WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GREAT COMMISSION?

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The Great Commission, that is, the making of disciples of all nations by going, baptizing, and teaching them to obey all that Christ commands us, has been pushed aside as the church scrambles after various social and political causes to make itself relevant.

People in churches are seeing and hearing virtually everything else except their need for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and what life really submitted to Jesus Christ really looks like. They are being taught to look to external measures to solve issues in our world, rather than asking the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) who is our counsellor, teacher, and comforter. Jesus made it clear that what He accomplished for us on The Cross was life-changing. He made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to enable us to live the Christian life. Proverbs 20:27 tells us that our Spirit was always meant to be the lamp of the Lord which requires oil, the Holy Spirit to function as God intended.

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. Proverbs 20:27

Instead of people hearing that the problem of mankind is endemic—that each individual is culpable for their own sin before a holy and just Lord, they hear that the largest issue of our day is systemic racism (Critical Race Theory and Black Lives Matter). Instead of recognizing issues bound within homes due to selfishness and fatherlessness many wish to relegate issues to a lack of money, education, or healthcare. Instead of shunning every instance of sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality, our culture and entertainment promote them as exciting and desirable.

The natural result is half the populace is confused about what the gospel is, with roughly another half confused about how the gospel applies to all of life. The second group wants a seat at the table in the cultural marketplace. Nearly ten years ago Carl Trueman challenged the Reformed world with these words: “…the beautiful young things of the reformed renaissance have a hard choice to make in the next decade. You really do kid only yourselves if you think you can be an orthodox Christian and be at the same time cool enough and hip enough to cut it in the wider world. Frankly, in a couple of years, it will not matter how much urban ink you sport, how much fair trade coffee you drink, how many craft brews you can name, how much urban gibberish you spout, how many art house movies you can find that redeemer figure in, and how much money you divert from gospel preaching to social justice: maintaining biblical sexual ethics will be the equivalent in our culture of being a white supremacist.”

Peruse any Reformed group on Facebook and you’ll see that these words are equally as applicable as they were when Trueman first gave them, which means they’ve been largely unheeded. Even many who hold strictly to their confessional documents are wildly inconsistent with a rigorous Christian worldview. Simply ask a piece of basic advice and see how many different prospective teachers offer up counsel that is not only unbiblical but often anti-biblical.

Obviously, this is not all Reformed Christians, nor all Evangelicals for that matter, but I have to wonder at what point people will stop scratching their heads when they see surveys that reveal most people don’t “get” the gospel. At what point, will people drop the convenient talking points and blame-shifting, and take a long, hard look at what has happened? Proper discipleship still demands a comprehensive biblical worldview born out of the gospel. Therefore, we now need to target those in our churches who reject parts of the Biblical worldview for whatever reason. We need to focus our efforts and funds on the proclamation of the gospel.

How many young people in the Reformed island of conservative Christianity are wedded to degenerate worldviews opposed to that of the Bible and enjoying it? How many of them no longer believe that the proclamation of the gospel is the primary mission of the church? How many of them are lying to themselves about why the majority of people in the broader church cannot articulate a saving gospel?

Jesus told us that in the last days there will be a great falling away (apostasy) in the church. This is evident now even in Reformed and Evangelical circles.

KENYA HOUSE CHURCH MISSION TRIP TO OLASI

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Mission Trip to Olasi market in Nyatike, a sub-county of Migori where Charles the leader of the KHC movement lives.

TRIP REPORT by Pastor Charles Otieno Owino: 

Arrival:     Sunday, October 9th.

Departure:  Thursday, October 13th.

Purpose of visit: Discipleship.

Host:  Mr. Walter Ogwati.

Guests: KHC Discipleship team.

We safely arrived at OLASI on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 9th. The KHC team was welcomed by Mr. Walter Ogwati and several other Christian brothers. In the evening upon arrival, we conducted opening prayers for the Mission Trip before proceeding with a house meeting at his home which was well attended.

Marketplace evangelism in Olasi

Many people turned up for our marketplace meetings as this picture shows. God did some mighty works through us. Many people believed and surrendered their lives to Christ.

We erected our tent for afternoon and evening meetings.

Men and women who were demon possed were healed and delivered from demonic oppression. The Holy Spirit gave many people the power to understand our gospel message on repentance, salvation, and “end times” signs of Jesus’ second coming. Many of which are being manifested in our day. We even preached on the soon coming Millennium rule and reign of Jesus Christ and the Saints when His Kingdom will be established here on earth.

On the second day of our meeting in the home of Mr. Walter Ogwati, a good number of people turned up to hear our gospel message. The hearts of many were touched. Nine people repented of their sins and gave their hearts to Jesus Christ.

No facility was available for baptism but the new Olasi KHC group will ensure the new converts are baptised.

The picture on the left shows Pastor Charles praying for Mr Cleophas Odhiambo (wearing a blue shirt ). He was a former chief of the county who was interdicted for abuse of the office (corruption), and also for being deeply involved in alcoholic drinking. This conversion should significantly impact the community for good.

