Ramblings from Bro. Jonathan
8/8/2017
God is heavily burdening my heart for opportunities to share the Gospel! May His Name be glorified in ALL things. May opportunities to help churches and preach the Word start flooding in!
Since July, my family has been blessed to preach and lead worship at some of Sand Mountain's finest churches! Agape in Scottsboro with Pastor Roger Mardis, Kelly's Chapel, with Pastor Daniel Lawson - great church! New Home in Kilpatrick - they're still looking for a pastor (pray for them). Concord in Albertville, Brad Edmondson is Pastor - what an awesome congregation. They're on fire - church has been praying solid for one year for revival - GOD HAS DELIVERED! Tons of people accepting Christ and tons being baptized. To God be the Glory! Aurora with Chad Robertson, Pastor - one of the best revivals I've been a part of! That church is on fire, with of all things leading the way - the men of the church! What a concept! Bro. Chris Guinn, DOM of Sand Mountain Association invited me to lead worship and participate in a round table discussion on evangelism at their Key Leader Event. What a blessing indeed! God is good to us all. Through this busy month - we've seen God work in mighty ways. Pray for the following for our family: 1. Opportunities to preach and lead worship. 2. Souls to be saved and lives to be changed. 3. Health. 4. Reliable mode of transportation - car is 12 years old and beginning to struggle. Finances are not available at the present time to upgrade. Pray for provision.
7/19/2017
I've been totally convicted of a passage of Scripture this morning that is effecting almost every church in America today - especially Northeast Alabama. It's found in Haggai 1, verses 1-14.
1 In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of [a]hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “[b]Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, but [c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is [d]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “[e]Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the [f]mountains, bring wood and rebuild the [g]temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld [h]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of [i]your hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [j]showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke [k]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, “‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
This passage is NOT a message to the world and the people of the world. It's a message to the church and to God's people!
Note the following 5 things that the Lord, through Haggai was trying to point out - I feel it is very relevant today!
1. Complacency (v 1-6)
* People were more concerned about themselves, their own desires and wants, than the temple of God
* People were resistant to change - unwilling to change their ways - their way or the highway mentality
* Un Biblical priorities
- v 6 is a picture of today's church
- v 6 is a picture of today's families!
2. "Consider Your Ways"
* Sand Mountain translation - "look in the mirror"
Throughout God's Word - He tells us to examine ourselves - to be sure that we are in Christ - "of the faith". Look up these references to back up this thought: 2 Corinthians 13:5, Psalm 25, Luke 6:45
Always remember - there is a payment for apathy!
3. Conviction (v 12)
* After the Word from the Lord was shared - the leaders were convicted and led to action.
* Before a church can experience anything good from God - it must be brought to conviction. Before a person can accept Christ, he/she must be brought to conviction.
* The leadership was convicted which led to:
4. Commitment (v 14)
* The time of prioritizing self over the temple of God was over - per the leadership. The men took heed to God's voice and went from a mindset and action set of "my way" to "your way"
* They were motivated to action - saw the condition, saw where apathy had gotten them, saw where their ways had taken them - they knew it was time for a change. They were motivated, thus:
5. Call to Action
"They came to work"
Church - it's time to quit putting our desires and our needs in front of what God desires. How do we know what God truly desires? This may seem redundant, but it is very real:
* Get into His Word
* Pray
* Don't listen to others - listen only to God, that still small voice!
Friends - it's crunch time for so many churches. Think this way, if your church is running 100 or less and the average age of your congregation is above 65 - your church is on borrowed time, unless you reach out to families of ALL ages, ethnicity, and backgrounds. There will be a time within the next few years, pending the second coming of Christ, that over 50-60% of these congregations will close their doors due to literally dying out. To me, this is a call to action!
Pastors - have revivals - have Gospel meetings - have crusades - have block parties - have sports ministries - have youth events - be Christ-Centered, be Scripture preaching, be focused on reaching the unreachable, the unlovable, the hopeless, the ones who feel that no one cares about them. Don't believe the lies of Satan that this "doesn't work anymore". God is calling folks right now to make a radical difference in this world. It's a call to action - let's GET TO WORK!
