Why I Had To Go Through My Pain by Bro. Bo Sanchez

You probably know my story. My past was bad: I got abused as a child and I fell into all sorts of addictions. I fell into sin and couldn’t get out. For many long years, I got really broken. I was ruled by shame and insecurities. I was so messed up.

But I thank God I went through that, because I understand the sinner who is seeking God. I feel that because of what I went through, my life and my mission is completely fixated on welcoming every kind of sinner in this world.

Here’s what I noticed: Religious leaders who have been broken accept broken people. This is one of the reasons why we accept anyone in the Light of Jesus Family—adulterers, thieves, prostitutes, drug addicts, alcoholics, gamblers, perverts… (They’re all sinners like me!)

Let me declare this from the housetops.   My little communityis 100% for the unchurched.

  Here’s an insight from another preacher named Steven Furtick. If you found Jesus just last week at the Feast(that’s what we call our prayer meeting), then that was the last time this community was for you. After you found Jesus, the Feast is no longer for you anymore. You’re no longer my target. You’re no longer my market. You’re no longer my audience. You’re no longer my customer. You should now be my co-worker!

You shouldn’t be in front of me; You should be beside me. You shouldn’t be the person I’m serving; you should be serving WITH me, shoulder to shoulder, hand to hand, blessing the world together. Because thisFeast is no longer for you.

       Let me share with you a powerful story…

The Story of Joyce Meyer

       I was in Sydney last month and I heard Joyce Meyer share the very moving story of her life.

       As a child, Joyce was sexually abused by her own father. Because it was a pattern and would happen at specific days of the week, Joyce knows how many times he abused her—her father molested her for more than 200 times.

       And sadly, her mother let him.

       Joyce grew up from that horrible past, gave her life to Jesus, and went on to preach the Gospel. And God asked her to forgive her father—which she did.

       Twice in her life, she mustered courage and told her father that she forgave him—but in both times, he denied ever doing anything wrong.

       But one day, God didn’t only ask that she forgive him. God asked her to follow the Bible when it says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” (Romans 12:20)

       Her parents lived far from the city and they were growing old. That was when God spoke to her heart, “Buy a house for them in the city near you, so you can take care of them.”

She couldn’t believe what she heard. But she obeyed. At first, she wanted to buy a small ugly house and fill it with second hand furniture. But ultimately, she bought them a nice house for them and cared for them.

For 30 years, her father never said, “I’m sorry” to Joyce. 

One day, 3 years after they moved into their new house, her mother called up and said, “Can you visit your Dad? He has been crying non-stop everyday for 3 weeks.” So Joyce visits him. And this is what her father said, “For the past 3 years, I’ve been wanting to say this to you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did to you when you were a child. I didn’t know it was going to do so much harm.”

Joyce learned that her father’s family was incestuous. It’s true that hurting people hurt people.

The next Sunday, Joyce brought him to church and he gave his life to Jesus. Joyce said she thought she was buying a house. Actually, she was buying a soul.

Growing up, Joyce went through horrific pain—a pain that God never intended her to have. But it was a pain that shaped her in a way that made her stronger, better, and wiser.

Today, Joyce Meyer is being used by God to heal thousands of broken women who have also been abused.

What pain have you gone through?   I believe that your purpose is connected to your pain.

Remember…

“Nothing just happens.”

       May your dreams come true,

       Bo Sanchez

Do You Know What You Really Want? by Bro. Bo Sanchez

 People ask me all the time, “Bo, I don’t know God’s purpose for my life.” But it’s really easy.

Let me help you.

I tell them, “The easiest way for you to know God’s purpose is to look for the intersection between your passion and your potential.” In other words, find alignment.

       Fulfilling your purpose may or may not to earn you money. And that’s okay. Life is not about earning money. This was my experience. For 20 years, I didn’t earn from the intersection of my passion and potential—which was speaking. It was pure ministry. I would speak anywhere and everywhere for free. I was very happy but very poor. With my finances, I could never raise my family or give more to the ministry.

