"One Accord" Countywide Revival

The opposite of “revival” is something like apathy, lethargy, or
lukewarmness towards the things of God. When the people of God do
not view the things of God as “essential” as the air they breath and the
water they drink but rather they view the things of God as “optional”
the church is in trouble. When we know the commands of our Lord
and in our hearts and lives we can take it or leave it, we are in trouble.
2 Peter 1:13 “Yea, I think it meet (right), as long as I am in this tabernacle
(body) to stir you up by putting you in remembrance.” We need a stirring
in our churches to be reminded that the things of God are essential in
our lives and in our community. We cannot impact our community our
culture or our world until the church remembers the pit that we were once
in, the judgment we were pardoned from, the horror of our sin and its wages,
which is death that we have escaped by His great sacrifice. A poor memory
and revival cannot go hand in hand. May we come together as churches
and be reminded that the things of God are essential to our lives and the
lives of those around us. May we be reminded of all that we have been
given in the unspeakable gift of God which is salvation through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Then never forget with that great gift comes great responsibility.

Prayer For One Accord Revival October 17th
Gateway Event Center McDonough GA

Our Heavenly Father I come to you on behalf of my church and the churches
in our area. We thank you for all that you have done for us, all that you have
allowed us to see and be a part of. I think you that you have stirred in the
hearts of so many pastors that there is a need for something more. You have
stirred us and led us to come together and pray for our community and its
precious people that you love. Give you unity the kind that is the sign of true
discipleship, the kind that testifies to the world that we have been with you,
the way we love one another. Bind Satan from our midst and may all his
plans come to nothing.

We desire to see you work and to sense your presence in our midst once
again. I ask you to turn your great search light on in our souls. Search us
out and help us to be willing to readily confess those things that you point
out that are displeasing to you in our lives and in our churches. We desire
to be right with you and we want clean hands and clean hearts to hear from
heaven and to carry out your work. Come set our hearts on fire and burn up
the chaff of our lives, purify us and get us useable again for your honor and
for your glory. Lord Jesus, I love you and I look forward to walking with
you in this special time for our community. Fill us with your Spirit and may
you be pleased with our lives. Supply through your people all that we will
need to see this vision through. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of
such a great endeavor for you.

Pastor Roy Mack

Where is your fish?

Dear Church Family,

Growing up as I did in the rural south provided many opportunities as a boy to fish. I must say that I took full advantage of those opportunities. I liked fishing in all kinds of different places from ponds, swamps, rivers, streams, and lakes and even on those most memorable occasions, the Gulf of Mexico. I have caught fish on cane poles, fly rods, rod & reels, in nets, on trout lines, bobbing jugs, yo-yo lines, and everything short of dynamite which I always thought would have been a lot of fun. When I would return from fishing, either by myself, with my dad or perhaps a friend, I can remember my mom saying, “Are we having fish tonight?” or “Where’s your fish?” I remember many times holding up a stringer full of fish. It was always thrilling for a young boy to share the joy of having caught so many fish.

It is amazing how many times in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels, we read about something to do with fish. Jesus called His first disciples from their place of work, fishermen mending their nets along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He told them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. He used a fishing boat for a pulpit, later He used that same boat for a draught of fishes so big it almost sunk the little fishing vessel and the men beckoned for their partners to come help them get the fish to shore. Another time, Peter was a little short on his taxes and Jesus told him where to go fishing. Inside the fish’s mouth was a gold coin, enough to pay their taxes (Peter’s and Jesus’). On a hillside, on two different occasions, Jesus took the small loaves, and you guessed it, a few throw-back sized fish and multiplied them to feed thousands. The early church even used the sign of the fish to identify themselves during the time of persecution. After the resurrection Peter became discouraged and announced, “I go a fishing.” It was a statement that signaled he was returning to his previous life. As they fished all night the Bible sums up the results “they caught nothing.” Then Jesus appeared, walking along the shores of Galilee where it all first began. He called out to them and encouraged them to cast their nets on the other side and once again they drew up a great draught of fishes. Peter later repented and confessed His love for the Lord and received his life’s instructions from our Lord. The Lord gave Peter a choice when He asked, “Peter do you love me more than these?”

There is a lifetime of lessons wrapped up in all of these stories. These lessons contained simple, yet profound truths that spoke to the hearts of His disciples and should speak to our hearts as well. These lessons reveal to us His plan for our lives and His plan to reach the world with the Gospel. Fish and fishing is what these men knew best. Jesus spoke into their lives using terms and phrases they could relate to. Today, He is still calling out for those who hear His voice to follow Him. And in following Him, to become “fishers of men.” The Pinecrest Baptist Church has tried to be faithful to that call as a body of believers for more than 47 years. Over the years we have drawn the net and have seen multitudes come to saving faith in Christ locally and around the world. As we begin our 34th Annual Missions Conference take a moment and imagine the great net that is cast over this planet of souls; a network of workers that our Lord has commissioned for His glory. Missions is about hearing those who are calling out to us to help them with the labor of hauling the catch in. There are those in our community who are crying out for the Gospel and must be gathered in. There are those around the world who have never once heard a clear presentation of the Gospel of Christ and must be gathered in. This is a personal matter. What part are you going to have in fishing for men? In this year’s conference, we once again seek your involvement in bringing this catch of souls to Christ. We have invited some wonderful missionary families who are fishing in treacherous and dangerous waters. They need our help and support. We are going to share some opportunities where we can cast our nets into the waters here locally. We are going to also share some opportunities and special projects where we can cast our nets around the world. We look ahead to that day in Heaven when we stand before our God and give an account of our days of fishing. May we not say, “we have fished all night and have caught nothing,” but rather hold up our spiritual stringer and present our Lord with a great catch of souls for His glory. This year’s theme is communicated with one pointed question – Where is your fish?

