Thursday, March 10, 2011

John's Newton's Conversion - The story of Amazing Grace

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?


John Newton was born in 1725 in London. His mother who was a godly woman and who taught him to pray as a child, died when he was only seven years old. He had only two years at school and at the age of eleven his father, who was a Sea-Captain, took him to sea for the first time. His sea-faring life is well known....and included being wrecked, becoming the Captain of a Slave-Trade Ship, and also a slave himself to a negress on the Guinea coast. He was rescued by a friend of his father who was a ship's captain as well. Newton lit a fire of driftwood on the shore to attract the attention of any passing ship. In the providence of God, this friend of his father, who was searching for him, sent a long-boat ashore to investigate, and John was rescued. He was on this ship returning across the Atlantic, when it encountered a great storm which was threatening to engulf it.

This took place on the 10th March 1748. `That 10th of March', says Newton, "is a day much to be remembered by me; and I have never allowed it to pass unnoticed since the year 1748. For on that day the Lord came from on high and delivered me out of deep waters."

The storm was terrific: when the ship went plunging down into the trough of the sea few on board expected her to come up again. The hold was rapidly filling with water. As Newton hurried to his place at the pumps he said to the captain, "If this will not do, the Lord have mercy upon us!" His own words startled him. "Mercy!" he said to himself in astonishment, "Mercy! mercy! What mercy can there be for me? This was the first desire I had breathed for mercy for many years!" About six in the evening the hold was free from water, and then came a gleam of hope. "I thought I saw the hand of God displayed in our favour. I began to pray. I could not utter the prayer of faith. I could not draw near to a reconciled God and call him Father. My prayer for mercy was like the cry of the ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear."

"In the gospel," says Newton, "I saw at least a peradventure of hope but on every other side I was surrounded with black, unfathomable despair." On the peradventure of hope Newton staked everything. He sought mercy - and found it.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.....

When I've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining like the sun,
I've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when I first begun.

This earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun no longer shine
But God who called me here below
Will be forever mine



John Newton's Testimony:

"This is my testimony. This is my confession of faith. This is my hope -
'BY THE GRACE OF GOD I AM WHAT I AM.' It is certain that I am not what I ought to be. But, blessed be God, I am not what I once was. God has mercifully brought me up out of the deep miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. He has saved my soul. And now it is my heart's desire to extol and honour his matchless, free, sovereign and distinguishing grace, because 'By the grace of God I am what I am.' It is my heart's great joy to ascribe my salvation entirely to the grace of God. 1 Cor.15:10


Thus The Man Behind Amazing Grace: John Newton, Who Was Once an Atheist and Slave Trader, Became a Christian Minister and Abolitionist. His Testimony of That Transformation Is Now a World-Famous Hymn



Friday, March 4, 2011

Ben Hooper - The Governor of Tennessee

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg , TN. right about the time World War I was over. One morning, they were eating their breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he doesn't come over here.'

But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.' Oklahoma,' they answered.'Great to have you here in Tennessee ,' the stranger said.'What do you do for a living?' 'I teach at a seminary,'he  replied.'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great .. Just what I need ...another preacher story!

'The man started, 'See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.

'When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'  But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?''This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy... 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.'  With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.''With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person..

He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them , 'I'm a Child of God..''The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, 'Isn't that a great story?'  The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!' And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, 'Do you know who that man was -- the one who just left that was sitting at our table?' The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the governor of Tennessee ...

'Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's children.

'The grass withers and the flowers fall,but the word of God stands forever.' ~~Isaiah

True story....  

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dr Carl Stevens Testimony - Greater Grace World Outreach...

God called Pastor Carl H. Stevens to preach over four decades ago. At the age of 23, he became a believer in Christ after hearing the witness of his wife. From that moment on, Pastor Stevens dedicated himself to learning about Jesus and to the study and the ministry of the Bible. A farm boy born in West Sumner, Maine, in 1929, and raised by his widowed mother from the age of 3, Pastor Stevens approached Bible study and Christianity the way he approached everything in life - with intensity and concentration. His dedication to this life with God helped establish thriving churches in Maine, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Pastor Stevens communicated the vision that the ministry would be dedicated to seeking the lost in all parts of the world. Toward that end, he led in the establishment of Bible colleges, where academic and practical training in the Word and the ministry would be fostered.


Northeast School of the Bible was founded in Maine in 1972. Its first graduating class, in 1975, included Thomas Schaller, now the Presiding Elder and Pastor of Greater Grace World Outreach.



With the growth of the Bible college, there came a need for more space. That space was found in Lenox, Mass., where The Bible Speaks World Outreach relocated in 1976.
There, Stevens School of the Bible was founded and what followed was a period of great activity. The students of the college proved instrumental in establishing New England’s largest bus ministry and Sunday School. Also, waves of teams headed out to various countries.
In 1987, the ministry moved to Maryland and became Greater Grace World Outreach. The diverse urban center located between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia proved a fruitful ground for more growth. Maryland Bible College and Seminary was founded and continued the training of pastors, missionaries, and servants to go into all the world.
In 2005, the elders of GGWO unanimously elected Pastor Schaller as the ministry’s Presiding Elder and Pastor.

Radio has been a staple of the GGWO ministry since the 1960s, when Pastor Stevens began making guest appearances on the Telephone Time program in New England. He later became Telephone Time’s full-time host and continued in the capacity on the Grace Hour until 2004.

Pastor Stevens went home to Heaven in June 2008. His legacy continues to affect people everywhere, however, through the recordings of his messages and publications that continue to be produced from those sermons and classes.