On 2/6/2007 at the School of Leaders the students were asked to write an essay and this is what I came with...this is not for my glory but it is for the glory of God so He might be glorified through us by sharing this with unsaved people and be able to reach out...
Pardon me if my English is not perfect my first language is Spanish!
The Ladder of Success By Cesar Castellanos
Chapter 1 - The Power Of A Vision
In this chapter the emphasis is to have the point of view on where the people need to start building the vision by starting to believe in the word of God, which reads as follows:
"I will make you into a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2).
The entire Bible is a book of teaching lessons. Just like the twelve disciples that Jesus teached; we are all call to lead. I can walk with the security that as I keep learning the word of God, I will become a partaker of his ministry. As soon as I heard the G12 vision, my mind renewed, my heart changes, and I just want it to keep learning even more, so one day I would be able to teach others as well.
From the beginning God has a purpose to every one of us is to "win souls". By planting the seed to unsaved people, it will reveal the purpose of the vision that Jesus share to us, was the message of salvation.
My definition of a vision is something that is not accomplishes yet, but by faith it will become a reality. But to accomplish the vision it is necessary to have a clear mind of what really is going to be in the future. A lack of faith or doubt, will interrupt to make it happened, but by prayer, and supplication, it will overcome obstacles just to the Glory of God.
Point One: Win
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30)
In order to win souls it is important to know how to spread the gospel in a way that leads to true repentance. It is a privilege that God choose us to lead others to Him. A powerful reason why it is important to win souls it is because they’re worth to God. The true meaning of salvation is the high price that Jesus pays for us at the cross. Through believing and have faith in Jesus Christ, which is the only way to salvation, makes us realize about our own actions, and the true repentance.
It is important to understand our calling by recognize that we are all sinners, to confess our trespasses, and to renounce them by asking God to restore our grace in our life. We must have compassion for the lost just the same way Jesus had for us. It is important to understand the meaning of what we are reading, and to be able to spread to others. We need to be filled with the Holly Spirit in order to experience the fullness of the fruit of our labor. It is necessary to have a good testimony because actions are more than words. We need to become immersed in the vision, which will make us reproducers of life. God's will for all members of the church is to have a need to testify to others about Christ.
The book also talks about the cell groups and the importance to assist to every meeting. In the cell is more efficiently to communicate one to one with a new believer. No one is left behind in the cells every one is an important part of the vision. There is where the G12 comes alive by multiplication. It shows the steps to make an ideal cell, which are; prepare the message, have a host, a leader, have financial goals, and have twelve people.
Point Two: Consolidate
"For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15)
The fist thing that the new believer has to experience is the conviction of sin, that's where the new birth will take place in their lives. The book explains how to reproduce the character of Christ in the new believer by re-affirm their faith. I have learned that we need to start consolidation by encourage the new believer to live for Jesus. The book also shows the steps to consolidate a new believer and this will take love, effort, dedication, and work. It also demonstrates all the steps that the leaders have to accomplish in order to consolidate disciples. Consolidation will happen in cells or in church. A pastor is the director of consolidation and he is responsible for recruiting, directing, reviewing, and raising a support team.
The book shows how to consolidate a believer by verifying the decision, teach them, to fellowship with them, to have compassion for them, with a positive attitude towards them, to demonstrate holiness, and by prayer. I have learned that follow up is the key to consolidate, and to make disciples.
PRE-ENCOUNTER + ENCOUNTER + POST ENCOUNTER
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5-8)
This is an essential step for the new believer a serial of classes to prepare them for an encounter. There are laws that govern the world so it could have order, and God have made spiritual laws for us which man broke by his own will. The first thing the new believer need to know is that God loves him and has a marvelous plan for his life, the second one is that man is sinful and is separated from God, the third is Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, and the fourth is accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. By following the four laws and reconciled to the father the next step will be to encounter Him.
THE NEW BIRTH
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
To be born again means to acquire a spiritual life and mind that will become the mind of Christ. The new birth is an spiritual miracle, that's why everyone needs a new birth. There is power in the word of God to change people lives. When we receives the new birth our spiritual eyes will opened, making the transition from darkness to light, the conversion from the enemy to God's, by faith in Jesus we receive pardon for our trespasses, and we receive an inheritance with the saints. I have learned that everyone needs to be born again through the word and the Holy Spirit.
PRINCIPLES OF DELIVERANCE
"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, 'If you abide in my word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free' (John 8:31-32)
Freedom is the answer for sins. When people allow sin to enter into their lives it will cause certain bondages to the spirit, the soul, the body, and their finances. To overcome our sins we need to bring the curses to the cross. It will deliver people from sin, demonic bondages, ruin, and affliction. God is always willing to deliver us but it has to be desire by the person's will.
THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3: 16-17)
This is the process when the new believers experience the sacrifice that Jesus did at the cross for our sins. In order to implicate God's plan for salvation it will need justification, regeneration, sanctification and redemption. The new believer need to trust in God's promises to have eternal life, that He will forgive our sins, he becomes a son of God, and that will inheritance with Christ. The new believer will receive a new nature (new creation), and the inner witness (spirit of adoption). And what is leading the new believer is to be anxious to learn more about God by reading the word, would desire to have a holy life, a unique love for brother's and sister's in Christ, and a great testimony about the things that they have seen.
THE POWER OF THE SCRIPTURES
"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:26-27)
It is important that the new believer keeps the word in their heart and is able to put it into practice. The book also demonstrates the meaning of the bible, which is 'biblos' and ‘biblion’. The bible contains the word of God's and the revelation of Christ., it also contains the divine laws. It is a spectacular book, which contains 66 books, which contains 40 writers from different time periods. It explains in detail the revelation of God to mankind, their salvation, the truth, and about Jesus as the main character. To understand the word of God, I have learned that we need to list carefully to His voice, to read the word with the right attitude, to follow His commandments, to communicate and to confess to Him.
THE ENCOUNTER
"Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him" (job 23:3-4)
The encounter is where the new believer will present their cases to God. And to be face to face confronting the past, to be deliberated from all the bondages., and curses. It will give freedom from the enemy oppression, and to pass to God's Glory. The encounter usually takes three days away from the city. The person needs to come with an open heart and well prepared. To prepare the team for the encounter it should have 12 meetings in which the co-coordinator will explain how the encounter is going to be handled. It shows how to attend to an encounter as a leader and the order for the all events.
POST-ENCOUNTER
This is where are the believers are training to fight against the enemy attacks. The duration for the lessons are four weeks which teaches the believer on how to face the world, what the world is, how the world affects me, and how to confront the world after one becomes a Christian. There are 9 points in which the believer needs to go through in order to overcome and to stay focused in the vision that are presented in the book.
Point Three: Disciple
In this chapter talks about the new person that is going to be train to win souls for God. This is where the believer is encouraged to obtain more teachings about the school of leaders program. It gives a clear vision about the G12, the steps and actual leading. Only the ones that already went to the encounter and post encounter classes are able to assist. There are requirements in order to complete the school of leaders which includes the preparation of the leader to be able to form their twelve.
THE RE-ENCOUNTER
In the second level of the school of leaders it's presenting with a Re-encounter to develop ministered through the cells.
Point Four: Send
"Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8)
It is a divine command to Isaiah from the Lord. The twelve should be chosen by faith. There is a need to staying holy in order to gain favor from the Lord. It is important to invest time to minister and to form the twelve that are willing to be open to teach. It could take tree years or three days depending on God's time. It is important to keep in contact with the believer to be able to discern what kind of bondages they might have.
In order to be able to minister we need to be ministered first. It is a mission that was given to Jesus, and that we need to fulfill the same task with much love. To share the gospel by faith the disciple need to study the word of truth diligently and with precision. The disciple needs to know that a commitment was given to every Christian in order to fulfill God's purposes. The disciple needs a goal to attract, and consolidate non-believers.
The importance of the cells is that everyone should be treated as part of a family, and to equipped every disciple with the vision. The cell that is successful must have these characteristics to have a dynamic leadership, to impress with music and worship, to have an excellent reading material, to have the presence of signs and wonders, the stimulation to do Bible study, to have a close fellowship, to be of deep and transparent relationships.
The purpose of the cell is a foundation of the church. It is important to have Christ as the main point. This is where all the unity comes from; it will make a transition to the church to receive the message of the vision. The dynamic of the cells are not duplication but multiplication. To understand the meaning of the message it is necessary to spend a least an hour. I have learned that cell leaders need to take next steps to make a cell group been successful by adding new strategies. It also teach us about the purpose of the cells to help the new believer understands the kingdom of God.
Everybody in the cell should get into a conclusion of his or her own experiences based on the Bible. It's essential to encourage all the believers to pray. The cell should not become a habit, but a place where after church you can meet again with sisters or brothers in Christ to praise God and to learn more about Jesus. Trying to cover the entire message base on the Bible.
In conclusion to be able to send people to win souls for God it is important to know that all of us have the same purpose. It is not a raising between church members; it is a goal that will affect the church itself, and all the believers.
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