Pastor John,

I would like to share an experience I had today. My mom and I were in Budapest, as she had to go to the eye hospital for a minor procedure (which then did not happen, since the doctor who was supposed to do the procedure was not there, so we will have to go back again – but that’s a different story).

The train from Dunaújváros to Budapest now terminates at a different railway station than it used to, which is part of a larger transport hub (with the train station, a bus station and a metro station in it), and I’m not completely familiar with it. After Mom’s appointment, we had lunch at a nearby mall, and then headed back to the train station, but I miscalculated how much time we would need to get there in time, so we ended up missing the train. Thankfully the next one was leaving in an hour, but we still needed to figure out how to get to the railway tracks, because it really is not that simple, if you’re not traveling through there regularly. Once I realized that we had missed the earlier train, I had a passing thought of “I wonder if God has a reason for us spending an hour here with nothing to do” – but I quickly brushed it off thinking, not every single event has to have a “mystical” divine reason behind it.

As we were walking through this hallway, looking at the signs, trying to find out which way the railway tracks were, we walked past a young man who was standing to the side, playing his guitar, singing a song about God; and then we walked past him again, until finally I asked a man for directions to the railway tracks. I now knew which way we had to go, but we still had about 45 minutes before departure, and that moment I started feeling the tug of the Spirit to walk up to the young man with the guitar and engage in a conversation with him. So I did, and we ended up talking for about 15 minutes. As I found out, he belonged to the biggest charismatic church in Hungary, and when I asked him if he had received the baptism of the holy Ghost, he said he had. He asked me what congregation I belonged to, and I told him I belonged to the body of Christ, and that God had called me out of Christianity. Then he started talking about the importance of the church, how God gives the anointing exclusively to the church… and this part of our conversation gave me one of the big takeaways. Namely, how the way this young man (who I believe is our brother) talked about the church was hardly any different from the way Catholics talk about the Catholic Church. At one point he even called his congregation “my holy mother church” that he would never leave. I think I had never seen for myself, so clearly, how much the spirit of Christianity (regardless of which branch we’re looking at) is really the spirit of Catholicism.

I had the feeling that the young man felt something from the Spirit, and his reaction to it was that he just kept talking, not really wanting to hear what I had to say. I didn’t want to argue with him, I mostly just listened to what he had to say, even praying for him in my heart, but I felt that it would still be good to drop a few seeds of truth, if I had the opportunity. So, I ended up mentioning to him 1 Corinthians 12:13, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about the new birth and the sound of the wind, and Revelation 18. In fact, I only had to refer to Revelation 18, because he knew immediately what I was trying to say. When I mentioned the Bible reference, he interjected saying “Oh that’s old news, that’s old news” – meaning he had already heard the interpretation of that scripture that I was going to tell him. I ended up giving him a card with the quote “You must be born again” on one side, and links to websites on the other side where he can find gospel tracts, short videos and longer teaching videos translated into Hungarian – which he accepted. 

My other big takeaway from our conversation was that the truth “works”. You don’t have to add anything to it, or take away from it (nor should you) for it to have an effect. The truth (when Jesus is the one sending you to share it) is going to do its job, whether you’re an eloquent speaker, or not, or whether you feel like you did a good job explaining it, or not. You just need to obey the Spirit and open your mouth, and God will do the rest. I knew in my heart that me walking up to this young man was not in vain, because the Spirit spoke to him through those few sentences that I was able to say – not because of me, but because I got out of the way, and let the truth speak for itself. 

Even though on the surface nothing major happened, I still know that our encounter was an extraordinary event, because the Spirit of truth touched this young man. Maybe months or years from now, he will remember the feelings he felt while talking to me, or he will remember the truth that he heard about the new birth, and he will start digging. I hope he will, but regardless of his response, I know that God did something for him today. 

Zoli

 

Pastor John,

I sure appreciate Gary’s articulate, insightful, and brutally honest explanation of his experience in Laying it Down: laying down the need to prove one’s rightness.

I am fortunate (very blessed) to finally have a wife who is so self-aware and honest and correctable that we seldom have major disagreements.  And I have grown to be the same; very open and willing to admit my wrong viewpoint.  If/when we do have a quarrel; we resolve them quickly with full transparency and forgiveness.  

Laying down my “factual” arguments has been a step in the right direction for averting strife in our relationship.  I know I might be “right” based on my research or influenced perhaps by the algorithms I see continually that support my point of view.  But lately, she and I have realized it’s just a bunch of opinions out there, and whether or not she sees a more Liberal perspective and I a more conservative one, it isn’t worth getting in the flesh and arguing about it.  Most things we do agree on, and for that, we’re both grateful to God for our companionship.  I thank God that Allison is a very communicative woman.