       So one day, I decided to go into business. To earn money, I sold hotdogs, squid balls, ice cream, memorial plans, and even engine oil. All those businesses failed. Why? Because I went out of my two circles of passion and potential…

       To earn money, I had to go back to my core—the intersection of my passion and potential. But I had to do something else. If I wanted to prosper financially, I had to add one more circle. (I borrowed this idea from Jim Collins’ book, Good To Great—just changed the terms). The “Peso” circle consists of the various ways I could earn. I asked myself, “Where can I earn the most?” 

       

       I realized that I could earn the most at that sweet spot where these three circles intersect. That sweet spot for me was still communication, but this time, I needed to find a way to monetize it. Obviously, even to this day, MOST of my speaking is still for free. I speak at the Feast each week without pay. But once a month, I’m invited by companies to speak and they pay me more than what I used to earn in a year.

       Let me end with one last story…

Know What You Want

There’s this one very special restaurant in Singapore that my friends loved. In fact, its Hainanese chicken is so over-the-top and out-of-this-world, the restaurant has become a minor tourist attraction. If you visit Singapore, you have to visit this simple restaurant. 

And my two friends loved this restaurant so much, they had this crazy idea. They wanted to be the franchisee of this restaurant here in the Philippines.

       So they flew to Singapore to talk to the owner. And that was when they learned that they weren’t the first people to think of the crazy idea. They were last in a long line of people. The owner mentioned some very wealthy Filipinos who already visited him, wanting to buy the franchise. These Filipinos were huge institutions in the restaurant industry, the best of the best.

But for some reason, the owner turned all of them down.

       Obviously, my friends were shaken. “If he turned down these gigantic Philippine restaurants, he’s going to turn us down too!”

But that’s when they received the shock of their life. After their long conversation with the owner, he looked at my two friends and announced, “I’ll give you the franchise for the Philippines.”

       Later on, they learned why.

The owner used one big question to decide. He asked every applicant, “If I give you the franchise, who will come here to Singapore—to get trained in my kitchen—for 4 straight months?”

       The other applicants—very wealthy business people—said, “We will send our best chefs for your training program.”

       KBZZZZZZT! Wrong answer.

       But when my friends were asked the same question, they raised their hands and said, “We’ll go!” In other words, they said, “We’ll forget whatever we’re doing in the Philippines and focus only on one thing—your restaurant.”

Are You Willing To Give Up Everything?

       The restaurant owner was a very wise man. He was looking for people who know what they wanted.

I believe God is like that restaurant owner. He wants you to franchise his love in this world. He’s looking for His representatives. And He too is looking for an alignment between passion, potential, and purpose!

Passion means knowing what you want and giving everything you’ve got to get it. Passion is saying to yourself and to the universe, “This is what I want, and I’m betting my entire life on this. I’m putting my time, my future, and my comfort at stake here. I’m unloading all my guns. I’m holding nothing back. I’m sacrificing everything on the altar!”

That restaurant is now in the Philippines—and they’re full every single day.   They’re so full, you can’t get in without a reservation. It’s a smashing success. Why? 

Because there was alignment.

Let me ask you today… 

Do you know what you want?

       Do you want it bad enough?

       God waits for your answer.

I love saying this: When you want something bad enough, nothing much can stop you. As the Bible says,If you are unable to make up your mind and are undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:7-8)

       May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

Nothing just Happens by Bro. Bo Sanchez

I heard this message from T.D. Jakes, and I loved it so much, I’d like to share it with you.

Let me start with a beautiful Bible story.

One day, a married couple named Elimelech and Naomi were living in Bethlehem. And they were blessed with two sons. 

But when famine struck the land, they had to migrate. Just like Filipinos today, Naomi and Elimelech went abroad to look for a better life. 

But in that land, tragedy happened.  First, Naomi’s husband Elimelech died. Her two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. And just in case you’re asking, no, Orpah didn’t have an ancient TV show…

And then tragedy struck again because Naomi’s two sons also died. So Naomi was left with her two daughter-in-laws, Ruth and Orpah. In ancient times, a widow doesn’t inherit a single cent from her dead husband. So Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah became dirt poor. What can be worse than three widows living together in poverty?

