AWAKEN TALK 3 : Rely on the Savior DIDOY LUBATON: BANGON! Get up! Let’s start. We are on our last day of our three-part series, Awaken. The goal of this series is yes, for us to be awake. This is our spiritual life. Th is is our Spirit-led life. And for the past few Sundays, I hope that you do appreciate that we are getting to know more of the Holy Spirit ’s work in our li fe and how we can live to the fullest as God has called us to do. To live that Spirit -led full life. Out third talk is titled Novena to God’s Love As we pray our favorite prayer in The Feast, let’s strip down our pride. Let go of anything else that is not relevant at this point in time. You’re already here. Make the most of it. Connect with God as much as you can. And surrender, and pray, and really strengthen your relationship with the Lord as we pray: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet. And a light unto my path. Let’s read Luke 12:49 Say it with me again: “I have come to set the world on fire. And I wish I were already burning.” It was Jesus’ quote. Fire could mean destruction. Fire could mean terrible things. But if we look at fire, it is a purifying agent. It’s a change agent. Saint Ignatius of Loyola would say, “Go forth and set the world aflame.” And today, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our life, we are not just mere recipients of the Holy Spirit . There is a reason, there is a why, there is a purpose. A Spirit-led life is not a m ediocre life. God has a purpose for you. And that is to be a light in the world —in this dark, dark world. To be the change agent—that even through fire it purifies. And let’s go of the impurities. And that’s our prayer for today: Dear Lord, I’m ready. Set me aflame. Do as You will. Send Your Spirit and I receive the Spirit fully. Holy Spirit, I receive You. Holy Spirit, I embrace You. Holy Spirit, set me on fire. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. Three Action Steps  Talk 3: Rely on the Savior. We need the Spirit. We need the Savior. How many of us need the Lord? All of us, definitely. I love it. We’re going to give you three action steps so that you can live a fully Spirit -led life. And we call them 3 Bs. Very creative. Three steps. Let me proceed to the first immediately. Number 1: You are living a Spirit -led life if you are a Bringer of Hope – a bearer of hope. From Matthew 28:16-20 NLT: 16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!  18 Jesus

AWAKEN TALK 2 : RECEIVE HIS SPIRIT DIDOY LUBATON : Today we’re on the second talk of our series titled Awaken. And our second talk is about Receive the Spirit. Are you ready to receive? Are you sure? Do you really want to? I am not so sure. Remember the Pentecost? We had our Pentecost Sunday last week. And remember the context? They (the apostles) were inside the Upper Room. Were they happy when they were waiting before the Spirit came? What were they feeling? Jesus appeared to them already before. And Jesus promised, “The Helper will come to you.” And so, they were waiting. They were listening. They were afraid because they were persecuted outside those doors. So, they hid themselves. But we al l know what happened: When they received the Holy Spirit, then they became free. They were speaking in tongues, and they were ready to go, to go out and preach the Good News – even die for the sake of it. And years later, they did, actually. They became martyrs—except John. Is that what it means to receive the Holy Spirit? That you’re going to die? That you’re going to be a martyr? Some of us, maybe… But not a lot of us anymore. But maybe, the call is to die to ourselves. Because there’s so much more meaning in that than just live our own life. Novena to God’s Love We need the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to be open to receive today. Let’s come into prayer: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Stretch out your arms and let’s pray our Feast prayer: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. We’ll read Acts 2:1: Put your hand on your heart, and just have this moment with the Lord. Lord, here we are gathered in Your place. This is a House that you’ve made for us. Today we pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our heart. come into our mind to renew our mind, come into our life . Do your miracles. Restore what we’d lost. Refresh our body and spirit. We want You. Come Holy Spirit. Set us on fire. Not for our own sake but for Your glory, for Your purpose. We await You, dear Holy Spirit . Come into our life . Come Holy Spirit. Come Hol y Spirit. Come Holy Spirit. This is our united prayer . In Jesus’ Name. Amen. Open Heart I want you to visualize what just happened. What happened to the disciples during Pentecost. And they were meeting in one place. There was like a sound from Heaven. There was a roaring sound of a mighty windstorm. And then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. Could you imagine? Could you comprehend? It’s hard to understand. I like what Fr. Boogie said at the start of his homily

