Sunday, March 19, 2017

Pastor John Collins, Evangelist: Do We NEED it or WANT it?



Pastor John Collins, Evangelist, Montana Tour of Love That Cross Ministries: How much do you really need?

 

In the fall of 2016 a revival series was launched in Montana.  Traveling across the United States, Pastor John Collins, brings a fresh view of revival of the Gospel and faith.  


Pastor John Collins is a leading evangelist in the United States today.  


His vibrant, no nonsense style of preaching brings the Word of God, the teachings of Jesus to life.  He reaches the hearts of those who hear him.  

Pastor John Collins strives to bring God back to the United States.   


He often preaches that we as a country turned our backs to God, one person at a time, one church at a time.  It’s time to change that and bring God back into our lives, to bring hope to ourselves and to our country, one person at a time, one church at a time.  Through our own choices to serve our own will, not God’s, we as a whole have turned away from God.  The result is that our country is in the turmoil it is in now.  As the Holy Bible says, if we turn back to God with all our hearts and cry out to Him, He will hear our plea and heal our country.  More than ever, we need God.  Pastor John Collins is answering his call by God to bring the gospel to as many people as he can reach with the words that he preaches.

Excerpts from Pastor John Collins’ revivals speak to the issues that we face in the United States.   


We have turned our backs to God, taking Him out of our schools, our government, our families and our churches-and as a result our society is hurting badly for hope.  

Pastor John Collins preaches hope, and the salvation of Jesus Christ, seeking to bring souls to Christ through his revivals and his messages. 



Pastor John Collins says:


“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’”  Matthew 19:23-24 (NKJV).

How much money does it take for a person to be considered rich?  How big does their home need to be?  How much does their car need to cost?  And how much clothes and how many pairs of shoes does a person need to own in order to be considered rich?  What about computers, cell phones and other pricey conveniences of today, are these considered when thinking about wealth?  


We live in a world that has created generations of entitled, demanding and unsatisfied people.  Does anyone even know the difference between what we want and what we need today?  You may want a new car, a big house, plenty of changes of clothes and shoes as well as a phone and all the toys that are available today.  You may want to eat filet mignon and drink fancy coffee in the morning but do you need it? 


 Do you need closets full of clothes?  Do you ever think about the huge difference between your wants and your needs?  Take a minute to look around you and ask yourself if you even need what you already have and then ask yourself if you are wanting more.


God will provide what you need.  God will test you to see if you can be content with those needs being met.  In a world of excess it is necessary to stop for a moment and find some Godly perspective.  We have been raised to believe that more is more and that more will make us happier people.  It is also a misunderstanding to believe that our existence is a pursuit of happiness.  That is just not true. 


Genuine happiness comes from living a life that is of service to our Lord which will result in entry to heaven which is where the true prize awaits your soul.  The goal is to make it home to heaven and the only way to meet that goal is to become Christ-like and serve God with submission and joy.  Life is full of bonuses and huge rewards but having a lot of stuff is not one of them.  Some people do have great wealth in this life and believe me that is a test of its own.  Learn to be content with your needs being met and learn to be a great servant.  This will produce a life that is truly rich and will leave you satisfied and at peace.


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth, nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV).

  PASTOR JOHN.


Just how much “stuff” do we really need?  Jesus taught us to care for those who were widows and orphans and the poor.  Today’s poor live on the streets, are our elderly, single parents living with children and struggling to keep it together.  Food, shelter, clothing, safety are at risk for those who do not have enough.  So many of us in the United States live in our cushioned homes, complaining about too many channels of nothing on cable, while there are those who don’t even have decent shelter to sleep in.  Look around you where you live.  Women hide the fact that they are struggling or living in their vehicles.  People are proud and don’t admit they need help, especially in small towns where opinions kill reputations of those who are trying hard to succeed against terrible situations that keep knocking them down.  Instead of moving to the other side of the street, driving past, walking by, or simply turning our eyes down or away, Pastor John puts it right in front of us to reach out and give a hand up to those who need it.  Do we have clothes that can fit the woman who is on kidney dialysis and lost 60 pounds and her clothes fall off of her because she doesn’t have money to buy even used clothes?  What about the guy who had his bedding stolen by another homeless guy for the sixth time this month?  Is there a spare sleeping bag in your attic?  Food….no one in this country should be hungry….nor should anyone who is hungry be turned away from a soup kitchen, a church, a mission.  Everyone should have the opportunity to have something to eat.  We are so out for ourselves in this country…the me generation has spread far and wide.  Look out your window, reach out to those who are in need.  Jesus Christ taught it, Pastor John Collins reminds us.  We need to act like the Christians we say we are.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Pastor John Collins, Evangelist: Obedience vs our will



Pastor John Collins, Evangelist: Reviving Faith in Montana, One Church at a Time:



 "It is sad to watch people choose to be sinners and choose to harm others to lift themselves up.  Believe me, there is still plenty today for Jesus to weep over."


