Hello Partners and friends of It is Finished Ministries,
We had just 10 days off after our one month in Mexico. I had to return to New York for four days for business. We flew out to Baranquilla, Columbia on Wednesday, February 18. This was our second trip to this beautiful country. The meetings had been planned and scheduled for months. Brother Oscar Gomez and his wife Luz, along with Pastor Alfonso and brother Jose greeted us at the airport on schedule. Elias and Benjamin Gomez from Pachuca Mexico also flew in to join us in South America for the next three weeks.
After a day of rest Friday began an incredible move of God in the pastors conference with 220 pastors in attendance. Where in America could you get 220 Pastors of different denominations from different churches to come together in one room to hear one teaching for two days. They are hungry. And the Holy Spirit showed up to feed them. To feed us all!
The simplicity of the gospel is what is amazing to all of us. We make it so complicated. But from Genesis to Revelation the simplicity of the gospel, Jesus Christ and him crucified for the sins of mankind, sticks out like a sore thumb once you see it. The first day the foundation was taught, justification by faith,sanctification by faith, and most importantly where to put that faith. Jeremiah said let us return to the old paths where the good way is so we might find rest for our souls. 220 Pastors found rest that day back where they began, at the cross! As we finished the first days sessions the glory of God fell and the pastors came to the Altar with tears, telling God they would preach the message of the cross! Anticipation filled the air as the pastors left the building just a buzzing, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. Of course I’m not talking about my ability to teach, I’m talking about the power of the word of God!
That Friday evening and evangelistic outreach was scheduled right there in the church. I preached on blind Bartimaeus crying out Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me! He threw away his religious garment and came to Jesus that he might receive his sight. This is all of us. We are all born spiritually blind. Religion can’t save us, education can’t save us, psychology can’t save us, we cannot save ourselves. Our sin has separated us from a holy God. But Jesus , who knew no sin, gave his life on the cross so we might have fellowship and relationship back with the Father. 17 people cried out that evening “Jesus son of David have mercy on me” and were saved from there sin and received their spiritual sight that evening! Glory to God! This is the greatest miracle of all!
Just as anticipated the second day of the pastors conference was awesome! We taught on Romans chapter 6 and 7. The sin nature and how to have victory over it. Dorene came up to give testimony about being married to the law then Marrying Christ and somewhere along the line going back and committing spiritual adultery with the law. We have all done this at one point or another. We are saved by the blood but now we think we can sanctify ourselves by some work that we do. This is the spiritual adultery that Romans chapter 7 is speaking about. It is by grace that we have been saved through faith not of our works lest any man should boast, it is a gift of God. You don’t pay for a gift. You don’t earn a gift. You simply receive it by faith.
Thank you Jesus! This pastors conference, four sessions in total will be made available by DVD to anyone who requests it. It was professionally produced and would be a blessing to anyone who sees it! We also will make available some of it on our web site www.itisfinished.us
The evangelistic service that Saturday night I preached on the prodigal son, with emphasis on the elder brother who despised the fact that the Father forgave his brother, who wasted all his living. The wayward brother came to himself, repented of his sin and returned to his Father to ask forgiveness. This is the only time in the Bible that we see the Father running. He ran to his wayward son hugged his neck and kissed him. Put the robe and the ring and the sandals on him. The robe is the robe of righteousness. The ring represents authority. And the sandals were reserved for only family members. Servants did not wear sandals. He was completely restored!! Oh thank you Jesus for the restoration we have through your shed blood of the cross! But the older brother was not happy, he was mad that the father killed the fatted calf and had a party for his wayward son. Galatians chapter 6 verse 1 says, we that are spiritual must restore such a one considering ourselves
lest we also fall into temptation. Being Spiritual is not religious activity. It is recognizing the grace of God that forgave us of our sin so we can now give that grace to others. That night as the Spirit of God swept over the congregation many born-again believers came to the altar restoring and repenting of unforgiveness toward others. Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!!
There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit!! For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death!! Rom 8:1/2
We traveled to Cartagena, Colombia on Monday, February 23 for another Pastors conference. Over 250 pastors in attendance. The first session was very hard plowing and many did not understand justification by faith. But somewhere in the middle of the second session there was a breakthrough. Revelation knowledge came into these Pastors as they recognize the error of their way. Many in this area of the country are involved with prophetic ministries and apostolic ministry. I met three apostles and a half a dozen Prophets that day. But the altar was full as they came to repent of preaching and teaching anything and everything besides the blood of Jesus! We are in the last days, Jesus will return soon, we must be about our Father’s business. Jesus said when I return will I find FAITH on the earth. Not will I find men doing this or doing that, going here or going there.
