PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: EGO, PRIDE, ARROGANCE

From Pastor John Collins:

Pastor John Collins: An age of arrogance, ego and pride

Pride gets us nowhere with God

The Giant Goliath held King Saul and his army in a siege.  In his arrogance, he taunted the army threatening anyone who would stand against him. Young David, years from becoming the next king of Israel, was there and stepped up to face Goliath.  Goliath's pride and arrogance would not allow him to see the threat that David really did present.  David's faith and humility in facing that giant pleased God, and God allowed David to defeat Goliath by hitting him with a stone thrown from a sling and then David cut off Goliath's head.  Pride gets us nowhere in the face of God.

Pride and humility.  We are a proud people here in the United States.  We have so much that we have accomplished, the rest of the world sometimes looks at us in disgust because we give the appearance of not being satisfied.  It’s never enough and we draw attention to ourselves where ever we go.  Celebrities are recognized and lifted up as examples for us to live by.  Through all of the media, it’s “look what I can do”.  God resists the proud. Pride will not get any soul into heaven.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV).

Our faith as Christians today doesn’t measure up to the faith of Abraham, of Noah, of Moses, of David.  These men were humble to begin with and knew the value and spirit of humility before God.  Our pride gets in the way.  How would God choose from among us today?  We often don’t have the strength of faith to worship Him, let alone look beyond what our human hands and minds create and put before God.  Our offerings of ourselves lack humility.  We need to let go of pride and ego, let go of the pride that we have accomplished something and let God and Jesus Christ work in our lives.

Evangelist Pastor John Collins began a revival of awakening.

That awakening stirs the spirit of those who hear him.  From a pulpit or behind the microphone of a recording studio, his words are Biblically correct. Being Biblically correct in a very politically correct world is difficult for most of the strongest of Christians today.  

Pastor John Collins says it well and puts pride and humility into this perspective:

“Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.’” Luke 9:46-48 (NKJV).

Who is worthy to be lifted up? How does God choose those that He would separate and use for His purposes? He chose Abraham and Abraham was considered a friend of God’s. He chose David and David was a man after God’s own heart. He sent His Son who died for us all.  Even those who walked with Jesus thought of themselves and the impact that they would have on this world. This is so wonderful to know that the human instinct to desire to rise above and be great was felt in those men who walked with Christ. This allows us to recognize this in ourselves and work to overcome that ego. They were corrected and they learned what true humility is. They witnessed their Lord humble Himself to the Cross. Yet there are so many that want to be great in the name of the Lord. They call attention to themselves and think highly of themselves. But, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Believe me when I tell you that God knows what He is doing and He knows our hearts.

Pastor John Collins of Redeeming the Gospel Revival, John Collins Ministries continues on: God has no use for pride.

God does not want servants that think highly of themselves and their eligibility. God wants people to serve Him that are humble of heart. When we choose to walk with Jesus it should be with a pure heart and a true devotion to obedience to the Lord. We should never seek our own acclaim. We should not care what others think of us. We should be concerned only with whether we are an asset to the kingdom of God or a burden. If we have selfish ambition in our heart and a desire to stand out and be important, we are seeking status in this life and we are then unworthy to be a true servant of the Lord.

We must be careful when we desire to leave a name for ourselves, to want to be recognized for our importance or to be valued among men. A truly worthy person that will serve God well is a person that has no ambition in his heart. This person thinks of salvation when he looks upon the souls of this world. This person has sadness in his heart because of the condition of the human race. This person worries of the state of others’ faith in their lives. This person considers opportunities to share the gospel and help others come to Jesus. This person wants to see others go to heaven and lives his life as an example. This person will sacrifice and find ways to be a light in a world of dark. This person will please God.

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” James 2:5 (NKJV).

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:3-6 (NKJV).

Learning to be humble takes a commitment to become obedient to God.  In order to become obedient to God, we need to learn to draw near to Him in prayer and through the words in the Holy Bible.  God wants each of us to have the opportunity to come to know Him, so that we all can go home to Him one day.  That is the reason He sent His Son Jesus Christ, for our salvation through His sacrifice on the Cross.  Jesus humbly accepted the punishment of our sins, died publicly in humility and obedience.  God won’t ask us to do anything that He won’t equip us to handle.  We can become obedient and humble ourselves before God, just as His Son did.  God wants us to come to know Him and His love, to help us with our lives and be part of our lives here in this world.  Pride and ego turns us from God.  To be meek, to be poor in spirit means to be humble; we need to learn the humility of Christ. Bring back God in our lives, come humbly to the foot of the Cross.

“God is never secondary in my life, He is always Primary”- Pastor John Collins, Evangelist.

