Author: Matthew Ball

I Know Why I’m Fat

I love to eat. One of my favorite pastimes is going out with friends on the weekend to try a new restaurant or to frequent an old regular like Cheesecake Factory or Mama Carollas. Living in Carmel, Indiana, doesn’t help. Our city is home to many great restaurants. Some, like Bub’s Burgers, have even garnered national attention through television shows like Man vs. Food. To further compound the problem, my travels around the world have created within me an insatiable craving for ethnic food. I could eat Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, Korean or Mandarin everyday!

But I’m not fat because I love food! I know why I’m fat. It’s not because I’m a connoisseur of fine cuisine. It’s very simple – I’m fat because I consume more than I expend! It’s true that calories from some foods are healthier than foods with “empty” calories. I’m sure genetics and metabolism play a role. I’m told the body can go into “ketosis” by cutting carbs which can result in weight loss. Complex chemistry and science have their place. But the bottom line remains – we are fat because we take in more than we burn up.

God never intended the human body to consistently consume more than it expends. When we do so consistently we become overweight which can lead to all sorts of health problems. The human body is more healthy and fit when, through exercise and activity, it burns up what it takes in. The Body of Christ is no different! God never intended on His church solely being recipients of His blessings. It was never His will that we consume more than we expend.

Too many Christians are chronic spiritual consumers who never give out. They just enjoy the blessings without ever passing them on. How many churches are full of spiritually obese Christians who, week after week, sit at the buffet of great worship and preaching? They gorge themselves on the Presence and Word of God. They fill themselves with all the rich blessings of Christianity, yet never expend what they consume. They don’t serve. They don’t pour out to others. They’ve forgotten what it means to be a servant.

Evangelist Bobbie Lewis preached Sunday at FAC a message untitled, “Will you take the towel?” At the Last Supper, while the disciples were arguing over who was greatest among them, Jesus took a towel and began to wash His disciple’s feet. He taught them that true greatness comes through serving others. He said, “You’ll be happy if you do what I’ve just taught you.” It’s been ingrained into us that happiness comes from being served. But Jesus taught just the opposite. He said true happiness comes from serving – from giving rather than receiving.

Are you fat, spiritually? Is your Christian experience centered more around what God and the Church does for you than what you do for God and His church? Being a Dead Sea with only inflows and no outflows will lead to stagnation and spiritual disease. Just like natural obesity contributes to heart disease, spiritual obesity leads to diseases of the heart – misguided affections, spiritual callousness, a lack of love for others, and on and on. What we receive from God and our church is given for the purpose of filling and empowering us to go out and serve our world.

It’s miserable being fat! Our clothes don’t fit right. Our energy levels run low! I’m currently exercising, cutting back my calories and feeling good as I’m losing some extra pounds. Some of the most miserable people in the world are Christians who don’t serve – Christians who take in more than they give out. If you’re looking for happiness in your walk with God – pick up the towel! True satisfaction comes when we give to others. You’ve been a spiritual couch potato long enough! Make a commitment today to serve God, your church and your world. You will discover a joy and satisfaction reserved only for those with a servant’s heart.

– Pastor Ball

A New Chapter

Pastor Osborne’s recent comments at our Pastor’s prayer meeting provided the inspiration for this evening’s thoughts:

When we are first learning to read, we stick to books like, “See Spot Run” – a simple story about Dick, Jane and Spot. “See spot. See spot run. Look, Jane, look.” You get the idea! There’s really no plot. With a book like this, you are not reading to learn – you are learning to read. There is no character development or theme. There’s no lesson. You’re just learning to read.

You advance to read stories like, “The Three Little Pigs.” It’s still a simple book. It has the same characters throughout. It’s not complicated or deep. But you begin to learn something from what you are reading. There’s a plot. There’s a message or moral to the story.

We graduate as adults to books that are broken down into chapters. The chapters are about different things and have different themes and lessons. Events will happen in some chapters, but never again in the rest of the book. You’ll meet characters in one chapter who disappear altogether in the next and may never reappear in rest of the story. Things in some chapters that are very important may no longer even play a role in later chapters. But we understand the author knows the beginning from the end and is weaving together a story. In the end the author will have worked all those chapters TOGETHER into a beautiful masterpiece.