250 pastors put their faith back on the finished work of Christ. Glory to God!! In both pastors conferences we were able to deliver the expositors study Bible that will teach them the message of the cross from Genesis to Revelation.
That night we went for ice cream. As we sat in the outdoor sidewalk ice cream stand. We experienced Three divine encounters. First a man selling cigarettes approached us. As we shared the gospel with him he set his box of cigarettes down and bowed his head and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and was born again! Glory to God!! He practically skipped away this 45-year-old man that had a hard life! Only Jesus can do that! We didn’t ask him to join our church, we didn’t try and convert him to a religious organization. We preached the gospel and the Holy Spirit did the rest!!!! Hallelujah!! Within five minutes a sunglass vendor came to us. A tall very dark black man. He was going to sell us sunglasses but instead he was born again of the Spirit!!
Now we were so excited as to what God had done we could not even imagine what would happen next!
This poor pathetic 70-year-old man with one piece of paper and a short little pencil, half drunk, with dirty clothes, came up and asked if he could do a sketch for us? The Holy Spirit moved upon us all as we asked him to sit down and I volunteered Benjamin Gomez to be the subject. Benjamin was 2 feet from his face and preached the gospel with power
This hard-core tired drunk was quite good at sketching. But he never stopped talking. And therefore he wasn’t listening to the gospel presentation. How many years did I avoid and close my ears to the gospel as it was preached to me
? Finally as he was done and we paid him the two dollars knowing he would go get more alcohol. But I said to him……
Please stop talking and listen to me for three minutes. I told him: the reason you only have one piece of paper, the reason you only have a 2 inch long pencil, the reason your shirt is filthy is because of your sin!!! It was hard and it was straight but it is what the Holy Spirit used for this man to start to repent. He said he couldn’t stop sinning.
He had been like this for many years. We all gathered around this poor broken man. And as he took off his hat and bowed his head, and said a sinners prayer, his heart was changed and tears flowed from his eyes. He gave his life to Jesus! He was born again of the Spirit and a new life began!! The Bible says, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. What a night!!’ All I can say is that God is all about souls coming into the kingdom!!
Tuesday was our rest day to enjoy the beautiful city of Cartagena. It’s on the ocean and we went to the 500 year old walled city were many battles were fought. What a time we had fellowshipping all around the finished work of Christ! It was Dorene and I and Oscar and Luz, Pastor Alfonso, Jose, Benjamin and Elias Gomez, and a young lady named Joyce, also our coordinator for the meeting in Cartagena, Yullys.
We handed out gospel tracts and had a good time shopping for pennies on the dollar. When we decided to leave Oscar and Alfonso and Jose went in a taxi to get the vehicles while with the rest of us waited in the park. We sat down on a long bench. At one end was a woman about 50 years old. Sister Yullys began to speak to her and ended up praying for her. She heard me preaching the gospel to a man selling hats and she began to weep. Then Dorene moved over with the one-way gospel track and began to preach the cross to her. The woman began to tell us she had decided to commit suicide today. You would never know that to look at her. So many people are hurting. They have been discarded by love ones. Their life’s dreams have been squashed. But when they hear the gospel that Jesus loves them and died on the cross to save their soul, it fills a void that no one, or nothing else can. It was another divine appointment in Columbia. It was no coincidence that we were in that park, on that bench, at that moment!!! She gave her heart and life to Christ!!! Her problems still remain, but now she has the answer for victory over sin, for victory over the devil, for victory over the flesh, to heal her broken heart!!
The men were gone a long time and we received a phone call that Oscar’s vehicle was not allowed to be in the walled city due to a regulation that we were not aware of. It is just a money making scheme of the police department. They wanted to impound his vehicle and it would be a huge fine. The officer offered him a much smaller cash settlement. Oscar agreed on one condition – that he would meet his American friend before he received the cash. So I went and met the police officer. Oscar had already been preaching to him so the pump was primed. I said my friend obviously has broken the law and he must pay the fine, and he will. But you have broken God’s laws. In fact the Bible says we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, there is none righteous no not one. There is a penalty when we break the law. God’s law says thou shall not steal but you stole. Thou shall not bear false witness, but we all have lied.
But God sent his Son Jesus to pay the price and penalty that we could not pay. Just like you are supposed to impound this car, God would have to impound us in hell for eternity. Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father except through Me.
Looking around to be sure the other officers could not see him, with tears in his eyes, he bowed his head and gave his life to Christ!!!
We then headed for Baranquilla where where we would get on a bus and go to Venezuela. For only one reason, because Jesus is coming back soon. The hour is late. He is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the lamb!
We must tell everyone to get ready for the return of the Christ!
God bless you.
Brother Dan with sister Dorene
Preaching the cross to the lost and found!