God's Time, Perfect Time

"..at the right time, I the Lord will make it happen.."
Isaiah 60:22

A lot of times I tried to make things happen the way I wanted them to but did not succeed.

I have ambitions, I have dreams, I have plans. I want to achieve all of them at my pace and my timeline.

But while trying to reach those goals I experienced delays and setbacks. I had failures, I went through pain and so much struggles.

Then my mom told me "don't rush..God has planned out everything for you..not the way you want them to happen, not according to your plans, and maybe not within your timeline...only trust His timing..."

True enough.

*originally posted on my facebook account.

Qualities of a Worship Leader Part 3

(continuation)

B. Heart for the People

"Love thy neighbor as yourself.
No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." Mark 12:30-31

The bible commands us to Love God and to love our neighbors.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."
1 Thes. 3:12

It should be our prayer that our love for other people will increase. If we were a loner before, pray that you would have the heart to mingle with other people.

We have to think about the welfare of others and not of ourselves. (1 Cor. 10:24)

Leading worship is leading God's children into His presence.

We have to lead the people to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, something we cannot do if we haven't ourselves worshipped the Lord in spirit and in truth.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves," Phil. 2:3


a.)Be an example in action

 Set an example to live a life of purity.
(1 Tim. 4:12)

..make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother..(Romans 14:3)

We have to be careful with our lives whether we like it or not, people are watching us closely. People are observing our every actions. A little mistake would be a reason to cause other people to stumble and fall away. Let us not become a stumbling block.

b.) Be an example in speech

Problems we might encounter:
     1.) Communication Skills
           Moses had speech problems. (Exodus 4:10-12)
           Jeremiah also had the same problem. (Jer. 1:6-10)

Frightening and difficult situations:
In every difficult situation, we need not fear as to what to speak foe the Holy Spirit will be there to guide us. (Matthew 10:19-20, Luke 12:12)

The promise is that the Holy Spirit will help us in the most frightening settings, and so how much more may we depend on him in less threatening situations.

Communication is not a problem. God only wants our availablity and He will develop our abilities.

      2.) Consistency in studying God's word.

Spending quality time in reading God's word and in praying.

This will take time, patience, and a lot of love for God.  If you truly love God, it is impossible for you not to want to read the Bible because the Bible is one of the most important tool for God to communicate to us. He speaks to us in many different ways but His words in the Bible is the most reliable source and way of communication.

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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."  Joshua 1:8

When we are consistent in studying the Bible, we will know how to pray. We will know God's will for us. We will know what to teach others amd most of all we will know what to do with our lives.

Planning your songs, making you line-up, composing your exhortation, they will come easy if you spend more time in reading and studying God's word.

When we lead worship remember about two things
1. It is about God
2. It is about the children of God. (Mark 12:30-31)

It is not about you. Never about you. You are only an instrument like all the other musical instruments. You are an empty vessel.

Let the Holy Spirit do His work during worship service because it is all about Jesus. All for the glory of our King.

*** END ***

Two Pesos Regret

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:2

While I was on my way to get a taxi cab, a boy around 9 or 10 years old approached me and mumbled something I did not understand. With the look on his face, I assumed that he was asking for money. I asked him where his mother was and he mumbled some words which i still didn't understand.

He followed me so I got my wallet and checked if I had coins. Yes, I had some extra coins.

Now my mind was filled with thoughts like: he might be gambling, or he might go buy rugby, or he might spend it on computer games, etc..etc..so I decided to give him only TWO PESOS.

After receiving the coins, he left and headed to another direction...to the Bakeshop...my heart stopped beating for seconds...Oh no! He was going to buy bread! Two pesos is not enough for one piece of bread!!!

My eyes welled-up in tears because of guilt. So I followed the boy having in mind that I will buy him plenty of bread.

I saw him headed towards the bakeshop and there was no other opened establishment. My eyes were fixed on him and I was sure I saw him in the bakeshop...BUT...when I arrived there...no kid, no boy, was in sight.

There were only three people in the bakeshop, the vendor, one lady customer eating bread, and one man buying bread. The boy was nowhere to be found. He wasn't in the bakeshop. Like he probably disappeared when I blinked my eyes?!

That left me stunned and filled with regret.


*** originally posted in my facebook account for my 2019 Christmas countdown. #dec04

Qualities of A Worship Leader Part 2

Qualities of a Worship Leader
(Continuation)

2.) Seeking to do God's will:
      a.) Set apart (Holy) Heart
Ezekiel 43:12 "And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple."

1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NIV)
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

Leviticus 20:26
"You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own."

1 Peter 1:15-16
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

2 Tim. 1:9
"He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,"

Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

Psalm 15:1-2

        b.) Repentant Heart
2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

1 John 1:9  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

James 4:8 "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

2 Timothy 2:15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

       c.) Humble Heart
James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Our model for humility:
Phil. 2: 3-11 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

       d.) Teachable heart
Prov. 4:5 "Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them."

Heb. 12:6 "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Phil. 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prov. 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Prov. 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.

Psalm 25:8-9
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

OUR DESIRE MUST BE:
John 3:30 "He must become greater; I must become less.”

Ephesians 2:1-10 Notes

This is an outline of my exhortation on Ephesians 2:1-10.

1. We were rescued from the past: Sins, guilt, frustrations, shame, regrets, failures. vs. 1 (As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,)

2. We once lived according to the patterns of this world.
vs.2&3 (in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath)

- We made decisions based on how the world decides. We acted the way the world tells us to and reacted the way the world shows us how to react.
Everything was based on what the world feeds us.

