Anthony Trask » Ministry

Buying a Soul Back from the Devil

Anthony — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:16:02 +0000

Over the last several weeks, we have seen quite a few people publicly confessing Jesus as Lord here at Fellowship Church- the reason why we do this thing in the first place! It has been wonderful! And what is interesting, is that these salvations are taking place during services where the topics spoken on have been money and sex- really. People are hungry for the truth on these issues, and the truth sets people free!

But last weekend, a new young man in our church came up to me and explained to me how he had a roommate who was very much against God, who mocked God, and ask condemning questions about God. He even claimed that he had sold his soul to the devil. He wanted advice, and prayer, as to how he should deal with his friend.

I honestly was interested, and cared about these young men, but in my mind I just- to be honest- kind of blew it off after the conversation was over. It was almost as if I didn’t think God could do anything with this man. I didn’t really believe that, or even think that, but due to me just going on with life normally after the conversation, I might as well have.

So this Sunday…guess who shows up! The new guy at our church with “the friend!” Holy cow!

Okay. So he’s here, but his heart will be hard to God and he won’t get anything out of coming to church, right? I mean, we’re going to be talking about sexual sin in the lives of men. That will make him more hard-hearted and upset, right??

Heck, maybe I should tone-down my message a little bit so I don’t offend this atheist?

To say that thoughts like this didn’t go through my mind would be a little dishonest, but I pressed through and did as I was directed by God.

And when I gave an opportunity for those present to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and to confess publicly that they were doing so by raising their hands; guess who did? Yep! Him! And another person that we’ve been specifically praying for, and a husband and wife- together!

The guy who “sold his soul to the devil” had it purchased back for him with the blood of Christ!

I’m being reminded again and again, that those who we would too quickly deem “least-likely” to be saved, are exactly the ones who God is calling- and I am humbled.

I don’t normally like to post real specific things like this, at the risk of violating someone’s privacy, but this was too good not to share!

I can’t wait until this weekend!

I Don’t Want To Be…

Anthony — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:06:46 +0000

In My Life, My Family, and My Ministry:

I don’t want to be ordinary- I want to be extraordinary.

I don’t want to be normal- I want to be abnormal.

I don’t want to fall in to the status quo- I want to break it.

I don’t want to fit in- I want to stand out.

I don’t want to be of this world- I want to be out of this world.

I don’t want to be average- I want to be above average.

I don’t want to be the same- I want to be different.

I don’t want to be satisfied- I want to be hungry.

I don’t want to be dull, boring, or cold- I want to be on fire.

I don’t want to be apathetic- I want to be passionate.

I don’t want to be lukewarm- I want to be burning.

I don’t want to get by- I want to thrive.

I don’t want to set limitations- I want to break them.

I don’t want to dream- I want to do.

I don’t want to play it safe- I want to risk it all.

I don’t want to fall short- I want to exceed the expectations.

I don’t want to fail- But I’d rather try and fail, than to have never tried at all.

But in all these things:

I must decrease- so that He must increase.

And if He is the One increasing- all of this is more than possible.

And I will not fail- I will be victorious.

Too Far?

Anthony — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:11:26 +0000

Warning. This will be VERY graphic. It is also very revealing and personal. If you want to think of me as a perfect person who has never sinned and never has any struggles- do not read any further! But, really, this is a must read.

When I was a teenager, I used to convince myself that only vaginal sexual intercourse was “sex.” That was the only thing that God had a problem with two people who were not married doing. That (vaginal sexual intercourse) was sin, but everything else was a free-for-all, and God didn’t care as long as the two people loved each other….liked each other….or as long as it was…eh…convenient.

So I remember thinking; “‘anal-sex’ isn’t sex,” “‘oral-sex’ isn’t sex,” “‘phone sex’ isn’t sex,” “‘any touching of someone’s genitals’ isn’t sex,” “‘masturbation’ isn’t sex,” “‘pornography’ isn’t sex”, etc…you get the point.

I was awesome at justifying myself and burying the shame I felt for engaging in such activity- which I kept telling myself, and others, wasn’t a sin.

I was living in the “Bill Clinton-era” and I had a “Bill Clinton” mentality when it came to sexual relations- the mentality that all things “sex” were not sex as long as it wasn’t vaginal sexual intercourse. Under this type of classification, anyone could get away with just about anything!

But then I got married, and then I met Jesus and became a “real” Christian. And all of the sudden my eyes were opened to the lies I had been living in, and I felt a sense of conviction that I had sinned against a Holy God and taken advantage of the grace he had so freely offered me.

I realized that anything that had the name or the word “sex” in it, was indeed sex. That any touching of someone else’s sex organs, or anything that brought another sexual pleasure and stimulation, was also constituted as sex.

