We often hear that as followers of Christ we ought to have radical faith. Our Bible says that we need to live our lives totally dependent on the Lord for everything. From a reasonable observation, it shows that depending on what movement you align yourself with (e.g.: Pentecostal, Mainline Protestant, Charismatic or Revival Ministries), radical faith is expressed in various ways. It is sometimes the cause of debates and disagreements.

A radical Christian is described as someone with unwavering faith in our Lord Jesus, totally committed and obedient to God and His Word. Someone whose love for the Lord is evident by the fruit produced in their life.

Consider these characters of the Bible who had extraordinary and radical faith against all odds. They remained solid in their trust and belief in God; Saul of Tarsus who became Paul, turned from persecuting Christians to following Christ. Mary was called to be the mother of Jesus against social disgrace. Daniel refused to bow down to ungodly practices, and was thrown into the lion’s den, but God rescued him. Esther risked her own life being killed by the king, to save her people.

David in his teenage years, put his trust in God that through Him, he would kill the giant, and he did. Joshua was obedient to the Lord and marched around Jericho in complete silence until the seventh day when they screamed the walls down. Moses armed with his faith in God, confronted Pharaoh to let Israel leave Egypt, then trusted God in leading the people through the wilderness and the Red Sea toward the Promise Land. Then there was Abraham who put all his faith and trust in the Lord, left his homeland for a destination unknown.

Jesus declares in Luke 9:23; “"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

What is He saying? On a daily basis He says, we ought to deny or reject our self-centred ambitions and choose to accept willingly the cost, the shame, and the persecution of following Jesus. What are we sacrificing? Our-Selves for the sake of our Lord’s will, who sacrificed Himself for our salvation. The verses in Luke 9:24-26 gives a caveat, a caution on the consequences of not taking up our cross and following Him.

As a young boy growing up in Samoa, the story of Daniel’s steadfastness in his belief in God, Moses birth and how God saved him from being killed by king Pharaoh, and many others as mentioned above, impacted me so much – that God always has a plan for my life, and He is faithful and loving. As I got older however, the ‘self’ became more prominent in my focus. I became more selfish and eventually lost sight of who God is. But, in His faithfulness, He brought me to my knees to fully understand the true meaning of my salvation. He again reminded me about the radical believers in the Bible.

As I write this, I read about the hundreds and thousands of Muslims who have walked away from their childhood Muslim faith on a daily basis to follow Christ. Then on the contrary, I also read about Christ followers who – for various reasons, walked away from following Jesus. How sad. How tragic. At the eleventh hour in which we seem to be living in now, people have walked away from the faith.

Recently PKNZ chair, Nick Tuitasi who so many of you know, said that PKNZ needs to return to its core mission. What is its mission? Sid Overton, a legal expert from the US who was instrumental in the early days of PKUSA and served on the Board for eleven years, recently said “Promise Keepers core business is to help men and their relationship with God.” Did you notice the ‘period’ after God?

Promise Keepers NZ is now fully entering into a new season – PKNZ 2.0. What does that mean? It means getting back to its core business as Sid alluded to. The How, What, and Who is for the Lord to lead and for us to follow. The When is easy. It is now!

I remember my father who was a builder but planted plantations of various crops between jobs to keep his men employed and their families fed once said; workers who are hired just in time for the harvest will never appreciate the pain and the sacrifice a farmer makes to yield the fruit.

What we know from scripture is that our work for the Lord is never in vain. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58.)

Radical Faith requires a counter-culture commitment if it is to serve the Lord and fulfil His purpose. My prayer is that you would pray about joining us as we move toward fulfilling the purpose of the Lord in this new season of Promise Keepers NZ 2.0. How wonderful it is to sow together, and to harvest together. Praise be to the Father who is always faithful, always loving.

In His richest blessings
Frank Po Ching