Ledbetter's Ireland Update July 2013

Ledbetter's Ireland Update July 2013

For a PDF of this prayer letter WITH images, click http://bit.ly/1aowjNm 

Dear Ministry Friends!

Such a busy Summer! One thing that is so great about Summer here in Ireland is that we as a church have so many evangelistic outreaches and events to keep us busy! For example, on a normal Saturday afternoon, we have an average of 15-16 men, women and teenagers out doing door-to-door evangelism. In the Summer, that number swells to 25-30! I just stand in amazement at the determination of our church folks to get the Gospel out all over Cork City! To help us this Summer, the Lord brought a young man named Alex, and he has been a tremendous blessing!

We are BUYING a Building! We have put a serious down-payment on a huge building in Ballincollig and have started the ball rolling on getting a small mortgage to purchase what is an incredible opportunity for the Gospel! For the past two years, we had been looking at purchasing a smaller building for twice the price of the building that we have settled on! The Lord seems to have just opened the door to a miracle-find of a huge building in great shape, and for so little a cost! We are stunned at this new opportunity, and really covet your prayers for us because we know how the devil will make this purchase and renovation as complicated as possible! It is my wish, and I have fervently prayed that we could just buy the building outright without any mortgage at all. We are almost able! Some churches have already helped us. But if you or your church wants to have any part in helping a Bible believing Baptist Church OWN its own building in Ireland, then let me know! Watch this space! And pray for us to have much wisdom!

19^th Church Anniversary, Dinner and Baptism! June 9^th marked our 19^th anniversary as a church here in Ireland! We had an attendance of 144 souls, with 15 first time visitors! What a day! Following our church meeting, we all headed off to an incredible dinner, catered for us with loads of singing and testimonies of praise for how the Lord has so blessed our families with this church! Then, we all went out to the nearby Lee River for a Baptism! A teenager named Nathan had been waiting so long for some warm-ish weather to finally get Scripturally baptized! And the Lord so graciously provided it!

Victory Youth Camp! 86 people gathered at our Victory Youth Camp for 6 days in July of preaching, praying, awesome sports, activities, fellowship, and fun! Six young people were saved by God’s grace during the week! God gave us the perfect weather, and the best helpers! We focused on learning the life lessons from young Joseph in Genesis as he demonstrated godly character and integrity throughout his life! Everyone at Camp was greatly affected by the truths and challenges God gave us throughout the week! As usual, I can’t wait for next year’s Camp!

Upcoming Events

Children’s Summer Bible Club! In August we will be holding our outdoor Bible Club, called Amazing Kids of the Bible! 17 people are coming from NY state to help us for 2 weeks, and we are so thrilled! Pray many lost children and parents come to hear the Gospel! Pray for great weather and much lasting fruit!

Target the Heart Youth Evangelism Blitz! A final event we try and hold every year is a teen to teen evangelistic outreach where we teach our young men and women to engage their peers head to head with the Gospel, and get lost teens to come out to an evening preaching meeting at a local gymnasium where there will be loads of fun activities, but straight preaching about heaven, hell, and living for God!

Prayer Requests

So please pray 1) for our ability to purchase the building we have settled on; 2) for all our upcoming evangelistic events; 3) for our church to solidly grow; and most of all, 4) for the following people get saved: Miora and Finbarr K, Jim O’L, Sarah C, Pat W, Ann M, Denis L’s family, Brendan F, Kerri M, Chris M, and Barry G! Thank You for faithfully supporting us! And, God bless you all!

The Ledbetter Family in Ireland

Thirty Three Years Ago Today, I was Born Again!

Thirty three years ago today (June 15^th, 1980), in Cedar Park, Texas, I was rescued! Rescued in the truest sense of the word! I was born again by the grace of God! And I can never get over just how marvellous that experience was! Oh, it wasn’t really the experience as much as the fact that the Creator of this universe, had saved ME! I knew Jesus came to save the “world”, but 33 years ago this evening was when He actually was allowed to save ME!

It was just at the close of the Sunday evening church meeting at Hilltop Baptist Temple in Cedar Park, when I heard the pastor plea with everyone to make sure their soul is truly born again. He had preached on Unsaved Church Members and how church, baptism, good works, positive thinking, etc, could never change anyone’s eternal destiny. Only the perfect and finished efforts of the Son of God, in our place could actually be enough to make up for all the wrongs of anyone! He preached from Matthew 13:24-43 about Tares and Wheat. Over and over the pastor explained how that tares look like wheat, and feel like wheat when touched, and can easily fool almost anyone into thinking they really are wheat… until, they grow up and they have no fruit! They never were wheat! And they are only good for burning!

