I Wouldn't Trade It for the World
It’s always a blessing to see what God does through the lives of those who’ve walked these halls. Brother Jason McCray and his niece Lacey got together last week over in Arizona City. He pastors, and she helps Him there at the Coronado Baptist Church in Tucson, Arizona, where there is a vibrant church for the Lord Jesus Christ.
A lot of great things are happening, and we rejoice with that. They got together and did a music CD. The book: I love it.
Every time I look, it helps me. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I sigh. But when I read the Bible, it does. It’s the greatest agent of change known to mankind.
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Brother Steve Froeке was talking about Carl Hatch, and he had Him a couple times. Carl Hatch was a real hardheaded man, really profane and wicked and against God. He had a neighbor that kept coming back with love and continued. He cursed Him. He would tell Him, “Get out of here. Stop talking about that.”
And he just kept coming back with compassion.
And the Bible says, “And some have compassion.” That’s what makes the difference.
Others are saved with fear. Some people, you couldn’t scare them into salvation, and it’s not really our goal to do that. But some people, they do think about eternity and hell, and it frightens them enough to want to get it done. They get a bad dream, they get a bad situation happened, they get nervous. They get a bad report from the doctor, and it turns them around.
Other people are saved with fear, and other people are saved with compassion. It’s compassion. And compassion got the heart of brother Carl Hatch.
Carl came to my church one time, and of course, he wore... he’s passed away, right? He’s in heaven now. But anyway, he came to my church, and one time he said, “Brother Froeке, I got trouble with my false teeth. I need to see your dentist.”
I said, “Okay, let me call my dentist.”
So the dentist comes out to introduce himself, and the first thing out of brother Hatch’s mouth is, “I don’t let anybody work on my teeth unless they’re a Christian, you know, right?”
He talked to him about the Lord, and the dentist was saved. He was a saved man. It was so funny how Carl operates. With truck stops, he would lay a tract where you’re washing your hands in a truck stop, and some big old trucker would come in and he’d lay that there. The trucker would bend over, and he’d say, “Maybe some nut must have left this. What does this say? ‘If you died today, do you know for sure you’d go to heaven?’”
He said, “Good night. What about you? Do you think you’d go to heaven?”
Just crazy, you know. But he was that kind of a guy, bold, very bold witness for Jesus. And thank God for it.
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Brother Froeке teaches about the great men of the Old Testament in Bible Institute class at 7 PM on Tuesday nights. Anyone could come to his class on Tuesday and learn about that.
The first one we do is Abraham. We did that Tuesday, probably one or two lessons on Abraham. Then we go right into Joseph. Great story, by the way, you told about Joseph on Sunday night, led all the way up to Joseph and forgiveness.
Then we do Moses, and then we do King David. We spend quite a bit of time on David. Then also we end with Daniel, and if time permits, we’ll probably do one on Nehemiah.
I love Nehemiah. I do too. The great leader that Nehemiah was and the obstacles that He went through.
I talk about the strengths and weaknesses of these men that I just mentioned, and then also application. What can I learn from these men? What can I learn from Abraham, a man of faith who started the Jewish nation? Joseph the dreamer? Moses, the great leader that he was? And Daniel, who purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and what a great truth Daniel 1:8 is.
And then, of course, King David, the great king, greatest king Israel ever had. He had his ups and downs and things like that, but he was a man that always went to the altar and always asked God to forgive him.
Yeah, he’s a great king.
That makes me excited to get there seven o’clock on Tuesday nights. That is one of several classes offered during that hour. Concentrated evangelism is one of those, and there are several other classes, introduction to biblical counseling. Your wife is teaching a class on ladies counseling.
You’re going to learn something in the Bible Institute. And it’s a very inexpensive gift that you give yourself because you enter a camaraderie of friends, and I think you get the instruction and the edifying help from God’s Word.
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