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January 2007 Newsletter
The new DVD put out by Share Him Ministries which was formerly Global Evangelism will soon be given to every one of the thousands of lay people committed to doing evangelism meetings with Share Him ministries led by Elder Robert Folkenberg. This DVD will be an invaluable tool to prepare churches for public meetings or “reaping campaigns” as Elder Folkenberg calls them. We praise the Lord that we have been chosen as one of the programs that can help churches prepare for meetings and to help in Bible study evangelism! To the left is a picture from an interview with Elder Robert Folkenberg Jr. who along with his Father shares a love for soul winning! He also is one of the leaders of the Share Him Ministry supported by the Carolina Conference. He is a delightful Christian man and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him. Elder Ted Brackett of the Morganton SDA Church was also video interviewed for the DVD. Elder Ted is one of the lay trainers who leads a team that has trained church members in several churches to be gospel workers and Bible workers. Those who know Ted know that he loves King Jesus and sharing the gospel. We truly feel priviledged to be one of the ministries chosen to help Share Him share Him! The website where you will be able soon to see this DVD is http://ShareHim.org This is Yahweh’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight!
We have started sending the bible study booklet Revelation Made Simple to ministers of other faiths. We plan on sending them also to the ministers who have been sent the Doug Batchelor DVD and Pastor Kevin Morgan’s CD on the Sabbath. Please pray as these ministers receive the truth. If you would like ministers in your home town to receive this booklet, the cost is $10 per minister. We have the names and addresses of every church and minister in the US! As funds come in we will expand the program and make the truth available to as many ministers as possible.
February 24 – Soul Winning Made Simple at Bass Memorial Academy, Mississippi April 10 – Soul Winning Made Simple workshop with Canadian pastors May 17-22 – Lay Training for Share Him Meetings with Elder Folkenberg at Southern Adventist University May 26-2008 – Bible Study workshop at the Carolina Conference Camp-meeting
Week-ends for 2007 are now being booked. Call for a date and let’s work together to win souls! Call 828-263-0780 or e-mail pastortony@msn.com to set dates. _________________________________________________________
It was a maximum-security prison. They had a prisoner there by the name of Willie Bosket. By the age of 15 he had already killed two people. He was called a “human monster,” and the “most dangerous man in America.” He had killed a corrections officer and vowed that he would kill any one he could get his hands on. He was put into a special cell where his every move could be monitored by video cameras. In 1992, one of my former church members in the Middletown, New York Church sent me a newspaper article telling the story of Willie Bosket’s conversion to Christ while in prison. A prison chaplain had led this man to Christ, and he was baptized in prison in 1992. He had become a new creature in Christ as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17. “If any man be in Christ, he is new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new!” The most dangerous man in America had been changed by the power of the gospel! The gospel of Jesus Christ can do that! It can change lives! Willie Bosket the murderer now has God’s law written in his heart, and the command “thou shalt not kill” is greatly respected by Willie Bosket! He felt God’s agape love come into his heart, and this love now motivates Willie Bosket to live a righteous life! And the gospel will do the same for all men and women who will believe the good news and allow Christ to dwell in their hearts through faith! And they being rooted and grounded in love will be able to comprehend the length, the breath, the width, and the height of God’s love, which passes all understanding! We all need Jesus because we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What better message to begin a new year than one that reminds us that we serve Yahweh – the God of a second chance! It is certainly time for all of us living in these last days to examine our hearts, and ask the Lord to fill us with His love and grace. Revival begins in the heart when it is surrendered to Jesus! The Good news of the gospel is that Christ, as the 2nd Adam has already tasted death for every man. And this means more than just having our sins forgiven; it means what Paul said in Galatians 2:20. We have been crucified in Christ, and if we are willing, it will no longer be us who live, but Christ living in us, and the life that we now live will then be by faith in the Son of God, who loved us, and died for us! This is the whole story of the gospel – not only the death of Christ for us, but the life of Christ in us, and the resurrection power of Christ motivating us and empowering us to become the sons and daughters of God! In the Bible, Jesus gave us an illustration that shows us what kind of person, and what kind of heart He is looking for. In Luke 18, verses 10-14 we find the story of The Pharisee and the Publican: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.” Two men went to church. One was cold and seeking spiritual warmth, and realized he was a sinner. The other was a lukewarm church member. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” The Pharisee was comparing his best with his brother’s worst. He was also judging his brother and exalting himself. “I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” He could control his appetite somewhat! He paid his tithes! Why he was a great man! He was operating definitely on the principle of legalism – pointing to his works as evidence of his righteousness. “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” The publican stood “afar off.” He was way in the back of the temple, not even feeling worthy to be close by! His self-worth and guilt was so great that he couldn’t even look up at the altar! He didn’t ask God to give him justice. He didn’t say Lord, give me what I deserve. A lady once was talking to me about an injustice she was suffering, and she said to me, “Why does the Lord let these things happen to me? I have been a church member all my life! Why doesn’t the Lord give me justice?” I reminded her of all the good the things the Lord has given her, and I said, “Do you really want the Lord to give you what you deserve?” Folks, I don’t want the Lord to give me justice – or what I deserve, I’m pleading for mercy! What do you say? That’s what the Publican did, He cried out, “Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner!” Please Lord; don’t give me what I deserve! Yahweh has already given us mercy in Yahshua Jesus our wonderful Messiah! The Bible says that at the right time, His Son died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6-11 says “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. When you receive Christ, you receive the atonement! You are at one ment with God, as Romans 5:1 says; we have “peace with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.” By His death you were reconciled with God – the price was paid! And when Jesus lived that perfectly obedient life, by faith, you lived it in Him because it counts for you! That’s why Romans 5:19 says, “By one Man’s obedience, the many became righteous!" When that repentant publican beat his breast and said, “Lord, be merciful to me the sinner,” he was not trying to earn his salvation by works of the law – that’s impossible! But he was doing works of the will! It is important to understand the difference between works of the will and works of the law. The publican met the conditions that are required to both justification and sanctification! He asked for forgiveness. He came to the Lord. He repented of His sins. He acknowledged that He was a sinner. The Bible says in Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” By the works of the law no flesh will be justified, but all that are justified will have been because they did works of the will and chose to believe the gospel! Belief is a work of the will! The publican repented, and yes, the Bible does say “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” But if repentance was all God’s work, then He would grant repentance to the whole world, and none would be lost! If there were nothing for us to do, then Jesus’ command to Laodicea to “be zealous and repent” would have no meaning at all! The publican believed in God’s mercy, repented of his sins, came to the Lord seeking help and cleansing, felt guilt for his sins! Jesus said this about that Publican in Luke 18, verse 14, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” In these last days we live in, which one of these two men do you relate to, or are the most like? Revival is available to every repenting believing child of God! I have good news for you as we begin the new year of 2007! If you have blown it, if you have failed, if you have messed up, it is not too late! We have all fallen short – But Jesus did not fall short! Jesus is still in the heavenly sanctuary! He still is our high priest! If any man sin, we still have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. That’s good news! He is still the God of a second chance! In 1 John 2:1-2, it is written: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” Notice, that God’s will for us is that we sin not! We are also told here that the things written in the Bible can help keep us from sin! If God told us to “sin not,” He makes available to us the power to “sin not.” That too is ours by faith! As we abide in Christ, we produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit! “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” As long as Jesus is ministering in heaven as our High Priest, those that come to Him by faith can receive the atonement! For all those who come