Just Brian

Called to the Wilderness

2012-02-24T14:17:00.004-08:00

MINISTRY POSITION AVAILABLE: Wilderness Leader

As pastors, our job is to take "our" ministry into the promised land. We all work hard at taking the youth that Jesus has entrusted to us from where they are when we get them to where God wants them to be. But where is that? The Promised Land. The place that has an over-abundance of milk and honey. The sweet place. The place that makes it so that you can finally rest and relax as you enjoy the work of your labor.

But here's what hit me this morning. Moses, arguably one of the most impressive and amazing leaders the world has ever seen, never reached the Promised Land. The first 40 years of his life were spent in Egypt, getting the best education money could buy since he was considered royalty. The next 40 years, watching sheep. The last 40 years, leading the complaining and critical Israelites through the wilderness, never to arrive in the Promised Land.

Here are some principles to keep in mind as you continue to shepherd:

1. "NORMAL LIFE" IS PREPARATION FOR CHRIST'S CALL. I can guarantee that Moses was not think about how he was going to be chosen by God to deliver his people from the oppression of Egypt. His first 40 years were spent in luxury, learning the culture and being given an education. But I can almost guarantee that those first 40 years taught him what he needed to take on Pharaoh during his last 40 years.

2. THE BEST WAY TO LEARN HOW TO SHEPHERD IS TO WATCH SHEEP. For 40 years, Moses learned what it took to keep sheep going in a certain direction. He learned what it meant to protect and to provide for them, and to lead sheep wherever he wanted them to go. Some, I'm sure, would bite him and become stubborn at times, just like the Israelites would do as he lead them. Be prepared for the sheep to bite. It does hurt, but you are called to lead. But the best way to prepare yourself to lead others is to learn from those who have lead before and follow their lead. You learn how to lead sheep by leading sheep.

3. YOU MAY NOT REACH THE PROMISED LAND. We all want to know that we have made an impact on eternity. We want to be successful in ministry. However, here's my questions: how do you gauge success? By what standard are you successful? When do you know that you've arrived? I'm thinking that the key to our success in ministry is our faithfulness to do what God has called us to do. Some people will walk into a ministry where they experience amazing results. The reality is probably that they walked in and took over after someone else laid a great foundation. Some others will not - only inching their way forward as if the wilderness is swallowing them. The key is this: stay faithful to the call that God has on your life. Whether the wilderness or the Promised Land, our faithfulness should still be the same because the same God is God over all.

Hang in there. Be faithful. Be obedient. Stay reliant. And watch God do what only he can do. Of course, you may not get to go in and see him do it this side of heaven, but I bet he'll show you when you when you see him face to face what he did through you.

Hume Lake Wrap-Up Video

2012-02-23T21:08:00.002-08:00

Here's a glimpse of what happened up at Hume this past weekend.

Update and Prayer...

2012-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I experienced a dream-come-true. I was able to go back to Hume Lake and speak to over 1,000 high school students in the chapel that I made a huge decision for Jesus in 20 years ago. Here were some of the highlights:

I would guess that I saw between 60-80 high school students surrender to Jesus on Saturday night.
I would guess that I saw around 300-400 people (students and adults alike) stay back on Sunday night in the chapel to cry out to God and admit that they were broken and were needing healing.
On Monday morning, I sensed God telling me to ask if there were any more students who wanted to surrender to Jesus right after the worship team finished. When I did, 6 students stood up to surrender to Jesus. I didn't preach one word, but the worship team did through the worship time.

It was an incredible weekend.

Here's how you can be praying for me this week:

Tonight I am teaching on the topic of pain as we continue our series called, "PERSPECTIVE: Getting Through the Pain" at FLOOD. We are looking at Job 1-2, and 38-42. God has done some amazing things through this series. Please pray that he continues. Pray as I prep, pray through and preach this message tonight.
Tomorrow morning I am sharing with some of the moms here at PFB. Please pray that God would give me wisdom as they have asked me to speak on the topic of how they can talk about sex with their kids.
This weekend I am hanging with the young adults of PFB Church for our Young Adults retreat. We have about 38 of us going up to Big Bear for our retreat. Please pray for our time together and for me as I lead us in our times of Bible study.
Finally, please be praying for the IGNITE leadership team as we finish up all of the preparation for our IGNITE event on March 3rd (www.igniteusnow.com).

Thank you so much again. You all are amazing.

IGNITE is coming!!!

2012-02-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's the teaser video once again to get you ready for IGNITE.

