While I am getting prepared for the coming weeks I decided to take some time to write to you all. Since last time I wrote around my 40th birthday I have done lots of very different things. Life is not always the same thing and when we look at our lives there is room for many things to do and also for many things to happen. August 16th I visited Missionskyrkan in Nykarleby, north of Vasa and held a late night meeting there. It was in a good atmosphere as all people were already saved. Most of the times when I speak for other Christians I am thinking about what I am doing, I should really be out there where the unsaved and lost people are. Anyway, this is what I am doing today and part of my mission is to speak to Christians as well as non Christians.
I have come to the conclusion that there is no idea for me to speak to any other people, Christians or non Christians if I am not being myself. It is with great sadness I see thinks taking place in Christianity where people get saved, become members of a church and becomes copies of a copy of a copy. This is where we loose our identity that God gave us. When God created us He also created us to be unique individuals. I have to be honest and say that it really hurts me deeply to see unique and original people with gifts become copies of copies. You do not only see it in the way they walk or the way they talk but also in the way they make up their outside.
The change is on the inside
What I experienced when I met Jesus was that the change started on the inside. The change started and the change is an ongoing process that is going to go on for the rest of our lives. Still we do not have to give away or give up our identity or personality, we should give it all to Jesus and let HIM form us to what HE wants us to be. I have a hard time believing that Jesus wants all men to wear silk shirts and ties. It is sad to see people from the streets get saved, delivered and raised up from the mud become like clean fancy men with nice clothes. How in the world are they going to be able to reach their folks if the change is only on the outside? No, be yourself and keep your personality and your style and let Jesus change your inside. Jesus never looks at your shirt, your tie or how long your shoes are! Jesus looks at our hearts and thats where HE lives. It IS as simple as that.
Another thing that I have on my mind today and that I have been thinking about while painting our house. Yes, I dressed like a worker and got up in that crane and painted our house for the first time since 1995 when we moved here. That is what I call a miracle and let me tell you what happened! I did not only get the house painted, I had an awesome time together with the Lord while I was working. He put things in my heart and my thoughts started to change while I was painting the house. I hope you see the picture of an old house where the paint is bad being painted with new paint. It starts to look good and it looks like new! This is so true but what about the inside? It is exactly the same way with us people. What we have on the outside is nothing compared to the inside. Like we live in our houses, Jesus lives on our inside!
Another thing I was meditating about was the way people preach and the way they live. So many times I have been shocked by listening to preachers and they way the command people to live their lives but they are not living what they preach themselves. If I am really honest this makes a hypocrite. Yes, a hypocrite is someone who tells others what to do and not to do but does it or other things himself. This is why we should be honest when we get up there in a pulpit to preach the good news. Imagine that God allows us to get up there being ourselves. Why? Yes, because it has NOTHING to do with us. It has nothing to do with YOU or ME it is all about JESUS! I did not die for anyones sins, neither did you! JESUS did it all and in HIM GOD put HIS love for you and for me, for everyone and NOTHING can separate us from GODS LOVE that is in CHRIST JESUS (Romans 8:39). This also means that those who separate you from a church of a congregation is doing something that is not of GOD as NOTHING can separate YOU from HIS love.
Be the revival
I am praying for a time when we Christians could wake up to the truth that we were loved first and that we have to love all other people with the very same love GOD used when HE loved us first. Today there is condemnation within the church and within the congregations and I don't understand why it is like that when the word of God says that there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. Some of the "high men of God" or some of the "pharisees" might categorize Christians but that is also wrong, there are only one type of Christians and those are nothing else than Christians. You can NOT put a degree on any Christian, neither can you say that someone is more Christian than another one. I believe that when we realize that we ALL are small and we all are on the same level in God's eyes and we realize that we all need each other and that the works for the Kingdom of GOD is TEAMWORK we could have revival.