And then he pleaded for everyone to make sure THEY were wheat – that they were really born again into the kingdom of God! He commanded people that they had to be saved from the wrath to come. That there was no other way out. That if a person did not get their sins forgiven in total, they would one day perish, and spend eternity in a lake of fire, with the devil and his angels, because that is what we rightfully deserve because of our sinfulness!

I remember sitting in the middle of the crowd of about 250 people and wishing I could go up and take Pastor Jack’s hand and let him kneel with me in prayer and help me trust the Saviour to cleanse my every sin, and be forgiven. But as the hymn “Only Trust Him” was sang, I was torn. Torn between knowing I was not good enough to ever be in God’s presence, and yet knowing there was a doorway, an opportunity to get forgiven. Why not take it? If the God of heaven has made a way to be saved from my sin and its punishment, why not take it? But I was 17 years old, and that meant that I was more worried about what people would think of me, than what God would think. Looking back, I can’t believe I stood there, during the singing of that Hymn and actually held onto the back of the pew in front of me. I remember bowing my head and thinking to myself, why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to move out of this crowd and go up front? I remember thinking about how wonderful it must be to know that all your sins are washed away and are forgiven and are actually completely forgotten by God! And yet I stayed there, in the midst of that crowd.

And then the singing ended. Silence. I was surrounded in the midst of a crowd of people, and there was silence. And it felt awful. Then the pastor seemed sad. He said he knew more people needed to quit playing the game of Christianity, and get really saved! He then asked everyone to bow their heads and pray with him as he asked God’s blessings on us all as we headed home. When he finished praying, the crowd erupted with joy and conversations that only Christians have at the end of a good church meeting – rejoicing in the fact that the truth had been preached, and that hearts were melted. You see, while I was debating and struggling with my “image”, there were several people who actually HAD gone forward to the front of the church and knelt and pleaded with God to forgive them and give them the gift of eternal life like Jesus promised He would! But I had not. I stood there and watched the crowd around me slowly melt away and move towards the doors, and my heart began to beat like a piston! I knew I was definitely headed for hell. I had just missed my chance to get saved. And I knew that if I got into my car, that I might not make it safely home that night! And it was then that I saw John Cranford! I had gotten to know John in the teen Sunday School group. He was one of the class teachers. And I nearly ran over to him and just blurted out, “I need to talk to you”! He asked, “What’s wrong?” I just simply responded, “I am not saved. I am still lost!” He looked at me and then said, “Then yes, we DO need to talk! Come on over to the house and we will get it settled.” My heart was still beating a mile a minute, but I had some hope.

I followed him over to his house and walked into his home and he sat us both down at his kitchen table. His wife was so nice and fixed us some Iced Tea and brought out some muffins and I just anxiously waited. I couldn’t wait for John to open his Bible. John waited till his children were finished getting their snacks and headed on out of the kitchen before he started talking with me. He asked me why I thought I was not saved. I told him, because I am only a faker. I have blended with everyone at church now, and I can act like everyone around me when I am at church,… but I have never been born again.

He asked me how long I had been coming to church. I said, about 7 weeks now. Before that I had not been to any kind of a church in years, and I told him that up to coming to this church, going to church to me was stupid. But THIS church was different! This church was Bible only, and “that Book” spoke always right to my heart! He said that was the Holy Spirit talking from the pages of the Bible, and that I need to obey whatever the Bible said to do. I agreed.

He then started showing me Scripture after Scripture about why I am separated from God and that my separation would result in me being eternally separated from God in the lake of fire! He went over basically all that I had just heard from Pastor Jack. I patiently listened, but inside I was screaming, “GET TO THE GOOD PART!” I wanted to be saved!

He finally got to John 3:16, and Romans 10:13, and Titus 3:5, and asked me what I wanted to do. I said, “All I want to do is get the gift that God had purchased for ME, and walk out of this house a new person! But I don't know HOW” He asked me if I was willing to just firmly believe what God says in His Bible. I said yes. He then said, “Then just ask God to forgive you and make you His child!”

I bolted out of my chair and knelt on the floor next to that kitchen table and started crying like I hadn’t since my dad left my mom when I was 12 years old! I asked Jesus to forgive ME for all MY sins. I asked Him to come into my heart and save me, and make me a child of Almighty God!

When I finished, and looked up at John, he was smiling the biggest kind of grin that only a Texan can have!

I stood and he hugged me and then called for his wife to come in and asked me to tell her what just happened! I smiled and told her I was now forgiven, and it felt great! Like a real, massive burden had disappeared off my back. I was so, so excited that it had worked!