Please join us on March 3rd at 5:00pm (or come at 4:15pm for free food and giveaways).

Also, please let us know that you're coming. Click here and fill out the registration form.

You can get all of the info for IGNITE by going to www.igniteusnow.com.

Update and Prayer...

2012-02-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I spoke to about 110 junior high students up at Hartland Christian Camp in Badger, California. What a great weekend. These junior high students were a blast. Here's the big news from the camp for me:

I was able to witness 12 students surrender their lives to Jesus during one of the chapel services. That just never gets old. As they stood up, the students around them started cheering and clapping.

Here's how you can be praying for me this week:

Please pray for FLOOD this Wednesday night. We are having an all-worship night, with interactive stations for the people to get involved in worship in ways that they may not usually get to experience.
This Thursday night, I will be sharing with graduate students on the LA Campus of Azusa Pacific.

It's a lighter week for me this week with FLOOD being an all-worship night. Thank you so much for praying. Take care.

Update from Hartland Christian Camp

2012-02-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give a quick update about how things are going up here at Hartland Christian Camp. There are about 140 junior high students up here this weekend and they are a blast. Last night I spoke on the majesty and holiness of God, speaking from Job 38-42. It was a powerful night. And, it was a night of celebration as we watched 6 junior high students surrender to Jesus. It was awesome.

Keep praying. God is moving. It's exciting to see.

Update from FLOOD Last Night

2012-02-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick update of what we saw happen last night at FLOOD:

1). We finished up the "PERSPECTIVE: Getting Through the Pain" series. It was a powerful ending to the closing of the series.
2). We saw three young ladies stand to surrender to Jesus. THIS NEVER GETS OLD!!! This is what it's all about.

I am so pumped up about last night. In the past two Wednesday nights we have seen 7 people surrender to Jesus and three people get baptized. God is on the move.

Prayer for This Week...

2012-02-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hi there,
Here's how you can be praying this week:

1. This Wednesday night at FLOOD I am finishing up the "PERSPECTIVE" series. The passage is Philippians 1:27-30. I studied this passage this morning and things were just popping out at me left and right. I am not finished studying, but already I am excited. Please pray for me as I prep, pray through, and preach this message.

2. This weekend I am traveling up to Badger, California to Harland Christian Camp. I will be speaking to about 140 junior high students up there for their winter camp.

3. This weekend, the high schoolers of PFB, and about 4-5 other youth groups in the area, are meeting at Azusa Pacific for "DISCIPLE NOW." This is their "winter camp." There are still about 3-4 days left for students to sign-up for this event, and already there are almost 60 high school students just from PFB who are attending. Please pray for the Spirit to move in the lives of all of the students who attend this event. Please pray for all of the staff as they minister to these students. I am so excited to hear how God moves and the changes that happen in the lives of these students.

Thank you so much for praying. I cannot put into words how thankful I am for you.

Update from FLOOD

2012-02-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hey there,
I just wanted to give you an update from Wednesday night at FLOOD. It was a night of CELEBRATION as we saw the following:

We saw four young ladies stand up to surrender their lives to Jesus.
We saw three young men publicly profess their faith in Jesus through believers baptism.
We saw a number of first-time guests join us for worship (I have met about 20 new people over the past three weeks who have come to FLOOD).

I was even able to re-connect with a girl (now a young woman) on Facebook who was in my high school group about 12 years ago. She moved to Idaho about 12 years ago, where she is married and has three beautiful kids. I invited her to join us on Wednesday night at FLOOD through the livestream. She did. Here's what she said:

"Wow! That's all I have to say!! Watched FLOOD tonight and it was absolutely amazing!!"

I was blown away. Our vision at FLOOD is this: to reach and equip as many people as possible to change their world for Christ.

God is up to something, friends. As a good friend of mine says: FLOOD is like a water balloon that is about to burst. I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for praying. Please keep it up.

Prayer for this Week...

2012-01-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
This past week has been a whirlwind. From the teaching opportunities to the young adults retreat this weekend, I'm having trouble just remembering my name. :) Thank you for praying. I'm convinced that God said what he wanted and accomplished what he had in mind even though I wasn't completely excited about the outcome of every single message (Thursday morning was tough for some reason). But I trust God's word more than I do my own emotions or feelings (read Isaiah 55:10-11).

Here's how you can be praying for me this:

1. This Wednesday night at FLOOD we are in part two of "PERSPECTIVE: Getting Through the Pain". Please pray for me as I pray through, prep and preach this message. It was POWERFUL last weekend. I'm expecting even greater things this week. I'm convinced that Jesus wants to bring some serious healing to us. Please pray for that.