Many of us are speaking about revival, some of us are praying for revival but as long as we are not one in Christ as HE wants us to be and as long as we can not work as a team we can forget all kind of revival. It is when we come together and encourage one another to work in the gifts we have when WE BECOME THE REVIVAL! Todays church is in a big need of more servants. What would happen if a revival broke out like it used to be back in the days? People would get saved and all wants to preach but who is going to take care of the fish? Who is going to babysit? Who is going to spend time on one person at a time? This is why we need to be a team and in a football team all can not be goal keepers! The church of today is in a desperate need of spiritual mothers and fathers, so if you don't feel called to be out there preaching or reaching you might have another gift and another call. There is nothing that says that God wont use you or that He does not want to use you! There is only one thing and this is what GOD wants to say to you today: - Get up from that chair and get out and make disciples!
Be yourself! Be the one God created you to be and ask for your place in the Kingdom and you will find it! GOD wants to use YOU and when we realize this and start to work as a team being on our right places in the Kingdom and when we allow GOD to put us at these places no matter what selfish leaders say; thats when we are not only going to see revival, we are going to be the revival!
Life in Him TV show
This week I was down in southern Finland. Together with Kim Påfs at Frank Mangs Center I have been working on the coming tv-show Life in Him. Finally we had the first program ready and I took off to Helsinki and visited and delivered the first show to TV7. Yesterday I received the message that we are going to start broadcasting these programs. When is still open but one thing is sure; I will always bring the camera with me on the road as this program is going to be only about what JESUS have done in peoples lives.
Lohja and Turku
From Helsinki I headed to Lohja where I gave my testimony at Sininauhaliitto and their fall retreat. It was a good meeting and I felt God touched many people. Wednesday night I was invited to speak at Kotikirkko in Turku and I have to be honest with you all and tell you that I did not know what to say or start with when I got up there for a packed church. This is normal for me but every time it feels like a battle. Ones again I started to be myself and being myself also means that I have to share my weakness and my mistakes. This is when GOD can come and do HIS work through us as we get weak and small. Again GOD took over the show, I might have stood out like a fool being honest telling the people about who I really am but at the end of the day it has nothing to do with me, it is all about JESUS! I am happy to be me, in all my weakness, in all my struggle and in all my pain I am a winner as HE who lives in me is WAY bigger than he who lives in the world. Amen!
On the road with Pastor Tommy
In just a couple of days Pastor Tommy Lilja is coming to Finland. For you who don't know him I can just say that he is one of my favorite men of God. A Pastor, a man of God and a brother that saw me as the one I am. He believed in me and started to train me and teach me in the word of God and walking in the Spirit. I do not know where I would be today if God never had connected me with Pastor Tommy. Today I am working together with and alongside him. We are going to do five meetings in Finland, in Seinäjoki 5.9, Jyväskylä 6.9, Turku 7.9, Karjaa 8.9 and in Tammisaari 9.9. I am excited for his visit in Finland next week and I am even more excited about our trip to Zambia and Ethiopia the week after that. GOD definitely has something going on and this is a time in my life that I feel is going to be another big change on my personal inside.
Spain and USA
After Africa it is time for another trip to southern Spain. My prayer is that I would be able to bring my wife and daughter again as after Spain I will be gone for five weeks when it is time for the fall conference in Sölvesborg, Sweden followed with four weeks of preaching and reaching in USA. I need to be with my family and sometimes it is just so good to be able to bring them with me on the road as I love what I am doing and I love see GOD touch peoples lives. Thats what its all about! Walk in love!
Love you all!
In Christ!
Pontus
Frank Mangs Center are standing behind me as an organization and together we have decided that it is not wise to stand outside the open doors just because there are not enough money to walk through those doors.
Frank Mangs Center have opened up a new account for this ministry and we are now looking for people who would like to partner with us monthly. At least I would ask you all to pray for our work and for the harvest of 2012. You can read more about being a partner in finnish or swedish by clicking HERE.
