I love it when God comes!

As those of you who attend my church or follow me on Twitter or are my friend of Facebook probably know already, my sister came back to the Lord this past Sunday! God came in a powerful way and moved upon people's hearts in our service. I can assure you that this had nothing to do with the Pastor!

Truth be told I had a real struggle as I was preparing to preach my message for Sunday morning. Recently I had been preaching through the book of Acts and had reached halfway through the book and felt like God didn't want me to go any further. My original intention had been to preach on through the book. This left me without clear direction of where I was headed in my messages for a few weeks. A week ago Sunday God helped me to preach from 1 Corinthians 10 on "A Warning and a Way of Escape." But, as I was preparing to preach this last week I was not completely clear on which direction to go. I felt like God wanted me to preach a series on Jesus leading up to Easter Sunday, but for this past Sunday it was one of those times when I was not completely clear what to preach. Those of you who are preachers will probably understand my situation completely - those of you who are not probably not so much...

Anyways I really struggled between two messages. However, God keep bringing me back to what I wound up preaching on Sunday morning. It was however one of those times when you get up to preach with a little more fear and trembling than usual!

But God came! Not that I felt like I preached particularly well. But God's Presence came and spoke to hearts. My message was "Jesus - A Friend of Sinners." Thank God He is and praise God my sister came back Home again!

Following the altar service I had one of our teenage African-American bus kids come up to me with his eyes wet with tears. In the past this boy has caused some trouble in his Sunday School class and you wonder if he's catching anything at all by coming.

This past Sunday he stayed for morning worship which is something he normally doesn't do. After the altar service he met me up front with tears in his eyes and tried his best to express to me that he was thankful for my message. I put my arm around him and told him that Jesus was his friend too. He smiled and pointed at his face and said, "These are tears of joy" and walked away.

I love it when God comes!! All the praise goes to Him!


Unfortunately we occasionally have a problem with our internet during our live streaming/recording and this recording is only a partial one.

Christian Perfection according to Adam Clarke

“The whole design of God was to restore man to his image, and raise him from the ruins of his fall; in a word, to make him perfect; to blot out all his sins, purify his soul, and fill him with all holiness, so that no unholy temper, evil desire, or impure affection or passion shall either lodge or have any being within him. This and this only is true religion, or Christian perfection; and a less salvation than this would be dishonorable to the sacrifice of Christ and the operation of the Holy Ghost…. Call it by what name we please, it must imply the pardon of all transgression and the removal of the whole body of sin and death…. This, then, is what I plead for, pray for, and heartily recommend to all true believers, under the name of Christian perfection.”

HT: Arminian Today

“Tired of a theologically tolerant culture”

According to a tweet today from Essential Church (Rainer Research) "The formerly unchurched are insistent that the church be uncompromising in its beliefs. They are tired of a theologically tolerant culture."

This is a positive sign and should encourage we who are part of the conservative holiness movement to be who we are and stand for the Truth of God’s Word. Obviously we should be uncompromising even if the formerly unchurched feel like we should be, but it is encouraging that in this post-modern age people are growing tired of the all-to-common wishy-washyness of the modern church. “Generic” (my term) “seeker-sensitive” churches, who are afraid to stand for any thing in fear that they might offend someone, are a dime-a-dozen these days. Sure they are that way all in the name of reaching people which is a noble goal but when you water down the Truth to do so you are in grave error!

May God help us who endeavor to preach and teach the message of Full Salvation from sin not to cave to the pattern of the masses but instead be encouraged with the fact that “the formerly unchurched are insistent that the church should be uncompromising in its beliefs” and that “they are tired of a theologically tolerant culture”! We don’t have to water down what God’s Word teaches, and what we believe, in order to reach our world! We need to preach and proclaim the Truth of God’s Word without fear or favor of man!

Mission Accomplished! The roof has been replaced!

Below is the text from a message I sent out today for all of the Churches and individuals who contributed towards our Church roof project. I thought I would post the message here as well. I really want to let everyone who prayed for us or gave towards the project to know that I appreciate it more than words could ever express! I am truly overwhelmed at the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord and His people as the result of how this project came together. I love the Family of God!

The Church roof is finally completed! We are so grateful to the Lord for supplying and for the generosity of His people for being so willing to give to help others!

I remember so well the feeling of knowing that the roof had to be replaced yet also knowing that we had no money to do the job. Yet, I knew that God is faithful. Our “theme” chorus at Cordele is “My God is Enough” and once again He has proved that to be true!