2. On Thursday morning I am teaching at Upland Christian Academy to the high schools students. This is a pre-Ignite chapel, a way for us to get the word out about Ignite happening on March 3rd (www.igniteusnow.com). So please pray that God would reveal what to preach about and also that he would use Ryan Hall and myself in a great way that morning. We are so excited!

3. Please be praying as we are about 4 weeks away from Ignite. God has been doing amazing things over these past few years. Please pray that God moves like never before. Please pray that God helps us get all of the plans done and things ready. Here's the promo video for it:

That's it for this week. Thank you for praying.

Jesus: My Brother King

2012-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

I just read this from Charles Spurgeon and it blew me away. I pray that it blesses you.

"I have exalted one chosen out of the people." — Psalm 89:19

"Why was Christ chosen out of the people? Speak, my heart, for heart-thoughts are best. Was it not that he might be able to be our brother, in the blest tie of kindred blood? Oh, what relationship there is between Christ and the believer! The believer can say, “I have a Brother in heaven; I may be poor, but I have a Brother who is rich, and is a King, and will he suffer me to want while he is on his throne? Oh, no! He loves me; he is my Brother.” Believer, wear this blessed thought, like a necklace of diamonds, around the neck of thy memory; put it, as a golden ring, on the finger of recollection, and use it as the King’s own seal, stamping the petitions of thy faith with confidence of success. He is a brother born for adversity, treat him as such.

"Christ was also chosen out of the people that he might know our wants and sympathize with us. “He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” In all our sorrows we have his sympathy. Temptation, pain, disappointment, weakness, weariness, poverty—he knows them all, for he has felt all. Remember this, Christian, and let it comfort thee. However difficult and painful thy road, it is marked by the footsteps of thy Saviour; and even when thou reachest the dark valley of the shadow of death, and the deep waters of the swelling Jordan, thou wilt find his footprints there. In all places whithersoever we go, he has been our forerunner; each burden we have to carry, has once been laid on the shoulders of Immanuel.

“His way was much rougher and darker than mine

Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?”

"Take courage! Royal feet have left a blood-red track upon the road, and consecrated the thorny path for ever."

Dead Man Walking

2012-01-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

"When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of [Jesus] but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead." — John 12:9, ESV

Can you even imagine it? You're dead. Then all of a sudden, you're alive. What did Lazarus see and experience when he died? What was it like to wake up from death at the command of the Son of God? What was it like?

"He's alive!" What was everyone thinking? What was everything doing and saying? What were people saying as they took off the grave clothes that covered Lazarus? What emotions flooded the hearts and minds of Jesus' disciples? Martha and Mary? The crowd? And as word spread all over the place about what just happened, what were people thinking?

What were thinking? I have no idea. But I know this: "When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead." The crowd came out to see Jesus. However, the crowd was also coming out to see Lazarus. They wanted to see "the dead man walking."

Here's what stood out to me on this. The crowd wanted to see Lazarus because of the drastic change in his life. He went from dead to being alive. Well, here's the truth for us Christians: we have gone from death to life as well. The life that I live is a testimony of the transformational power of God in my life. I want people to want to see me because of the fact that Jesus has done a work in me and I will proclaim him to them.

How about you?

Prayer for this week...

2012-01-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Here is how you can be praying for me this week. It's kind of a jam-packed week so your prayers would be appreciated again.

1. On Wednesday afternoon I get to go and teach the high school students who are part of the Christian Club at South Hills High School.

2. On Wednesday night at FLOOD I am preaching out of Philippians on the topic of perspective during the pain. This will probably be a three-week series on getting through trials and pain. Please pray for me. I want to be gracious and loving as I tackle this topic with the people of FLOOD.

3. On Thursday morning I get to go and teach the junior high students of Crossroads Junior High in Corona.

4. On Thursday at noon I get to partner up with Campus Crusade on Cal Poly's campus and speak to their group.

5. Friday through Sunday is the first of our two FLOOD young adults retreats. Please pray so I am sensitive to hear what God is leading me to share to this amazing group of people.

Thank you again for how much you lift me up in prayer. I don't take it for granted. Love you all.

They Believed Because He Shared

2012-01-18T07:10:00.001-08:00

And many came to him. And they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true." And many believed in him there. (John 10:41, 42 ESV)

John the baptist did not do miracles. He had no signs that people would consider miraculous. But he had words. He spoke things about Jesus, telling those things to anyone who would listen. And that was it. Nothing flashy. Nothing "impressive." Instead, he merely spoke things about Jesus to those who would listen.

But the aftermath of his sharing about Jesus brought the miraculous. The result: "And many believed in him there." And there it is. Many believed in Jesus because of what John told them about him. They believed in Jesus.

The same thing is true for us. You may not be doing the things that others consider to be "miraculous," but telling others about Jesus leads to the miraculous of them believing in him. May God use us to usher in the miraculous as we tell others about Jesus and they come to believe in him.

Update and Prayer...

2012-01-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Hey all,
I just wanted to give you an update about the retreat that I spoke at this past weekend for Maranatha High School. How do I describe it? AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! That should suffice.

Saturday night: saw 9 students stand up to surrender to Jesus. The place went nuts.
Sunday morning: saw 9 students stand up to surrender to Jesus. The place went nuts.
Sunday night: saw 21 students stand up to surrender to Jesus. The place went nuts. I was awestruck. Jarret Lemaster (he lead worship for the weekend) was blown away.

It was an incredible weekend. Out of the 250 or so high school students that attended this retreat, 39 of them went home forgiven and in a new relationship with God through Jesus.

Please pray...

This Wednesday night at FLOOD I am preaching on the vision of FLOOD that God has called us to. I am so excited about this. I love preaching about our specific mission. Please pray for me as I pray, prep, and preach this message.

Also, I ask for prayer as I have experienced stronger spiritual opposition as of late. It feels stronger, and I've felt more discouraged, frustrated, and defeated. The day before we left for the retreat was such a difficult day for me. But I hold on to what Scripture tells me: that the devil will flee from me as I stand firm. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to enable me to stand firm for him.

Thank you so much. I am so thankful for you.

Prayer for this Week...

2012-01-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hey all,
Thank you so much for praying last week. Again, last week was a powerful evening at FLOOD. I was excited about the turn-out of FLOOD family members as well as the response to worship. It was powerful.

Here's how you can be praying for me this week:

1). On Wednesday morning I have the opportunity to teach in chapel at Whittier Christian High School. This will be my first time with these high school students. I'm really looking forward to it. Please pray that I am sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that I teach only what he wants me to teach.

2). On Thursday morning I am teaching in chapel at Maranatha High School. I have been there often and absolutely love it every time. Please pray that God gives me his message to pass on to the students.

3). This weekend, I get the chance of hanging with the high schoolers of Maranatha High School in Big Bear for their annual spiritual emphasis retreat. Not every student will be there, but only those who want to be part of the retreat. Please pray for me as I pray through and preach each message.

4). Finally, please be praying for FLOOD this Wednesday night. We are spending the whole evening focusing on the horror of human trafficking and what the Church can do to combat it. Pastor Lisa will be teaching. Please pray for her as she preps, prays through, and preaches.

That's about it for this week. Thank you. Your faithfulness to continue to pray for me is so valuable to me. I cannot explain the difference that I have seen in how God uses me to teach his word ever since I asked you to pray for me. Thank you. Love you all.

Christians Fighting to End Present-Day Slavery

2012-01-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

LOVE IT!!!

HEAVEN IS SINGING!!!

2012-01-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last night was explosive at FLOOD!!! Oh my goodness. I have to be honest: I honestly felt that I would be preaching to myself last night being that we had a week off the Wednesday before. But, the FLOOD family came out and came prepared to bring it.

I preached out of Colossians 1:9-20, sharing with the FLOOD fam my prayer for all of us this coming year. POWERFUL would be an understatement.

And here's the best part: we had a young adult stand up and surrender her life to Christ. Our first worship time of 2012 and we see Jesus rescue someone. That never gets old!!!

Thank you for praying. God is on the move and I'm still convinced of this truth: the best is yet to come.

Please Be Praying...

2012-01-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

Hey all,
Well, I'm back from my time away. It's been a restful week or so. I did speak in Santa Clara over New Year's weekend, and God was so faithful in that time with those students. I was so blessed by my time with them. Thank you for praying for that.

Here's how you can be praying:
1). Tonight I am teaching at FLOOD. This is our first FLOOD worship service of the new year. I have Colossians 1:9-20 all prepared to shared, but something is stirring in me that is keeping me open to the fact that God may have other plans for the message tonight. I'm not sure but there's just something. Please pray this prayer for me: That I would continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus" (Acts 4:29b-30, ESV).

I want to only speak God's message tonight - that's all. Please pray that I would be able to hear and follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit so that his will is accomplished.

Thank you so much for praying.

It's a new year. I can't wait to see what God gets done this year.

FLOOD Christmas

2011-12-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

Our FLOOD Christmas service was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! I am still in awe of how awesome it was. The music was outstanding. The special music of, "O Holy Night" sung by Jarret Lemaster and Jessica Cabral was unbelievable!!! Jesus was exalted and worshipped. I am so thankful for what I was able to be a part of. Thank you for praying.

Merry Christmas.

Please Pray for Tonight

2011-12-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

My Bible and notes for tonight.
I FEEL LIKE PREACHING A BIT!!!

I'm in my office as I write this - reading, praying, and going over Luke 2:1-20 to preach tonight at FLOOD Christmas. As I keep reading it over and over I just get more and more excited. The thing is: MY THOUGHTS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE. I want clarity. I want to proclaim God's truth in a way that people get and understand. I want GOD'S MESSAGE to be proclaimed loud and clear.

And even as I write that, there is one key thing that keeps coming to mind (which is actually the title of the message for tonight): "The Message in the Manger." Here are key words that I believe are found in the message in that manger: humble King, good news, great joy, for all the people, peace, hope, help, God's plan. It is amazing!!! I would love to see you join us in person at FLOOD tonight if you can make it (PFB Church - 601 N. Garey Ave, Pomona, 91767), or you can join us live online at www.floodnow.com.

Please pray for me as I continue to prep, plan, and pray through this message for tonight. Then please pray as I preach it.

About what else to pray for, I am on vacation starting on Sunday for a week and a half. However, I will be speaking/teaching at a church retreat in the San Jose area December 30-January 1 while I'm gone. Please be praying for me for that trip. I'm pretty excited.

Thank you all for praying. Merry Christmas to each one of you.

I'm A Fan

2011-12-17T21:27:00.001-08:00

Just Fill the Jars...

2011-12-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

This is the message that I preached at PFB this past Sunday morning at all of the morning services. I share this not because I am needing people to see me preach, but because I'm convinced that this message is a message that needs to be embraced. It is still freeing me from the feeling of not doing enough.

I don't think I have ever had as big a response to a message as I did this one. If you watch, be blessed. If you don't, be blessed as well. :)

12/11/11 from Pomona First Baptist on Vimeo.

Prayer and Update...

2011-12-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Thank you so much for praying for me last week. Here are a few of the updates from Wednesday night at FLOOD and Sunday morning at PFB Church:

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT FLOOD:
We saw two girls get baptized.

SUNDAY MORNING:
At the 11:11 service we saw a woman stand up in front of everyone and surrender to Jesus. THAT NEVER GETS OLD!!!

Here's how you can pray for me this week:

This Wednesday night I am preaching at FLOOD out of Philippians 1:12-18. So far the topic that is popping out is the fact that perspective is the necessary ingredient in getting through difficult situations. We all face trials. God has a way to get us through those times every time. Join us in person if you can (7:00 pm @ PFB Church; 601 N. Garey Ave, Pomona, 91767) or watch live online (www.floodnow.com).

Thank you so much for praying. God has been blowing me away lately with what he has been doing. The best is yet to come. I'm convinced of it.

It's All About Perspective

2011-12-09T11:01:00.001-08:00

This coming Wednesday night we are starting a mini-series within in the Philippians study that we are going through at FLOOD. The title for this mini-series is called, "Perspective." Notice this verse that Paul writes:

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really serve to advance the gospel,..." — Philippians 1:12, ESV

What was it that had happened to Paul? He was arrested. He was sitting under house-arrest, possibly chained to a Roman guard, penning this letter of joy to the Philippian Christians. Paul was wrongfully imprisoned because of the fact that he loved Jesus. And what was his response? He saw that his imprisonment was actually a good thing for the cause of Christ.

Perspective changes everything. It impacts your life in so many ways. I'm convinced that perspective is one of the key ingredients necessary to experiencing joy in life no matter what circumstances a person may be facing. Do not miss this mini-series. And please invite someone with you to FLOOD next week. We all know someone who is facing a difficult situation that I am convinced will be blessed so much as we look at God's word.

I love you all. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your pastor. You are such a blessing to me.

What a ride,

Brian ("Big B Holla"; Pastor B)

FLOOD: Wednesday nights at 7:00pm

Join us at FLOOD in person (PFB Church - 601 N. Garey Avenue, Pomona, 91767)

Join us at FLOOD online (www.floodnow.com)