So you’ve disappointed God, now what?

Pastor John Collins says "It is not possible to go through this life without sinning and it is impossible to not have disappointed God at some point in your life, but what is most important is what you do about it. It is not easy for mere humans to recognize the ways of God and to know the miracles and hope that suffering produces. In Jesus' name, with faith, there is now the hope of forgiveness and of acceptance into heaven. With your own suffering comes humility and growth in your faith. Faith is something that you have to fight for and want. Faith is not a given and it is not just a belief. It is a trusting and a knowledge that Jesus did die for your sins and with this knowledge comes a willingness to live in hope and obedience to the word of God.  It is easy to allow your humanly interpretations of situations and your own personal desires to get in the way of the will of God. Every so often you need to do a self-check and examine your motives and desires in this life and to see if they line up with the word of God. Do your best to not interfere with the will of God and do your best to not confuse the will of God with your will. You can tell the difference between the two by examining which one will produce righteousness in your life. Which choices in your life will bring about godliness?  When you feel that you have disappointed God then it is time for you to repent. You can't live in perpetual guilt and you cannot allow your mistakes to drive you away from God.  You must become humble so that you choose to come before Him and seek His forgiveness and His guidance, so that you can move forward in your life with confidence and trust, knowing that you are seeking the kingdom of heaven above all."

This is a sample of Pastor John's new sermon series.  This powerful message does not promise false hope, does not promise wealth of money or property, and won't leave a false feeling of security. What he does do is focus attention on salvation and pleasing God.

Pastor John Collins feels that there is a great need in the United States to get away from the prosperity gospel, to get  priorities right, that there is no price to be put on a soul.  Each person is precious and deserves to hear the word of God in its entirety and without it being watered down.  Pastor John Collins is available to travel to speak to churches or groups for this sermon series.  He can be reached through John Collins Ministries, www.johncollinsministries.com.

LOVE THAT CROSS!! BELIEVE THAT!!  

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: Tough Times, Tough Choices

From Pastor John Collins:

It is through the tough times of tough choices
 that bring you a step closer to God ~
Pastor John Collins

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4 (NKJV).

Let’s assume that you have some faith in your life. How often do you reflect on the lesson in the trials of your life? Do you look for the wisdom gained and apply it to your life or do you ignore the lesson and just appreciate that the storm has passed for now?

You can certainly claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior in a moment but righteousness takes some serious dedication and hard work. If God granted you complete faith in the instant that you believed, what would do with it and do you understand what complete faith really is, anyhow? Complete faith is never doubting the truth of Christ and His work on the cross and it is living a life that is COMPLETELY in submission to God. Complete faith is a consciousness of God always not just sometimes. Complete faith is living a life that pursues the approval of God over all else. In order to claim complete faith you must work for it and it does not come easy.

Living in this world of distractions and entertainments and sinners and filth does not make it easy to choose to do the will of God every time and not only some of the time. It is through the tough times of tough choices that bring you a step closer to God when they become consistently righteous choices in your life. Every Christian needs to learn to want to obey God and every Christian needs to learn all of the tough lessons from God in order to claim complete faith and righteousness.

Pay attention to what motivates you and pay attention to the choices that you make and then be really honest with yourself about what the Bible says about your feelings, choices and behavior. One of the biggest mistakes that a Christian can make is to think that the Bible is antiquated and that God and Jesus really don’t feel strongly about the sin of today. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and it is time that the Christian does better and gets back to reverence of our Lord.

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN, BELIEVE THAT

John Collins Ministries: www.johncollinsministries.com

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: UNBEARABLE

Pastor John Collins : Unbearable

From Pastor John Collins:

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 (NKJV).

Sometimes life just beats you up and sometimes your faith is tested more than you think that you can bear. It is important to begin and maintain that relationship with Jesus so that you can be sure that all of your struggles in life will produce the results that you seek. You should be seeking first and always to obey the Lord and get to heaven and your entire life should produce godly fruit that is evident of your conviction.

When you are not striving to do the will of God and you are living your life doing your own will and pursuing your own desires then you can be sure that any pitfalls that you fall into are not about testing your faith but are about providing opportunities for you to begin to pursue your faith. If you are a person who devotes each day to becoming more Christ-like then you can be sure that all of your struggles are not in vain but are a product of your learning to trust in God and also learning what is approved of by God while strengthening your character and preparing you for heaven. 

Only the pure and the approved get to go to heaven and just believing in Jesus does not mean you will be welcomed into Paradise. 

Remember that even the demons believe.

