Sunday, September 11, 2016

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: HOPE. GOD MATTERS.



Evangelist Pastor John Collins gives us all an extraordinary example of how to obey and honor God.
Pastor John is a man of God and he lives to serve God.  He was not always a Christian and didn’t believe in God.  For the past ten years, Pastor John has grown into an outspoken, dynamic evangelist, very much like a modern day Billy Sunday of the 1930’s. Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Ministries is recognized as one of the 15 most influential pastors living today by Inspirational Faith MagazineHis faith is unwavering and inspirational.  His preaching is spiritual and moving.  Pastor John Collins' style is vibrant and animated. He is a fresh and honest example for evangelism, revival, and renewal that is sweeping the United States.

Late in July, Pastor John Collins heard God tell him to walk for Him. Pastor John is quoted to say “Was sitting Sunday watching the Cubs play when I felt GOD tell me to walk for him” and he believes that when God asks Pastor John to do something, Pastor John obeys.  Creating a sign which says “Blessed are the peacemakers, BLUE LIVES MATTER, GOD MATTERS,” Pastor John Collins walked 19 miles the next day in the July heat. Pastor John did not look for attention for that walk, but people did notice and have spread that message across the country by social media.  “GOD MATTERS.”

Too many times, God asks us to act for Him and we ignore Him or we don’t hear His voice.  That quiet voice is drowned out by a chaotic world that is noisy and all too quick to turn its back on the One who created it.  Pastor John Collins is not ashamed to profess his faith.  Pastor John does not ignore that quiet voice. Pastor John does not turn his back on God.  Pastor John Collins will take a firm and unshakeable stand on the difficult issues that are facing this country.  That stand takes guts and courage. That stand includes taking a sign across country, 19 miles, to tell people “GOD MATTERS."

 What is so special about walking 19 miles carrying a sign?

Pastor John is NOT a marathon runner.  He DOES NOT devote hours every day to working out to improve his stamina or increase his strength.  Pastor John is very much an average man of middle age.  Pastor John did not have time to have a professional sign created to catch the eye or to promote the appearance of God’s task.  Pastor John did not have any specially made footwear or athletic clothing to accomplish God’s task.  Most people struggle to walk two miles on any given day as a form of exercise for their health benefits. Pastor John simply felt God’s call, got up the next day and began walking.  He did not know when he started out just how many miles he would walk.  His goal was to walk to the next town, carrying a sign that stated “GOD MATTERS”.  That next town was 19 miles away: not two miles or five miles, but 19 miles.

Most Americans take about 20 to 45 minutes to go 20 miles in a car, depending upon where they live. In a days’ time when Jesus Christ lived, the average distance covered by Jesus and the disciples was about 1 or two miles to get from one town to another.  Pastor John walked those 19 miles unconditionally without any special preparation in advance, without any special training, without any specially designed clothing, and without any advance notice to media to bring awareness to his mission. He did it humbly and obediently.  Pastor John did it because he knows with all his heart that GOD MATTERS in everything. How many people have the dedication to anything that would inspire us to get up and go do something without any preparation or planning in advance?  Most churches take months to go from suggestion to implementation of a decision.  Most people don’t have the enthusiasm to participate in something like a marathon or competition without months of preparation and planning.  Pastor John is dedicated to God.  God matters so much in Pastor John’s life that he did what he was asked and then paid a physical price of discomfort for days. The message here is that God really wants us as a country and a people.  He hasn’t given up on us even though society on the whole has given up on Him. Pastor John’s message is very simple:  God should count in our everyday lives, whether it’s while watching a baseball game or when we are in the depths of misery.  GOD MATTERS and He wants to be part of our lives unconditionally. 

Pastor John Collins will tell you candidly that he is not politically correct, but he IS biblically correct.  What was written over 2000 years ago in the Holy Bible is just as applicable today as it was when it was written.  God mattered then and God matters now. The Holy Bible holds records of men and women who were called by God to perform and complete what to us were impossible tasks. Those men and women had faith that barely exists in today’s world.  Pastor John demonstrated a rock solid belief that God moved him to walk for Him. Pastor John’s rock solid faith allowed him to walk 19 miles in the heat of a summer day to serve God, without any special preparation or fanfare, to spread the message that “GOD MATTERS.”

Without question, Pastor John Collins chooses to serve God by obedience to what God asks of Pastor John.  God has played an important role in Pastor John Collins' life for over 10 years.  Pastor John will tell you that he was once so far from the Cross that he needed binoculars to see it.   But now, by the Grace of God and all that He has blessed Pastor John with, Pastor John Collins will tell you that he has splinters in his hands from clinging to that Cross. GOD MATTERS.

With God, everything is possible.  Peace, ending violence, ceasing chaos, living in harmony is not a fairy tale or an impossible dream.  Pastor John Collins wants as many people to know that God knows what is happening here in the United States and around the world.  His message of GOD MATTERS is meant to reach everyone, everywhere.  What God wants, according to Pastor John Collins, is for us as people to get to know God again. We have all stepped so far away from God that we have forgotten that He really does exist. GOD MATTERS.  Pastor John will tell you that God wants us to read the Holy Bible again, that He wants us to talk to Him again.  Pastor John preaches that God sent Jesus Christ to us as our salvation and our hope.  Pastor John preached that hope through his walk for God with the simple message “GOD MATTERS”.

Pastor John Collins, through Love That Cross Ministries that began in Wheatland, Wyoming, has preached across the country, from Idaho to Wyoming, Georgia to North Carolina and many places in between with the message that GOD MATTERS.

Pastor John Collins says “It’s time for us to get to know GOD again. GOD MATTERS, BELIEVE THAT.”

No comments:

Post a Comment