God is heavily burdening my heart for opportunities to share the Gospel! May His Name be glorified in ALL things. May opportunities to help churches and preach the Word start flooding in!
Since July, my family has been blessed to preach and lead worship at some of Sand Mountain's finest churches! Agape in Scottsboro with Pastor Roger Mardis, Kelly's Chapel, with Pastor Daniel Lawson - great church! New Home in Kilpatrick - they're still looking for a pastor (pray for them). Concord in Albertville, Brad Edmondson is Pastor - what an awesome congregation. They're on fire - church has been praying solid for one year for revival - GOD HAS DELIVERED! Tons of people accepting Christ and tons being baptized. To God be the Glory! Aurora with Chad Robertson, Pastor - one of the best revivals I've been a part of! That church is on fire, with of all things leading the way - the men of the church! What a concept! Bro. Chris Guinn, DOM of Sand Mountain Association invited me to lead worship and participate in a round table discussion on evangelism at their Key Leader Event. What a blessing indeed! God is good to us all. Through this busy month - we've seen God work in mighty ways. Pray for the following for our family: 1. Opportunities to preach and lead worship. 2. Souls to be saved and lives to be changed. 3. Health. 4. Reliable mode of transportation - car is 12 years old and beginning to struggle. Finances are not available at the present time to upgrade. Pray for provision.
7/19/2017
I've been totally convicted of a passage of Scripture this morning that is effecting almost every church in America today - especially Northeast Alabama. It's found in Haggai 1, verses 1-14.
1 In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of [a]hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “[b]Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, but [c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is [d]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “[e]Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the [f]mountains, bring wood and rebuild the [g]temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld [h]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of [i]your hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [j]showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke [k]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, “‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
This passage is NOT a message to the world and the people of the world. It's a message to the church and to God's people!
Note the following 5 things that the Lord, through Haggai was trying to point out - I feel it is very relevant today!
1. Complacency (v 1-6)
* People were more concerned about themselves, their own desires and wants, than the temple of God
* People were resistant to change - unwilling to change their ways - their way or the highway mentality
* Un Biblical priorities
- v 6 is a picture of today's church
- v 6 is a picture of today's families!
2. "Consider Your Ways"
* Sand Mountain translation - "look in the mirror"
Throughout God's Word - He tells us to examine ourselves - to be sure that we are in Christ - "of the faith". Look up these references to back up this thought: 2 Corinthians 13:5, Psalm 25, Luke 6:45
Always remember - there is a payment for apathy!
3. Conviction (v 12)
* After the Word from the Lord was shared - the leaders were convicted and led to action.
* Before a church can experience anything good from God - it must be brought to conviction. Before a person can accept Christ, he/she must be brought to conviction.
* The leadership was convicted which led to:
4. Commitment (v 14)
* The time of prioritizing self over the temple of God was over - per the leadership. The men took heed to God's voice and went from a mindset and action set of "my way" to "your way"
* They were motivated to action - saw the condition, saw where apathy had gotten them, saw where their ways had taken them - they knew it was time for a change. They were motivated, thus:
5. Call to Action
"They came to work"
Church - it's time to quit putting our desires and our needs in front of what God desires. How do we know what God truly desires? This may seem redundant, but it is very real:
* Get into His Word
* Pray
* Don't listen to others - listen only to God, that still small voice!
Friends - it's crunch time for so many churches. Think this way, if your church is running 100 or less and the average age of your congregation is above 65 - your church is on borrowed time, unless you reach out to families of ALL ages, ethnicity, and backgrounds. There will be a time within the next few years, pending the second coming of Christ, that over 50-60% of these congregations will close their doors due to literally dying out. To me, this is a call to action!
Pastors - have revivals - have Gospel meetings - have crusades - have block parties - have sports ministries - have youth events - be Christ-Centered, be Scripture preaching, be focused on reaching the unreachable, the unlovable, the hopeless, the ones who feel that no one cares about them. Don't believe the lies of Satan that this "doesn't work anymore". God is calling folks right now to make a radical difference in this world. It's a call to action - let's GET TO WORK!