I realized that God wasn’t trying to keep something good FROM me, He was trying to prepare something good FOR me- an intimate sexual relationship with my future spouse.

I realized that to share these experiences with someone else would only take away from the future experiences that I would share, and that were only meant to be shared, with my wife. I realized that to share experiences like these with others, before marriage, was in reality, to cheat on my wife- before she was ever my wife.

I realized that instead of asking questions like;” How far is too far?,” that we need to ask ourselves questions like;” What would I not want my spouse to do with someone else?,” or;” How far would I like someone to go with my son or daughter before they get married?,” and stop right there. Because eventually, these people, and you, will be someone’s spouse. Wouldn’t you want that person’s, and your, intimacy with their (your) future spouse to be the best it could possibly be? Wouldn’t anything else be self-serving?

And ladies, if a man tells you that he “love(s) you,” and that you are “married in your hearts,” or “in God’s eyes,” and because of these things wants you to have sex with him…..don’t. If he truly loves you, and Jesus (which is far more important), he’ll understand that it is best for both of you to share that intimacy as a committed married couple. Beyonce’ said it best when she said; “If (he) liked it then (he) should have put a ring on it.” A man is not truly committed to you unless he is first committed to Jesus, and then married to you. Don’t settle for anything less.

Ladies also deceive, and make the same arguments, with men, who are far weaker when it comes to sexual temptation. And, men, the same goes for you in these situations. A woman is not truly committed to you unless she is first committed to Jesus, and then married to you. Don’t be deceived and settle for anything else.

So why write about this?

Because I’m tired of seeing so may Christians, or people who claim to be, “become ‘one flesh’” with someone sexually and having their hearts and lives broken when it doesn’t work out, and when that flesh is broke apart.

God never makes an excuse for you to sin, never justifies it, and will never bless you for living outside of His will.

So if you want to have the best marriage possible; the best sex life possible; and abide within the full blessings of God for your life as a Christian, then you must choose to follow Him, obey Him, and abstain from anything labeled “sex” before marriage.

Something to think about.

Forgetting My First Love

Anthony — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:45:26 +0000

As I prepare for a message series on the seven churches mentioned in Revelation, I have been rocked by Jesus’ message to the Church in Ephesus.
They believed all the right things, rejected all the right things, and seemed to be abstaining from sin very well.
But Jesus tells them that their problem is, that, they had forgotten their first love- Jesus.
One honor for me as a minister, and being a part of a church that is reaching the lost for Christ, is to see new people come to Christ on a somewhat (albeit not enough) regular basis. People who initially, and authentically, have encountered the grace of Christ are so lively, so joyous, so on fire for the Lord, and are so grateful that Christ would save a sinner such as themselves. New Believers act somewhat like a newly dating couple- totally in love with not a care in the world. Willing to do anything or go anywhere just to be with the one they love.
But sadly; due to religion, false teaching, and the enemy, many of those new Believers lose the joy of their salvation in Christ- how could something so monumental and joyous be forgotten or lost??! Just as an established- or married- couple who may technically still love each other can fall ‘out of love’ with one another; Christians often times fall out of love with Jesus.
I don’t have all the answers as to why this happens, but I’ve seen it happen often. To be honest, it’s happened from time to time with me. Often times, I believe, that some who experience such a decline in joy or love in their relationship with Christ, had never truly began a relationship in the first place.
Either way, we are desperately in need of having an intimate loving relationship with Jesus. Jesus wants to give us what’s best for us, and the only prerequisite He gives us for doing so is making Him the first in our lives. If we have forgotten our love for Him, fallen out of love with Him, or have lost the joy of the salvation He has given us, it becomes impossible to give Him our first.
Often times, like the Ephesians, we can get so caught up in believing all the right things and abstaining from all the right things, that we can become full-time “Christians,” but part-time followers (or lovers) of Christ. Craig Groeschel, in his book Confessions of Pastor, wrote that of himself: That he had become a full-time pastor, but a part-time follower of Christ. He, like so many of us, had been caught up in doing all the right things FOR Jesus, that he had put having a relationship WITH Jesus on the back-burner. This is something I can totally relate with. When we put more emphasis on doing the right things FOR Jesus than having a relationship WITH Jesus, we’ll quickly become ineffective in doing virtually anything for Him.
When we forgot our first love, everything else becomes meaningless and ineffective.
I could spend all of my time working in order to provide FOR my wife, and working around our house FOR her. But that would be meaningless unless I was actually spending time WITH her and loving her. To her, me working is important, but not as important as talking, intimacy, and spending time with one another. When our relationship is based on that, the work will be more effective and meaningful.
So I am being reminded that my relationship WITH Jesus is more important than my work FOR Him. Am I spending time talking with Him, reading His Word, meditating on His goodness, and basking in His presence? If not, then my work, again, will be meaningless and ineffective.
I want more of Him, and less of me.
I want to love Him, as He loves me.
I want my relationship with Him to come first.
Because when I give Him my first, He’ll give me His best.