to Him, there is acceptance, pardon, and forgiveness! Jesus said in John 6:37,”He that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” Ellen White was inspired by the Lord to write this concerning John 6:37: “The message from God to me for you is "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37). If you have nothing else to plead before God but this one promise from your Lord and Saviour, you have the assurance that you will never, never be turned away. It may seem to you that you are hanging upon a single promise, but appropriate that one promise and it will open to you the whole treasure house of the riches of the grace of Christ. Cling to that promise and you are safe. "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." Present this assurance to Jesus, and you are as safe as though inside the city of God.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 10, p. 175. The God of a second chance has good news, and it embraces more than just forgiveness! It provides victory also! Open your Bibles to Hebrews 8, verse 10. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Paul was quoting Jeremiah 31:33 here! He was telling us that in the New Covenant, the law of God would be written in the heart by the Holy Spirit! The law would not be on tables of stone, to be feared, but on the tables of the heart to be obeyed by victorious faith! Yahweh’s Law of God is not done away with in the New Covenant, instead it becomes the standard for righteous living, as it has always been, and always will be! In Romans 5:5, Paul wrote: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Paul said the “love” of God is shed abroad in the hearts of the believers! The word translated “love” here is agape. Agape love comes from God, and it is revealed in victory, and in loving obedience to God’s law! His love changes lives! Robert Robinson, the author of the famous hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing lost the happy communion he had with the Lord. In his declining years he wandered onto the broad way that Jesus said leads to death. To escape his depression Robinson began to travel all over the world. In the course of one such trip, he was riding on a train sitting next to a dear old Christian lady who was reading, of all things, a book of Christian hymns! She struck up a conversation with Robinson and asked him what he though of a hymn she had just read. To Robinson’s astonishment, he saw that the hymn was the very one he wrote years before, when he enjoyed close communion with the Lord. He began to weep to think the Lord had arranged this to reach out to him in his rebellion. With tears streaming down his face, he said to the woman, “I’m the man who wrote that hymn! I would give anything to feel like that again!” Although greatly surprised, the woman assured Robinson that the “streams of mercy” he wrote about in the hymn were still flowing! Robinson said, “I was deeply touched, and that dear old lady led me in prayer back to Jesus.” Robinson had been reminded about the God of a second chance! God’s love had filled his heart, and the Word and law of God that he had disobeyed were now the desire of his heart! He loved the Lord and lived to please his Lord writing many hymns of love and grace! In 1 John 2:3-6, it is written: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Walking as Jesus walked! That’s the object of the Christian life! To be like Jesus this is my song. I want to be like Him in the home and in the throng. I want to be like Jesus all day long. I would like to be like Jesus! I’m not saying I have arrived, but I’m pressing on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus as Paul wrote. I’m asking the Lord to live in me! I’m hungry for a closer walk with the Lord in 2007. How about you? There is hope for me and for you, because Yahweh is the God of a second chance! There are many of God’s people unnecessarily living lives of quiet desperation! But friends, whatever the case is, whatever the situation, there is hope! We have the God of a second chance! David committed terrible sins with Bathsheba. He committed adultery, and even murder! He coveted the wife of another man. Yahweh sent the prophet Nathan with a message of rebuke and David confessed his sins and was forgiven! Our loving heavenly Father who is honored when we call upon His great name gave him another chance! He’s the God of a second chance! Peter denied the Lord, and his speech, instead of being pure and holy like his Lords was full of cursing as he denied his Lord! But the Lord gave Him a second chance! He did the same for Zaccheus the tax collector, and for Mary Magdalene – the immoral woman they were going to stone. Jesus said to those with the stones in their hands, “He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” You know the story, they put down their stones and walked away, and Jesus said to her, “Where are your accusers? Hath no man condemned the?” and the woman said, “No man Lord,” and Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” “Sin is the “transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4 says. In essence Jesus said, “You’re forgiven! You have received grace, and now go out and ‘sin no more.’ Don’t break My Father’s Ten Commandments any more.’” God’s grace can give you power to obey! Praise God! The Lord gave Mary another chance! Today the Lord is ready to give all who want it a second chance! Frederick Charrington, will always be remembered in Great Britain for his work against the alcohol trade. He and his family had made their fortune in the liquor business, and while still a young man, Charrington was wealthy. But then something happened that changed his life. He was out one evening with a group of his friends. Outside a tavern he saw a man and a woman arguing. The woman was dressed in raggedy clothes and was begging the man, her husband who was obviously drunk to not spend all the money on alcohol because the children needed food, and she begged her husband to come home. The man clenched his fist and knocked the woman to the ground. Young Charrington rushed to the woman’s aid. After the sad episode was over, Charrington happened to glance up at the illuminated sign over the tavern door, and there in glowing letters it read, “Drink Charrington Beer.” He later wrote, “Those words made me realize that my family was making money on the misery of others.” The Holy Spirit deeply convicted his heart, and started him on the road to Christ. He gave his heart to Jesus, and also vowed to the Lord that not another penny of that tainted money would come to him. He spent the rest of his life fighting the liquor traffic in England and gave up the equivalent of six million dollars a year to serve his fellow man and his Lord Jesus Christ! He had met the God of a second chance! Yahweh gave me a second chance, in fact, hundreds and hundreds of chances! He is still the God of a second chance! In Jeremiah 3:22, the Lord says, “Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding!” Sometimes you may feel that no one cares! You might even feel that the Lord has abandoned you, but He has not! He said, “I’ll never leave thee or forsake thee.” A French man named Charney incurred the displeasure of Napoleon Bonaparte, and was cast into a dungeon. He felt alone, and forsaken by friends, and even by God. One day in loneliness, and crying bitter tears, Charney pulled a rock out of the dungeon wall and used it to scratch a message on the cold, gray wall of the dungeon. “No one cares.” He wrote in French. A few days after, from the place where he had pulled the rock from the wall, a small green shoot emerged and began to grow. Each day the little plant grew towards the light from the window at the top of the dungeon. Charney became fascinated with the plant, and felt as if it were a ray of hope in the dismal dungeon. He saved some of his water to water the plant each day, and he tenderly tended to the plant that became his leafy friend. The plant grew until it became a beautiful plant, and one day it grew buds. Charney watched as the buds opened into beautiful blue flowers. As the pedals opened in full blossom, the lonely prisoner scratched out the words; no one cares, and wrote, “God cares for me!” And indeed God did! The man in the cell next to Charney’s had a little daughter who came to visit him often. The man’s daughter was impressed with the way Charney loved and cared for that beautiful plant, and Charney told her the story of how it grew. The little girl told her mother, who told her friend, and eventually the story reached Josephine, Napoleon’s wife who was also a lover of flowers. She went to her husband Napoleon and said, “A man who so lovingly cares for flowers cannot be so bad of a man.” Napoleon was persuaded to set Charney free! Charney walked out of that dungeon with the plant the Lord had sent to cheer him, and he treasured it as a symbol of God’s love and care! Charney wrote, “God has taught me that He cares for me, and even in the darkest dungeon, in the worst of times, He is near, and ready to bless!” He had found the God of a second chance! In a book called Sons and Daughters of God, on page 260, the author Ellen White wrote: “The Lord estimates as of supreme value the holiness of His people, and He permits reverses to come upon individuals, upon families, and upon churches, that His people may see their danger, and humble their own hearts before Him in repentance. He will treat His backslidden ones with tenderness. He will speak pardon to them, and clothe them with the garments of Christ’s righteousness. He will honor them with His presence.” Have you experienced reverses? Is God perhaps showing you your danger? Is there something you need to repent of? Perhaps you are involved in some sin, some commandment breaking, some immorality, or pride, fear, or rebellion, or secret sin, the Lord knows! His word to Laodicea is “Be zealous and repent!” The Laodicean message is designed to bring revival in the land! He will forgive, and you will find that He is the God not only of a 2nd chance, but also of many chances! 