In my life, I have been blessed to have sat under the preaching of some great and godly men, some real heroes of the faith! Some had names that were well known in the broad circles of Christendom, and some were known in only in the smaller circles of their own respective “ponds”. I grew up under the powerful preaching and teaching of Dr. Earl K. Oldham. I have personally sat in services and listened to men such as B. R. Lakin, Jack Hyles, David Jerimiah, Tim Lee, Bill Rice, John R. Rice, Harvey Springer, Curtis Hudson, Lee Roberson, Adrian Rogers, Clifford Clark, J. Oswald Smith, Paul Chappell, Johnny Pope, and David Gibbs. I have also heard men, just as great and godly, but lesser known. Men such as Charles Dunn, Doug Duffett, F. E. Baughman, Claude Cravin, Dale Chambers, Bruce Hamilton, Marshall Hamilton, Mark Smith, Stan Roach, John Lividais, Rick Austin, Gary Prisk, Tom Minnick, Jim Withers, Rocky Harrill, Rick Adams, etc., etc., etc. In this list, there are so many, that there is no way I can list them all.
But, for the last 30 years I have sat under the preaching of a man that could, in my humble opinion, stand next to any and all of the above as an equal. He truly loves the Lord and His Word supremely. Nothing gives him greater joy than to impart the truth of God’s Word and the hope of salvation. He has been in full-time Christian service for thirty-six years and first began pastoring in 1980. He is also a deep thinker and a man who loves to read and study. The person of whom I am speaking is my husband, Mike. And I am not saying this just because he is my husband.
I truly LOVE to hear him preach, and yesterday the message was exceptionally powerful as he allowed God to speak through him. There was one part of his message that was especially powerful and inspiring. I thought he was reading a quote from someone, but found out afterward that it was his own words! The following is an excerpt from Mike’s message yesterday, a sermon which he entitled, “A Sure Thing!”
“I am Christian. I am a saved, born again, blood bought, repentant sinner, saved by grace through faith unto good works. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. From a miry pit of sin I have been plucked up and my feet set up on the Rock of Ages. Because of this, I am determined, by God’s help and grace, that I WILL NOT give up, back up, let up, or shut up! But, I WILL stand up, put up, step up, pray up, show up, stay up and speak up until my Savior says, “Shut up and come up”! And I must add, that I will be glad when the Devil, his demons and all the God and Christ haters get their comeuppance! It is high time for Christians to grow up, man up, ‘fess up, and pick up where they left off serving God!”
In this day and age, we seem to see more and more people, including those who call themselves Christians, that just seem to “go with the flow” instead of standing and fighting for what they believe. This is truly sad in any circumstance, but in the Christian realm, it is not only sad, it is a sin! Let us determine in our hearts to never back down, but to stand up for Christ and all that is right, no matter what!
“ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” ~1 Corinthians 15:58
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” ~Galatians 6:9
“But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ~1 Corinthians 15:57
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.” ~1 John 5:4
2 comments:
Mrs. Lane: this is what I needed to hear today. Thank you for posting this. Our family used to attend Faith Baptist right when Pastor Smith took over in the mid 90's. We now live in Oregon. I am so glad I found your website. Have a blessed day! :-)
Great article. Very UP-lifting! God bless!
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