Three women stepped forward and knelt down to receive prayers We prayed for them and all three women believed and repented of their sins. 

It was such a wonderful time watching the Lord move and touch so many lives every day in our meetings, with many miracles taking place and people giving their testimonies on their past deeds and on the goodness of God.

This picture shows Pastor Charles with Mr Gedion Onyango (wearing a white shirt), this young man was healed from sickle-cell anemia. He is giving his testimony on how he had struggled with the disease for many years. Pastor Charles saw potential in this young man and spent time with him going through foundational biblical teachings particularly verses on salvation and church as described in the Book of Acts.

As a result of the work done through us by God in this region of OLASI, a new house church with nine members was birthed. 

This new young house church will be under elder Walter Ogwati who invited us to come to Olasi and was our host. He will be helped and supported by pastor Daniel of  Lidha House Church.  Lidha is a beachside town on the shores of Lake Victoria in Nyatike which is a sub-county within the region of Migori. This will continue until brother Walter becomes strong and fully built up and mature in the faith such that he can stand alone with his house church.

The picture below should encourage you as it shows young male Christians singing praise songs before young people and those assembled in the KHC tent behind them.

If you believe God would like to use you to help support the KHC next Mission Trip in November to Lwala Giribe then you can donate on my Home Page just click on Donations. The link was established, just to help grow the KHC movement. Two projects I would like to see completed are

  1. vehicle for Pastor Charles
  2. Funds for Bibles in Swahili

I took this photo of Charles’s vehicle during my visit in April of this year. It had not been functional for many months. The gearbox needs replacing and probably the motor as well. The best option is probably a replacement low-mileage Toyota wagon.

FROM CRUISE SHIP TO WAR SHIP

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WE RECOMMEND YOU LISTEN TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM KIM!

In these last years, so many people have left “the cruise ship” and joined “the warship”. They’ve found out that church is not just about having fellowship, but it’s about making disciples. And everyone who goes from just fellowship to discipleship, from cruise ship to warship, are seeing incredible fruit.

Kim is just one amongst many pastors, leaders, elders, and Christians who are stepping out of their comfort zone, and not just talking about, dreaming about, but OBEYING the Word of God. When they do, they see God doing amazing things but also face persecution because they are impacting Satan’s territory. Please watch this video, and join the warship with us!

Have you seen the Last Reformation free movies where they show more about this life? You can do that at the link here: https://thelastreformation.com/movies

CHURCHES ARE BEING TRANSFORMED IN THE USA

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We are so excited by the amazing fruit being harvested at the Last Reformation Kickstart Weekends that are happening all over the world. They are transforming people’s lives. Even churches are being transformed as you will see in the video below.

Here a whole church got transformed, the Pastor got baptized, and they are now changing the way they are doing church and will go and start small groups. This is transformational!

If you live in the USA and have the opportunity to go and join a Kickstart near you, Torben and his team would love to see you. Keep your eyes on TLRMap.com, where there are often new Kickstarts. For example, in California, a new Kickstart will happen at the beginning of the year in the southern part.

However, you don’t need to wait for a Kickstart Weekend. You can host your Kickstart by using the Kickstart Package. The Kickstart Package comprises seven videos where you get all the teaching for a Kickstart Weekend. The Package comes with a leaders book along with a workbook. Of course, it is not the personal contact you get in a Kickstart Weekend. However, it allows you to host it where you are, such as in your living room. You can invite people over to your home, and you can be the host. Use this tool to reach out to others around you just like other people have done.

Below is a testimony from Jeff and Diana in Pennsylvania.

Testimony from Pennsylvania

Jeff and Diana Ellis hosted a Kickstart in a conference center in downtown Butler, PA. This was the first time they used the Kickstart Package in a seminar-type event vs. a home setting. They utilized the Kickstart Package videos, engaging the workbooks. There were about 25 people in attendance, two of the attendees got baptized, and several received prayer and personal ministry.  Jeff stated, “we learned that anyone could do a Kickstart using this package. However, if you have more than four attendees, it is good to have other disciples present to minister alongside you. Overall, for our very first Kickstart, I believe this was a successful event!”

Jeff and Diana plan to follow up with several people for Bible Discovery Groups and do more Kickstarts.

TRANSFORMING YOUR COMMUNITY

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Rick Prosser has a passion for serving his community. He shares his experience of what has been accomplished in Newcastle (about 100 miles/160 km north of Sydney, Australia). Rick says, start with what God has given you but then step out confident the Holy Spirit will guide your steps. Know your city, its structure. Be courageous, Rick’s first contact was with the Mayor and despite the fact he was not a Christian look at what Rick achieved through working with him. It is a 24 minute video but I hope it will challenge you to think more about what you and your church group can do to serve your city which will make more disciples for Christ.

