Gospel Temple Men’s Ministry

Gospel Temple AG -Pastor: Francisco Oswualdo Vasquez - Sunday Morning Service

April 9, 2021 | Daily Devotionals | The Tide of the Battle For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side. Luke 19:43 The tide of the Battle has changed. Picture a platoon of military men who have been fighting a war for quite some time, they have moved forward at times and they have retreated at times but now they find themselves surrounded with the enemy.... The tide in the battle has turned. Here’s what that means, it means that comfortable and convenient middle ground Christianity is a thing of the past. The cultural encirclement around orthodox Christianity is calling all people who claim an affiliation with Christ; it’s calling all men who claim faith in Jesus to an uncomfortable choice. The choice is, you can blend in or you can battle. The cultural compression that’s upon us right now will be forcing you to either tap out of your convictions and blend in, or you tap into your convictions about everything. Nothing is off the table God, family, marriage, sexual preference, work place issues, gender roles, the justice and legal systems and yes there is an economics with all of that which makes it even worse. The role of religious right, religious liberties, it’s all going down right now. We can recognize it, we can choose to be God’s man in the middle of it or we can deny it, but again deciding not to decide how to think and live in the culture that you’re in as God’s man is not an option. Here’s the deal fellas, you may not be deployed in Bagdad or Kabul or be placed along the Korean DMZ but make no mistake, as a man of God, your back is against the wall. Although you may have avoided direct conflict with what’s going on around us in the culture, in western culture specifically, but in global culture in a growing way it’s coming to your porch. The choice is no longer fight or flight. You are surrounded. Father you are never contained, and neither am I when filled with the Holy.

April 8, 2021 | Daily Devotionals | Courageous Faith I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. Philippians 3:7-9 NLT ... Courageous faith starts with an equally courageous perspectiverisky one, like the apostle Paul’s that lays it all on the line. The decision to be God’s man is, we believe, a course that has no equal. It is the highest possible privilege and calling for every man. Practically, it is this commitment that helps us stand up to the fire, prevail over temptation, and eliminate the fear of others. Most profoundly, this commitment motivates us to live for an audience of one. So do you want to become a courageous God’s man? If so, consider this: Are you willing to come clean and confess your sins to God and at least one other person? Are you willing to protect your integrity with boundaries and limits? Are you willing to start connecting with other men in authentic relationships? Are you willing to take the narrow road, experience rejection, and even suffer with no clear reward here on earth? If you are willing, you will have ventured into courageous faith. You can’t do it without Him, and you can’t do it without the help, encouragement, and accountability of others. God and other men can pull you out of your cocoon of superficiality and into the great adventure of faith, growth, and maturity. It is a rough ride, this thing called life, but it’s a ride that matters to God and makes a difference to those we love. Right now would be a great time to look anew or again at the man who gave His life for you and to dedicate yourself to becoming God’s man. Father, there is no greater cause to give my best to other than You.

Gospel Temple - Pastor Francisco Oswualdo Vasquez - Weekly message and encouragement

April 6, 2021 | Daily Devotionals | Living in a Wound And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 Remember the old phrase Stop kicking the dog? That’s when someone has been hurt, rejected, or otherwise put out, and then proceeds to take out his emotions on those around him folks and family members who had nothing to do with what happened in the first place. One way or another, we all give th...e dog a quick boot following losses and hurts that we experience in our relationships. And we spend the rest of our adult lives either making others pay or, with God’s help, making them pay less and less. When God’s man lives out a wound, he withdraws himself from God and people and that only spells trouble. To put it simply: No one likes the feelings produced from blowing it and causing harm to the relationships we deem important. It is precisely at this moment that the world, the flesh, and Satan love to offer God’s man new feelings from an enticing menu. Millions of grown men have been abandoned by their earthy fathers, and millions more have experienced the losses resulting from that missing part of themselves. It is for this very reason that Jesus opened a way to His own Father to share Him with us so that we can find the love that is missing in our hearts. Our part is simply to allowGod to love on us by coming to Him the way any boy would come to a loving Father. When God’s man builds this connection with his heavenly Father, he experiences increasing levels of self-control because God heals the wounds from the past that cause his out-of-control behaviors. Father, help me to move from living in the past to living in the future with you.