Prayer Request

Testimonies

I am a 52-year old male Jewish believer in Jesus from the San Francisco Bay Area. I heard about Pastor Jim through the ministry of Dean Gotcher. I heard his teaching on Romans 13 – the proper role of Christians towards the civil government, and went to his web-site looking for more sermons like that. I saw many other interesting looking sermons posted there, and began to listen. I have been going through the Discipleship series for several weeks, carefully listening to the messages over and over. I’m in the section on Repentance. It is really having a powerful effect on me – this is probably the clearest explanation of the Gospel I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been a believer for nearly 24 years. Please thank pastor Jim on my behalf for posting these messages and documents.

I’m a good example of the type of person Jim talks about that professes to be a Christian, but is not growing. Something is wrong. Perhaps I’ve been regenerated but tried to jump right into discipleship step 10 – obedience, without first going through the other steps of meditation, happiness, worship, character, and guidance, and thus have been caught in the trap of legalism. Or, perhaps I’ve never really repented. I may have done my best to humble myself and repent according to the revelation I’ve received from the Word and the Holy Spirit, but I may have never truly turned my back on the world in order to embrace a life with Jesus only as my God. Perhaps one area that I need more conviction in is an understanding of my total depravity – that there is truly no good thing in me whatsoever. Pastor Jim talks about how that realization is devastating – it should really hit me as bad news – otherwise, maybe I haven’t really gotten it. I understand that the works of the flesh cannot please God, and only as we by faith crucify our old man and allow the Holy Spirit to live Jesus’ life through us can we please God. I’m just having trouble somewhere getting the understanding past my head into my heart. As Jim says, the Gospel message, especially repentance, cannot be understood psychologically – it must be a work of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for me that God would clear away all hindrances to that intimate relationship with Jesus that I desire. I want to go through all the steps of salvation and discipleship without missing any – even if it means going back to home plate, hearing the Gospel all over again, and becoming born again for the first time. Spending 24 years as a spiritual infant is truly a miserable existence -