ONGOING WEEKLY MINISTRY AT THE MISSION OF HOPE

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Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:57

I am absolutely thrilled to be an integral part of the systematic ‘evangelistic and discipleship’ instruction that occurs weekly at the Mission of Hope, which is located here in the Mobile area. On average, there are approximately 60 men, who are continually involved in the various levels of this program. I am continually overjoyed to watch the Spirit of God mightily apply the Word of God to break the chains of years of addiction in the lives of men. Even in the last few months, I have seen the Lord transform a solid core of men of all ages, for the glory of the Lamb. Brother and sisters, the Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, redemption, and deliverance from the mastery of sin!

 Even this coming Easter Sunday, Dianne and I will witness the baptism of one of these men, (in our home church) who has been giving ongoing evidence that he has been gloriously liberated from the tyrannical chains of sin; to become a devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. While we know, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, there will always be some professions of faith that will only be a shallow, superficial and artificial experience, which is not true saving faith. Oh, but then, there are those who are genuinely birthed from above and their lives changed, which powerfully displays that they have been graced with biblical repentance and saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

BIBLICAL PATH TO AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE

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Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:55

Recently, I concluded a 4-day prayer conference with my dear brother in Christ, Dr. Greg Lindsey, at Mill Springs Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Tn. This was my 2nd opportunity to serve this precious flock. I was overwhelmed with their wonderful attendance and hunger for these truths concerning prayer. The five areas which I taught upon included: Confidence in Prayer; Persevering in Prayer; Evangelistic Intercessory Prayer; Personal Petitions of Prayer; and finally, Prayer and Your Personal Devotional Life in the Word! Pastor Greg shared the following words of testimony concerning this blessed time of teaching. “I am so thankful for the Prayer Conference we had with Bro. Ed and for the way God moved in the hearts of those who attended. As a pastor, I’ve already seen first-hand evidence of the Lord’s work in my own life and in the lives of our people, founded upon the truth that we heard proclaimed. The teaching was precisely what we needed! First and foremost, it was biblically faithful. It was also straightforward, earnest, and practical. As one man described, “It was down to earth, yet drenched with heaven! And, while deeply convicting, it was at the same time hugely encouraging. As one man described the sessions of instruction: ‘It was down to earth, yet drenched with heaven’! I eagerly anticipate what God may be pleased to do among us at Mill Springs in the months ahead, as a result of this wonderful, scriptural teaching on prayer, as it is put into believing practice. May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised and glorified in what happens!

11-Day Zoom Conference in India

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Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:54

It is a grief to my heart that I am still presently bound from holding ‘church planters and pastors conferences’ in foreign fields such as India, Kenya, South Africa, etc. However, I rejoice that the Word of God is not bound! The living and powerful Word of God can never be quarantined! As this pandemic has continued to prevent me from holding ‘in-person conferences’ on the foreign fields, I have witnessed our Sovereign Lord open another avenue for teaching and preaching within other nations. This present opportunity of being able to teach and preach by Zoom and Facebook Live has provided an exciting door to reach far more brothers than I could have taught in person; especially in the closed nation of India. Nine of India’s twenty-eight states have laws, which will imprison those who are caught testifying of the Gospel or those who testify of conversion to Christ. The conference in Orissa, India, where I was teaching when the pandemic began, was a secret conference with 150 church planters in attendance. Oh, but praise be to our reigning Lord, I have recently concluded an 11-day Zoom conference, in which I was teaching the Beatitudes to many church planters and pastors from all over the nation of India. It was a great blessing to have Pastor Raj Eleazar translate the Beatitudes workbook from English into the Hindi language. Thus, if a pastor or church planter could speak either English or Hindi, they were welcome to attend this Zoom meeting. Raj was once again my interpreter, and he is an interpreter par excellence! There is a great deal of detailed planning and labor that goes into all the preparations for these conferences. Yet, these leaders joyously labored to carry out this huge endeavor, for the work of the ministry and the glory of the Lord. It was my joy to serve with them.

The following are a few testimonies from various pastors in India, who were in attendance for this Zoom Conference. First, I share a testimony from my dear brother Ajit, who is a former Muslim, who was gloriously converted to Christ. He is now a professor at Gilgal Bible Institute. “I really praise God for the last 11 days of class in my life. God conducted a deep searching of my own heart. God spoke mightily through His servant, to teach me how a Christ-centered life will be manifested. There were many powerful insights from the Word of God that have transformed my attitudes, ambitions, affections, and actions. I am earnestly praying that the Lord God will bless everyone who attended this very significant meeting. Bro. Ed, I really thank you personally. You have been an inspiration in my walk with the Lord. I am blessed to have you as a brother. We are serving a great and mighty God. May His name continue to be glorified, in and through your life.”

Pastor Raj Eleazar wrote, “I have read and preached on the Beatitudes so many times. But, when Bro. Ed taught this in-depth teaching of the Beatitudes, it was a tremendous eye-opener for me. I was the translator for all of the sessions. Thus, I personally was wonderfully blessed by all of this study. The teaching not only came to us as information; for the Holy Spirit was bringing the Word of God in a great transformation concerning my walk with Christ.The course is designed in a way that each Beatitude builds upon the previous one, as a golden ladder of light! I was most personally blessed by the 6th Beatitude, Matthew 5:8, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’. Bro. Ed’s description of the pure heart, was a wonderful illumination, in its two-fold requirements of ‘Singleness of Heart and Sanctity of Heart’. I am praying that God will continue to use Bro. Ed to unleash His Kingdom truths in many hearts through the powerful and accurate teaching of the Word.”