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Notice that John the disciple whom Jesus loved said Jesus doesn’t just forgive, but He cleanses from all unrighteousness! He cleanses from filth, from health destroying habits and substances, from gossip, from pride, from Sabbath breaking, from criticism, from unbelief! Whatever we need, His grace will supply! When seventeen year old WP Mackay left his humble Scottish home to attend college, his mother gave him a beautiful leather Bible in which she wrote a message for her son. As young Mackay left home and attended medical school, what his mother feared the most happened. Her son left the Lord and led a very sinful life. At one point in his life he sank so low that he pawned the Bible mother gave him for a few dollars to go out with his college friends. His godly mother prayed for him until the day she died. Eventually Mackay finished his training and became a doctor in a city hospital. But the Lord was not part of his life. One day a dying man Mackay was assigned to told the doctor that he wanted his Bible before he died. Doctor Mackay ordered the nurse to make sure the man’s request was granted. When the man died, Mackay was called to the room, and while there noticed the Bible that the man had requested clutched in the man’s hands. When he removed the Bible from the man’s hand, and opened it, he realized it was the very Bible his dear mother had given him many years before. He read the note his mother had written on the inside cover and in front of the nurses began to weep. He went into his office and poured out his heart in repentance to the Lord! His mother’s prayers for him were finally answered! He asked the Lord to come into His life, and to forgive him! WP Mackay left the hospital a different man! WP Mackay the doctor became WP Mackay the evangelist who led thousands of souls to Christ! The book he once treated so lightly became his most prized possession, its pages soaked with his tears! WP Mackay had discovered the God of a second chance! Brothers and sisters, it is because of what happened at Calvary that you and I could have a second chance, and a third chance, and as many as the sincere heart will allow! Jesus has already paid the price for every man, woman, and boy and girl. But only by an act of the will in believing by faith the good news of the gospel will a person benefit! Many are locked in unbelief of the really good news! But time is of the essence! Time is guaranteed to no one! We are all a heartbeat away from our eternal destiny! Who knows what tomorrow brings. I want to leave this world serving God! The goodness of God will lead us to repentance if we let it! If we harden not our hearts as they did in the rebellion of old! One day soon, before Jesus returns, man’s probation will end, and there will be no more opportunity to come to believe to receive, or to ask! In Revelation 22, verses 11-12, it is written: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The word translated “still” in this verse is the Greek word pronounced et-tee and means “forever and henceforth.” Notice when this decree is issued. It is immediately before the Lord says, “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every man as his work shall be.” The God of a second chance is right beside you now. He is a very present help for those who need Him, especially for those who need a second chance! 2007 can be the best year of your life if you surrender totally to Jesus! Happy New Year! – Pastor Tony Cirigliano ________________________________________________________________________ Can You Help us Out and Order Something to Inspire YOU to share the gospel or something you can give to someone else to share the truth? Please send me ___ copy/copies of the book Bible Prophecy Made Simple. $10 each. Please send me ___ copy/copies of the book Remedies for the Remnant $10 each. Please send me ____ copy/copies of the book Exceeding Great and Precious Promises for the Last Days. $10 each. Please send me ____ copy/copies of the Revelation Made Simple Bible study booklet. $7 each. Please send me ____ copy/copies of the Soul Winning Made Simple CD with sound for my computer so that I can learn how to win souls and then share the CD with others in my church. $49 each. Please send me _____ copy/copies of the new Bible study set The Holy Bible Says. $7 each Please send the Revelation Made Simple Bible Study Booklet to ____ ministers in my zip code Area. $10 per minister Please send me the Sacred Name King James Version leather Bible. $49.00 each Pastor Tony, I want to donate this gift of ____________ to be used to support your ministry. Send in this page or a copy of it with your payment for material to Pastor Tony Cirigliano, 887 Seven Oaks Rd, Boone, NC 28607. Please add 7% for postage ad handling. If you’re making a tax free donation, make the check payable to Tony Cirigliano Ministries at the same address. Until next month Maranatha! – Pastor Tony Cirigliano
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Greetings
brethren! 