That was when Naomi decided to go back to Bethlehem and become a Balikbayan. But a very poor, destitute, impoverished Balikbayan. And she told Ruth and Orpah to leave her and go back to their families—because they had no hope with her.

The three of them cried together—and after much tears, Orpah decided to walk away. But Ruth decided to stay with Naomi. And she said, “Wherever you go, I shall go; Where you die, I shall die; Your people will be my people; And your God will be my God too.” She commits herself to care for her mother-in-law. And so both of them went back to Bethlehem.

In Bethlehem, Ruth looks for food. Out of the many lands there, she chooses to “glean” from the land of a certain Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband. (Gleaning was a charitable practice in ancient Israel where landowners didn’t harvest everything from their land, but left some leftovers, so that the poor people can gather these leftovers for themselves.)

       And this is where the miracle happens…

And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech. Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?” (Ruth 2:3, 5)

It says that Ruth “just happened” to be gleaning on the land of Boaz. Like it was a stroke of luck. A happy coincidence. A random chance. An unplanned accident.

But did this really “just happen”? If you read until the end of the story, it says that the Boaz marries Ruth! And Ruth the Beggar becomes Ruth the Owner.

Here’s the truth: Nothing Just Happens. Because God had something to do with it. This was Divine Orchestration. The Heavenly Conductor arranged, maneuvered, and engineered various circumstances to position Ruth to harvest in this specific plot of land, which was her place of destiny.

I believe God is doing the exact same thing in your life. 

Say it after me, “Nothing just happens.”

When you feel discouraged by your current situation, when you feel that things aren’t going your way, when you find yourself caught in a quagmire of opposition, and people reject you, declare that “Nothing Just Happens!” 

God Determines Your Steps

The Bible says, We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:9). 

She was begging in the land of Boaz. This was her place of poverty. But God saw the future and knew that this place of poverty was actually her place of destiny. Ruth the Beggar became Ruth the Owner! Ruth, the mendicant, became Ruth, the millionaire.

Right now, you may be in a place of poverty. I declare it now to be your place of prosperity. You may be in a place of anguish. I declare it now to be your place of abundance. You may be in a place of defeat. I now declare it as your place of destiny. Your physical surroundings may be ordinary to your eyes, but behind the curtains of the physical realm, God is doing something extraordinary in your favor. Declare that God is bringing you to your place of destiny because “Nothing Just Happens”.

Think of the most painful experience in your life and shout, Nothing just happens! Think of the people that have abandoned you and shout, Nothing just happens! Think of the anguish that you went through and shout, Nothing just happens!” 

When the winds are strong, the clouds are dark, the waves are high, shout, Nothing just happens! When there’s no food on your table, no money in your pocket, no friends on your side, shout, nothing just happens! When your prayers aren’t answered, when your dreams aren’t happening, and when your miracles aren’t flowing—Nothing just happens!

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

What is your Special Gift by bro. bo sanchez

Last week, I said that in order to hit your mission in life, you need to align 3 things: your passion, your potential, and your purpose. 

Today, I’d like to talk about potential.

You see, passion isn’t enough to discover your purpose.

I know some people who love singing but singing doesn’t love them. One day, a woman come up to me and told me, “Brother Bo, I heard God tell me, ‘I’m calling you to sing to the world.”   She proceeded to give me a sample of her singing. And as I listened to her, I wondered if she heard wrongly. Perhaps God told her, ‘I’m calling you to sting the world.’” Because that was what I was experiencing at that moment. She wasn’t a singing sensation, she was a stinging sensation.

You need to identify your potential, your special gift. God has given you one. And it’s very simple to find out what it is. Ask yourself, “Where do I excel? What one thing do I do that when I do it, people are blessed?”

This is your core gift. And this is how you become a superstar.

Face it. People love superstars. People like to deal with superstars. People will buy from superstars. People will listen to the music of superstars, watch the sports of superstars, eat in restaurants with superstar chefs, wear the clothes of superstar brands, and read the books of superstar authors.