Our lives are not like the book “See Spot Run” or “The Three Little Pigs.” Our lives are comprised of chapters. People move in and out of our lives. Circumstances and settings change. Some things that are very important to us now will not even be on our radar in a year. Some chapters are filled with adversity, hardship or grief. Others are about joy, progress or accomplishment. There are chapters that seem uneventful, even boring, while others bring new faces and new places.

As Christians we hold fast to the promise that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). We believe that God is the Author and Finisher of our faith and that He is blending the various chapters of our lives together into a beautiful masterpiece.

There are times when we don’t understand why things are happening. We’ve all asked God, “Why?” Why did this happen? What good can become of this? Many times life doesn’t make sense. If you were to read just one chapter of a novel, it probably would not make any sense at all. It’s only when you read the whole story that you realize every chapter played an important part of the whole. When we get to the end, we will look back and see that God used all the different chapters of our lives to create a beautiful story of grace and victory.

The important thing is to trust in God. Trust that He is in control and charge of our lives. We’ve put the pen in His hand. Now we must trust the Author. We must believe that He is working all things for our good and His glory.

The last year or so has been a difficult season, both for me personally and for our church. We’ve experienced death, loss, sickness and serious spiritual battles. It’s been a chapter about trusting God in the storm. The theme of this chapter has been about walking by faith and praising God even when you don’t understand.

At the turn of the New Year, I felt a change. In the last five weeks we’ve had INCREDIBLE services, huge crowds and guests and a great outpouring of God’s Spirit. I feel like God is turning the page and beginning to write a new chapter. I know every season has some spiritual battles and adversity, but I feel like this new chapter is going to be one filled with revival, growth and progress. I sense we’re entering a season of new faces, new places and new opportunities.

I believe 2013 will be a new chapter for you as well. God has turned the page. The pain and difficulty of the last chapter will not carry into this new season. Perhaps you feel the same anticipation. Whatever the New Year holds, I know He is the Author and is working all things together for good.

~Pastor Ball

February Calendar

[button url=”http://faithapostolic.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/February-2013.pdf” target=”_blank” arrow=”right”]February 2013 Events[/button]

Beyond Sinai

Guest pastor, Joe Osborne, teaches the FAC Carmel Wednesday night Bible class

Uganda Update

On January 1st – 11th, 2013, A group of 37 people, including 7 from Faith Apostolic Church traveled to Uganda to conduct a Vacation Bible School at the orphanage that our church is connected with in Kachomo.

Our Ugandan Vacation Bible School mission has now been completed and I want to report that the Lord is doing a great work in that nation! Our prayer going into this mission was that God would pour out His Spirit and that He would use us to see the orphans and the people of Uganda get baptized in Jesus’ Name. By the end of the week, our team was blessed with the opportunity to baptize 209 souls in Jesus’ Name. Many of the 209 people baptized were children and orphans who are attending our newly-built Hope Refuge School in the village of Kachomo.

Every year our team raises funds and awareness of the work that is going on in Uganda. This year we were able to raise 42,000 dollars. These funds will go toward meeting many of the needs of the orphans, teachers and churches in eastern Uganda. More specifically, the funds will put concrete on the floors in our existing buildings at the school and build one or two new building on the twenty-five-building complex. The funds also helped us purchase more farm land around the school. Our team has also been in contact with a NGO, which is similar to a not-for-profit in the USA that is called “Farming God’s Way.” This NGO will teach and train the leaders working with Bishop Wayabire on how to farm and cultivate the land to maximize a greater yield of crops. One of our goals is to get the school in Kachomo to a point where they are self-sustaining. Once this training and farming is completed, the farm will begin to produce food to feed the children attending our school.