Is God Really Good All the Time?

An awful earthquake in Haiti has left thousands dead and thousands more displaced. People are wandering the streets in shock, others are wailing uncontrollably as the reality and magnitude of their personal losses have set in to their souls. The wounded lie sprawled in the streets, desperate children cry for their parents, and frantic parents search for any shred of hope that their children are alive and safe. The age-old question is the same after every disaster, “if God is really good, why this?” It was the same after 9-11, same story with hurricane Katrina in the gulf coast, ditto for the tsunami in Indonesia when more than 250,000 people, including children, were swept to their deaths by the giant waves of water. Is God angry? Is God getting even with us for our sin? Do we deserve this kind of treatment from God? Is God punishing the sinful behavior of a nation like Haiti by sending an earthquake and allowing buildings to fall and bury people alive, killing thousands of innocent people.

These kinds of questions are thousands of years old. Jesus was asked to explain two horrible disasters - one caused by human cruelty, and the other caused by natural disaster. Luke 13:1-5

1There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifice 2And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

You can hear in the passage this age-old question, “did God punish these people because they were sinners or worse sinners than anyone else”? Jesus did not confirm that God was punishing people for their sins. Instead, Jesus used this tragedy to remind people there is a fate worse than death.

Jesus is then confronted with the question again concerning the blind man in John chapter 9:2-3

2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

The religious leaders in Jesus day taught that sickness, disease, and particularly things like blindness were caused by the sins of the parents or due to the sin of the one who was suffering. It certainly made for a very self-righteous and judgmental religion. So how did Jesus respond to this question? Jesus took the opportunity to set the record straight concerning “is God good all the time”? His answer, neither this man nor his parent’s sin caused this man’s condition. Jesus is simply saying there is no correlation between someone’s sin and their suffering. He certainly could have said, “Yes.” We know that we all are sinners and all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, or His standard of good which is perfection. See Romans 3:23. Jesus could have said this is just and fair judgment on this man for his sins. Just as he could have said all of those who died when the tower fell had it coming as well. But Jesus said nothing of the sort. What is more, he healed the man of his blindness and revealed the power and love of God.

What can we learn from all this? Here are a few thoughts:

We don’t really ever get what we deserve. God is not keeping a ledger in Heaven and waiting for our evil deeds to out weigh our good deeds. God got even with us all at the cross where He poured out His wrath and anger for all sin upon His Son Jesus. He (Jesus) bore the sin of the world and died under the judgment of God. If we got what we deserved we would all be dead.

It rains on the just and the unjust. See Matthew 5:45. To the saints, as well as the sinners, there are equal amounts of sunshine and rain. I challenge you to watch the weather channel and find a forecast or weather report that separates the two. Can you imagine the weather person saying, “High winds and rain will be hitting all of those who are adulterers, covetous and thieves living in the southeast. Lighting and hail is forecasted for murders and whoremongers residing in the upper mid-west? And sunshine mixed with a 5mph trade winds for all of those who were in church this past Sunday living in the West.” You and I my friend do not control our own world by our own actions. That is simply superstitious like carrying a rabbit’s foot in your pocket.

In simple observation you can look around you and know that good things do happen to good people, but also, bad things happen to good people. Just as well as bad things happen to bad people. And then the hardest one of all, good things happening to bad people.

There is little justice in this life. Again, look around you. There is little justice in this life and much of life is lived with more questions of “why” than answers. We will not have all the answers until the Judgment Day. On that day we will understand, but until that day, I doubt we ever will. Those of us who live by faith are called to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not to trust our own beliefs or understanding about a matter. See Proverbs 3:5-6. One day, when this journey is over, we will understand the heart of God and His decisions. Until that time, we are to know that He is not only a just God but also a good God and we are not to fear because he is our refuge and strength even if the sky falls and the earth is removed and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea. See Psalms 46:1-2

Disasters that bring human suffering also bring opportunity to demonstrate that God is good. When we respond to crisis and disasters in places like Haiti, it is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate God’s powerful message of love and for Him to manifest His presence, not only in the hearts of those who we reach out to, but also to those who are doing the reaching. When we give of our gifts of generosity, medical treatment, physically aiding a family or community, when we feed the hungry, comfort the feeble and clothe the naked; God’s love is demonstrated, healing begins and those who do the giving are also reminded that God is good! All the time!