3. We are given new life in Christ. vs.1, 4-5 (But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.)

- Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made in calvary all our sins are gone, the past have been erased and we have been given a new life, totally new life.

4. We are raised up together with Christ. We are set apart from the world to be in the heavenly places so that God can show us His incomparable riches of His grace.  vs. 6 &7 (And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.)

- We are brought to another level higher than that of the world so we no longer live the way the people of the world lives instead, we are now dependent on God as His Holy Spirit works in our lives, we are now transformed by the renewing of our minds and we now live differently.

5. We experience God's grace not because of our works but because of God's mercy and love. vs. 8&9 (For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.)

- Everything we now have is all from God, we cannot boast of anything because it is not because of our good works that we were saved, it is purely a gift from God.

6. We are God's workmanship. Our worth is in Christ. vs. 10 (For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.)

- Whenever we feel insecure or shaken, always be reminded that we are handpicked by God, the work of His hand. We are unique from everyone and God has a purpose why He created us. He prepared us for something good and great.

* we are saved and loved
* we are elected and chosen
* we are different and set apart
* we are God's workmanship

True Worship

John 4:23-24 

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

God the Father is seeking for true worshippers.

Who are true worshippers? 

True worshippers - are those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

If there are true worshippers, there are false worshippers: 

There are people who worship in spirit but not in truth.  

- they are worshipping false gods

There are people who worship in truth but not in spirit.

- the worship is dead.

We've read that the Father seeks for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. This means that worship is our life's priority. Worship does not only happen on Sunday morning but worship must be part of our lives.

We worship the Father in spirit because He is a spirit. He cannot be seen. He is not confined in any other places but He is everywhere..He is omnipresent..

We worship a God who cannot be seen.

We worship God in truth. By this it means that true worshippers know the truth and are living in the truth.

Only Born Again christians can truly worship God, those who have been born of the spirit of God.

1. You must have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; and

2. It is evident in your life that you have been born again.

Why is it important to experience this? 

Read John 4:15-18

Jesus knew that this was a Samaritan woman who is living a sinful life but He wanted the woman to experience what it is to drink from the waters of living water and to let this woman worship God in spirit and in truth.

Therefore, our duty is first to experience it ourselves and then we let others experience what we are experiencing everyday to worship God in spirit and in truth.

On Sundays, when we worship God in spirit and in truth, we allow the Holy Spirit to work mightily in our midst...these peopl coming to church carrying their burdens will experience what it is to worship the Living God..One who cannot be seen but is so alive in our midst.

Let us worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, not just on Sunday morning service but everyday, every moment in our lives and we will see a big difference in our lives.

When we do that, when we make it a lifstyle, we will never thirst again..everything we need to live this life and to live a godly life will be given to us.

(This is a transcript from one of my exhortations during intercessory prayer meeting.)

Qualities of A Worship Leader Part I

Qualities of A Worship Leader
By: Audrey Bonjoc
January 14, 2020

"As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person." Proverbs 27:19

When we talk about the qualities of a worship leader we need to look into one part of man. The heart. Worship is a matter of the heart.

What is in your heart?

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Prov. 4:23

The status of our hearts affect our worship to God. So it is always important to let the Lord examine our hearts.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
Jer. 17:9-10

God looks into our hearts not on our abilities, not on our talents, not on our skills.

Let us examine then what a worship leader must have:

A. HEART FOR GOD
  1.) Seeking heart for the Lord:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (NIV)
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Matthew 22:37
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

OUR RESPONSE:
Psalm 63:1
"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land
where there is no water."

THE RESULT:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord...
Jer. 29:13-14

When we find the Lord, we are ready to lead others to worship Him.  When our hearts are full of God, praises will overflow, and worship will be automatic.

When we seek the Lord, we must seek to know Him by being knowledgeable of His Word.

Psalm 1:1-6
Psalm 119:1-16

2 Tim. 3:16-17
 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Prov. 9:10
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

The more we hear of God's Word, the stronger our faith becomes.
Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."

***To be continued next Tuesday***

The Basics of Worship

Sharing to you my lesson outline for the Worship Leader's Class I conducted at our church.

The Basics of Worship
January 7, 2020
By: Audrey Bonjoc

1. The Heart of Worship is God
1 Chronicles 16:23-31, Daniel 2:20, Deuteronomy 10:21

We worship One God, Three persons.  We can worship God the Father, through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.

We were separated to God by sin but because of the sacrifice that Jesus did on Calvary we were reunited to God the Father. The Holy Spirit who is in our hearts, who dwelt in it at the time of salvation, is at work when we worship. We feel the presence of God during worship because of the Holy Spirit.


2. Be a True Worshipper
John 4:23-24

Who are true worshippers?
True worshippers - are those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

If there are true worshippers, there are false worshippers:

There are people who worship in spirit but not in truth.
- they are worshipping false gods

There are people who worship in truth but not in spirit.
- the worship is dead.

Requirement to be a true worshipper:

A. You must have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; and

B. It is evident in your life that you have been born again, through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life.


3. Experience God's Presence

   a. In God's presence there is fullness of Joy - Psalm 16:11
   b. In God's presence you'll find rest - Ex. 33:14
   c. In God's presence one can find times of refreshing, repentance, deliverance - Acts 3:19

A worship leader must experience God's presence inorder for him/her to lead God's people into His presence.


4. Lead People into God's Presence

Why the need to lead them?
  a. Some people do not know that they are in the presence of God- Genesis 28:16

  b. Because of sin they cannot go into the presence of God - Isaiah 59:2

-**-