Here’s my belief: God has given you a unique gift that will make you a superstar in your world. God is telling you today, Do not neglect your gift. (1 Timothy 4:14)

       If you find your unique gift, develop your unique gift, and resist the temptation to divert away from your gift—you’ll be Number One. 

80% Of Your Life Should Be About Your Special Gift

       I’m not saying, “Abandon everything else you’re doing.” My gift is in speaking and writing, but I still do other stuff like running my businesses, leading a lot of meetings, and pioneering new projects. Those things are still necessary, and I have to do them. But I focus at least 80% of my productive time in what I do best—speaking and writing.  

       And when I say superstar, I’m not suggesting that you be superstar of the entire world.

       Just the superstar of your niche.

Be A Niche Superstar

       Let me give you an example.

       I’m not the best preacher in the world.

Again, my mother will disagree, but please be quiet about it and don’t burst her bubble. She’s 87 years old and I want her to live the remaining 23 years of her life on earth (yes, she’ll live until 110) with the belief that I’m the best preacher in the world. So Shhhhhhh…

But this I can accept. I think I’m one of the best (1) Lay, (2) Catholic, (3) Filipinopreachers who preach on (4) practical topics, (5) especially in the area of personal finance, personal health, and personal relationships, (6) that speak in a very simple and down-to-earth way, (7) who always gives it from a spiritual perspective, (8) whose audience is primarily the English-speaking crowd, (9) funny in a corny way, and (10) who has a huge black mole on BOTH of his ears. In that tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny niche, I’m a superstar.

       Question: How can you be a superstar in your niche?

       Define yourself.

       Mark your boundaries and call it your property.

Let me give you a very simple example about my property…

Focus On Your Strength—Forget Your Weakness

Here’s my niche: I preach mainly in English. 

Which is a problem. Because I can’t reach the majority of the Philippine population. And believe me, I want to! I still feel a pinch of envy when I hear my fellow Feast preachers preach in fluent, spontaneous, powerful Tagalog—and they connect to all sorts of crowds—something I can never do.

Regularly, I get comments from Facebook and my blog, telling me, “Brother Bo, please preach in Tagalog so we can understand you more.”

But today, I realize that this is what God wants me to do—to preach and write in English.

Yes, I can keep on working on my Tagalog preaching. But no matter how much I try doing that, I’m ashamed to say that I can’t preach in Tagalog in the same level that I preach in English. If you heard me preach in Tagalog and were impressed, don’t be. I was probably giving one of my memorized Tagalog talks. (I have 3 of them!)

Yes, I can preach in Tagalog adequately, but I always sound… uh, queer. Let me give you an analogy. When I preach in English, I feel like I’m driving the fastest motorbike in the world. My thoughts and words flow like the wind.

But when I preach in Tagalog, I feel like I’m riding this rusty bicycle overloaded with stuff in my mind that I can’t express…

 

Again, I’m not proud of this.

I don’t even have a Filipino accent. Years ago, when I preached in the US, Americans think I live there. Some of them asked me, “What State were you born? California?” I told them, “No, I was born in the State of Caloocan.” They get surprised why I speak the way I do. “Did you grow up here perhaps?” they asked.

I told them, “Well, I lived in Chicago for 20+ years.”

“I knew it, ” they smiled.

“Every morning, from Chicago, I turn right to New York, turn left to Aurora Boulevard until I reach Araneta Coliseum.”

This conversation happened years ago. That doesn’t happen anymore today. When you speak without a Filipino accent in America, they now ask, “Do you work in a Call Center?”

       Why do I preach in English? I see two twists of fate that made me speak this way…

       First reason: I was born to parents who spoke only two languages—English and Spanish. Since I felt that Spanish wasn’t very useful for me, I grew up speaking only English.

       Second reason: When I was one year old, Dad’s company transferred him to Cebu. We lived there for 8 years. As a kid, I learned Cebuano, not Tagalog. But when I transferred back to Manila at 9 years old, I forgot my Cebuano and wasn’t great in Tagalog.

       It’s Divine Orchestration. Through my history, God prepared me to preach in English.

       But here’s a fact. When you have a strength, you also have a weakness. And that’s okay. Let me give you my controversial point: Focus on your strength and forget your weakness. Often, our school system aims to produce well-rounded students who are jack-of-all-trades, but masters of none. Believe me, that’s the recipe for mediocrity. Successful people aren’t well-rounded people—they’re extremely fantastic in one specific field and a total nincompoop in other fields.

I can write a book in five days with ease. But I can’t dance.

I can give a whole day seminar in my sleep. But I can’t memorize the multiplication table. (I keep forgetting what’s 8 x 7 and 9 x 6…)

Goodness, I can’t even replace a light bulbdecently. Believe me, I tried. Three weeks ago, my wife asked me to change the light bulb above our bed. So I stood on the bed and reached up. The light fixture slipped off my hands and it shattered to a thousand pieces. My wife looked at me and said, “Bo, go back to preaching.”

Do you want to be successful in life? Focus, focus, focus. Be good in one thing. Be a master of one skill and make that your special gift to the world.

       Next week, I’ll give you my final installment of this message on passion, potential, and purpose…

       May your dreams come true,

       Bo Sanchez

Are you aligned with your Passion by bro. bo sanchez

Today, I’d like to talk about Alignment.

Success is all about Alignment.

Imagine an archer…

Okay, the movie scene above may not be very familiar with older people. So let me show another one… (If you’re my age, you’ll shout “Yeah!”)

For an archer to hit his target, he needs alignment. An archer’s most important skill is the ability to align 3 things: his bow, his arrow, and his target. Without alignment, he can’t hit his target. That’s why my wife and I are aligned—I am Bo and she is Marowe. (Sorry for being corny today.)

I believe we’re all archers.  Why? Because God has created you with a target: Your purpose in life. The Bible says, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

In order to hit your mission in life, you need to align 3 things: your passion, your potential, and your purpose. 

·        The bow symbolizes your passion

This is where your power comes from. You can have a very excellent arrow—sharp and straight and strong—but if you don’t have a powerful bow, it won’t go anywhere. In the same way, you can be as intelligent as Einstein, but if you don’t have passion for your purpose, you won’t be successful.

·        The arrow symbolizes your potential

The arrow symbolizes your CORE GIFT; Your bow could be very powerful, but if you picked the wrong arrow—if you picked an arrow that is bent, or brittle, or blunt —you won’t hit your target. If you want to be successful, you have to stick to your game. You have to be faithful to your core gift.

·        The target symbolizes your purpose

Success is a simple pattern. If you really think about it, there’s nothing complicated about success. If you have the right bow—passion—and if you chose the right arrow—potential—through practice—in due time, you’ll be able to hit your purpose in life.

When you align your passion, potential, and purpose, that is when you achieve true prosperity. This is what I call Divine Alignment. The reason why you lack peace, fulfillment, joy, success, and true prosperity is because something is still not aligned in your life.

Let me share with you today, the first of these three elements that need to be aligned in your life…

1. Passion

What’s your passion?

Without passion, you won’t go anywhere in life.

Let me rephrase my question: What one thing do you love to do, you’ll do it even if you don’t get paid?

Here’s another scenario: Imagine if you went back to your home province and you were cleaning the backyard of your ancestral home. And as you were walking around, your big toe hit something and you almost fell. After shouting Aray! you looked down and saw something protruding from the ground. You dig around it and realize it was the edge of a box. You dig some more and you realize it was no ordinary box but a treasure chest. You pull it out, open its lid—and discover it was the Yamashita Treasure! 

Later on, you measure its worth—it’s 400 million dollars.

Here’s my big question: If you had owned that money, what will you do?

That question will uncover your passion. For example, if I had all the money in the world, I’ll still preach and write. Much of my preaching and writing, I don’t get paid. For example, I donate my book royalties to the ministry. It’s not about the money. I just love to write! I bet even if I’m 110 years old—if I can still type in a laptop—I’m certain I’ll still be writing my books.

Friend, don’t look around for the Yamashita treasure. Because the Yamashita treasure is within you. It’s your passion, potential, and purpose.....  (to be continued)

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez