Bill Johnson and the staff of the American Decency Association (ADA) would like to thank our Lord Jesus Christ, the Curtis Bowers family, Dr. Joel Beeke, the approximately 250 attendees, and the Harvest OPC for making this summer conference “one of the best we’ve ever had.” If you missed out on this wonderful time of blessing, I’d encourage you to order the CD set by contacting Kimberly Cargill at 231-924-4050. Even if you were one of the attendees, you may want to order a set for personal refreshment or to share these powerful, Spirit-led messages with friends and family.
We’d also like to take this time to thank all who had been praying for the event. The Bowers family started this conference off with singing, but it was the preceding and prevailing prayers coming before God, and His answers to them, that was the real start of this event and made it what it was.
The Bower’s family opened the evening, setting a worshipful tone, with a couple of songs. This eleven person family choir harmonizes so beautifully together; but beyond that, their love for Jesus shines through their smiles and the glow on their faces. It was clear that it’s not about them, but about the One who created and called them. Their music was a wonderful beginning, preparing our hearts and souls to receive from the Holy Spirit a fresh word on repentance.
Our first speaker of the evening was Curtis Bowers. Curtis is the creator and producer of the acclaimed documentaries, “Agenda: Grinding America Down” and “Agenda 2: Masters of Deceit.” He began his presentation speaking of his dad being faithful in the small things; even if he was tired, he was faithful to obey the direction and call of the Lord. Curtis also told how his mother was an activist and even though she was only one person, she impacted the world around her in a significant way. He gave an example of how we may not change the world directly, but if we are obedient, we may do so indirectly by being the catalyst of change to someone else, who does go out and change the world in ways we could never imagine.
This godly man spoke about the importance of fasting and praying and how it played a major role in their first “Agenda” movie, winning the $101,000 Jubilee Grand Prize at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. He tied the grace of fasting to this question: “When’s the last time you’ve asked God for something big?”
Mr. Bowers shared the Biblical account of the little boy who had a few loaves and fishes, giving them to Jesus and how the Master did something big with them—feeding the 5,000. He encouraged us to take what we have—regardless of how small it may seem to be—and be willing to let Jesus use it. We are called to be obedient; it’s God’s job to work the change. We are to be faithful in the little things and watch God take that obedience and do something big with it. The change must begin within us; it starts from the bottom up.
Our second speaker of the evening was Dr. Joel Beeke from the Puritan Theological Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids. This man of God preached the whole counsel of God with strength and conviction. Not being content to let “truth lay in the street” (Isaiah 59:14), Dr. Beeke boldly proclaimed the sin of America and her desperate need for repentance. The title of this spectacular exposition of Ezra chapter 9 was, “The Need for National Repentance and Action – From the Bottom Up”
As this Spirit-led preacher carefully unpacked Ezra 9, we heard how Ezra took the sin of his nation upon his own head; he owned these national transgressions as his own. The burden was then shifted to those in the audience; we too must see these national sins as the result of our own shortcomings, our own refusal to speak the truth into our nation as strongly as we ought. “None of us has prayed for America as we should.” These transgressions against the most holy God are in part ours. If we dare point a finger, we must recognize there are three more fingers pointing back at us.
Looking at homosexuality, we were reminded that we dare not call acceptable what God calls an abomination. It’s not a marriage regardless of what the courts say because we can’t unite what God says isn’t to be. The great and bloody sin of abortion was talked about at length—over 58 million children murdered in the mother’s womb. Take a moment and let this sink in—that’s more than the combined total population of these seven states: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
After listing off our national sin and helping us see the importance of owning these transgressions, Dr. Beeke lovingly pointed to the “evening sacrifice” with gratitude. It’s a place and time where we can roll our transgressions over onto the sacrifice of Christ. A time of mourning and repentance, it’s where the remnant comes before an Almighty God and desires to live and walk a life of holiness. It’s where we come to God in repentance and plead for Him to “lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving” (Ezra 9:8).
The battle for our nation starts with each individual Christian and expands from each heart, working from the bottom up.
We were so blessed to have these two humble and godly men share with us from the word and from their experiences. I offer a sincere apology to our speakers in that I’m unable to do justice in retelling their messages. It was just that good!
Those who were in attendance were blessed to be there. Numbers of attendees have already requested a CD copy to share with others and re-listen themselves. Whether or not you were able to join us for the conference, don’t miss this opportunity to hear these powerful messages delivered by these men of God, calling us to obedience and repentance.
To order the CD set for $5.00, call Kimberly at 231-924-4050 or order securely on our website. Click Here.
To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412.
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