Testimony of Corey Adams

Pastor Corey

Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

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Background / Life Before Christ

· Born as an only child out of wedlock.

· Didn’t know biological father very well.

· Grew up with my mom and my grandparents.

· Attended Second Baptist Church in Auburn, NY where I met Pastor Chris, Keith Knauss (all graduates of PBTS- now Davis College).

· Went to Sunday school, Junior church. Heard Bible stories from mom, grandparents, and teachers at church. Yet, I did not know Jesus Christ personally.

Salvation

· When I was six years old I came to realize that just because my mom was saved and knew Jesus Christ and both my grandparents knew Jesus Christ. The pastor at the church knew Jesus Christ and Sunday school teachers knew Jesus Christ, I realized that I would not go to Heaven if I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In my bedroom at the house where my mom and I lived (with my grandparents) one night. Don’t remember the exact date it was, but I admitted that I was a sinner and that I knew that I was doomed to hell apart from Jesus Christ. I believed that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again for me. I trusted in Him and put my whole faith and trust in His salvation. At that moment I was saved. My life was changed, but that is not the end of the story. I was now a child of God and adopted into the family of God. Romans 8:12-17

Romans 8:12–17 NKJV

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

New Believer / Spiritual Gifts

· Sharing the Gospel. Passing out tracts

· Telling kids in school about Jesus and even had to be told not to be witnessing, which I didn’t understand.

· Baptized in February 1995 by Ron Park (graduate of PBTS) at Second Baptist Church.

· Telling the story of Moses with flannelgraph at Second Baptist. First interest in teaching (even though I was quite scared).

Teenage Backsliding

· When I entered my teenage years something changed. I began to rebel against my mom and now my step-dad and tried to avoid church and reading the Bible as often as possible.

· I was in all out rebellion. Now even in my rebellion and turning my back on God, He hadn’t turned His back on me. Even in this rebellion He kept me safe from doing anything really stupid and things I would truly regret. It was a dark season and it lasted for over a year. Church was boring, the Bible was boring. I wanted nothing to do with God or Jesus, but even in those moments I could sense the Holy Spirit trying to draw me back to Himself.

· All this was happening when I was between 13-15 years of age. Many of you are in that age range. Maybe you are in this kind of situation at this moment where you want to follow the world as I did. Maybe youth group, church, Bible reading and study is getting boring and you want to take a different path. Take it from someone who has been down that road before, don’t. Save yourself from the pain of it.

Pulled back to Christ

· In 1999 after over a year of rebellion things started to change in my life. It was the beginning of my freshman year of high school. I was 15 years old.

· Hebrews 12:3-11 has been a reminder to me over the years since this season that God will go after His children, and He does. Sometimes softly and sometimes harder.

Hebrews 12:3–11 NKJV

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

· Around this time several things started happening my life. I was introduced to a book series that had started to be published a few years earlier called the “Left Behind” series. About the rapture of the church and the beginning of the Tribulation period. Reading these books got my attention and made me seriously think about “If Jesus came back today, would I want to see Him?” I knew I was a Christian, but I was living in rebellion. Those books started to turn me back to Jesus Christ.

· The church that I had been attending since 1996 had a new pastor come and began teaching. He was interesting to listen to and the Bible was coming alive in a way that it hadn’t for many years.

· I ended up getting invited by a friend who was also a Christian to a Bible study at my public school which was also a way of God working in my life.

· I bought this Bible here in July of 2000 which is the NKJV of the Bible. I bought it because in the Left Behind series Psalm 91 was quoted from this translation and I liked the way it sounded. Getting a Bible translation that was newer without the these and thou in it, made the Word of God come alive and allowed me to dig into the Word in a fresh way. I was hunger for the Word of God.

· All these events and during this time I repented of my rebellion. I repented of my lifestyle of bitterness and turning from God and turned back to Him from my backsliding. He forgave me and began making me something new and growing me. My faith became my own. Even though I had accepted Christ as my Savior years earlier I now lived it out in a fresh way.