“HOW TO” SERIES FROM TORBEN

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MESSAGE FROM TORBEN:

Welcome to this powerful teaching that gives you some amazing tools for how to set other people free, or how you out there can become free! Deliverance is a big part of setting people free, but it’s not always deliverance that needs to take place. Sometimes, it’s a renewing of the mind that’s needed. But renewing the mind is not always the answer either. It’s the Gospel that is needed! But as you see in this first video, repentance is not enough when it comes to setting people free in some cases. No, they also need to forgive and cast their worries onto Jesus, or cast their issues onto Jesus. This is a very simple teaching, but has helped many people to become free and helped the Christ-followers set other people free! I believe this teaching will also help you out there! So see it! Learn it, and become more effective when it comes to setting people free, and when it comes to you experiencing your freedom! This is the first video in a new series I am doing called “HOW TO”, and you can see more videos come out soon in the playlist linked here: HOW TO… https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

MAKING DISCIPLES FOR CHRIST

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The Bible defines in the book of Acts, what the Christian life should be as a disciple of Jesus Christ — healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, casting out demons, and making disciples of all nations, baptising them to Jesus Christ, and teaching them to observe all things that Jesus commanded.

Sadly, this does not describe the Christian life for most of us in the West. The church needs to come back to the beginnings of the church that we read about in the Book of Acts. We have to return to God’s intention and see how the Holy Spirit moves as we step out in faith to share the Gospel and grow His Kingdom.

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Torben Sondergaad of the Last reformation explains what he believes has occurred with the church in the West and what needs to happen now.

“It was never God’s intention for these revealed truths to result in independent church denominations that, after a while, quench the fire of revival. God did not intend to create separate churches and denominations with their own disconnected ‘little’ truths, while ignoring the other parts and, thus, hindering their members from gaining the whole truth. We believe that it is a reformation that will restore the Church back to what we read in Acts: a simple disciple-life led by the Holy Spirit, where the kingdom of God comes near in homes, on the streets, in shops — yes, all places where people are,” says Torben.

“He says the Church is not the building; the Church is you and me. “God does not live in a temple built of stone. He lives in us — Christians, His disciples. Jesus wants to be part of our everyday life in a practical, direct relationship with Him, without intermediaries.

“I have so many testimonies of people who have been sitting in a Church for 20 or 40 years and have never led anybody to Christ, never cast out demons, healed the sick or experienced the supernatural life, and don’t have testimonies like we read about in the book of Acts.

“The book of Acts should be the normal Christian life — being led by the Holy Spirit and used by God to build His Church, whereas most Christian churchgoers do not lead a life as described in the book of Acts,” says Torben.”

He contends that although Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, we should ask ourselves if the Holy Spirit is living through us in the same way He lived through the followers of Christ in the book of Acts.

GATHERING FRUIT FOR ETERNAL LIFE

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“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthews 9:37

“Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.” John 4:36-38

Jesus made it abundantly clear that all of us are called to make disciples not just the clergy.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Are you gathering fruit for eternal life? Do you even think about rewards in heaven and on the new earth? And yet Jesus taught that being an obedient disciple of Christ brings its reward, even great rewards. You need to be living eternal now not just for eternal rewards but for peace and joy in this life that can only be realised when you are in a right relationship with God, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in your spirit.

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

Don’t you want to abound in the hope that Paul had, as expressed in the above and following two Scriptures. I do!

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:18-21

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38

What role will you have in the Kingdom of God during Jesus Millennial reign on earth? What you do on earth in this life will determine that role.

BIBLE DISCOVERY HOME GROUPS

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An important step in making disciples for Jesus. You don’t have to be a graduate of a Bible College to conduct these Bible studies. Family as a Mission to Make Disciples.

In this video, Torben introduces you to three simple steps you can take to see a Bible Discovery Group begin! These three steps provide a simple but amazing tool you can use to host your own Bible Group. Last Reformation (L.R.) is already seeing many new groups start all over America!

Last Reformation plans to network with groups who are ready to start a Bible Discovery Group or host THE KICKSTART PACKAGE. The goal being to see a reformation of the church, back to the REAL JESUS FELLOWSHIP – just like the early church, with love, power, and growth! Then they will make disciples and see Jesus build HIS church!

L.R. expects this is going to explode! I think they are right! So watch the video! Share the video!

HOW CHURCHES ARE TRANSFORMED

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In this video, Pastor Craig from Destiny Church in Naples, Florida tells about his experience with the Kickstart Weekend they had there a few months ago. He tells how it has been a big blessing in his church, and how it has encouraged other pastors to have Kickstarts in their churches!

Jesus has given us a command, and that is to make disciples. This is truly what a Kickstart Weekend is doing. It is a beautiful tool in disciple-making – to equip people, to help people to understand and share the Gospel, pray for the sick, cast out demons, and make strong disciples wherever they are!

This is a description of the church as described in the Book of Acts. Church as God intended and certainly a description of the “end times” church which we are told will come under intense persecution.