A Reminder to Christian Ministry Leaders

Anthony — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:00:07 +0000

If I was missing an organ, or if I had an organ that wasn’t functioning properly, I wouldn’t ask a healthy organ who was serving another body, to leave that body in order to come and serve mine. My body’s health is no more important than someone else’s. If I were in need of a new organ, I would look for one not functioning within another body or one who was not crucial to that other body, that the body was willing to give up- i.e. an organ transplant from the deceased, or from someone who can function with only one of those organs.
Sadly, many leaders of churches do this very thing. Often times, if they are lacking a volunteer, a leader, or a musician; they’ll seek one out from another church and try to persuade them to come over to theirs, with little to no thought about how that might effect the church that person is coming from.
Often times, if we’re not careful as leaders, we’ll think only of ourselves and our ministries- Forgetting that other Christian leaders and ministries are a part of the same Body on the same mission as we are.
Jesus reminded us that whoever is not against us, is for us. As leaders in the Church, we must remember this crucial fact and seek to not only serve Christ, but to serve the rest of His Body as well by supporting, encouraging, and working together with other ministries- not working against them, competing with them, or trying to lure away valuable resources from them.
Not only, should we as leaders, look for gifted Believers who are not being utilized, and integrate them into our Body; but first and foremost, we should be raising up people within our Body and equipping them to be valuable workers in the ministry. With a culture like this, people will begin to see how they fit in, begin to serve, begin to find fulfillment and contentment in serving, and help grow the Body by doing likewise.
So that these Believers grow in maturity, they need to learn to make a commitment to a Body. By committing to a Body they will be able to build lasting, authentic relationships, be held accountable, sit under Godly teaching, learn to respect authority, and be more effective within the great Body of Christ.
Going from place to place wherever you feel more needed, or more comfortable, will only breed selfishness and immaturity, and make you ineffective. Asking people from other churches to leave theirs, in order to come to yours, will only perpetuate such selfishness and immaturity; and render large portions of the overall Body useless.

Public Prayer…

Anthony — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:43:50 +0000

So often times, people talk about how they are sick, have headaches, are tired, stressed out, etc….

When we (me included) hear them say such things, we’ll say things like; “I hope you get feeling better,” “I’ll be praying for you,” etc…

But often times we don’t really think about their predicament; and we quickly forget that we said we would pray, so we won’t.

But James 5:14-18 has been on my mind much lately. It says:

James 5:14-18 (ESV)

[14] Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

[16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

[17] Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. [18] Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

So I have been convicted lately of my lack of faith, my lack of action, and even my (to be honest) embarrassment of praying for people in public.

What I want to do, when hearing of people’s circumstances and predicaments, is to be bold enough to stop what I am doing- right there, on the spot- lay hands on them, and pray for them. I don’t want to care about what they will think, what others will think, or how serious their circumstances actually are. I just want to stop, and pray for those who are hurting, on the spot.

I would like to be known for this kind of thing. Some may call me crazy, or hyper-spiritual, but that’s okay. I’d rather see people healed, delivered, and set free; than me being comfortable where I am in my life.

Are you in??

Thank You’s, Part 5

Anthony — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:33:57 +0000

Day #5:

Susan Trask:

The Bible says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing. And in Susan Trask; I have found a VERY good thing! Without her I would be an immature, selfish, boy trapped in a 31 year-old man’s body.

It has been such a joy and a blessing to spend the past 16 years of my life with my very best friend- 12 of which we have been married. It has been wonderful to watch that beautiful teenage girl blossom into a Godly-caring woman, wife, and mother.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that serving God and putting Him first is my wife’s priority in life and it shows. Her passion for Him, His work, and obedience to Him is nothing short of incredible!

Susan has made great sacrifices in order to be the wife of a pastor and the stay-at-home mother to our two children; and for that I am eternally grateful! She makes sure that our children are cared for, that our house is in order, and that she takes care of me.

Her steadfastness to the crazy visions that God has given to me far surpasses my own, and without her encouragement, I would have sinfully given up on many endeavors long ago.

She motivates me to finish what I have started, to do the right thing, and to believe that God is able to do what is seemingly impossible.

She trusts me to make wise and Godly decisions for our family and those God has given us to minister to; follows me wherever I go; and does whatever she can to cheer me on, assist me, and to fight with me against any opposition.

She picks me up when I’m crumbling. Holds me when I’ve had enough. Lifts my spirits when they are crashing. Puts up with me when I’m at my worst. Believes in me. Honors me. Respects me. Listens to the war stories. And always comes back for more.