It feels GOOD to lay down our “arms” and ammunition and just LIVE in the SPIRIT of LOVE.  

There is, indeed, healing in that, as Gary said.

Your lesson last night was thrilling by the points that you emphasized!  I want to listen to it again and again.

Brad

 

Pastor John,

I loved Gary’s email today!  Man, God has been building such faith in me with what I’m going through right now. 

I was reading what Gary wrote, and thinking about the song Jacob sings, “Bring It All To The Table”.  There is a line that says, “There’s nothing He ain’t seen before.”  It reminds me of the scripture about the man that came to Jesus that said his name was “Legion” because of the many demons that he was possessed with.  It’s in Mark 5.  Our translation says this:

6. And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down before him,
7. and crying with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, O Jesus, Son of the highest God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me!”

There really is NOTHING He hasn’t seen before!  All it took was that man humbling himself and laying it all down at Jesus’ feet!  And all of those demons were cast out.  There is not a one among us that possesses something as bad and as tormenting as those demons were to that man, and Jesus took it all away from him the moment he was willing.

Jesus can do it, we just have to lay it at his feet!  Just give it to Him!

Julie A.

 

Hi John,

I want to thank you again for your message last night; it was so good and it really touched my heart, and stirred up the holy Ghost in me.  I didn’t want to forget what it was that was so good, so late last night I  watched the meeting again and listened to your whole message again.  I love what you said about hearing the voice of God and how that’s going to save us, and to stay right with the things we know came from Him. 

Less than an hour before the meeting last night, I felt the Lord speaking to MY heart, and telling me to go grab the music for “Here Comes Jesus”, and to start with a particular verse.  So, I had it ready, and when the time felt right, I sang it.  I think it was appropriate for the moment, and I thanked the Lord that I was ready with it.  (I had a different song in mind, and it would’ve been fine, I believe, but it would not have been as good as listening to Jesus.)

Last week, last night, and today, I keep hearing these words: “lay it down”.  I don’t believe they apply just to me, (but they do apply to me.) A week or so ago, Song and I got into a sharp disagreement about something.  (Our disagreements over the course of 40+ years have been few, thankfully).  But I could feel this disagreement was deep. I don’t know why; it was no big deal.  But I knew I was right; I had all the reasons, and I had all the explanations.  That night of the disagreement, we went to bed without resolving things, which I almost never do, as that has been one of my inner rules to follow when there’s something between us. 

As I tried to go to sleep that night, I ruminated over all the things I could say, and all the reasons I had to justify my position.  That went on for a while, until I heard the voice of the Lord.  The words were clear and short:  “lay it down”.  But, I started to fight with God about that a little, planning how I would try to end the disagreement,  and prove my point, etc. and after that, I heard the words again: “lay it down.”

In my heart, I said, “Lord, help me lay it down.”  And although I did not hear the actual words, the feeling was, to lay it down completely and remember it no more.  Not every disagreement needs to resolve this way, but this one would because the Spirit said so, and I knew it.  Right after that, I fell asleep. 

When I woke up in the morning, I made the point to not say a word about anything, and to act normally.  And when I did, I realized Song did not buck or have an attitude; it was gone, and we would not have to discuss it at all.  It was over.  Our hearts were one again. What a relief!

There is a spirit of strife in the world today, and without God‘s help, it’s bound to affect us.  You have been saying several times now, “Are you willing to be healed?”  If we have to be made “willing”, that means there’s something in the way. (And usually the thing in the way is ourselves.)

I do believe the spirit is saying to some, “Lay it down.”   “Are you willing to be healed?  Or are you going to hang onto how right you are, and remain in your affliction?  Lay it down.  Lay it DOWN!”

I just wanted to share that experience because it made a difference for us.  And it had to do with what you were talking about last night.  There may be strife in our world right now, but for us, there is healing right now.  I pray that we will be the ones to take advantage of what Jesus offers us, and to follow his voice.  It’s OK.  Just go hug the person you’re in conflict with, and lay it down.

Thank you, John.  Your messages are always so very timely for us.  When we got home, Song told me. “John always has what we need to get excited in Jesus.”  I’m paraphrasing it, but that’s what she meant!  And I agreed.

Gary

Scriptures used by Pastor John during his message:

Hold On to What God Gives You

(more…)

Hey everybody.

