Greetings in the Name of Jesus,

My wife Bev, and I want to get this letter out to you as soon as possible, as there are several things we need your prayers for.  I’ll list those in a moment, but first, we are very thankful, and praise the Lord for the response to our last letter.  We even had a couple of pastors who contacted us to say that they had the same burden.  Two pastors came to visit us in our home, and one called whom I had never met before.  These men are burdened to see that the true gospel is preached.  One friend contacted me to say that the men he had shared the letter with felt I might have a critical spirit.  I have thought about this.  Should we be tolerant or easy going when men are out there preaching a false teaching that is leading millions, literally millions, into the pit of Hell.  Today we call these nominal Christians “lukewarm”.  The truth is, we are tempting God to spit us out!  Rev. 3:16 says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”  I truly believe that we ought to be critical!  The apostle Paul said anyone that preaches another gospel, let him be anathema, which means a thing or person accursed or damned; detestable.  “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”  Gal. 1:8,9.  I think Paul was critical too.  So I make no apology.  Hear his warning to Titus in Titus 1:10, 11, “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”  I know that my writings can be very pointed and direct, and to many, annoying.  Again, I make no apology.  This ministry is called to sound the alarm and to wake up the sleeping Church.  I thank God for the men in ministry who also see the situation clearly.  I urge all of you to again invest the time into reading our last letter prayerfully.

There are some things we can be ignorant of and indifferent to.  The truth of God’s Word and the way of true Biblical salvation is not one of them.  If you or someone you know is what comes under the term “lukewarm Christian,” read what Matthew Henry has to say on page 1974 of his commentary on the Bible about Rev. 3:15-17:  “1.  The heavy charge drawn up against this church, v. 15.  Lukewarmness or indifference in religion is the worst temper in the world.  If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything.  Here is no room for neutrality.  Christ expects that men should declare themselves in earnest either for him or against him.  2.  A severe punishment threatened: ‘I will spew thee out of my mouth.’  As lukewarm water turns the stomach, and provokes to a vomit, lukewarm professors turn the heart of Christ against them.  He is sick of them, and cannot long bear them.  They shall be rejected.  3.  We have one cause of this indifference assigned, and that is self-conceitedness of self-delusion, v. 17.  What a difference there was between the thoughts they had of themselves and the thoughts that Christ had of them.  The high thoughts they had of themselves.  Perhaps they were well provided for as to their bodies, and this made them overlook the necessities of their souls.  Or they thought themselves well furnished in their souls.  How careful should we be not to put the cheat upon our own souls!  Doubtless there are many in hell that once thought themselves to be in the way to heaven.  The mean thoughts that Christ had of them.  They were poor, really poor, when they said and thought they were rich.  Their souls were starving in the midst of their abundance.  They were blind; they could not see their state, nor their way; they could not see into themselves; yet they thought they saw.  They could not see Christ.  They could not see God.  They were naked.  They were without clothing, had neither the garment of justification nor that of sanctification.”

In order to be truly born again, the agency of God’s precious Holy Spirit must be in action.  The Word of God teaches that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin.  If a person has not been convicted of sin, then he has not been born again.  Conviction and God’s Spirit revealing Jesus Christ to the soul of Man will produce a breaking, and a person will repent with godly sorrow.  “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death,” I Cor. 7:10.  After this God will reveal to the soul that forgiveness is complete and the joy of sins forgiven will flow in a new creation.  We are so worried today about damaging or hurting someone’s precious little feelings that we’re afraid to speak the truth in love.  “Beating around the bush” because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings is not love, it’s cowardice and timidity.  Think of the souls that are at stake.  Hear what Jesus has to say in Rev. 3:19, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent.”  He tells us to be zealous and repent.  Those words are coming from the mouth of the One that you and I will stand before one day.  Here is Matthew Henry’s comment on Rev. 3:19:  “Great and gracious encouragement to this sinful people to take the admonition well that Christ had given them, v. 19, 20.  ‘You may think I have given you hard words and severe reproofs; it is all out of love to your souls.’  Sinners ought to take the rebukes of God’s word as tokens of His goodwill to their souls.  Better are the frowns and wounds of a friend than the flattering smiles of an enemy.”

Dear reader, are you lukewarm, or are you earnestly on fire for God?  Do you seek Him through prayer and the reading of His Word?  Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness, or are you indifferent to sin?  Do you desire to be holy, and wholly given to the Holy Son of God, or are you indifferent to His command, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.”  (I Peter 1:15, 16)  Do you truly love the Lord, and show your love by obeying Him?  Or do you disobey Him and think, “What does it matter, my sins are forgiven?”  Are you satisfied or enamored with your material things in this world, and do you love them more than Christ?  This is nothing more than idolatry, and the wrath of God will rest on your head unless you obey what Jesus said, which is “Be zealous and repent!”  Those of you who know you are truly saved from sin, and sin does not dominate you, do you see your unsaved neighbors, friends, relatives?  Do you love them enough to warn them of the danger they are in, and do we understand that we are held accountable for these people the Lord brings our way?  If those words you just read cause concern in your soul, I say “Praise the Lord!”  When I see my personal responsibility, it shakes me to the very core of my being.

One of Oswald Chambers’ writings in My Utmost for His Highest is entitled “Identified with His Death”.  Allow me to quote it here for you.  “The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces an issue of will.  Do I accept God’s verdict on sin in the Cross of Christ?  Have I the slightest interest in the death of Jesus?  Do I want to be identified with His death, to be killed right out to all interest in sin, in worldliness, in self–to be so identified with Jesus that I am spoilt for everything else but Him?  The great privilege of discipleship is that I can sign on under His Cross, and that means death to sin.  Get alone with Jesus and either tell Him that you do no want sin to die out in you; or else tell Him that at all costs you want to be identified with His death.  Immediately you transact in confident faith in what Our Lord did on the Cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place, and you will know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that your ‘old man’ is crucified with Christ.  The proof that your old man is crucified with Christ is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.”

Last week I had written another letter that was tabled because I felt I had covered this subject enough and I told my wife Bev, that I would write a very simple, short letter about the upcoming events in March.  And out came this letter, which is actually similar to the one I tabled.  This message is burning in my heart and soul.  Dear friends, I don’t write these letters to hurt or upset you — God knows my heart.  We need to stand firm in what God says, and not compromise one dot of what is contained in His book.  I will pray that you all will have eyes to see and ears to hear.

We praise God that for the first time in probably two years, doors have opened for me to preach.  This past month was such a blessing, as we had a number of people come to visit us and to feed on the Word of God and have precious fellowship together.  We ask you to cover us with your prayers, and pray that I would preach exactly what God wants to say.  I never want to preach “warmed over sermons” (God forgive me–I’ve done that) I want God to touch me with a hot coal from the altar and for Him to give me light.

Here is the March schedule:

1. March 3…             Harvest Bible Fellowship in Poultney, NY, Pastor Karl Schuttler
2. March 10-17…          New Bunker Hill Evangelical Congregational Church near Lebanon, PA, Pastor Dale Kramer
3. March 29-30…            Sunbury, PA weekend seminar on Principles for Revival, sponsored by a fellowship of believers

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heaven will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the Glory both now and forever.  Amen.”  (II Peter 3:10-18)

God’s blessings to you brethren,

Your brother in Christ,

Jim