In the picture above you can see the completed project – a roof with all of the same color shingles, and hopefully no leaks! In the picture on the left you can see the section of roof where they added on to so that it would not be so flat. This section of the roof covers the Junior Church classroom and from what I understand they have had problems with this part leaking since almost right after it was originally built. We have tried various “fixes” over the years but hopefully now the problem is resolved!

We plan to now begin work on the inside of the Church. There are many discolored places in the sanctuary and classrooms from where the roof has been leaking and in some places portions of the ceiling have been falling. Over the next couple of months we plan on repairing these places and repainting the sanctuary. We also are going to be doing some landscaping on the exterior of the Church and we hope to make the place look much more inviting to the community. The biggest part of this “battle” is over – the roof is fixed! I considered taking a victory shout around the building to celebrate the completion of the roof! I feel like so a large burden has finally been rolled off of our shoulders!

This is due to so many Churches and individual’s generosity and we want all of you to know just how much we appreciate all that has been given to help our Church. As the roofers were loading up their things to leave this afternoon I took my camera out to take these pictures. As I was taking the pictures I stopped by the mailbox to get the mail. It has now been sometime since I had received any checks towards the project. God had supplied and so many gave and now a couple of months have gone by since the last time I received a check. But today as I was taking pictures of the completed roof I went to the mailbox and inside I found another check for $250! It was as if God said to me, “See, I told you I would provide.” Tears are running down my face as I type this and once again I want to just let everyone know how much we appreciate you!

Thanks so much!

Pastor Jon Earls & the Cordele Ga. Bible Methodist Congregation

Law & Grace

Last week I spoke at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Convention on witnessing and in the session I spoke about the importance of using the Law to bring conviction of sin and the whole idea of “Law to the proud – Grace to the humble.” Below are a few quotes from some the greatest preachers in history. With the Bible being so clear on this issue and history showing us the results of using the Law to bring conviction, how is it that we seem to miss this today? Instead most preaching is of the lovey-dovey , “God has a wonderful plan for your life,” variety. May God help me to be faithful to speak the Truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment and then when hearts are convicted to share the glorious Truth about Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf!

Martin Luther said, "The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin, because it will act as a schoolmaster and bring him to everlasting life which is in Jesus Christ."

Charles Spurgeon, who is known as the "Prince of Preachers," said, "They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law."

Charles Finney said, "Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel; to overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts."

John Wycliffe said , "The highest service to which a man may attain on earth is to preach the Law of God."

D.L. Moody said, "God being a perfect God, had to give a perfect Law, and the Law was given not to save men, but to measure them." He also said, "It is a great mistake to give a man who has no been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him. The Law is what he needs...Do not offer the consolation of the Gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God. We must give enough of the Law to take away all self-righteousness. I pity the man who preaches only one side of truth - always the gospel and never the Law"

J.C. Ryle said, "People will never set their faces decidedly towards Heaven and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of Hell...Let us expound and beat out the 10 commandments, and show the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of their requirements. this is the way of our Lord in the sermon on the mount. We can not do better than to follow His plan."

Paris Reidhead said, "If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on the public preaching of "the plan of salvation" in America for one or two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airwaves and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the Law of God until sinners would cry out, "What must we do to be saved?" Then i would take them off into a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved. Don't use John 3:16. Why? Because you tell a sinner how to be saved before he realized that he needs to be saved. You have gospel-hardened him."

John Wesley said, "Before I preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law and judgment." He later advised a friend, "Preach 90 percent Law and 10 percent grace." What percentage is your preaching? Remember God has called us all to be His witnesses so this applies to all of us!

“…that God would stop the plague.”

I like John Piper. His books are (for the most part) good reads. I’ve especially enjoyed “Desiring God” and “When I Don’t Desire God.” I enjoy listening to him preach and have found many of his resources helpful. The problem I have with Piper is his Calvinism and his misrepresentation of Wesleyan Arminianism. Like most Calvinists he frequently uses “straw man” arguments regarding Arminianism.

Follow the link to read a post by William Birch in which he goes “Point by Point with John Piper on Arminianism.”

I love this quote by John Wesley:

"Answer all [the Calvinists'] objections, as occasion offers, both in public and private. But take care to do this with all possible sweetness both of look and of accent...Make it a matter of constant and earnest prayer, that God would stop the plague."

Watch this sermon!

