Juntos 2023 - O Potencial da Semente

(Together 2023 – The Potential of the Seed | Day 2)

By Chris Kilby April 2023

On day two we were joined by friends from other churches in the Porto area and the room was full. After another great time of praise and worship, Peter Shore (A Fonte, Penafiel, Portugal) continued our theme of ‘The Potential of the Seed’, reminding us from Luke 8:15 that seed that falls on good soil will bear fruit, and from John 15:5 that our fruitfulness is directly connected to us remaining in Jesus.

Peter then began to challenge us, asking what it really means for us to be ‘poor in spirit’ (Matt5:3)

Firstly, he said that we must die to be able to really live, pointing to Jesus comments about him being the kernel of wheat that must fall to the ground as he approached the cross. Our part is to follow his example and be willing to give up everything for the cause of Christ. We must be willing to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). This will mean daily challenge and sacrifice, us decreasing so that he can increase. It means that all of our choices, large and small, are submitted to him.

Peter then pointed to John 15:5, reminding us that ‘apart from me you can do nothing.’ This means that being poor in spirit is the key that unlocks the things of God. The disciples of Jesus, in reality, had nothing that Jesus needed, they added nothing to him, and were nothing without him, yet when they came in his name and with his authority, then nothing was impossible for them. Peter helpfully taught that the way that we access this kind of intimacy and power is through prayer. It is in the place of prayer that we realise how much we need God. When days are busy and the battle is hard, we need to pray more not less. Whether things are easy or hard, we always remain totally dependent on God.

Peter next reinforced Guy’s encouragement from 1 Peter. We are inheritors of another kingdom. The daily reality that we are living for the glory of a different king with different values. The world we live in has ‘me’ at the centre, so we become self-reliant, self-sufficient and self-made. When we come into this new kingdom we become Jesus-reliant, Jesus becomes our sufficiency, and we are shaped by him. We no longer need to self-promote, because the kingdom of God is about Jesus, not us.

Lastly, Peter reminded us from Mark 9:33 that the ‘first will be last, and the servant of all.’ Where the disciples (and us too) tended to compare, being poor in spirit turns everything around. Instead of seeking the position and the status, the follower of Jesus has a heart to serve both God and people.

Jesus so profoundly demonstrated this as he washed the feet of his disciples as an example to us all. Us being fruitful means that we serve our communities well, that we do whatever needs doing, that there are no superstars, but that we all willingly use our gifts to serve wherever we can in order to bear fruit that will last.

We then saw another inspiring video produced by Mario showing the breadth of the work that is emerging in Northern Portugal, now extending to 15 missional communities across the Sousa Valley as well as the work in Porto and the incredible relief brought to the Ukrainian families who relocated due to the war. It left us seeking God and asking the question, ‘What next?!’.

We were then treated to an excellent word from Luis Felipe Cabral (Vida Nova, Porto). He began by looking at the fruit that grows when seeds are sown and took us initially to Galatians 5:13-26 where we see Paul’s list of ‘grace-fruit’, the fruits of the Spirit. If you have the seed of the Spirit, and create the right conditions, this is the kind of fruit we should expect that seed to bear. Whilst the seed may be incorruptible, and our salvation is guaranteed, the reality of birds that can snatch the seed or hard ground, or lack of soil or water means that the fruit bearing process is not without opposition!

Thankfully Jesus gave us a method of improving the soil conditions, and that solution was found in Matthew 11:28-30. ‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’

Luis Felipe pointed out the danger of waiting for the next meeting, event or conference to be pushed back into the rest that Jesus offers, but instead to learn to live and walk by the Spirit and to enjoy his constant refreshing through healthy spiritual disciplines and rhythms.

To put this word into practice Luis brought 4 very clear and helpful applications:

Firstly, he urged us to make the most of sabbath, taking time to delight and be content knowing that sabbath was created for our flourishing.

Secondly, he encouraged us to find moments of silence and solitude. Jesus needed it, and how much more do we. Creating a habit of finding a quiet place, switching of the phone, and being refreshed in God.

Thirdly, he suggested that we need to slow down and stop rushing. We need to deal with impatience. He pointed out that in most of the gospels are moments when Jesus was interrupted, and he handled it with love and grace, taking time with people. He even suggested that when we go to the supermarket, we should pick the longest check-out queue and see what happens!

Lastly, he pointed us towards simplicity as a great way to keep in step with the Spirit. Living more simply, avoiding impulse buys, sharing what we have and cultivating appreciation for the simple pleasures in life. In this way we will be truly counter cultural.

The following morning, I found myself applying Luis’s word and taking time to appreciate the beautiful surroundings in Portugal. I went to an orange tree and picked a handful of oranges. I took time to squeeze them by hand to produce a small glass of juice for my wife Jo for breakfast. No machines, no noise, no waste, just peace and lovely juice. To me it was just the word I needed to hear after a particularly busy season.

The conference came to a climax by celebrating the incredible 40 years that Mike and Jessica Shore have been building in Portugal. We all enjoyed a hog-roast and they were interviewed. We saw some amazing old photos, and the church were able to give them gifts and honour them for the amazing foundation that they have built here.

40 years ago, they would have been viewed with suspicion and would have been thought of as a small cult in a lake of Catholicism. Now they are the largest and most vibrant church in the city. It is incredible to see the fruit of their lives sown into the soil of northern Portugal. The standing ovation that they received was the next best thing to the ‘well done good and faithful servant’ that they will one day receive from the mouth of Jesus himself. It was a foretaste, and well deserved.

To conclude the conference, Mike told us some of their story. He told of Jessica’s perseverance with a young Mike who was definitely ‘hard ground’!

He spoke of his encounter with Jesus, alone, up a mountain in England, when we was well and truly born again.

We heard the story of their journey to Portugal, and of how God both called them and cared for them, of how they knew that God was taking the initiative, and that the spiritual realities were governing the physical events in their lives.

It was so good to hear of their confidence in God, knowing that if they were ‘in Christ’ and Christ is ‘in God’, then the possibilities are amazing!

They are a couple that have sown and sown and sown. What we now see is the fruit of their ministry, and hundreds of lives have been impacted by the gospel because of their faith and courage. They have also built a group of young leaders that are going to impact not only Portugal, but the nations.

One of the most remarkable things about Juntos 2023 was that the younger leaders who have grown up in this context were very much at the helm. The group of leaders God has brought together for the years ahead is in excellent shape and carry such apostolic anointing that I have a feeling that though the last 40 years have been incredible, the best is yet to come.

The final prophetic word was a picture of a farmyard, with barns full of equipment. Some tools were specialist small hand tools, other barns contained huge machines to till the soil or harvest the crops. All the tools were essential at some point in the year of the farm.

It was an encouragement that every single one of us has a vital part to play in the mission of God, and as we approached our conference offering, we all have a part to play, and some of the big machines will have a big part to play to advance the kingdom.

We worshipped, we celebrated, and we gave. It was a moment of joy and togetherness, a moment of gratitude for all that God has done, and a moment of faith for all that he is about to do.

Incredibly the offering was over £17,000. (It is usually about (£4,000), so it is just as Mike Shore said, “God will call us forward, and will then care for us and make sure we have all we need.”