Sunday Service and Leaders Meeting by Ed Anton

Through the Lord we receive extraordinary power. Ephesians 1:19 says that we have power that surpasses anything in this world, because that power is the same power as His. - Ed Anton

Last Sunday, July 20, the Jabodetabek congregation was blessed by the visit of a teacher from America. Ed Anton is the leader of the congregation in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He is also a teacher on the Teachers Service Team within ICOC Cooperation and serves as a mentor for 25 churches in the Commonwealth regional area (Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania). Brother Ed came with his wife Debby to teach and preach at Sunday service.

The two of them arrived on Thursday. They spent the first two days spendtime with the servants of the Jabodetabek congregation. On Saturday, they gave training to the ministry servants and also took time to teach in the S.O.M. (School of Mission) class. They taught about church history and redemptive context in reading the Bible, where we try to see God's hand in every story in the Bible.

Ed Anton in the School Of Mission class

Sunday Service

On Sunday Ed delivered the sermon at both services. His sermon was titled “It's nine o'clock somewhere”. He explained that “It's five o'clock somewhere” is an expression people in America use when they want an excuse to drink alcohol during work hours. Then why nine ? He began by explaining that there is a fairly interesting similarity between being drunk and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

“It's nine o'clock somewhere”

Ephesians 1:19 says that we receive great power. We can use this great power when we understand the Holy Spirit, and when we allow the Spirit to work in our lives.

In Acts 2:4-15 it is told that the disciples received the Holy Spirit. They began speaking in foreign languages and the people there thought they were drunk, but it was only 9 o'clock. Ed gave an illustration:

What happens when your friend, who is a foreigner, suddenly can speak your language? how do you react? Would you be amazed or think that he is drunk? Of course not drunk! you would listen to what he is saying!

Ed explained, when someone is drunk a person is no longer himself. He will do things he would never do when he is sober. This happens because the Pre-Frontal Cortex part of his brain stops sending danger signals when a person is drunk. He becomes bold, even reckless.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will have the same trait. We will be brave enough to do things we do not dare to do. We will be open, we will speak deeply, we will appear more joyful. We will be brave enough to spread the good news about Jesus. We will not hold ourselves back. He quoted Philo of Alexandria, who said:

“If grace fills the soul, that person will rejoice and smile and dance, so that before others he may appear to be drunk.” - Philo of Alexandria 40AD

Ed challenged us to realize the potential of that great power and explained that the Holy Spirit should make us bold, vulnerable, and warm. He closed his sermon by giving the congregation two questions that we must answer every day:

- How is the Spirit leading me today? - How is the Spirit satisfying me today?

“Ask these questions to yourself...”

“It's nine o'clock somewhere”, preach the Word, let the Holy Spirit work every day and at all times!

Leaders Meeting

At 2 PM Ed returned to give a lesson to the leaders. He titled his lesson Deliberate Discipleship or Discipleship with Intention. Beginning with Matthew 28:19-20 he reminded us that Jesus, from the start of His mission until He was called away, used every opportunity to guide His disciples with a clear purpose.

He also explained the Greek word Telos used in Colossians 1:28, which does not describe heaven but the goal of our growth. Just like Jesus, Paul strongly fought for what the congregation should receive, namely growth.

Ed continued the lesson in 1 Timothy 4:15. He explained that consistency plus intensity will produce something. 

Consistency + intensity = results

To achieve those results, Ed gave the next formula. This formula is P.D.I.A or Plan (plan), Do (do), Inspect (evaluate), Adjust (adjust). He challenged us always to look at this formula when discipling.

P.D.I.A

He continued by opening 2 Corinthians 3:18. He said that in training we need to focus on strengths, not weaknesses. We have already been given talents, but we must train them. After that, how do we use those strengths to ultimately benefit the body of Christ. He gave a list of strengths that can be used to bring benefit in the body as well as a diagram that helps us understand where our place is in ministry.

What strengths do we have? How can those strengths help the Body of Christ?

Lastly, Ed discussed sin. Even though we must focus on using our strengths, we must not compromise with sin. Ed explained that we need to have 3 things:

Hand = The desire to help

Heart = Ask them why they do it, what they want to get from that sin, and whether sin is the best way to get it.

Head = give verses to show what God desires, and how sin is detestable in His sight.

Hand, Heart, Head

Ed closed the lesson by saying that as leaders we must have enough knowledge of Bible verses to help people grow closer to God. The lesson ended at 4:30 PM, and the congregation crowded around Ed and Debby to thank them for the lesson they had given.

Related article: A Leap in Science, A Step of Faith - Spiritual Workshop by Dan Zachary