December 2023 Newsletter
The angel told Joseph: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21 NKJV). JESUS is CHRISTmas! What a mess this world would be in if it were not for JESUS! His glorious name transcends time and space for He is God in flesh! Praise His Holy name that He took our sins upon Himself on the CROSS at Calvary! The tomb where He was buried is empty, for He is resurrected, and He is alive today as He is seated at the right hand of His Father in Heaven!
Only our Lord knows just how many thousands of young people have given their lives to Him through the First Priority Bible Clubs down through the years! Pastor John Rogers is in his 25th year of leading the First Priority at Westview Middle School in Morristown, TN! This is the 23rd year that he has blessed this soul winner to assist him here. This past Friday morning 33 precious young people attended the meeting. Their sponsors youth pastor Andrew, coach and youth pastor Daniel, and teacher Miss Gail were right there with us as I shared the gospel using the color beaded bracelets along with the color-coded Born Again flyers. The young people assisted me as I told them how to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Five young people gave their heart to Jesus while seven of them rededicated their lives to their Lord! Youth Pastor Andrew told me that he could hear young people all over the room praying the sinner’s prayer with me out loud! I had asked them to pray privately and quietly, but this happens when the Holy Spirit gets hold of your heart and the Lord’s people are praying! Miss Gail told us that many of the youth in attendance are unchurched! She was elated! This has happened many times through the years in this setting! Our great God brings young people who have never heard the gospel message! We gave those who made decisions a New Believer’s New Testament along with a new Bible for those who do not have one! Miss Gail took many resources with her to her office for young people who will come to her with questions! She was so very thankful for our being there! She told us that she had been in church all of her life and she began to be convicted of her sins by the Holy Spirit and she did not know what it was! Her Lord also brought Godly women into her life to explain the New Birth! She gave her heart to Jesus in her 30’s! She now wants everyone to have in their heart what she has in her heart!
The overwhelming power of God continues to move deeply at the Jefferson County Jail in Dandridge, TN! Your prayers make a great difference each week in that place of spiritual darkness! The response of the men never ceases to amaze me! I would that you could hear them pray, sing, and testify! Their prayer requests will bring you to tears! Their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit touches my heart each week! They truly want to hear from their great God! In only three meetings this past month, three men have been Born Again while twenty men have rededicated their lives to their Lord! They come to me with broken hearts and in repentance to thank me for being there! A very young man who I had never seen came to a recent meeting. His hands and legs had been severed and he had metal prosthetics for his legs. As soon as I saw him, I thought that I would just break down and weep in the floor! He had a very sweet countenance and he hung on my every word from the Word of God! When the meeting was over, he came to me and gave me a great big Jesus hug as he said: “Brother Jeff, I love you!” In Heaven, he will have his new legs and new hands along with an entire glorified body (1 John 3:2)!
My daily prayer is: “Oh, Lord, please divinely and sovereignly place your servant where you need him to be!” Pastor Travis Pierson of Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Kingsport, TN called Pastor John David Shanks because a preacher who was scheduled to preach the opening messages of the revival had cancelled! Pastor Shanks recommended this soul winner and on Sunday morning, Nov. 5th, I proclaimed the gospel there! Pastor Travis allowed me to use my dummy, “Laid Back Larry” with the children at the start of the service and they loved him! An 18-year-old young man surrendered to his Lord’s call on his life while a man in his late 60’s did the same! Others rededicated their lives to their Lord! On Sunday afternoon, Pastor Travis and Pastor Earl took me to see a 66-year-old spiritually lost man whose wife attends their church. She has been praying for him to be Born Again for many years! As soon as I saw his countenance, I could tell that he was ready to be saved! We led this precious man to faith in the Lord Jesus in his home! His wife was in the kitchen, and she came running into the room as she hugged her new husband! Tears of repentance and joy were flowing like a river! This is what the work of the Lord is all about! The gospel still works when we work!
With all of my heart, thank you for standing with this passionate soul winner! You are going to see all of these people that I am leading to Jesus in Heaven one sweet day, and they will thank you for sending me to them! Your reward from your Lord will be just the same as my reward (Matt. 10:40-42)! That is the way our great God works, and He will never ever change (Heb. 13:8)!
Have a great Christmas! I love you!
For Souls Forever In Heaven,
Jeffrey L. Harvel
Matthew 18:14
