Anniversaries are opportunities for us to recall once again the goodness and faithfulness of God. He was the One Who raised up this church from the very beginning and He is able to continually sustain us in our journey of faith until the very end!
When Pastor Dick assumed the pastoral leadership of the Army of Lord Christian Life Fellowship back in March 14, 1987, never in his wildest dreams did he think that we will be worshipping in convergence – liturgical, charismatic and evangelical in 1994. But God’s ways are truly higher than ours. We could never out-guess God, nor anticipate what He is going to do and how he is going to do it.
In his desire to stand in God’s principle and showing what commitment is, Pastor Dick received the responsibility. He was then ordained as Deacon of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC) on February 10, 1994 and Priest on September 23, 1994 to be in conformity to what God would want him to do – gear the Church in Kalibo towards a higher level where God could move mightily and pour out His fullness.
On February 12, 1995, a prophecy was given through the late Patriarch, Archbishop Randolph Austin Adler that assured him that God is with him as he obeys and performs what He wills.
“Do not worry or fret, do not pay attention to the looks and the words of those would spurn or those that would speak evil against you for the Lord says, the prophetic anointing is upon you and I called you to this place, to this day, and this hour to establish the work that I had, sayeth the God. And I declare and decree to you this day, the oil is going to be poured fresh out upon you, sayeth God. And the insults and the remarks of those who would speak evil against you shall flow out of you like water on ducks’ back. For the Lord says, “No weapon form against you shall prosper and every tongue that would rise up against you in judgment, you shall condemn, for this is your heritage sayeth God. And the Lord says, what you do and what you accomplish is not dependent upon the condition of things around you, but it is dependent upon My word and forever My word is established. So you shall rise up in the things of God. And God said, 1995 shall be a time of increase and multiplying, sayeth the Lord. for the enemy would lie and say, ‘oh it’s gonna be different, it’s gonna be difficult’, but God says, I’m gonna cause blessing and increase to come sayeth the Lord god. For My anointing is upon you in a fresh and mighty way, sayeth God”.
When Fr. Ricardo M. Alcaraz stepped into his divine destiny, he cooperated with God and was ordained as Bishop on August 22, 1997 along with Bishop Raymundo Abogatal and Bishop Gene Lily. He was enthroned as the Bishop of the Diocese of Visayas on February 9, 2001.
On January 4, 2018, Bishop Ricardo M. Alcaraz was installed as the Primate of the CEC-Territory of Asia at Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines.
He was affirmed by the Patriarch’s Council to be the Primate of Asia on April 24-25, 2017 at the Cathedral Church of the Intercessor, in Malvern, New York.
Though the responsibility of Primacy is very big, God assured him of His promise in Joshua 1:3 that says, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you”.
It was also confirmed to some members of the church through the scripture in Ephesians 1:4-5 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
The theme of his installation was “One Nation, One Body in Christ.'' Unity in the church was one of the things he truly fought for and in the first year of his Primacy, a series of meetings and equipping were conducted for the clergies and the leaders of the church in order to strengthen the relationship, and to bring conciliation individually and corporately. He was able to do a Bible study with our brethren in Venice during their Europe trip. When the Body of Christ in Aklan gathered on November 30, 2018 for the Jesus Reigns Celebration, he was one of the church leaders who led the people in prayer, in bringing up the nation before God.
On his second year as Primate, the passing of the baton to the youth during the Territorial Convocation on August 26-29, 2019 at CCT Tagaytay City was indeed a breakthrough and an anointed one because it gave birth to Youthnited CEC.PH, a group uniting the different youth ministries of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. From that convocation, the youth were ignited and they began to rise up and become even more active in the kingdom work.
On August 28, 2019, also at the same Territorial Convocation, Patriarch Craig W Bates presented Archbishop Ricardo M Alcaraz with the degree of Doctor of Divinity from St Michaels Seminary, San Clemente, California.
The third year of his Primacy was quite challenging but by the grace and favor of God, He put everything into order.
The Diocese of Visayas and Mindanao held a Life and Leadership Conference on January 21-22, 2020 with Fr. Terry Gensemer at Cathedral Church of St Michael, Kalibo, Aklan.
When Primate Ricardo and Sis Nemia made their first trip to Israel on February 6-15, 2017 with Patriarch Craig W. Bates, they were deeply affected by their experiencing of things and events they only read about in the Holy Scriptures. They decided that they would share this by inviting others and it happened on February 12-18, 2020. Seven members of the church have been touched by their pilgrimage in Israel. "Once a dream, now a reality. Once a confession, now a manifestation. Once spoken words, now part of their world."
Archbishop Ricardo, in his love and compassion in teaching the word of God, started his online bible study series due to lockdown and restrictions. He kept on feeding his flock twice a week despite this incredibly difficult season. On March 31, 2020, he began his series on Psalm 91, God's Promises of Protection followed by Faith For Our Times on May 12, 2020.
By the grace of God, Archbishop Ricardo M Alcaraz became strong and was able to accomplish great things during his lifetime.
Ref.
My Diary, Lord of All publication, icceg.org, FB posts of Manna Alcaraz and Primate Ricardo M Alcaraz
Comments
Post a Comment