     I omitted an important aspect of the Mercy and Truth message from yesterday:  There MUST be a balance of mercy and truth in our souls; otherwise, we will make trouble for ourselves and others.

     If in our hearts, truth is more important than mercy, we may become more concerned with being right than with being like Jesus.  We can become hard-hearted toward those who have erred, if truth is not equally balanced with mercy within us.  The root of that imbalance is pride, which comes from losing sight of the mercy God has shown us and from taking credit for how right we are.  I believe that earlier in my life, I erred in this direction.  Jesus has corrected me by putting me through some hard chastening, and I thank him for it.  But if he sees I need even more adjustment, I feel sure he will meet that need.  I certainly pray that he will.

     Different problems arise when mercy carries more weight with us than the truth does.  We cannot be more merciful that God is.  “His mercy endures forever,” and His “lovingkindness is as high as heaven”.  But we can show mercy at the wrong time and to the wrong person, which God never does.  Truth must balance the feelings of mercy that Jesus gives us.  If it does not, then we will show mercy when God has not, and sinners will see us as suckers, and the world will take advantage of us.  Also, by doing that, we may give those sinners a wrong idea about God, for they will think He is like us.

     When we treat others with a balance of truth and mercy, we have found God’s secret path to happiness, and are very blessed.  His righteousness and His peace are on that pathway, and how good it is to find it!

Psalm 85:10: “Mercy and truth have met.  Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

Pastor John

 

John, 

This morning, I was in kitchen makes breakfast for Anna and me.  We had the news on, listening to the weather, and a commercial came on about people being alone and left to their own thoughts.  I got to talking to Jesus about how thankful I am that we are not left with our own thoughts anymore! 

He has given us so much and done so much for us that I don’t have time to get lost in my own thoughts, nor do I want to.  I love this scripture (Col. 3:2) “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”  if we do this, we will not have a problem with any self-serving spirit!  I am not talking about doing normal ordinary things.  That’s a given; we do that every day.  But while we are doing those things, our minds are occupied with the Father and the Son!! Thank you, Jesus!!  What a wonderful life we get to live in his Spirit here together.  He helps us keep our minds on things above, if we want it!

Stuart

Good morning,

A few mornings ago, I took a walk down Preacher Holmes road.  It was a pleasant morning with the sun shining through the canopy of trees.  As I walked along, I spotted a box turtle on the side of the road with its head pointed toward the opposite side of the road.  I knew that there was a very slim chance it would make it across the road before getting crushed by an oncoming vehicle. Feeling a bit good-natured, I decided to help the turtle cross to the other side, making sure to set it down pointing in the same direction as when I found it.  Then I continued my walk.

I had not gone but a short distance when I spotted another turtle attempting the same dangerous feat.  So like the first one, I picked this one up and carried it to the other side of the road.

Believe it or not, this happened two more times on the same stretch of road.  I have helped other turtles in the past but never four within a short period of time. 

Later, I thought about what I had experienced and could not help to think about my own life.  It is hard telling how many times Jesus has picked me up from some dangerous road I was attempting to cross, saving me from my own ignorance and self will.  In my youth, for example, there were jobs that I thought I wanted that did not work out.  There were relationships with friends and others that could have led to serious problems.  I could go on and on but the point is that Jesus was always there to rescue me. I made sure to point the turtles in the same direction they were traveling but Jesus pointed me in the right direction. 

Turtles cannot conceive the risk of crossing a busy road, so they are determined to go on. Thankfully, Jesus has given us his spirit to guide us away from taking the wrong road and pursuing our fleshly desires. 

By the way, I have a bit of a fondness toward box turtles.  When I was a young boy, I found a box turtle that only had three legs.  I’m not sure what happened to its missing leg, nor do I remember what I named it.  (I can only imagine.) I kept the turtle for a pet and even entered it in a pet contest at a 4-H fair and won a couple ribbons.

Tom

 

Pastor John,

Last Wednesday when Damien was telling his testimony and what Jesus opened (https://youtu.be/h4p69MHkybk?si=BNUxYDpBKs-Xg-qP). When he said Jesus took a seat beside his Father but something else [the Spirit] came out, I felt that come straight from heaven.  The Spirit fell on me and I said out loud, “Oh Jesus, I can feel that!”  I love to feel the truth!

It was the same experience when Jerry testified yesterday about the irrefutable proof that the Gentiles had been adopted into the family of God.  I felt that truth bubble out of my heart, and my soul was thrilled.

It feels like Jesus is fine tuning, sharpening and packing down deep the truth we have been taught!  I rejoice in it!  Every time I hear it, any way it comes, my heart rejoices!  This is why we live!