The video below is of the Friday evening service at Youth Challenge 2009. My good friend, former pastor and mentor John Manley preaches a stirring message in this video that you must watch! If you have ever wondered if there is hope for someone like you - watch this video! If you want to skip ahead to the preaching go to around 01:28:00.

Walk on!

Wow! There really is no words to describe this video other than to simply tell you to watch it! Sometimes we don’t need to add words to the example of someone who just keeps walking in the face of trials and challenges and opportunities. Watch this  video it is well worth your next 13 minutes. By the way, this video will make you feel incredibly blessed!

Sunday’s Coming!!

Why “Good Friday”?

I came across this story a couple of years ago which I think illustrates well why we call today “Good Friday.”

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life, positive or negative, and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” To which the king replied, “No, this is not good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

“You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!”

“What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”

“If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you.”

God was pleased to crush Jesus and put Him under all that suffering knowing that we would be saved by His death. That’s real love. What truly seemed so horrible and tragic was really...very good!

So, that’s why we call it “Good Friday.”

God still works miracles!

I am so thankful that God still works miracles! Several months ago my wife discovered a lump on her breast. It had been there for a long time until finally last week after having to force her :-) she finally went to the doctor to have them examine it. I think the reason she delayed is because she knew that it wasn't good. Anyway, we went to the doctor and the doctor and an intern examined her and informed her that she had a tumor - the only question was whether or not it was malignant. The thought my 28 year old wife having breast cancer terrified me and of course it terrified her as well. The doctor scheduled her to have an ultrasound this morning to see what kind of tumor she had. Once doing the ultrasound she would then probably have to have a mammogram done.

Last Wednesday we anointed her in church and prayed for her. We didn't share with our church what exactly the need was, but we simply asked them to pray. Other's from all across the US were praying as well.

This morning we went in so she could have the ultrasound done. When she laid down on the table the lady asked Michelle to show her where the lump was. When Michelle felt for the lump to show her where it was, it was gone! The lady doing the ultrasound sound then also felt for it, but could not find it. She performed the ultrasound and found nothing. So, she called for the doctor who had just last week felt the lump and told my wife she had a tumor. The doctor and her intern came and they too felt for the tumor but could not find it. They did the ultrasound again, but still could find nothing! (By the way, in all of the months since that lump first was felt, it has always been there and we have always been able to feel it)

God still answers prayer and He still performs miracles! The doctor said there is no need for a fellow-up appointment because there is nothing there! The tumor is gone and God is still working miracles!!

This song has been my prayer throughout all of this:

Real Faith

The Word of Faith movement (health, wealth and prosperity) would tell you that this man doesn’t have faith because he’s not healed. I suggest to you that he has more faith than I have ever dreamed of! Real faith is not getting everything you want, real faith is trusting God when you don’t see the answer! Real faith is trusting God when it hurts!

I can only imagine…

He's famous (and I know him) ;-)

Darrell Lee Stetler pastors in Oklahoma City and is doing a tremendous job at his church. The video below is part of this news story about how some churches in Oklahoma are using the Financial Peace University to help offer peace of mind in this time of economic crisis. As you will see in this video Darrell talks about the food bank they have at their church. Darrell's a good friend and part of the Youth board in our conference along with myself, Doug Eads, and R.G. Hutchenson.

Great story!

Click here to read the complete interview.

83

That's how many we had in church this morning. A new record in my time as the Pastor and to the best of my understanding the most the Church has had in probably 20 years.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!

That's a $1.98!

Thoughts...

I hate the fact that McCain/Palin lost. It saddens me to think of where our country is headed and I pray that God will have mercy upon us. I do believe that this should be a wake up call to Christians. We must get our eyes off of man and the hope that an elected official will be the answer to our country's problems. We need revival - real revival. We need to seek God until He comes and brings conviction upon people like we have never experienced before. I still believe that God is in the business of dealing with people - if we will pray...

I'm a little concerned with how panicky a lot of people are - again, God is in control! No matter what happens in the future, or who is in office, He is the One we must look to.

I do wish that I could have voted for this country's first black President. I could have never voted for Obama because of what he stands for, but at the same time I am glad that our country is no longer making black people sit in the back of the bus and drink at different water fountains. Now our President is black and I think that is a great thing - I wish it was a different black man but I still think it's a great thing.

Today I am singing the song, "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus Name. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand..."

I am thankful that my hope is in the Solid Rock - not in who is our President!

Now, what am I going to blog about now since the election is over...?

No matter what happens after today...

This will still be true!

This is amazing!

Cool Story!