Skip to main content

Pastor Jeff's Testimony on His Near-Death Experiencce

Dear Friends,

I want to start by saying 'thank you' to all who responded to last week's Thought for the Week. I do appreciate the inquiries, prayers, and expressions of concern. Yet, in light of that thought, I decided that I would follow up this week by sending you the link to the message (testimony) I shared this past Sunday about the day I thought was my last one on earth - Thursday October 17.

I tried to lay it out as transparently and honestly as I could, given that some children were still in the service. The title was, “Real and Raw: Sin, Death and Redemption.” I know many will not have time (it is about an hour long). In it I share 1.) What led up to that day. 2.) The Downhill Slide. 3.) The Rescue and 4.) What God has taught me through it all. It was not easy to get through it dry-eyed (at least for me and Nancy and the kids who had to relive it through my words). But I pass it along in case some of you may find it helpful, encouraging, challenging or comforting.



I can say that as a result of this experience I will never be the same. Like Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord and having his hip thrown out of joint by it the rest of his life, or others such as those seeing the transfiguration, or Jesus coming to them in the waters in the storm, or Paul's blinding encounter with Jesus’ on the road to Damascus..., some experiences change us from that point on. One can never be the same as a result. This experience was such an experience for me.

If you have or use Facebook, you can use the link below to access the video. Scroll down to the November 17 message. If you see Nancy (my wife) getting up to read Psalm 22:1-15, then know the sound will not start till I get up to speak 2 minutes and 56 seconds in. You can just go forward to that point if you want.

https://christcommunitybiblechurch.us17.list-manage.com/...

If you do NOT use Facebook or have an account, you can use this Dropbox link to access or download the video.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r0q5bit03d5jt6g6id4sb/Jeff-Evans-Testimony-Sermon-November-17-2024.mp4?rlkey=zkwtuso67datf9apn7zx7btmg&st=b34011zr&dl=0

Again, pardon my deviation from posting the threads and thoughts of others, but in light of responses from many to last week's post, I felt it was necessary to send out this follow-up. Please pardon the length, it is hard to compress seven weeks of somewhat traumatic events into a short message. Also, the link to the song Psalm 34, by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which helped me so much (at the very end) is: https://youtu.be/DfW2mkkMTAg



Living in His All-sufficient Grace, Pastor Jeff

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts from Charles Spurgeon on Chronic Pain

Dear Friends, Life is not always easy. Things come our way that inflict pain and wound the heart. Sickness can steal away our energy and strength for a time – though it is more difficult when it is chronic. My father was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 43 and struggled with its effects until he passed away at 85 – being told close to that time that his physical body was like that of a 110-year-old. Being in constant pain earned him the occasional nick-name, “Grumpy Grampy.” I could understand why. Pain is no fun. I’m not the easiest to be around when I’m in constant pain either. And as John Owen once pointed out, “It is not the intensity of the trial, but its longevity, that eats away at our resolve.” Therefore, if you are struggling in this area (or know someone who is), today I offer you some helpful words from Charles Spurgeon. Yet, it helps to point out he was not giving advice as one who did not himself struggle. He battled much of his life with depressi...

Thoughts on The Gospel

Dear Friends, One of my professors (Jerry Bridges) once let us listen to a cassette tape recording (2001) of best-selling Christian authors at a Christian Booksellers Conference. They were asked the question: “What is the Gospel?” The answers given by every one of the best-selling authors who were interviewed varied from lacking at best, to tongue-tied and scrambling for an answer, to completely heretical. Yet, the Gospel is the one message every believer should know through and through, since everything in the Christian life flows out of the Gospel! Therefore, today, I pass along some insights or descriptions of the Gospel that are very much “spot on” and in line with the biblical Gospel, because to the extent that we get the Gospel wrong, we weaken it’s saving and life-transforming power and can lead people astray. If the Gospel (the one given in the New Testament) “IS the power of God for the salvation of all who believe” a different Gospel (Galatians 1:6-7) does not carry ...

Thoughts From Writers Past and Present

Dear Friends, Today I want to offer you some wise and insightful thoughts which (to the best of my knowledge!) I have never sent out before. Some from current authors, some from antiquated authors – but all very insightful and helpful. I find that reading the insights of people past and present helps widen our perspective and make us realize that godly wisdom runs through the entire 2000 year history of the church, passed down to us from men and women, and from people of different countries, cultures, ethnicities and continents. Therefore I have added some notes regarding each author. Enjoy. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot (1927-1956) wrote this phrase in his journal, before he was martyred in the jungles of Ecuador by members of the Huaorani (Auca) tribe, along with four other missionaries – Ed McCully, Roger Youdarian, Pete Flemming, and Nate Saint, on January 8, 1956. “Every saved person this side of heaven owes the ...