In a revival series that was launched in fall, 2016, Pastor John Collins continues to spread the word of God, redeeming the Gospel, across the United States.  This blog post reviews excerpts from the revival tour as it traveled across Montana.

Pastor John Collins is a leading evangelist in the United States today.   


His vibrant, no nonsense style of preaching brings the Word of God, the teachings of Jesus to life.  He reaches the hearts of those who hear him.  


Pastor John Collins strives to bring God back to the United States.  


 He often preaches that we as a country turned our backs to God, one person at a time, one church at a time.  It’s time to change that and bring God back into our lives, to bring hope to ourselves and to our country, one person at a time, one church at a time.  Through our own choices to serve our own will, not God’s, we as a whole have turned away from God.  The result is that our country is in the turmoil it is in now.  As the Holy Bible says, if we turn back to God with all our hearts and cry out to Him, He will hear our plea and heal our country.  More than ever, we need God.  Pastor John Collins is answering his call by God to bring the gospel to as many people as he can reach with the words that he preaches.


Pastor John Collins says:

It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”  John 6:45 (NKJV).


The teachings of Jesus were insightful and revealed the heart of the law.  He came with miracles and truth and compassion and mercy.  He came with clarity and sadness for the people.  It is sad to see people refuse to get right with God, to see people rebel in their hearts and choose their own will over God’s will.

Our world is filled with people choosing to self-govern and claim rational thought for themselves and believing that there is no God, that their own moral code will sustain them and see them through this life and that there is no cause to concern themselves with an eternal life.  There are people on the pulpits sharing the good news without teaching the requirements of being a follower of Christ.  There are stubborn people who choose to believe that there is not a right or a wrong way to worship God and that we get to self-determine our God and how we navigate our faith in our life and have concluded that by doing so we will enjoy the outcome that we have decided upon.  It doesn’t work that way!  God came and gave instructions on how to worship Him.  Jesus came and gave insight into the law and gave instructions on how to worship Him.   

Nothing has changed.


Grace is given and faith is free but obedience is required to claim them.  You cannot claim to be a person of faith and have fellowship with God when you are living a life of selfishness and unfaithfulness.  If you are a greedy, lying, cheating, vain, malicious, gossiper and drunk then you are not obeying God.  If you are full of bitterness and resentment and refuse to forgive those who you believe have done you wrong then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are consumed with materialism and are obsessed with your looks and your appearance then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are abusing drugs and your body and are not a believer then you are not in obedience with God.  If you are not in obedience with God then you will not see the kingdom of heaven when you die.  It really is that simple.
 
You must obey God to claim the gifts of God.  Salvation is claimed by those who believe because those who believe will submit to the will of God and will obey God.  I am not talking about casual belief but the belief that produces results in a life, belief that produces change and purity in a life and belief that transforms a life of darkness into one of light.  There is always an opportunity to truly claim Jesus as your savior, not in word only but in truth.  You know whether your life is truly a life that would have God’s stamp of approval and there is just no reason to live in denial.  There is not any time to waste on self-indulgence and sin.  It is time to examine your existence and if you are not right with God then it is time to get right with Him.   

Believe in the Son and claim salvation.

I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”  John 15:5-6 (NKJV).        PASTOR JOHN

Do we want eternal life?  Then we need to listen and hear what Pastor John Collins preaches about obedience to God.  The road to destruction is wide, but the road to heaven and salvation is narrow as it says in the book of Matthew.  The United States has been travelling the wide road to destruction for a long time, turning our backs upon God and all the blessings that He gave us when this country was founded.  We need to claim salvation for ourselves, to hear the word of God, to read the works of Jesus and the messages in the Holy Bible in order to gain back the blessings that were ours as a country, and ours as individuals.  What does God want from you?  Simple-talk to Him in prayer and start reading a good translation of the Holy Bible that does not twist the Gospel to suit the purposes of the writer or confuse the reader with what is called transliteration-man’s explanation, not God’s inspired words.   God wants us back.