SPEAKING MINISTRY: PURE LIFE MINISTRIES- KY FEB 2023
What a powerful four days of ministry at Pure Life Ministries!
I was invited to conduct four days of special services for the students at Pure Life Ministries in Dry Ridge, KY. It was an incredible weekend and left me so grateful to the Lord for all He accomplished, and also grateful to those who are interceding for our ministry. Every trip has its own unique challenges and spiritual warfare. On this trip, I spent nearly all my free time praying and preparing the messages for the meetings. And although I sometimes felt that it would be impossible to get prepared in time, every time I stepped into the pulpit, the message for that night was ready and God showed up. I know that there were people praying for me, and some even said they felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray that weekend. Thank you so much for all who are regularly lifting Make Way Ministries up in prayer. You play such an important role in what God is doing.
The Lord laid it on my heart to do a series on the life of David called, “A Man After God’s Own Heart.” In preparation for the services, I read through the life of David, specifically looking for the qualities in his life that would give him this testimony in God’s eyes (1 Samuel 13:14). My study revealed that the Lord spoke this word about David through the prophet Samuel in a message to King Saul after he had been rejected by God as king. So, in keeping with the context of the verse, I contrasted David and Saul’s hearts in each message.
In the first message, I spoke about David’s unwavering faith that was on full display in his battle with Goliath. Although we will not have to face a literal giant, all of us are facing things in our lives that are bigger than us and we need to learn to look to the God who is able to win every battle. The second message was about David’s willingness to submit to God’s will, even when he was tempted to take matters into his own hands. Although David had a very challenging season in his life as he was being pursued by King Saul, he continued to look to the Lord for direction and submitted to God’s will. The third message was from the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband. I spoke about the importance of having a repentant heart, and throwing ourselves at the mercy of God. The final message was on a lifestyle of worship, which David clearly embodied throughout his life. I encouraged the men to develop a life in which a passionate pursuit of God is normal.
The Holy Spirit was faithful to anoint each message and used it to encourage and challenge all of us. On Saturday night, when I gave the altar call for repentance, so many men came rushing forward and fell on their faces to cry out to God in repentance and brokenness. It was a beautiful sight, and I know that the Lord was doing a deep work in many of them. After the final message on Sunday, we had a time of celebratory worship together, thanking God for all that He had accomplished. As we worshipped, the glory of God came into the room, and I was so overwhelmed at the goodness of God. I’m confident that heaven was enlarged by all that the Lord did over the weekend. And I’m humbled and grateful to play a part in what God is doing on the earth today.
Again, I want to sincerely thank each of you for continuing to pray for Make Way Ministries. It is the prayers and financial support of people like you who allow us to do what we do. Please consider a one-time or monthly contribution by going to our Donate page. Lives are being impacted and changed by your prayers and your giving!
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual sin and desiring freedom, click on Pure Life’s logo below to be taken to their website:
DUSTIN RENZ is the President of Make Way Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to see the world changed one Christian at a time. He has a passion to see the Body of Christ find rich intimacy in their relationship with Jesus and step out in faith to share the Gospel with the world around them. He is the author of Pile of Masks: Exposing Christian Hypocrisy and Something Better. He resides in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and three daughters.
