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ALS, FUNERALS & GOSPEL TRUTH by Jon Cardwell When the doctors were still running me through extensive tests because my symptoms were pointing to the possibility that I had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (aka ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), many people, though sincere and well intentioned, tried to encourage me that the Lord would heal me. You see, typically, 90% of those diagnosed with ALS have between 2 to 5 years to live. The cause for this disease is still unknown and there is yet no cure. Pastors (more than one, much to my chagrin) even tried to encourage me, saying that if I would just cling to certain promises in the Bible, that I would be healed… because, said they, the Lord could still use me mightily. Though I tried to do so gently, I rebuked these men. Is our God so feeble that He needs me, or any of us, for anything? It reminded me so much of the last funeral I had to minister in. In July 2007, the village of Scammon Bay lost two boys from a God-fearing family to the Kun River. They were 8 and 10 years old. The whole village was in pain and the only place where joy and peace were found was on the faces of the church members of Scammon Bay Covenant Church… and most especially in the lives of the boys’ parents. These two parents were rock-solid because their hope, their trust, their faith, was in the Rock, Jesus of Nazareth. One villager came up to me and said that those “boys are happy now and looking down at us in heaven.” I rebuked that person and said, “If they’re in the presence of the Lord, they’re not looking at us. They’re filled with eternal joy, their gazes constantly upon Jesus with no desire to turn to the left or to the right.” This is what our “Christianity” has come to. We think that ALS, or cancer, or drowning is such a tragedy because Jesus has become, in our preaching, in our worship, in our discipleship, in our evangelism, just something we add to our lives to make our lives better. What blasphemy! Although my prognosis is that I may have a rare form of “slow onset” ALS, which will cause my muscles and motor neuron nerve cells to degenerate very slowly, it doesn’t matter to me whether a cure is found or not. If I am in Christ, I won’t be on this planet one moment longer or leave this planet one moment sooner than God intends; and since I am in Christ, I wouldn’t want to be on the planet for a moment longer than He intends, or leave a moment sooner than His providence extends. I look forward to being in the very real and actual presence of my Lord; and when I am, I will not turn my gaze away from Him for even a moment. Because the Lord has granted me just a bit longer on the planet, and because I’ve witnessed the most incredibly strange and unbiblical perspectives come from the mouths of those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ, my heart burns with a fervent passion to preach the old gospel truths to whomever the Lord gives ears to hear… that the Cross of Christ is the great work, the central work, and the essential work of God in all the universe; that Jesus Christ is NOT something that we add to our lives to make our lives better, that He is EVERYTHING and very life; and that apart from Him we can do nothing, having no life at all; that it is by God’s Word, the reading and hearing of it, and most especially the preaching of it, that the Holy Spirit regenerates the souls of sinful, fallen, and totally depraved men, women, and children.
A HEART FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH by Jon Cardwell I still have a heart for the local church. If the Lord opened the door for another pastoral opportunity, I know that it would take a second thought for me to step through that door. Because it is through the local church that God ministers to His people, I have a tremendous desire to see the local churches grow. God willing, I’d love to come alongside the settled pastor, as an encouragement to him through the preaching of the gospel. God willing, I’d love to minister unto a church that is absent a pastor, to encourage the congregation in the gospel truths as they wait upon the Lord for the man God has ordained to settle in that pulpit. Some practical advantages to pastors… There’s no question that the pastor called by God as under-shepherd to the Chief Shepherd has been supernaturally imparted with a love for the Lord’s flock. The settled pastor cares for each lamb with a tenderness and compassion that is quite beyond description. Therefore, the following may be benefits to having an evangelist or itinerant preacher come alongside for one Sunday, a month of Sundays, or revival meetings during the week… · More time for personal intercessory prayer for the flock in your care. You know them, pastor, so you can pray for them more effectually. · More time for visitations to encourage families within your congregation. · More time to minister to your own family. · It’s a time that you also can be ministered to by the Word. And there are surely similar advantages to the congregation that has an interim pastor, using pulpit supply, or presently in the process of a pastoral search.
PREACHING, TEACHING & WORSHIPPING by Jon Cardwell PREACHING the Gospel of Jesus Christ without shame. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Certainly, no mere man can sufficiently express the truths of the Cross of Jesus Christ. That is the dilemma that every preacher of the gospel must face: we step behind the pulpit knowing that we will fail and fall short to proclaim His graces and excellencies, especially when specifically addressing the work of God on Calvary’s Tree. That infinite, awesome, and glorious work of God is a truth that we will chase down for all eternity. Yet, the one thing that I love as much as preaching the Cross of Christ is hearing someone preach the Cross in truth with passion. Knowing that God, in His ordinary providence makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them at His pleasure, at Vayahiy Preaching Ministry we hope to seek the Lord prayerfully with all submission that we may have the honor to exalt the name of Jesus Christ and bring the heavenly Father glory simply by preaching and proclaiming His truth. By the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, we hope to accomplish this through the following means of preaching… CLICK HERE to read more… TEACHING the Word of God to all nations. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). The Lord has also placed in my heart a tremendous desire to teach the Word of God, to make His truths accessible to the newest and youngest believer while still edifying, encouraging, and strengthening the more mature. How we hope to accomplish this can be read by CLICKING HERE… WORSHIPPING in spirit and truth. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). We not only desire to minister unto you the Word of God in preaching and teaching, but we also want to worship our Lord with you. CLICK HERE to read more…
SCAMMON BAY COVENANT CHURCH Our previous mission was to Scammon Bay, Alaska. Scammon Bay is a Yup’ik Eskimo community on the south bank of the Kun River, 1 mile from the Bering Sea. The area encompasses about 1 square mile of land and has approximately 500 residents. Commercial fishing is the primary means of employment, while construction and handicrafts also provide seasonal income. To learn more about our previous mission to Scammon Bay, CLICK HERE...
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