The 42,000 dollars donated also funded the launching of a sponsorship program called “Helping Hands.” We currently have thirty-six children
sponsored at thirty-five dollars a month. This program has been a tremendous blessing to the orphans. I want to personally say thank you to all the sponsors we already have. However, we are looking to sponsor an additional fifty children in 2013. Thirty-five dollars a month will help feed and clothe them as well as send the child to school. This is a great way for you to make a difference in a child’s life and help our ALJC of Uganda work!

God did so many wonderful things on this missions trip. Of course the greatest thing was God pouring out His Spirit and moving on the hearts of the people to get baptized. I also want to share a testimony of how great our team was this year when it came to reaching souls. One night we were all back at the hotel in Kampala and our guest speaker this year, Sis. Vickie Oliver, was using her phone outside of the public restroom. She heard a lady yelling for help from the restroom. She was locked in the restroom and unable to get out! Sis. Oliver came and got me and we went to get the hotel manager to help the lady get out of the stall. The young lady was able to get out. We felt bad for her so we pitched in and bought her dinner. While she was eating, we all sat down with her and gave her a Bible study about being born again. She stopped eating and we prayed for her. Then one of our team members compelled her to get baptized that night at the hotel. She agreed to be baptized so we took her to one of the rooms. The ladies prayed for her and, before she got baptized, she was filled with the Holy Ghost. Taylor Fairbanks then baptized her in the bathtub in Jesus’ Name. Our team was so excited that they decided to go witness to one of the hotel workers. They prayed with her, God filled her with the Holy Ghost and they took her to the room and baptized her in Jesus’ Name! All of this happened on the last night of our trip. We all believed it was the Lord just stirring our hearts again to reach souls all over the world no matter what the cost.

Thank you again for all your prayers and to all the churches and individuals who were able to give to our Hope Refuge School in 2012. If you would like to give to the orphanage in Uganda, you can do so on this website under our online giving section.
We are looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in Africa this year! God bless you.

– Pastor Josh Wilson

Back to the Basics

Our theme at FAC for the New Year is “Back to the Basics.” Life can be complicated. The challenges we face every day are not usually simple. In our pursuit of the abundant life that Jesus promised, we often search for solutions and approaches that are as complicated as those challenges of life that we face! The irony is that our spiritual success is usually found in giving ourselves to the basics of Christianity. The simple aspects of being His disciple is usually were the victory is found!

Jesus taught in Matthew 22:40 that the entirety of the Law and Prophets can be summed up with this:

– Love God with all Your Heart

– Love your Neighbor as Yourself

Throughout the New Year our preaching and teaching will be focused on 5 themes that stem from loving God and loving our neighbor: Prayer, devotion, faithfulness (loving God), serving and sharing our faith (loving our neighbor). Getting back to the basics of our Christian faith will bring spiritual growth to our lives, families and church. The basics of Christianity are where we find joy, peace and fulfillment. In 2013, it’s “Back to the Basics!”

The Restoration of Joy

Pastor Ball preaches a message about how to recover joy that life, disappointments or the enemy has stolen

The New Year

We just finished up our annual Ten Days of Prayer & Consecration. What a great way to start a new year!

So many great things happened during our season of prayer. The Lord really did a work of restoring much-needed joy, peace and unity to our church. But what I took away more than anything from this season of prayer was an overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation about 2013. I realize that I’m the eternal optimist and you may be saying right now, “Oh, Pastor, I’ve hear this every January!” But this sense of anticipation is widespread throughout the church. It’s amazing how many people have shared with me how they feel the same thing.

Not only has the last ten days been awesome, but in the last 6 weeks the level of intensity in worship, unity, prayer and spiritual gifts in our services has been really, REALLY good. If the last 6 weeks and the first ten days of the year is any indication of what’s in store for us in 2013, you’d better fasten your seat-belt and get ready for a year of unprecedented growth and revival!

God wants YOU to be a part of what He is going to do in 2013. I believe this can be the BEST YEAR ever of your walk with GOD! I believe God can do amazing in you and in your family.

At FAC we are committed to helping you reach your fullest potential as a Christian. I want to do everything I can as your pastor to equip and empower you to be what God has called you to be.

Don’t stay on the sidelines! Make a commitment today to put God and FAC first in your life. Make a decision today that you and your family will jump in and be involved and faithful. Make the weekend service at FAC and mid-week Bible study a priority this year.

2012 is gone. We’ve turned the page on the old and have begun a new chapter. Regardless of our mistakes, regrets, failures or inconsistencies of the past, today is the first day of the rest of this new year. Let us fully embrace and commit to what God desires do through us in 2013! May we give ourselves wholly and completely to His purpose.

This Sunday, I’ll be preaching about the “Restoration of Joy.” Don’t miss out on what the Lord is sure to do among us. I’ll see you Sunday.one. We’ve turned the page on the old and have begun a new chapter. Regardless of our mistakes, regrets, failures or inconsistencies of the past, today is the first day of the rest of this new year. Let us fully embrace and commit to what God desires do through us in 2013! May we give ourselves wholly and completely to His purpose.

– Pastor Ball

Welcome to our new website!

THANKS for taking a few minutes to check out our new website. We don’t think it’s just a coincidence that you’ve found us! Faith Apostolic Church is an awesome place to belong and we want to show you why. We are a church of ordinary people who are passionate about living and sharing the extraordinary life that comes through Jesus Christ!

Browsing through our web pages is a great way to find out a little more info, but to REALLY experience what we’re all about, you need to be our guest at one of our upcoming worship services. You will be welcomed by warm and friendly people, be drawn into the presence of God through authentic worship and encouraged by some great preaching and teaching from God’s Word. I hope to meet you soon. -Pastor Ball

Moving Forward

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 (KJV)

They were small and barely noticeable, these two co-conspirators, as they stood at the counter huddled together. Their heads bent at a slight tilt toward each other as if they were drawing confidence from each another.

“Double cheeseburg-er!” called out the woman holding up a small yellow waxed paper wrapped sandwich from behind the counter. A hand shot up from the right side of the huddled mass and a small voice proclaimed, “here.”

In the madness of the lunch rush, the manager paused for a moment to let her gaze settle on the two boys standing before her. Passing off the sandwich to the clerk to be bagged, she followed with the order, “Give them two a couple of cookies for having to wait.” They hadn’t really waited; I knew that. They knew that, too. I looked carefully at her. She hadn’t rewarded them for waiting; it was for something more, something completely different.

Three things about them were obvious. One, they were going to share that burger. Two, they had no money for a drink or fries. And three, they were very nervous in that crowd of hunger-crazed adults. Still, they had been courageous in spite of their discomfort pushing through it to get something they wanted. Was that what she had seen? A couple of timid shaking kids who braved the mad lunch rush to share a burger? Perhaps she wanted to bolster their spirit? Or maybe she saw something of herself or someone close to her in them? I’m not sure, but whatever it was it hadn’t been enough to keep her interest as they turned to walk away. She didn’t get to see them beaming with the joy that replaced their anxiety, nor did she get to see the confident stride patterned in their steps as they strutted out the door. But, I did. And, indeed, their bravery had been rewarded.

It is a simple and yet so complicated thing that one of our biggest challenges will be to push past is our own apprehensions. At one time or another, any one of us may find ourselves in a similar circumstance. That place where our path to something promised or desired is blocked by fear or doubt making the battlefield within our mind.

There are times I find myself questioning the things that God has set before me. I sense the criticism rise up inside of me and often I agree with it. And yes, sometimes it is true. However, because I can’t see the way God does I should not be quick to doubt Him or the things He has promised. It simply means I should push past doubt or fear and move toward those things He has spoken.

The New Year has been ushered in and it has just begun gathering momentum. It will, without doubt, have its share of trials and challenges. And, just as those two boys had their discouragements to face I will also have days of feeling lost, days when I don’t have enough for the things ahead, and days when I feel incredibly small and totally insignificant. But, the thing I hope to carry into this New Year is to remember to find courage in the midst of my trial, because behind the scene the boss is working and if I can push through and make it to that place of standing before Him, my reward will be in His hand.

—Mindy Whipple