PUBLICLY CONFESSING OF CONVERSION TO OUR LORD!

I have experienced the precious joy of being the “seed sower” of the Gospel and witnessing a number of men and women make an initial public confession of “Jesus as Lord,” in recent weeks! I am thinking about a man who came up to me in my home church a couple of weeks ago. I recognized his face; but I did not know his name. He said to me, “I just want you to know, Bro. Ed, that until a few months ago, I was in the grips of drug addiction. I was one of the men in the Mission of Hope (a Christian drug and alcohol rehab in Mobile, where I often preach). You preached, a gospel message, at the Mission of Hope a few months ago; and that night, my life was radically changed! I was redeemed by the mighty grace of God; I was delivered from drug addiction; my marriage is restored; my family is reunited; I am a new creation in Christ! And last week, I publicly came before the church, asking for believer’s baptism!” Glory to God dear brothers and sisters! I did not accomplish that mighty deliverance. But I was certainly overjoyed that I was there, when the Lord Jesus Christ performed His saving and delivering work.

I am thinking about a man who was in the orchestra at First Baptist Church of Killen, AL. I was preaching revival messages to believers, during those days. This young man was headed home after the Tuesday evening message; but he turned around and came back to the church to meet with one of the staff members, because he was troubled over the condition of his soul. He was gloriously converted to the Lord Jesus Christ and he publicly confessed his “former life of self-deception”; and publicly embraced Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior! Pastor David McKelvey testifies about that week of meetings in these words, “A faithful elderly gentlemen in our church made a summary statement about out recent revival with you as our guest preacher. This man rarely speaks, unless he has a strong conviction from the Lord. Hence, these words came from a soul who was deeply moved by the Lord. He said as he departed from our concluding service, “This is the greatest revival that we have ever had!” From all of his years of membership here and years of walking with Jesus, he stated clearly the impression that many others have expressed, about how the Lord has stirred our hearts toward a greater love for Christ; for His church; and for those whom we are to reach for His glory! We praise God for His leadership in bringing you to us and using you among us, in these days of Holy Spirit revival!” Even on that last evening, I spent quite a long time witnessing to and counseling with a woman in her 30’s. Her father was a Free Will Baptist preacher. She told me she had made a “so-called decision” as a 9-year-old girl. But as the week unfolded, she had come to the shattering realization that her life and her lips had NEVER manifested the evidences that Jesus was her Lord and God! She testified that she was recently in the hospital with a serious illness; and she knew she would have gone to hell, if she had died in that hospital! She testified that evening, that she was now embracing Jesus as her Lord and Master, to go where He goes and to follow after Him. Please pray for fruit that remains.

We also were blessed with a glorious “Easter weekend” outreach crusade, that I had the joy of preaching at Crossroads Baptist Church, with my dear friend Pastor David Cofield. Bro. David writes, “This Easter weekend evangelistic effort proved to be more successful that I had expected. Our people prayed; they visited door-to-door; they attended extremely well; even on Friday and Saturday evenings! The Gospel was preached in such power and glory, that it caused many seeds to be sown. An adult man testified of the converting work of the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart and life on that Good Friday evening service! He gladly and openly confessed Jesus as his Lord, before the Easter morning congregation, saying that he was embracing Jesus as his King and Master! And not only that, but the church was revived. That’s right... the church was revived! An evangelistic crusade revived the Lord’s church at Crossroads. One elder said, “It was as refreshing as a spring rain”. Another member commented that it caused a ‘holy expectation to rise from within’. Our church loves Ed and Dianne. We count it an honor to call them friends.” Oh dear friends, I could go on and speak about the glorious week in Shelby, NC at the Crossroads Rescue Mission. There were a number of men who testified of the mighty work of grace in their lives! The Holy Spirit is still on mission in this fallen culture, gathering in the Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is calling on us to make a new commitment to be involved in courageous, constant, and consistent confessions of “Jesus as Lord’ through our lives and our lips!