There’s no one else in the world I’d rather spend my time with. No one else I’d rather share my bed with. No one else I’d rather have children with. And no one else I’d rather do this crazy thing called “life” together with.

Susan Trask, you are amazing!

Thank You!!!!

Thank You’s, Part 4

Anthony — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:30:28 +0000

Day #4:

Ryan and Ladina Dougherty:

If you were to rate your friends on a scale of 1 to 10, with a “10″ being the closest, Ryan and Ladina are definitely at a “10.” They are always there for us when we need them and are a joy to be around- they’re really more family than they are friends.

One of the greatest things about Ryan and Ladina is that they “get” my wife and I. They know what we are passionate about, what we are good at, where our heart is, and whether or not we’re doing the right thing. And hands-down, Ryan and Ladina understand the vision God has given us for this church more than anybody else, and have committed themselves to seeing that vision through.

Without their constant help and support, I would be dead-in-the-water as a leader. They do not simply support me and what I do; they are a part of what I do- a crucial important piece of the puzzle. They don’t have walk-on roles, or supporting roles; they have starring roles. They are every bit as important at this church as I- the pastor- am.

Ryan and Ladina have given their lives to seeing God’s Kingdom advance in this city- their time, their relationships, their money….everything.

In our personal lives, or in our ministry; there’s not too many people that we are equally as thankful for as Ryan and Ladina. I am so excited to see what God has in store for them, and for us with them, in the future! I am eager to see how God will abundantly bless them for their faithfulness.

Thank you Ryan and Ladina for being selfless friends and ministers of the Gospel!

Thank You’s, Part 3

Anthony — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:16:27 +0000

Day #3:

David and Sonja Bates:

David and Sonja have been coming to our church for over a year and a half. When I first met them, they were uninterested in attending church, and had a custody issue with their baby girl. Over some time, the people of our church really stepped it up in ministering to them and reaching out to them.

After a short time, David and Sonja started attending Fellowship Church, and quickly became part of our church family. I got to witness them both quickly grow closer to Christ, had the opportunity to baptize David, and eventually had the opportunity to meet their beautiful baby girl.

Through giant steps forward they were making in their life, a little help from some great people at our church, and of course the miraculous workings of God; we, as a church, got to see David and Sonja permanently regain custody of their daughter.

I had the privilege of walking them towards marriage through premarital counseling, and the joy of performing their wedding ceremony last November.

David and Sonja understand fully what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. David works two jobs and rarely gets any sleep in order to support his family, but that doesn’t stop him from serving way above and beyond any expectations at his home church. He and Sonja are two of the most vital people that we have as a church in seeing that the work of the ministry is accomplished. They have huge hearts for people who come from similar backgrounds as them, and to be honest, are hands-down the most sacrificial givers I know.

If most Christians knew how much David and Sonja gave to the Kingdom of God (in all areas of their life), they would be put to shame.

David and Sonja: Thank you for all you do and for setting a fine example to the Body of Christ!

Give me a church full of people like Jeremy, Chris, David, and Sonja; and watch us change the world for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Thank You’s, Part 2

Anthony — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:08:10 +0000

Day #2:

Chris Simpson:

Chris Simpson has been coming to our church for about a year and a half with his wife Jeanette and his son Cameron. Chris always has a smile on his face and is always ready to serve.

Chris is a “little” older than me, and much more mature, but he insists on holding doors open for me, taking trash out of my hands as I am trying to put it out, etc… To be honest, sometimes I try to avoid Chris if I’m doing any type of work because I don’t want him to do (the work) for me- I want to give him a break, and honor him as my elder by doing it myself. It’s impossible for me to see Chris and not have him ask if he can help me with something.

I love watching Chris pray and worship, as he takes his time with God so seriously regardless of who is around him.

Lately, while working in my office, I have been hearing various yard tools being used outside. Usually, I think it’s the yard maintenance crews working at the businesses or apartment complexes in the neighborhood, but then I realize that the sound is too close. After a while, I’ll peak my head out of the door and see Chris weed-eating, mowing the lawn, or doing various other projects around the church’s yard- All Without Being Asked!

If there’s trash to be picked up; Chris does it. If there’s a garbage to be emptied; Chris does it. If there’s a lawn to be mowed; Chris does it. If there’s weeds to pull; Chris does it. Chris does whatever he sees that needs to get done without being asked and without asking permission. He does whatever his hand finds to do with all of his might as if he is doing it unto the Lord.

Simply put; Thank you Chris! The example you set for your family, the people of this church, and the community, is exemplary! If we had a church full of Jeremy’s and Chris’……the possibilities would be endless!