Perseverance is a challenge for everyone. It is not easy to feel burdened and tormented in life and it is not easy to deal with all that may happen that produces loss and hurt and scars. The beauty of submitting to the will of God and in obeying the Lord and in calling upon Jesus is that you know that when your faith is genuine, their strength is your strength and their hope for you is complete and they won’t let go. God really does want you to make it home to Him and Jesus really did die for you so that you could go there.

Life is difficult and times are tough and it is nothing new. Give your life to Jesus and commit to being loyal and obedient in your faith and know that no matter what you go through in this journey He will be there for you. Trust that you do have what it takes to persevere and it is worth it to try and try and try. Hold on to the hope that the Lord has given because He does love you.

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS!  PASTOR JOHN -- BELIEVE THAT!

Read about JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES or contact me, Pastor John, personally through JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES, www.johncollinsministries.com.

You are not alone! GOD bless you.

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: JESUS "MYTH"

From Pastor John Collins:

At least 58% of 10,000 people surveyed believe that Jesus Christ was a myth

This past week is traditionally recognized as Holy Week, Christians around the world reflect upon the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Jews will begin the celebration of Passover at sundown on Friday.  Easter for most Christians is recognized as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.  Without Easter, or Resurrection Day, Christmas is pointless.  In a broadcast, Pastor John Collins, evangelist and head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries, reflected that a survey of 10,000 people revealed that at least 58% of those surveyed believe that Jesus Christ and His story is a myth. The “myth” of Jesus Christ living and dying is written in the Holy Bible, for Christians, that is enough.  However, for those who question the validity of Jesus, there are other separate and distinct documentations of Jesus Christ written by the Romans very accurately:  Romans kept detailed documentation of political issues within the Roman Empire.  Also, a man known as Josephus, or Flavius Josephus, wrote a detailed and documented text about the history of the Jews which includes validation of the life of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is not a myth.  As Pastor John Collins succinctly put it, Jesus died, Mohammed died, Buddha died, Confucius died, John Smith died….they all died.  The ONLY one who rose from the dead is Jesus Christ.  The impact of Jesus Christ continues to spread more than 2000 years later, however, those of us privileged to live in the United States have degraded the lessons He taught and twisted them to what people want to hear.  We kicked God out of government, out of family, out of school, and out of church, and wonder why we have greater issues now in our society than ever before. **

Pastor John Collins writes in daily devotions:

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53: 4-6 (NKJV).

This world is not innocent. So, why do so many take things so personally and get so offended by the grief that comes with life? Why do so many place the blame squarely upon the shoulders of God? What is wrong with sorrow and grief? It teaches you to appreciate the joy and hope. What is wrong with sickness and death? It teaches you that there are seasons to life and health is not a guarantee. What is wrong with loss? It teaches you to appreciate what you have. There is beauty and wonder that we have feelings at all. Life is precious and filled with the ability to emotionally connect with others and death is filled with hope because Jesus has made it possible for you to continue loving those that you love.

People want to feel wounded and offended that they have suffered in this life and they want someone to blame and want to complain about it all, to be the victim. There are victims in this life and there are terrible things that happen but that is part of living among others who have the same opportunity as you have and that is free will. There are bad people in this world and there is evil in this world and that is something that we all have to deal with for now. It doesn’t mean that anyone has the right to blame God or to sit on the pity pot because as long as there is breath in your body, there is hope for salvation and you will not be gaining salvation while there is resentment for God and bitterness toward Him because you find your sufferings too big to accept.

Jesus did not grow old. Jesus did not get gray hair and lose His eyesight. Jesus did not raise a family and rock His child to sleep. Jesus did not take vacations and travel around the world to see different places. Jesus did not have the luxury of a long life. Jesus came to this world and from His earliest age was doing the work of His Father. Jesus concerned Himself with His people, His land and the salvation of this world. Jesus taught others and took the time to heal others and be kind. Jesus is perfect and yet He suffered for you. Jesus was ridiculed and mocked, beaten and hung on a cross to die. For you.

This is not a fairy tale that you have outgrown. This happened. Jesus is not just some man that lived long ago. Jesus is the Son of God and your Savior. Think about just how much you do have to be thankful for this week. As you make your plans to gather together for a meal and rejoicing, think about the times that Jesus gathered with His people for a meal. Jesus always was thinking of others, the salvation of souls. In the end that is what counts because the soul is eternal and we should all be thinking in that manner, maybe then awareness of the enormity of the gift that Christ has made possible for us all would truly sink in and gratefulness, the kind that produces life, would follow.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’” Matthew 26: 26-29 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN

For more about John Collins Ministries, visit www.johncollinsministries.com.