TRANSCRIPT

NATHAN JONES

This month, we head to Costa Rica to spend time with Javier Espinoza who was helping to steward the connection of local churches to the global gospel movement.

I’m your host, Nathan Jones, and I want to thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Inspiring Stewards podcast.

Javier, thank you so much for your time today. I've been looking forward to this interview with you. Let's jump right in. Give us a bit of your story – where you're from, where you live now, your family growing up, background, that sort of thing.

JAVIER ESPINOZA

I'm from Costa Rica, a small country in the Latino world, around five million people. I live in an area, there, we got just seven provinces, and four, we call it the metropolitan area. So, I live in one of those four, which is an area, let's say, 25 minutes from San Jose. That's where I have built my family life.

I used to grow up in San Jose, but my family life – wife, children – we have been developed here in an area, they call it the Flower City.

NATHAN

Why is that?

JAVIER

Well, a lot of flowers.

NATHAN

Yeah, I bet it's gorgeous.

JAVIER

Well, really Heredia area is the best to live in Costa Rica, I believe for my family.

NATHAN

Yes, yeah. Did you grow up there?

JAVIER

Well, I was born and stayed in my first days in an area. But after, I moved to San Jose. That's where I grew up.

NATHAN

Wonderful. Tell us about how you came to personal faith in Jesus and what impact that had on your life.

JAVIER

Well, see, the whole thing is a godly idea. It's God really that come to us. He love us even while we were sinners. Christ died for us and a really merciful encounter. A year before of my coming to Christ, I have a spiritual experience with a kingdom of evil. So bad! And that put me in my heart to look for God.

You know, I was a Catholic and all I have was the teaching of the cross as the Catholic way. And I wear that Catholic cross for six months. I was just 11 years of age. But God sent me a messenger. 

There was an amazing church in Los Angeles, the Foursquare Church by Semple McPherson. That church sent the Pritchard family into Costa Rica to have a revival. In those revivals, a great, wonderful friend came to Christ, Mr. Juan. 

Juan started looking for me. He was chasing me, praying for me on the street, everywhere. And finally, I came to Christ and that was my beginning: twelve years of age, knowing God as my personal savior.

I remember if I was today when I said, “Lord, come into my life.” It’s interesting when you have those conversations with God, when you say to Him, “I really, really want to have the born-again experience.” Even I don't understand about the whole issue, but I knew it, that there was a moment when God can come into your life and that’s what happened.

And by the grace of God, I had learned around on the way a wonderful church that I were able to be a part. Even was the church that Dr. Gary (Hoag) came to preach to Costa Rica. That same church is called the Rose of Sharon and that was the place that I grew as a disciple. That was my beginning.

NATHAN

Well, that was the beginning. Lead us to today. What are you involved in now in God's kingdom?

JAVIER

Well, I'm part of an organization that is International Missions and basically we are focused on evangelism global-wide.

In my early years, the pastor that I had, he used to pray with – do you remember the National Geographic magazine? He was praying using that. Could you imagine it! Because in that magazine came the image of towns and peoples around the globe and we were just a local church.

But one day, he came and said, “Our church would be not local, but I'm sure would be a global church. And this microphone will not be a local microphone but will be a global microphone. And every believer here at this church will not be a local believer but will be a global believer.” And that changed my life.

He teach us how to pray for people in Bangladesh, for people in India, for people globally, people that we never heard about even at the school. And that started a burden in my heart. 

So, I came into the Bible study, Bible institute, and that's where I met my wife. We committed our life to serve God.

In 1984, I was ordained as a pastor and that was my beginning in ministry. Years after, wonderful global organization, World Evangelism of Moris Cerullo, invited me to be a part of his team. And that's how I started beginning my traveling globally. 

NATHAN

What word of encouragement would you have for somebody listening that hears you talk about how to pray more globally and how to pray for other countries? What encouragement would you have for them? 

JAVIER

Well, let's see the life of Jesus. The disciple asked Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” And in that prayer, there is, you know, so many phrases of Jesus, but let us look one. He says that, “Your will that is up in heaven may be on earth.” And what is God's will?

His will is that no one will perish, but everyone must have everlasting life. I understood that. I understood that it’s God’s will that everybody may have the opportunity to receive the gospel, to have someone like me, that someone knocks at his door and say, “Hey Javier, you need to act! You can have the wonderful born-again experience.” 

The most wonderful thing in prayer always is to pray the Bible. Every time that you pray the Bible, you are in the right track and God's will be here on the earth. It’s His desire that no one shall be lost.

NATHAN

Amen. All right, Javier, this is the Inspiring Stewards podcast. How has the concept of stewardship informed your life and what does that look like today?

JAVIER

Well, I'm telling you. You know, Pastor Gary (Hoag), especially in his preaching, he always said the Apostle Paul – who’s more preacher than the Apostle Paul? – but he said, for the Apostle Paul was the same thing to put the importance of the preaching and the importance of the management. And I really believed that. To be honest with all my heart, it's not everywhere that you may hear some type of truth.

I have been growing with these precious ministries that has been doing a global ministry and you know how most of them ask to go through records. I have been always following that.

The way of management and really having standards really is another duty, is another work. And that was a great connection that happened with me and the message of GTP. And I'm so thankful that God has given us this type of opportunity. 

And by the way, I want to tell you that time that even this interview, everything you do it with excellence. Praise God for that! You send me like five, six emails. You send me a note how to do A, B, C, D. My God! You really put me in a spot that I cannot fail. 

NATHAN

(Laughs) Well, praise the Lord! I'm very grateful for that.

Here’s what I want to ask you. You have a global perspective. You’ve seen God at work all over the world. You've seen Him at work for a number of years. How are you seeing Him at work in this moment in history? What is His message for us? What are you observing, anything that you'd share?

JAVIER

Well, more than anything today, we need to surround with faithful believers, with faithful people.

I know that the world is looking for the abilities one, for the gifted ones. But I think that what God is urging is that we may do the same Scripture that is in Matthew. Remember: “Go and do disciples.” That's a basic issue. It's in our obedience to God that we find our blessings.

So, I really believe that like in the days of Paul, we must focus our lives into disciples and teach them whatever we have been receiving from God. Point everyone to the life of Jesus. 

But in agreement with that, I really believe that we need to surround today with faithful people more than anything. The world looks for the gifted one, for those who has the best score, but we must look for faithful people. 

And this is in faithful people that I want to recognize the life of sister Paula (Mendoza) in Guatemala. I was with her husband. It really touched a lot my life because I saw such a faithful people, faithful to the vision, faithful to the spirit of GTP, and of course, to the Lord. That I said to myself, “I really want to be involved with this vision, not just for what their ministry. But it's this type of relation in faithfulness.” 

NATHAN

So before we wrap up, let me ask you one follow-up question: What is threatening faithfulness in the world today?

JAVIER

Well, people wants to get places. Look at this. You know, the Bible speak to us about a run. The athlete has, what? 10 minutes in the run, 20, 1 hour? But the vision, the key, the strategy is not to see the run as a 20 minutes run. It’s long-term until finish. 

And when you talk about faithfulness, the blessing of that is that you are seeing the whole picture and really what is against faithfulness is when you don't see the whole picture and you may think that this thing is about 10 minutes or 20 minutes. No, it’s until the Lord calls you.

So, faithfulness is based on vision. If you have God's vision, that is big vision, you say to yourself, “I need to do it in the right way.”

Let me say this in this way. I study in Singapore. By the grace of God, we were part of Haggai Institute. I was there. My time there, I saw in every street, in every place, the words, “Let’s do with excellence! Let us do with excellence."

And I said to myself, "I must get any product from Singapore because these people, they get it!" They know that if they do it with excellence, it's going to be long-term. But if they not, will be just one buy and goodbye. No more!

So, I think that the whole issue is vision. If you have the big vision, you would think in faithfulness. If you're not, ah, that's the trap. No, you think that it's just one time and goodbye.

NATHAN

Beautiful! Well, Javier, thank you for your time today. As we wrap up any final thoughts that you'd have for those listening?

JAVIER

Well, the message of standards, the message of generosity is today's message. It’s the message that can save us from really big tribulation. Because if we learn to really move in generosity and standards, we go in the right track.

So, I bless everyone that is connected with a ministry that promote this, that push this. And you yourself try to do as much as you can from your own life, your own home, your own influence. Be aware that generosity and standards can make the difference in everything that you do.   

NATHAN

Beautiful! Thank you, Javier.

JAVIER

Bless you so much, Nathan. Thank you!