Talk AUDEE VILLARAZA : We just studied Jonah. In the next three weeks, we’re going to do something special . We’re taking a break from our usual series. And we’re going to study a mini-series we titled Awaken. We’re going to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit . Because, you know, this is a beautiful time when we are celebrating the Coming of the Holy Spirit -- Pentecost Sunday. The title of the talk today is so good. And I do hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will use this message to convict you, to change you. Our message today is this: Reject the sin. We are celebrating, like I said, one of the most significant events that happened in a Christian’s life. And we’re talking about the Coming of the Holy Spirit. You know that 2000 years ago the Holy Spirit came. But if you are a Jesus follower, you know that this event was not just a random event that happened to a bunch of people back then. But it’s an event that’s still happening today. And it’s an event that will continue to happen for years to come-- until the end of our days. How many of you want to live an abundant life? I need you to know this: That there’s more to life than just working on a 9:00 to 5:00 job. There’s more to life than just waiting for that next big paycheck. There’s more to life than just waiting for that next breakthrough, or that next milestone. God wants you to live life. And not just life -- but life to the full. But how are going to do that? You need to stop sleeping through life. Some of us are sleeping through life. Some of us are alive but we’re not really fully alive. Like, you do certain things but there’s no purpose, there’s no significance. God wants to wake you up from your slumber. He wants to wake you up to His Presence. If you live through life sleeping, you are not going to know that the Holy Spirit is actually moving in your life. God wants you to know that He wants to work in your life. Novena to God’s Love First, let’s come to the Presence of the Lord. In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Practical, Powerful Message We take a page from the book of Acts where we read that the apostles had received the Holy Spirit -- and this is amazing. Peter was talking to the disciples . Let’s read Acts 2:38: Here’s the message: Let’s pray: Thank You, Father, for Your Word. We pray that it would come alive in the moments that we’re still here, listening, and breathing, and seeking Your wisdom. We pray that there will be a resurgence of wisdom that will be so practical, so powerful, but above all, will be so personal-- so that each one of us will

Talk Talk 5: When God’s Goodness Doesn’t Feel Good BO SANCHEZ: Hi, Everybody, God bless you. I’m not in the Philippines. I’m in the United Kingdom. We’re meeting the Feasters here, preaching at The Feast. Also talking to some Feast leaders from different countries in Europe. It’s been really an exciting time and I know that God is there with you. God will speak to you. God will change you. You’re going to have an amazing, amazing Feast. And this is the last talk of our Jonah series. Today, I want to preach the message—this is going to be a jarring message for all of us. Here it is: Nooooo! Three Messages from God May I tell you a story? Once upon a time, many, many moons ago, I was still wet behind the ears when it came to money, a friend of mine invited me to invest P200,000 in his business, and he promised 2% interest every month. Very attractive, you know, to me. I had P200,000 pesos—okay, a little bit more than that. But I told him, “You know what, I’m saving it because I want to start my own business.” When he noticed I was hesitant, you know what he did? On the spot, right there and then, he raised the interest to 3% a month. Now, that should have triggered alarm bells in my brain—with 300 red flags waving at me, right? But no. I just saw the 3% interest a month—whoa, I’m going to earn more! So, I gave him all my money—P200,000. My dear friends, I never, never saw that money again. There were times when I would bump into this friend of mine, you know, and then he would talk about this convoluted story that his business hit some snags, hit some roadblocks, but the solution is coming, and he’s going to pay me after that. And then in the next breath, he would say, “By the way, do you want to invest some more?” And I told him, “I gave you all my money. I have no more money to give you.” Later on, I learned the harsh, bitter, reality, that he was actually drowning in debt. When I met him and he got my P200,000, he was already drowning in debt. It was all a Ponzi scheme. He was just scamming people left and right—running, escaping, and it was horrible-- oh my gosh! I remember going home that day angry and afraid. Because that money was my source of security for my future. I was going to start my business… But thanks be to God, I have a relationship with Him…Spontaneously, I went into His Presence, poured out all my anger, poured out all my fear. And as I was doing that, I heard God give me three messages. No, it was not an audible voice, you know: “Bo, this is God…” Nothing like that. They were just thoughts than entered my mind, but they were so special, that I

TalkTalk 4: Reluctant Preaching vs. Repentant PeopleBO SANCHEZ: Jonah 3:1 says:Put your hand over your chest. Everybody say:Jesus, speak to me.Thank You for Your Word.I will change because of Your Word. I’m claiming it . I’m receiving it.The Word is powerful.Today, I want to preach the Word:MotivesHow many of you can tell me that in your life, bad things have happened? How many of you can admit that you yourself had done some bad things in the past?Now, this talk may not apply to you if you’re a very holy person. So, if that person beside you is very holy, just tell that person this talk may not apply to you. I want you to know that I am a semi -old man and one of the gifts, one of the jewels of being my age is I can look back at the past and really have perspective – the breadth of wisdom that I have. I love looking back at the past and looking at the lessons that I learned.Now, I want you to know that The Feast is 42 years old. Long time!And so, just looking back, and appreciating all that had happened, I realizedYes, I preached, yes, I wrote lots of books, yes,  I pioneered ministries… I did lots, and lots, and lots of stuff —good stuff.-- and this is confession time :But they were not always done with pure motives. I am a person who stands before you as a mixed bag of good and bad.So, this talk is for me.Fans ClubYou know, when I was a young preacher, I had a growing fans club— predominantly female. Because I was single. And my wife Marowe knows this. Before she became my wife, she was my secretary. And so, she received my mails. And she would go through them. And no, we were not in any kind of relationship. No.She was just my secretary, and she would come up to me and she would say, “Bro. Bo, maraming nagsusulat sa iyo ng mga love letters—Many are writing you love letters.”And she could not stand it. Not that she could not stand it…But she could not understand because she was not attracted to me at all. She would put the letters in front of me-- some of them were scented, folded in heart shape… And on occasions, I would receive wedding proposals.I remember distinctly one time, after my talk, a beauty queen —somebody who won the local beauty pageant-- came up to me.She says, Bro. Bo, can you pray for me?” I said, “Yes.”She said, “ Because I had a dream and I don’t know what the dream meant. I dreamt that I was getting married. But , Bro. Bo, I’m so embarrassed to say this, but you were the groom in my dream. What do you think is God saying —to us?”You know, those were the kinds of questions that you could …I don’t care if you’re the most intelligent person in the world —you just don’t

Talk Talk 3: In the Belly of the Beast BO SANCHEZ: Welcome home. Some of you are crying. Some of you are hurting. Some of you are grieving. Some of you are celebrating. Some of you. are very happy. But you belong here—both of you. This house welcomes everyone—no matter what color your shirt is. This house welcomes you. I want you to know that I have taken a stand. Every single election I take a stand. People were asking me in the recent campaign. “Bro. Bo, why don’t you make a stand?” I told them, I always take a stand in every election. I take a stand for the House that was built in 1980 —the first quote-unquote “Feast”. We did not call it Feast yet then . It was in the garage of my parents’ house. I was 14 years old in that very first Feast. I led the prayer meeting. It is God’s call for me to stand for that spiritual home—that is now in 26 countries. Thousands of people call it their home. I have no choice. In every election, I have to separate my personal choice from my public persona. Why? Because I’ve got children—many children. And I encourage them to wear a political color. To discern well. And even to campaign. And to go out into the street. When my daughter who wears pink and my son who wears red tell me, ‘Tay, ‘Nay, sama ka—Dad, Mom, join us.” I tell my son and my daughter—thousands of them: “Ako ‘yung Nanay. Kailangan may taong-bahay. Kasi darating ang araw, tapos na ang kampanya, tapos na ang eleksyon. At uuwi kayo—sugatan? Uuwi kayo – gutom? Uuwi kayo – pagod na pagod. ‘Yung iba masayang-masaya. Sino ang magpapakain? Kailangan may magluto.—I am your Mother. I have to stay home. Because the day you will come when the campaign, the election will be over. You will come home—wounded, hungry, tired. Some of you are very happy. Who will serve food? Someone has to cook.” My Stand I stand by this House. It’s a very difficult choice to stay non-partisan the whole time. Every single election. I came to know Jesus when I was 12. I started serving when I was 13. We started the Community— this Feast—when I was 14 years old. I’m 55 now. Do the math. I’m an old man. I’ve experienced regime changes. I’ve experienced elections. I stand by the same House. This House is your safe place. And all those doors are open for anyone—no matter what color your shirt is. Why? Nanay pa rin ako. I am still your Mother. You are still my child. Yung mga sugatan, yung mga malungkot na malungkot, halika, yakapin kita.—Those who are wounded, who are very sad, come, I will embrace you to comfort you. I want to weep with you. I want to grieve with you. I really do. Because I love you. I feel what you feel. And I am praying for you. I

