Strengthening the church by distributing the ministry – devotions

Rev Edwin Recinos, Pastor of La Iglesia Celular in Santa Clarita, CA

Pastor Recinos started with a story:

He wanted to learn how to make disciples. He read all the books and went to conferences about how to make disciples. But he couldn’t find the “soup.” But then he had a dream about his young daughter, seeing her grown, a drug addict. It broke his heart. He wondered what it meant. And then, as he prayed, he heard God saying “that ache you have? That’s how I look at my children, the people around you.”

Pastor Recinos realized, “If I act like a father to my congregation, I will care more.”

We don’t need people who just listen to us. If all we do is teach and tell, they aren’t disciples. We need to have relationships of trust, people who are shaped by the WAY we believe, by our life.

God said, “He who doesn’t love you isn’t your disciple.” Edwin said “So how do I make them love me?” God said, “Why do you love me?” Edwin said, “Because you gave your live for me.” God said, “So give your life for them.”

And then the devotional started.

Numbers 11:11-25

The reason we need to make disciples is that we need someone to carry on when we can’t. When someone wants to lead, have them start small. If they multiply we will know.

1. Moses is so frustrated he wants to die. His despair allows him to listen to God.

2. God tells Moses to choose helpers. Moses is able to choose, to select the people he will (and can) work with.

3. The Lord will not speak with them directly but will speak with Moses in front of them and Moses will talk with them. Even if they know how to teach or preach, the leader is the one with the vision. “I will not go to them so they can tell you, I will speak to you so you can tell them.”

4. The Lord will take from your spirit and put it on them. There is a divine blessing, a consistency of empowering.

5. The seventy disciples will help carry the load. Moses didn’t have a perfect life even after this, but he had help.

And then Pastor Recinos had us look at  Matthew 9:35-38. Jesus was limited in time and space because he had a human body. He was working hard, but he could not be everywhere at once. And so he said, “we don’t have enough workers. Ask God to give more workers.” At the end of chapter nine, Jesus was working alone. By the beginning of chapter 10, the disciples start being involved.

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Pastor Andre Gonzalez from Centro Cristiano de Houston led the worship. Here’s a glimpse: