Dr. Niko Njotorahardjo’s thriving ministry shows that success is not achieved by how high one is able to climb, but how low one is willing to go, choosing to walk in humility for the sake of unity in the body of Christ.
By Eugene Teh
CN PHOTOS: Aaron Low
Matthew 23:12—“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
With a ministry overseeing 800 churches spread across Asia, Europe and North America, comprising more than 8,000 cell groups and 250,000 members today, Dr. Niko Njotorahardjo has lived out both ends of this verse. Ten years ago, God spoke to Njotorahardjo to do two things: first, he was to pull down the name of his ministry that had become a source of pride in him; secondly, he was to ask for forgiveness from the different pastors in the local churches and ministries.
One can imagine that it was anything but an easy task, but as a result of his obedience to walk in humility and obey God, a spirit of reconciliation was poured out on Indonesia; in recent years, he has witnessed the glory of God being poured out not only on his ministry, but on many others as well.
Out of his Healing Movement crusades, which is in its sixth year now, countless eyes have been opened, many who were lamed walked, and those who were deaf received hearing. Back at City Harvest Church for the third time, the senior pastor of Jakarta’s GBI Gatot Subroto delivered a powerful message over the weekend of June 9 to 10 on the urgency for unity in the body of Christ in order to see nationwide revival.
Njotorahardjo shared a wonderful testimony about a Muslim who had been healed of a spine fracture as he watched a broadcast of the crusade on television. The man was so moved that he wrote in to Njotorahardjo, giving thanks and praise to God for his miracle healing. Interestingly enough, the crusade was scheduled for the prime time broadcast slot of 10 a.m. but a last minute change pushed it to an earlier slot at 8 a.m. Instead of fighting for the 10 a.m. slot, he entrusted the situation to God, who healed this Muslim man who was watching his television at 8 a.m.
There is a prayer that Jesus prayed in the night of John 17 that has not been answered up till now, Njotorahardjo pointed out, and that is the petition that the Church will be united. All across nations and denominations, Christians have to join hands as one, as it is through this unity that the great harvest will be brought forth. After all, Jesus Himself had promised in John 17:21 that “they all may be one … that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
One major test of the unity in the body of Christ in Indonesia was in deciding on the venue of the recently concluded World Prayer Assembly 2012, a large-scale prayer meeting that gathered various denominations and ministries from not just Indonesia but all around the world to pray for revival in every sphere and society. Things seemed to be heading for a deadlock as various parties held differing opinions on the event venue, but when one of the planning committee’s pastors wisely called out for humility, the committee was able to reach a unanimous decision to hold it at GBI Gatot Subroto’s Sentul International Convention Centre in Sentul City.
For revival to happen, God’s people must be in unity; but for unity to be possible, humility on everybody’s part is essential.
Signature of Njotorahardjo’s ministry, his preaching was punctuated by spontaneous praise and worship led by Pastor Welyar Kauntu and the GBI worship team every now and then, leading to chuckles of surprise from the congregation as they fist-rolled along in song and dance.
A Great Harvest
Speaking from Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”, Njotorahardjo went on to describe that the people were “with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1) leading up to the Day of Pentecost when all 120 gathered were filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, the glory of God will fall where His people come together.
This year, 2012, is the year of God’s favor,” declared the preacher; and because of this favor, there will be much multiplication and promotion. There will be a great harvest like never before, and it is this year, 2012, that will see the beginning of this great harvest, accompanied by three signs:
1. Joel 2:28 “[…] Your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.”
2. Joel 2:30-31. Shaking will take place as the Holy Spirit is being poured out.
3. Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. […]”
Rudy Tjahjana, 30, an Indonesian School of Theology student, enthused, “I feel that the most important part of the message was that in order to bless a nation, all the local churches need to be united in order to bring a blessing to the nation. Whether Catholic or Protestant, we should all be united, and the easiest way to be united is to be humble.”
Regent Neo, 17, a final year Catholic Junior College student, added, “As we walk in humility, the result is unity, and together, we will be able to not only fill ourselves with the spirit of God but also everyone else!”