Talk Talk 2: Sleeping on Stormy Seas  BO SANCHEZ: Thank you, Audee. Give a big hand to Audee Villaraza. Thank you, Worship Team. Thank you so much. Happy Mother’s Day! This day is very special because May 8 is the birthday of my Mom who is with the Lord. And it’s really, really special. If there’s one thing that I want to happen in our study of the book of Jonah, it is this: That we learn to read the Bible the way Jesus read His Bible. What does that mean? You’ll find out as the weeks go by. I pray that when you open the Word, you will hear God sing to you: I will open your eyes Take you wonder by wonder. I’m dedicating this song to my nephew Quino, 7 years old. And I pray that God will show you a new world. A fantastic point of view. It really is. I’ve got two messages I’d like to share with you today: No. 1: See God in the storm. No. 2:  God loves them more than you do. Prayer for My Sons I’d like to begin with a story. The timing is perfect: Mother’s Day. Mothers, you will resonate with what I am going to share. I have two sons. Bene, right; and Francis, below. When you have children, you pray for them         a lot. Mothers, Yes, or No? Yes. Fathers, Yes, or No? Yes. We do. Half of my prayer time is dedicated to those two gentlemen. Do you know when I started praying          for them? Even before they existed in the universe,         I started praying for them. They were but a dream in my heart. They were but an idea in God’s mind, and I was praying for them already. And then when my wife came up to me and showed me those two blue lines on a pregnancy test, my prayer intensified tenfold. Like, I would put my hand on the tummy        of my wife and I would pray, “Lord, bless my baby. Lord God, work on my son. Lord, Lord God, I pray, pray for my child.” And to the Holy Spirit, I would be praying fiercely. My wife would tell me, “Pag nagdadasal ka, Love, parang may hawak kang microphone—When you are praying, it’s like you’re holding a microphone and there are a thousand persons in front of you…when you pray intensely.” And I would say, “I can’t help it. I mean, I want my sons to be filled with the Spirit of God and God to work.” I would do that every day. I have a confession—I am embarrassed to say this-- When my kids were born, I tried my best to avoid changing diapers. I wasn’t very good at it. If there’s somebody who could do it, they would do it.  But if there was no one else, I’d do it. And when I did, there would be accidents—like major leakages that would cause the flood of Noah to

Talk AUDEE VILLARAZA: Welcome to the Feast, everybody! Today we are starting a brand new Feast talk series titled Depths of Mercy. Today, we’re going on a five-week journey and study the life of this Old Testament character Jonah, who ran away from God’s calling. Talk 1, titled The Prophet Who Won’t Preach, will blow you away. I wonder if there are prophets right now who feel like, “I’m not equipped to serve God. I’m not equipped to go on a mission.” That’s what we’re going to talk about today. And so, if you’re ready, let’s join our hearts right now as we signify the great symbol of love. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Spirit. Everybody, stretch your arms out, and say this with me: Today, I receive all of God’s love for me. Today, I open myself to the unbounded, limitless, overflowing abundance of God’s universe. Today, I open myself to God’s Word so I become more like Jesus every day. Today, I proclaim that I’m God’s beloved, I’m God’s servant, I’m God’s powerful champion And because I’m blessed, I’m blessing the world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. The Book of Jonah  BO SANCHEZ: Welcome to our brand new series, Depths of Mercy. We’re going to unpack the book of Jonah. We have two lofty goals today. The first one is to be able to read the book of Jonah. And the second: in learning to read the book of Jonah you will learn to read the Bible— the way Jesus read His Bible. Now, I want you to know that it’s very difficult to do that. I’ve been reading the Bible ever since I was 12 years old. And it changed my life. But you know, over the past 40 plus years now, of the things I’ve learned, foremost is: How can I read the Bible the way Jesus read the Bible? And we’re going to learn that through Jonah. Jonah is one of the most sophisticated, complex, intricately crafted writings in the entire Scripture— jam-packed in a typical one and a half pages That’s how short the Book is. Typically, in your Bible, it occupies about one page and a half and it was written by a brilliant Jewish writer 2,400 years ago. Now, let’s admit this: If, the moment you hear Jonah, the first thing that comes to mind is whale. Even if whale is not in the Bible. Whale was a mistake made 400 years ago by the translator of the King James version— putting the word whale in the Gospel where Jonah was mentioned. But no. My dear friends, let’s admit it: the way many people look at it, the Book of Jonah is a children’s story. It’s a tale with a nice ending. But this is not only a problem for Jonah. It’s a problem for the entire Bible. Many people still look at this Book as a collection of bedtime stories with good moral

Special Talk Follow Him AUDEE VILLARAZA: Come on, put your hands together. Somebody bring the praise to Jesus… I remember a very good friend, Feast Preacher George Gabriel Feast — remember him? He is all the way now in New Zealand with his family. George said to me, many years ago, he attended an international conference, and he asked a volunteer about a class — who the speaker would be. And the volunteer said, “I actually don’t know.” George asked, “Why?” And then this guy said the most beautiful thing. He said, “It’s because it’s not important who gives the message— what’s important is the message.” Yes. And I want you to know that you did not come here because you wanted to see Bro. Bo, or you wanted to see me, or you wanted to see Bro. Alvin, or Bro. Tony, or our regular preachers here. You came here because you love God. You came here because you want to hear a message from God. That’s why we have prepared such a fantastic message for you today And I hope that you get to lean in. Just lean in and let God speak to you today. Join me in praying our favourite prayer: NOVENA TO GOD’S LOVE Today, I receive all of God’s Love for me Today, I open myself to the unbounded, limitless, overflowing abundance of God’s universe Today, I open myself to Your blessings, healings, and miracles Today, I open myself to God’s Word so I would become more like Jesus every day Today, I proclaim that I am God’s beloved, I am God’s servant, I am God’s powerful champion And because I am blessed, I blessing the world. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN. My dear friends, allow me to introduce my dear, dear friend who has become part of my family, and I know you will be blessed by his message. I want you to give the same warmth, the same love that you extend to Bro. Bo, to me, every week, as we welcome, Bro. Doc Didoy Lubaton! DIDOY LUBATON: Please look into the message, not into the messenger. Altogether: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  Today’s one big message is: Reading from the Gospel of Luke 5:1-11: St. Luke says: 5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,[a] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,[b] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night

Talks ALVIN BARCELONA: I’m going to read to you the Gospel verses that followed after the verses read in the Mass. From John 20:11-18: Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 10But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you. 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.—John 20:11-18 ESV Big Question: Do You Want To See Jesus? Of course. But let’s learn from Mary Magdalene as we had already learned from Bishop Ted a while ago. Three important secrets: First Secret of why Mary Magdalene saw Jesus: She was present. You want to see Jesus? No. 1: Mary Magdalene was the first to go to the tomb of Jesus to anoint the Body of the Lord—after the Sabbath. He died on Friday. (The following day was Saturday, the Sabbath, and according to Jewish custom, the anointment ritual should not be done on the Sabbath because it was rest day, away from the cares of the world, a time of silence with God). Mary saw the tomb was empty. So, she ran to the apostles, specifically to Peter, and to the disciples whom Jesus loved. And then, they ran. The Gospel said that the disciple whom Jesus loved ran first. But it was Peter who went inside the tomb and saw the linen cloth. And then the disciple followed. But still, they did not see the Body. When they saw nothing, they already left. Tinge of Hope Mary Magdalene was left. Mary stayed. She was not just present, she stayed on. I know some who were present— just showed up, so their names would be checked on the attendance list, then went home already. But Mary stayed. Why? Maybe out of confusion, or despair. Remember this was the same Mary Magdalene who saw Jesus being nailed to the