I find it rare to meet someone who shares the same genuine heart for discipleship, who deeply values apostolic influence, & who intentionally cultivates Kingdom community in the same way as me. Our Malaysian host, PT, is a person who shares that with me. & I’ve had the honor of engaging in multiple one on ones & deep conversations with him that last for hours this past month.
PT (picture below) is one of the most humble, gentle, kind, wise, & loving people I know, & along with a small list of people who I currently look up to as spiritual influencers in my life, PT is someone who I have now added to that list.
PT is a pastor of an Indian church here in Malaysia, & also works for a construction company. He stepped into the shoes of a pastoral role after his dad passed away several years ago & carried the church forth with one of his four brothers in the passing of his father, who used to oversee the church. However, compared to his father, PT has a different approach to ministry- he prefers not to sit behind a desk with the role of ‘pastor’ for his church community, but physically lives out of a lifestyle that intentionally seeks to disciple & raise up apostles specifically within the youth & young adult community.
PT not only embodies a lifestyle of intentionally journeying alongside others, building them up through encouragement, fighting for them in the Spirit, & acting as a spiritual covering for them DAILY (which is my heart), but every night also outreaches in hookah bars. Holy Spirit opened a door of opportunity where PT, nightly, sits in hookah (vape) bars, & is seen as a peacemaker influencer for young adults & adults his community, with whom most people would not associate with due to their dangerous behaviour. Through his influence of being a peacemaker in hookah bars, PT uses this platform to share the love of Jesus with people in his community. IT’S WILDLY COOL. I mean, who meets a pastor who shares the love of Abba in this way?
During one of the one on ones I had with PT, we ended up going to the bar he goes to nightly. In the two hours we were there, I stumbled upon asking the question ‘how many people do you actually know here?’ (to give context, the whole place was packed to the full). His response, ‘80% of the people here know me & know that I love Jesus. The other 20% know of me as one of them.’
I think it’s one of the craziest & coolest things everrr. The way PT has stewarded life is ministry & ministry is life on a daily basis is evident in the way he lives- the way he is intentional with the people he disciples & with the way he influences the community he has grown up in through intentional outreach.
Throughout our deep conversations I’ve had with PT, lessons, thoughts of perspective, & wisdom naturally came up in conversation (& those who know me well know this is my heart for this year :’)) For real though, PT gave me a whole new perspective on the classic David & Goliath story, which I had NEVER IN MY LIFE THOUGHT ABOUT (if you want to know about this, feel free to ig me). So, I thought I would share some of his pure wisdom lessons with y’all, & hope they impact you just as much as they impacted me.
Here are lessons from the legend himself-
: Your heart should consistently be representative of a dove- soft, humble, gentle, & kind. But your mind needs to be like a snake- sneaky, wise, & strategic. It’s through this that your ministry will evolve into being the most effective it can be (ref Matt 10:16)
: Spiritual covering is important for your ministry, wherever your ministry may lead you. The role of a spiritual covering is to be there to walk alongside you & battle in the Spirit alongside you. Know that it is important, & it is important to seek out.
: But, remember that the Word of Abba should also be a spiritual covering for you too- specifically being rooted in your mind & heart.
: If it’s your ministry (ie- if you’re following the calling of Abba on your life), you will face trouble.
: Remember you are in a team of four, always. This team includes yourself, Holy Spirit, Jesus, & Abba.
: When you recognise you are in a power team of four, miracles & healings will happen.
: When you are alone, you cannot fight. Community, physically & spiritually, is so important for your physical, emotional, & spiritual health. This is another reason why spiritual covering is so important.
: With various levels of discipleship (think Jesus’ discipleship group of seventy, twelve, & three), there are varied levels of spiritual covering involved. The group of three had a different spiritual covering & realm of discipleship compared to Jesus’ group of twelve & seventy.
: The more wisdom we receive from Abba & the Spirit, the harder the enemy will attack us.
: Don’t let people label you the way that society & the majority of individuals label you. Listen & grab onto the way Abba sees the potential & gold in you, & stick to & journey with people who see you in the same way Abba sees you.
: Whoever hungers & thirsts will taste & see what they are searching for (ref Matthew 5:6; 7:7-8)
: Search for the practical strategies of the Spirit in the Bible & apply them to your current life. The Spirit will always reveal them to you.
: Search for the mysteries of the Spirit in the Word.
: The depth of the Spirit is simple.
: The practical reality of the Gospel is hard, but it is ultimately very simple.
: We need to learn how to preach, but also how to position ourselves to be preached to from the Spirit.
: Youth & young adults crave the reality of the Spirit. They are searching for realness & tangibility. We have an opportunity to plant a seed & demonstrate who the Spirit really is.
: We teach others to train others.
: We, as a church, should be seeking to pursue disciples over church members. If you are a musician, you must train another to be a musician. If you are an artist, you must train another to be an artist.
: Revival is re-life. Revival happens where life all ready was. You cannot revive something that didn’t have life before, & you cannot revive something in the spiritual realm if it didn’t have Life before.
UPDATE!
I am 78% funded & only have US$4240 left to fundraise by the next two months!!
Points for those journeying w me in prayer!
: prayer for financial provision for fundraising
: unity with my teammates, squad family, & leadership team
: prayer for protection over each of my teammates minds. One of the ways we’ve all been attacked recently is with lies in our minds. Prayer for wisdom with taking every thought captive & binding it with truth
: prayer for all the people we have befriended & invested time into this month in Malaysia. Prayer for continued community to journey with them & invest into them even further. Continued prayer for softening of hearts too
: prayer for PT & his church. They are pursuing & praying into seeing 20 families come to know Abba in 2020. Prayer for breakthrough for their church in the physical (financial, relationally, etc), & in the spiritual
: prayer for a smooth transition with leadership change within our team, & prayer for smooth transition into Thailand