· I began to tell people about Jesus Christ more and more and got involved with my church and ministry in the church. He who began a good work in me was continuing to work on and in me (and He still is).

Call to Ministry

· Unknown to me and I would not hear it until only a few years ago, my grandparents had been praying that I would go into the ministry when I grew up. I would not receive that calling until many years after they had both gone home to glory.

· In February of 2001, my Pastor at the time John Terry (also a graduate of PBTS—same year as Pastor Chris) took me and a fellow student from my school to visit Practical Bible College in Johnson City, NY. The school where he had attended, Keith Knauss, Ron Park, Chris Wintermute, and their spouses all attended and were trained in the Bible.

· While on campus that February day I knew that God wanted me to go into ministry. I knew that I was attend Practical in a couple of years after I graduated from high school.

· In the time between that calling and me going to college, I became involved with ministry at the church. Missions Conference (2002) – Grace Fabian and Bible translation. Youth Group, Special Music, preaching my first sermon at an evening service. All preparation for what God was calling me to do. Also camp ministry at Cortland Bible Club Camp. Talk about training.

Bible College/ Missions/Ministry

· Starting at Practical in August 2003 after car crash killed two friends a couple of weeks earlier.

· Growing in the LORD

· Deepening my understanding of the Word of God.

· West Corners Baptist Church. David Cook. Adult Sunday School class.

· Papua New Guinea in 2005. Impact of being overseas and seeing God’s global church. Brother and Sisters in Christ. The Bible in the heart language of the people. Malaria.

· Graduation in 2007.

Co-vocational Ministry

· Returning back to work with IT department at the college and then to other jobs with IT as I continued to serve at West Corners Baptist as a teacher, deacon, trustee, secretary, treasurer, pulpit supply from time to time. All molding me to be the person I would to be.

· Going back to Davis College (former PBC) working with the President.

· Traveling to Israel in 2017.

· Victory Bible Church in PA – death of Ron in 2018

· Commuting between New York and PA preaching the Word each week.

· Growing in Christ and learning so much as I studied the Word.

· IT at Raymond. Mission field. All work is for the LORD whether it is “secular” or “ministry” it all for Him.

· Receiving a call from Pastor Chris about this and praying about coming here.

· God opening the doors.

Life Experiences and Formation

· All these things have made me who I am today, but there is still much more work that God has to do on me as He has to do on you.

Challenge to the Teens

· I don’t know your story, but I know that God wants to use you for His glory. There might be some of you here today that have never trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You have never admitted like I did when I was six years old that I knew I was a sinner and I needed Jesus Christ as my Savior. Today would be the best day for you to come to Him and I know I and any of the leaders here tonight would love to share with you how you can know Him personally. Maybe you are here tonight and you have accepted Jesus Christ, but you like me are going through a valley. Where you are here, but you wish you could be somewhere else altogether. You really don’t like church, the Bible, and maybe you want to be like the world. You have been rebelling against your parents and against God. Can I just say as someone who has been down that road, that it is not a fun road and you could end up doing something, saying something, or acting on something that will change your life in a negative way. I have seen others that have been on the path I was on and continue to rebel. Turn around and return to Your Heavenly Father as the prodigal son did. He is waiting with open arms. Confess your sin, because He is faithful and just to forgive your sin. Maybe you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and maybe you have been through a valley and have come back out, or maybe Christ has kept you through some of the rocky times firm on Him the solid rock, but you do not know what is next. What are your spiritual gifts? What are your talents? What is Christ calling you into as you finish up school. Could it be fulltime ministry? Could it be a secular job, but which is also ministry (because wherever we are we are doing ministry – Great Commandment and Great Commission). Could He want you to go Bible College like I did, Pastor Chris did to learn more of the Word. I don’t know where you are at tonight, but you know and God knows. What is your next step? Make sure it is a step with God.

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