I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my Mom! I thanked John and his wife and then drove home. It was almost midnight by this time, but my mother was still awake, but in bed, with a book in her hand. I knocked and then came in and then jumped on her bed and announced, “MOM! I got saved tonight! And you need to get saved too!” She looked at me and started crying and we hugged, and then she said “I am already born again Craig” I said, “No way!” She said, “Yes, but I just have not been living like it.”

Oh I was so happy that night.

And you know what? I still am!

Thank you Lord for saving MY soul! Thank you Lord, for making ME whole!

Thirty three years ago today!

People Don't Seem to Want to be Free from Sin Today!

I was pondering this all day today. The unfortunate truth today is, the western world is FULL of "professing" christians who have NEVER dealt with SIN in their own life, and so they NEVER want to deal with sin in the world! When they were in troubles, they decided to look to God for "help" out of that trouble, but did not seek a Saviour from their sin! So, NO ONE TODAY SEEMS TO WANT TO BE 'FREE' FROM SIN! They only want to live IN sin! They are happy believing that they are enjoying forgiveness, and also the freedom to still sin. If a believer claims to be free to live in any sin that the Bible clearly declares as wrong, and they are happy to tolerate sin, and even approve of what the Bible plainly calls sin, then they are STILL in the bondage of sin, and lost! Romans 1:30,31 says people are generally "Without understanding, covenantbreakers (especially MARRIAGE covenants - they don't even TRY to stay married), WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION, implacable (not changeable), unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things ARE WORTHY OF DEATH, not only do the same, but HAVE PLEASURE in them that do them. The saddest part is that those who will read those two Scripture verses, will never BELIEVE them, but will blast ME with such venom and hatred for exposing their REJECTION of the Bible's judgment of sin, and yet go on thinking THEY are the more "compassionate" christian by tolerating it, and even promoting it. In all actuality, they are frauds. They are x-ians, not CHRIST-ians and need to get born again the Bible's way! I follow a holy SAVIOUR who 32 years ago FORGAVE ME of all my sins, and has called me to follow HIM! I pray all readers of this post will take a deep breath and think about WHY they consider themselves Christians, and that if they are following their friends, or their religion, or their own heart... they need to decide to only follow Jesus the Messiah! Because only He can forgive and save you from sin! I intend to keep preaching the coming WRATH of God on this sinful world just like John the BAPTIST did, and that the ONLY PLACE TO FLEE is to JESUS CHRIST, who died to pay for all our sins (heterosexual AND homosexual), and SAVE US FROM our sins! May the Lord have mercy on this LOST generation of fakers who still need to fall on their face before God and repent of their lack of concern for sin in their hearts! If you are reading this and have never realised just how wicked you ARE, and just how deserving of a devil's hell you ARE, they you never have come to Jesus Christ for the right reason - to get forgiven! And you will HATE me! BUT... if you DO understand and agree with the Bible's message that we ALL are sinners, and under the righteous wrath of God, and have fled by faith to Jesus the sinless Messiah, and asked Him to WASH you from your sinful life, and make you a child of GOD... well, you will take up YOUR cross and stand with the unpopular idea that same-sex marriage is filthy, and wicked, and wrong to approve of. AND you will agree and clearly take the stand that whoremongering, and adultery is wicked, and filthy and wrong! Hmmmm.... no wonder the gays are "winning" the arguments. People are afraid to be made fun of. Jesus took it (Hebrews 12:2-4)

Overcoming Death

No one can overcome death by themselves! The Bible clearly tells us that “the wages of sin is death” period! So death, in all its gore and ruin is the penalty we all must pay for our sinfulness (Romans 6:23). That should be the end of humanity's story - death, both physical death in the grave, and eternal death in hell. But God chose to intervene, and out of love, chose to personally pay the full penalty for us! Think about it! God, who cannot die, became a MAN, so that He could die! Not for Himself, but for sinners who couldn't save themselves! As a Man, God lived a life free from all sin! And then willingly took the sins of the entire world upon Himself (every last one) and then horribly suffered OUR consequences under the righteous wrath of the law of God…, so WE might live eternally according to His righteousness. If only someone would just fully believe that it is a done deal! If only someone would STOP trying to be good enough, and STOP trying to cheat death, and STOP trying to get into the presence of God through some religious "back-door." If only someone would cry out to Jesus Christ right now and ask Him to forgive them and give them the opposite of what they deserve… eternal life! Thank God I did just that - I repented and believed this Gospel 32 years ago! Thank God for the LOVE of God! Thank God for Jesus! Thank God anyone can overcome death by childlike faith in Jesus Christ!