The last testimony comes from Abraham George, who is also one of the lecturers at Gilgal Bible Institute. He writes, “The title itself (The Key to Supreme Happiness and Spiritual Prosperity) ignited a fire to listen to these teachings. We waited for a long time to listen to him with these fresh thoughts from the Beatitudes. After the powerful teaching from ‘Christ-centered Evangelism, I was thinking ‘What will be the next?’ I have preached many times from the passage that he planned to teach. But again, this was very powerful, profound in-depth, and well presented, Let me tell you, this was the most glorious teaching that I have ever heard on the Beatitudes! I want to praise God for placing Bro. Ed in our lives and ministries. We know that God has preserved him for His glory and to bless us. I also want to thank all of you who support Ed Lacy Ministries for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. We are so grateful in India, for these vital teachings to our lives and our ministries to others.”

 Precious co-laborers, things like are mentioned in these testimonies, are what you are so intricately a part of! Once again, we were able to provide the funds for all the logistics for this conference, as well as the food for the ones gathered in the various locations; along with the other expenses incurred. These men are truly overwhelmed that you have a desire in helping them to be equipped with the Truth, for their assigned duty stations within their nation. They always convey messages of thanksgiving and prayers for you.

Taking the Whole Armor of God in a Collapsing Culture

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Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021 14:48

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with TRUTH, ... .”

Today, we often hear that we are living in the midst of a ‘Cultural War’ in this nation. However, I would submit to you that we are witnessing a ‘Cultural Collapse’, as it is clearly delineated in Romans 1:18-32! As we observe the chaos of this shattered society, it is easy for believers to fall for the deception that the rebel sinners who surround us are our real enemies. However, the Word of God alerts us to the truth that these hellhound transgressors are not our adversaries; instead, they are our Mission Field! We are in a spiritual battle against invisible adversaries. Thus, we have not been redeemed to go AWOL! We have been enlisted into the army of the Lord of hosts. So we must fight the good fight of faith with the spiritual armor, which has been issued to every soldier in His army.

Our Commander is still building His church. He has not yet gathered in the last soul. We are marching toward that triumphant moment when all of the demonic armies and their commander will be incarcerated and thrown into the lake of fire. Oh, but as long as a disciple of Jesus is still living in this fallen world system, we are called to behave as His soldiers until the day of our departure. We were never enlisted into the army of the Lord to live a life of idleness and comfort. We have standing orders to advance into enemy territory with the TRUTHS, which cluster around the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Savior. Brothers and sisters, our primary weapon against the father of lies is the objective TRUTH of the Word of God. We must gird up the loins of our minds with the truth concerning the Deity of Jesus; the truth concerning the holiness of God; the truth concerning the sinfulness and condemned condition of sinners; the truth concerning the glorious work of our Savior, in His perfectly righteous life; His substitutionary and wrath-bearing death; His glorious resurrection from the dead; along with His triumphant ascension and coronation at the right hand of God the Father; and His Gospel commands to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; and then issuing His Gospel warnings to those who are refusing to come to the Lord Jesus on His terms!

Notice these precious words, which are found in the same epistle to the Ephesians, “In Him, you also trusted, after you heard THE WORD OF TRUTH, the Gospel of your salvation... .” Friends, with these words, Paul is describing the one and only message, which has the Lord Jesus Christ as both its center and its substance! Fellow soldiers, we must equip ourselves, so that we will be ready to proclaim the ‘rightly divided Word of Truth’. This ‘Word of truth’ (the truths which cluster around the Person; the Work; and the Gospel Commands of Jesus) is the only message, which the Spirit of God empowers to produce the new birth! Consequently, as soldiers in the army of the Lord, we must live a life of faithfulness to the TRUTH of the Word of God. We must seek to take opportunities and make opportunities to proclaim ‘THE WORD OF TRUTH’ to those who are still at enmity with God. The infallible and inerrant Word of God is our only objective standard, as we live as resident aliens in this culture of lies. 

The world is utterly corrupted with man-centered opinions and philosophies, which are being propagated by the god of this age. Furthermore, there are many so-called churches, which are contaminated with ‘man- centered teachings’, that are not rooted and grounded in the objective truth of the Word of God! Thus, if you are going to fight the good fight of faith, the objective truth of the Word of God must be your sole authority for life. This is precisely why Peter exhorts us to ‘gird up the loins of our minds’ with the faith (the objective truth), which was once for all delivered to the saints! We must tighten up the loose ends of our thinking, by securing our minds with the glorious truths concerning all of the blessings, which belong to the ones in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Are you girding up the loins of your mind with these magnificent truths that describe all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, which are yours, if you are in union with Christ? Have you girded up the loins of your mind with the riches of the glory of our inheritance in Christ? Are you girding up the loins of your mind with the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe? Have you girded up the loins of your mind with the objective truths, which contain all of God’s glorious promises to His people from eternity past into eternity future? Precious ones, this is the vital and foundational equipment needed for this cosmic conflict in which we are engaged. This is a true and sure foundation for us, if we are going to fight from the bedrock of victory, which is already ours in Christ Jesus the Lord! Oh, may each of us gird our minds with the objective truth of the Word of God, in these days of deception!