God Is Speaking To You Through Us

As a veteran Pastor of 39 years, I have prepared well over 2, 500 Messages to preach and teach the Word of God, speaking to small groups of people and large groups of people here in New Zealand, Asia and Africa 

On average it takes about 30 hours to prepare a Message and about 40 minutes to preach it 

The reason I have done this for so long is because the Lord has called me to preach the Good News that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and was raised from the dead for our salvation; I can say with the Apostle Paul, Galatians 2: 7 ‘God has given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel’ ^{(present tense)} 

I take this responsibility very seriously because as the Apostle Paul said, 2 Corinthians 5: 20 ‘God is speaking to you through us’ ^NLV 

When God speaks to you through us you have 2 options - either reject what we say or accept what we say 

Here are 2 New Testament examples that Illustrate this point 

1. One time, a young man met Jesus and asked Him, Matthew 19: 16 ‘What good must I do to have eternal life?’ ^CSB Jesus answered him by saying, Matthew 19: 21-22 “’Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away’ - That young man rejected the Word of God through Jesus and walked away! 

2. Later, another young man met Jesus and asked Him, Acts 9: 5a ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Jesus answered him by saying, Acts 9: 5b ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!’ - That young man accepted the Word of God through Jesus and went on to become the great Apostle Paul! 

Now, here are 2 examples from our ministry that Illustrate this point 

1. Many years ago, in our first Church located in our hometown, down South, the people were very accepting of the Word of God  

One year our Pastoral Team went to visit a Church in Sydney Australia that had been experiencing revival. We went there over a long weekend and when we came back, the next Sunday morning I was preaching a Message about the power of the Holy Spirit and how we had experienced more of that power through the ministry we had enjoyed in Australia, and while I was speaking one of our lovely Pacific Islanders (Tapita Tautua) got out of her seat and came up to the front and said to me, “Pastor David, I want more of the Holy Spirit’s power!” For the next few years, we experienced new vitality and growth in our Church 

2. Several years ago, in our 2^nd Church, located here in Nelson, we found that generally the people were unaccepting of the Word of God. One Sunday morning I preached a Message about the urgency of prayer and at the end of the Message, I asked the congregation to respond by staying in the auditorium and joining together in a prayer time. Well, to my amazement all of them walked out and went into the Church kitchen area with only 2-3 people staying to pray. Later, I asked one of those who went out, “Why did you all walk out?” and the person answered me by saying that “after the Message they go out and have tea and coffee and talk” - Hard to believe isn’t it!? 

Unsurprisingly, prior to us arriving there to pastor their Church, the congregation had been in decline for 14 years  

Why did the Church decline for such a long time? 

- Poor leadership?  

- Prayerlessness? 

- Indifference to the Word of God? 

I would say that all those reasons would apply 

On the 28^th of this month (June 2026) we will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Nelson International Church – And for our Ministry here at the NIC to go on thriving and growing, we must continue to hear from God and respond to His Word 

Here are my brief recommendations for our Ministry, to take us forward for the next 30 years  

My recommendations come from the Acts 10 narrative which is about the Apostle Peter preaching the Word of God in the home of a Roman Captain by the name of Cornelius who lived in Caesarea up the coast from Joppa 

As background: 

The Lord spoke to Cornelius and told him to send his men to go to Joppa to bring the Apostle Peter to his home - Cornelius responded to the Lord and sent his men to fetch Peter 

The next day the Lord spoke to the Apostle Peter and told him to go to Cornelius house to preach the Good News of the Gospel - Peter responded to the Lord and went with the men to Cornelius’ house Acts 10: 1-32 

The Acts 10 narrative goes on to instruct us in hearing from God and responding to His Word 

Here’s what we learn: 

1/ The people came to the Meeting at Cornelius’ house early, even before Peter got there 

Acts 10: 24 ‘They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.’ 

Testimony: In 2014 Senior Elder Philip and me were invited to a Sunday morning Service in a town we were based in Zimbabwe/Africa 

We got there early and found that there were crowds of people who got there before us! Just before the Service started the woman led the congregation from outside and into the Service with loud praise and worship 

Over the years I have retold this testimony and said that Service was the most ALIVE service I have been in all my years as a Christian 

Q. Are you in our Meetings early, ready to hear from God and ready to respond to God? 

2/ The people honored the Messenger 

Acts 10: 33a ‘it was good of you to come.’ 

Q. Do you show your appreciation to those who spend their lives preaching and teaching the Word of God for us every Sunday? 

For me: I always go up front and thank the person who preached/taught the Sunday Message – I really-truly would like to see more people doing that at the NIC 

3/ All the people came to the Meeting  

Acts 10: 33b ‘Now we are all here’  

Many Churches would be happy to say, “Most of us are here” 

Q. But at the NIC, wouldn’t it be great to be able to say, “We are all here” 

4/ The people recognized the presence of God in the Meeting  

Acts 10: 33c ‘waiting before God’  

Q. Do we take it seriously about the presence of God here in our Meetings or do we treat our Sunday Services like it’s just a fun social gathering, nice music, comfortable chairs, a pep talk about ‘how to feel good about yourself' followed by tea and coffee and a chat about our week? 

5/ The people were hungry for the Word of God   

Acts 10: 33d ‘to listen to everything the Lord has directed you to say.’ ^CEB 

Q. Are you actively listening to the Word of God and ready to respond? 

Then the Apostle Peter preached about salvation in Jesus Christ saying, Acts 10: 43 ‘everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His Name.’ 

Dear friends, salvation through Jesus Christ is the central Message of our ministry  

Now, look what happened:  

The Lord answered from Heaven as the Holy Spirit fell on the people and they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and were water baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ 

Acts 10: 44-48

Revival had now begun amongst the Gentiles! 

Dear friends, God is speaking to you through us - are you listening and are you ready to respond to His Word? 

AMEN!