amazing! Everything around us may seem to be turbulent, but we can stand firm. We can be filled with peace and joy in the midst of turmoil because of the promises found in scripture. His Word provides the foundation for life that equips us to live victoriously. Therefore, we find that we are not being moved by circumstances because our life is built on the solid Rock instead of the shifting sand.

That’s why it is so important to read God’s Word each and every day. The bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. That transformation occurs as we fill our hearts and minds with scripture. It is then that we begin to view life through the lens of Christ instead of through the lens of circumstances. When we see things the way that God sees them, we find ourselves living life in peace and joy because our confidence is found in HIM.

I encourage you to spend time with God today.Let His Word feed and nurture your spirit.

Blessings!!!
Pastor Ken

Easter blessings to each of you!!  As I sit to write my first Victory International pastor’s blog, I am reminded of two scriptures.  The first is found in Gal 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (NLT)”, and  the second is 2 Cor 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)” .   As we celebrate the risen savior this morning, we are reminded that all things become new when we are in Christ.  As we turn our hearts to Him and allow Christ to live through us,  we are filled with His peace and joy.  We then keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, never returning to the mess behind us.  In Christ all things really do become new.  The old can be gone in your life too.  Christ is the answer for you.