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The Spirit of Power and Love
September 18 2007 / ShareHim in Kalimantan (Borneo), Jul. 13 - Jul. 28 '07 #198by Emalyz Agosto
Personal Testimony of Emalyz Agosto.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
I have learned from previous mission trips that I have to be flexible. This was my second trip with ShareHim, and I was expecting, like the last trip, to preach in a church, but God had other things in mind. When I arrived in Balikpapan, Indonesia, I was shown the place I would be preaching, and it looked to me like a school, but I thought maybe it was where this church met, but alas, it was a school! I was a little nervous at first because preaching at the school was not what I expected; nevertheless, I was up for a challenge! With the help of Dr.Shepherd (a teacher at Union College), we modified the sermons so they would fit the intended audience. My schedule was a little different from all the others preachers that came; I preached at 7:30 in the morning and then used the rest of the afternoon to prepare for the next sermon.
The first time I stood up to preach my stomach started to turn like it had never done before. As I stood there, I had this feeling of fear. Looking at me were the faces of 100 kids ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old, just waiting to hear what I had to say. For me, it is easier to speak to an older audience than to a younger audience, so standing up there that first day, I felt fear. Then God put this verse in my mind found in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” It was true! Why should I be scared to talk to these children about Jesus and His love!? I felt encouraged when some of the older kids came up to me and introduced themselves and told me how much they liked the sermon. Throughout the meetings God used different kids to show me that I do not need to be fearful about talking to a roomful of kids about Jesus.
I remember one boy named David. He wanted to be baptized so badly, but his parents would not permit him. He told me that when I made the altar calls he wanted to come to the front so bad, but he was afraid that his little brother would see him and tell his parents. There are many who had a similar story to David’s. Praise God! David, along with two other kids, was baptized on the last Sabbath. It is hard to go against a parent’s wish when a person respects them so much. It took a lot of courage for David to take this step, but I know that Jesus will reward him greatly in heaven. Not all the kids that wanted to get baptized had the same story. Each one was different, and not all of the kids got baptized because they feared their parents’ reactions. Throughout the meetings, I knew that the Holy Spirit spoke to each of the kids’ hearts and planted a seed of a longing to know Jesus more.
At the end of the meetings, the fear I had of talking to the kids about Jesus left me. God instead put a spirit of love toward the kids and of power that I could do all things through Him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). It is very encouraging to see a person give their heart to Jesus, especially kids. This was an amazing group of kids with a great love for Jesus. It made me want to show the love of Jesus to everyone!
I have learned from previous mission trips that I have to be flexible. This was my second trip with ShareHim, and I was expecting, like the last trip, to preach in a church, but God had other things in mind. When I arrived in Balikpapan, Indonesia, I was shown the place I would be preaching, and it looked to me like a school, but I thought maybe it was where this church met, but alas, it was a school! I was a little nervous at first because preaching at the school was not what I expected; nevertheless, I was up for a challenge! With the help of Dr.Shepherd (a teacher at Union College), we modified the sermons so they would fit the intended audience. My schedule was a little different from all the others preachers that came; I preached at 7:30 in the morning and then used the rest of the afternoon to prepare for the next sermon.
The first time I stood up to preach my stomach started to turn like it had never done before. As I stood there, I had this feeling of fear. Looking at me were the faces of 100 kids ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old, just waiting to hear what I had to say. For me, it is easier to speak to an older audience than to a younger audience, so standing up there that first day, I felt fear. Then God put this verse in my mind found in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” It was true! Why should I be scared to talk to these children about Jesus and His love!? I felt encouraged when some of the older kids came up to me and introduced themselves and told me how much they liked the sermon. Throughout the meetings God used different kids to show me that I do not need to be fearful about talking to a roomful of kids about Jesus.
I remember one boy named David. He wanted to be baptized so badly, but his parents would not permit him. He told me that when I made the altar calls he wanted to come to the front so bad, but he was afraid that his little brother would see him and tell his parents. There are many who had a similar story to David’s. Praise God! David, along with two other kids, was baptized on the last Sabbath. It is hard to go against a parent’s wish when a person respects them so much. It took a lot of courage for David to take this step, but I know that Jesus will reward him greatly in heaven. Not all the kids that wanted to get baptized had the same story. Each one was different, and not all of the kids got baptized because they feared their parents’ reactions. Throughout the meetings, I knew that the Holy Spirit spoke to each of the kids’ hearts and planted a seed of a longing to know Jesus more.
At the end of the meetings, the fear I had of talking to the kids about Jesus left me. God instead put a spirit of love toward the kids and of power that I could do all things through Him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). It is very encouraging to see a person give their heart to Jesus, especially kids. This was an amazing group of kids with a great love for Jesus. It made me want to show the love of Jesus to everyone!