August 2023 Newsletter
Oh, the power of prayer! Oh, the prayer of power! Prayer still works! “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV).
Pastor David Williams is only in his tenth month of being the pastor of Trenton St. Baptist Church in Harriman, TN. He called me a few weeks ago to tell me that his Lord had spoken to him about bringing this soul winner there on July 30! He was obedient and his Lord did what only He could do! The Sunday morning message: Three Things in Hell That Should Be found In Every Church: Tears, Prayers, and A Concern for The Lost with the text: Luke 16:19-31. (Pastor David Stooksbury gave me this outline many years ago!) As soon as the public invitation began, the people came! A man, in his early 40’s, who has been attending here for ten years, and has a beautiful family, joined the church! A little girl who gave her heart to Jesus in VBS came for baptism with her mom and dad by her side! A family came for membership! One family left after the service and went and prayed over their grandchild’s school! Pastor David requested a soul winning clinic on Sunday night and 33 precious people attended as they were laser-focused on my every word from the Word! One person stated: “God’s man brought God’s Word to God’s people.” Pastor David stated: “You helped me and Trenton St. Baptist Church so much. You enhanced my ministry and brought me a ton of credibility.” You can view the Sunday morning message on YouTube @trentonstreetbaptistchurch8228.
Pastor Don Bible of Bibles Chapel Baptist Church in Midway, TN brought me back there for VBS. My Lord had His soul winner to use the Candle Illustration! The power and presence of the living God was so strong that it was like our Lord was seated in that room with us! It was truly one of the deepest and most profound and most powerful moves of God on a group of children that I have ever witnessed in my life! Oh, my! I could see Holy Ghost conviction on the faces of many of these precious children! Seven children gave their heart to Jesus! Two sets of siblings were saved at the same time! A teenage boy recommitted his life to his Lord! Brother Rick Bible was assisting me in leaving and a young man came running into the area where we were! He stated: “Brother Jeff, Keeley just said that she is ready to be saved!” He sat beside his little girl with his big loving arms around her as I had her to lay her little hand on Romans 10:13 as she prayed to ask Jesus to come into her heart! The tears of conviction began to flow from her and her dad! Pastor Don came in the room, and we had revival! On Friday night, her big brother gave his heart to Jesus after VBS! One of the faithful ladies fell and broke her leg! She had assisted me in the presentation of the gospel! She had just learned about Keeley’s brother being saved, and she asked to see him because she is his Sunday School teacher. He came to her, and she told him that she loved him and that she was proud of him! He said: “What will we do about Sunday morning?” Praise God for faithful teachers!
Pastor Don Bible had me to deliver the Sunday morning message: The Faith of a Child with the text: Matt.18:1-6. As soon as I gave the public invitation, several boys and girls who had made decisions in VBS came forward with their parents! One precious little girl came forward by herself! She is from another state and was visiting family here. Pastor Don has already baptized her! Praise the Lord for faithful pastors who know what they are doing because they truly love the Lord Jesus with all that is within them (Deut.6:5)! My Lord spoke to my heart: “I have My hand on this generation of children!”
Pastor Justin Randolph and his wife, Stephanie, of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Sevierville, TN have been ministering faithfully here for ten years. They have done a truly outstanding job of discipling these dear people! They are now winning people to faith in the Lord Jesus on a regular basis! Before I recently proclaimed the gospel there, Pastor Justin brought a brother and his sister before the church who had just been led to faith in the Lord Jesus in their home by their grandparents! What a way to begin an evangelistic service on a Sunday morning! The message title was: A Real Servant of The Lord Jesus with the text: Matt.20:20-28. One dear lady rededicated her life! An 18-year-old college baseball player from another city who was seated on the back row came forward and said to me: “I have never heard anything like that in my life! I want to get closer to the Lord.” He rededicated his life and he wants to be baptized!
Pastor Larry Jones and the faithful soldiers of the CROSS at Concord Baptist Church in Midway, TN hosted a youth led Sunday night service last Sunday night! Leland Payne, who is only 15 years old, proclaimed the gospel! Leland is an active member of another church and he surrendered to his Lord’s call on his young life to preach when I shared the gospel at the Summer Youth Event recently hosted by Concord Baptist Church! WOW! Thank you, Pastor Larry and youth leaders, for being obedient and discipling these young people when they make decisions at events that you sponsor (2 Tim. 2:1-2)!
The awesome power of Almighty God continues to move at the Jefferson County Jail on Thursday mornings! I can feel your prayers as soon as I get out of bed, and I can feel them when I am at the jail! Four men have been gloriously Born Again while twenty-eight men have recommitted their lives to their Lord over the past month! This past Thursday was the largest crowd yet! Twenty-eight men were packed into that room that they call the Church Room! The officers had to bring in extra chairs! Men were here whom I had never seen before, and they were ready to hear from the Lord! Your prayers are definitely working! Thank you so very much! I asked if anyone had a testimony and a young man who is smaller than me stood up and he began to boldly proclaim the glorious gospel message! Everything that he said was Biblical! He told the men how the Lord had delivered him from being an atheist! The men were fixed on him! A young man came to me after the service and said: “Brother Jeff, I waited on you at the restaurant. I got hooked on drugs.” I said: “Have you been set free?” He said: “Yes!” The message each week over the past month to each cell block has been: Have You Been Set Free? with the text: John 8:31-36. Oh, how these men are growing in their personal walk with their Lord! They are learning to pray publicly and to testify publicly!
As you can see, the overwhelming power and presence of Almighty God is going before me, with me, and after me everywhere that He sends me for His glory, honor, and praise! That is what we are praying for, and our Lord is hearing, and He is answering us! Praise His Holy Name! Thank you for praying and for standing with this soul winner in giving! Only the living God could do what He is doing through this unworthy and weak vessel (1 Cor. 1)! This Saturday, Kim and I will be assisting our son in law, Graham Avis and our daughter, Katy, in an outreach at the church Graham pastors in Evansville, IN. It is called Covert Ave. Baptist Church. Please pray that many will give their hearts to the Lord Jesus! On Sunday, August 13, I will be serving alongside Pastor Brian Wilson at First Baptist Church Whitesburg in Whitesburg, TN for their Homecoming service. Pastor Brian is seeing this church move forward in faith!
All of the glory, honor, and praise goes to our great God! It is for Him that we serve as He directs while He seeks to transform the hearts of spiritually lost people! I love you!
For Souls Forever In Heaven,
Jeffrey L. Harvel
Luke 19:10