I keep thinking of what Sue said, “We are the chosen of the chosen!”  Amen!

Michelle 

==========

Jerry’s Testimony:

Convincing Evidence

The earliest saints were not confused about the importance of the sound of the Spirit, and that knowledge played a critical role in Peter convincing the doubtful leaders of the Assembly in Jerusalem that Gentiles had received God’s Spirit.  Peter and the six Jewish brothers with him knew that God had given Gentiles the Spirit because they “heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God” (Acts 10:46).  They were astonished to hear the sound of the Spirit coming from the mouths of uncircumcised Gentiles, but that sound is what compelled them to believe what God had done, and when Peter brought his report back to Jerusalem, it also compelled the elders of the Assembly there to accept it.  They were, at first, displeased that Peter had gone to a Gentile’s house (Acts 11:2–3), but they could not deny Peter’s testimony when he told them,

Acts 11

15. “As I began to speak, the holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.
16. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how he used to say, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy Spirit.’
17. Inasmuch, then, as God gave them the same gift He gave to us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”
18. When they had heard these things, they fell silent, but then they began glorifying God, saying, “Then, God has granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles, too!”

The above is an observation brought to my attention some years ago by a dear brother, Jerry Durham, whose testimony was sent to me in an email, a copy of which follows:

One morning, I was getting ready for work, making my lunch for that day, and as I began crossing the kitchen floor, the Spirit of God started preaching in my inner being.  It wasn’t audible in the room, but it was loud and clear to me.  So I just listened.  This is what I heard: “What was it that convinced the Jews that the Gentiles had been grafted into Christ?”

God’s people at that time, the Jews, knew that the Gentiles did not belong to God; in the minds of Jews, that was an impossibility.  Jesus himself had called us Gentiles “dogs” (Mt. 15:26), and He sent His disciples only to the house of Israel (Mt. 10:5).  And so, the Israelites – all Israelites – knew that the Gentiles did not belong to God – and we truly did not (Eph. 2:11–12)!  If any Gentile had claimed to belong to the God of the Jews, that Gentile would have been laughed at, at the very least.

It is impossible that any Gentile, or “dog”, as Jesus had called Gentiles, could have persuaded a Jew that he was in covenant with the God of Israel simply by claiming it was so.  And a Gentile surely couldn’t have persuaded a Jew that he belonged to God by claiming that he “got saved” or that he had “accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior,” as Christians say now.  There was absolutely nothing that would have convinced a Jew that any of the Gentiles were also the children of God.  Both God and Jesus had taught them otherwise.

When God grafted us Gentiles into this New Covenant in His Son, He had to send the Jews a convincing witness from heaven that such a thing had taken place; otherwise, who among them would believe such a thing?  God had to send a “testimony,” a “sign,” from Himself that nobody could doubt, an irrefutable sign so that His people, the Jews, could not deny it.   

Now, for that sign!

When Peter was sent to Cornelius the Gentile’s house to preach the gospel of Christ, it says in Acts 10:44–46, “While Peter was still saying these things, the holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the Word.  And those of the circumcision who believed, as many as came with Peter, were astonished because the gift of the holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles!  They knew this because they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God.”

So, a sign, God’s proof from heaven, was given that day which astonished those Jews, something that caused Peter to confess in verse 47 that the Gentiles had received God’s Spirit, as well as the Jews.  That sign is what proved to Peter and the Jews with him that something impossible had just happened.

The Scriptures tell us that tongues are a sign for unbelievers (1Cor. 14:22).  Who could have been in a state of unbelief more than those faithful Jews with Peter on that day?  That is, unbelief that God would give Gentiles – “dogs”! – His holy Spirit.  But God sent the Jews a sign that day, an irrefutable sign that their God, Jehovah, had done it, so that they would not stumble in their faith at the mercy of God which had been poured out on us poor Gentiles!

God poured out His sign of this covenant on the Jews first, in the second chapter of Acts, and they staggered under the power of God.  Then, after the Jews were fully saturated with the truth and convinced of how the Spirit is received, He poured it out on us Gentiles, His adopted children (cf. Rom. 8:15–16).  He washed us Gentiles of our sins and gave us the same sign, in love, for the whole world to understand.  And how we need the same type of conversion today for the body of Christ, staggering under the power of God, the kind of conversion that would convince even an unbelieving Jew!

God taught me this in my kitchen, bro. John.  I can tell this truth, for it is my testimony.

Jerry Durham