Bringing the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention to a rousing conclusion, Evangelist Tony Nolan, of Woodstock, Ga., issued a simple call to salvation June 16 to participants meeting at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Using John 10:10 as his primary text, Nolan drew the crowd in by stating, “My prayer is that those here who are far from God might find life in Christ and those who are in Christ would find a new passion to reach those who aren’t in Christ.”
Referring to his focal passage, Nolan said most commentators believe the thief Jesus referred to is Satan, who sets out to steal and destroy. “Satan is a thug,” Nolan said. “He’s not a drug dealer, but he is a hurt dealer.”
Using the “hurt dealer” image as a motif, Nolan shared his testimony, recalling that his mother was a “mentally insane prostitute” and he was given up for adoption at age 3. His adoptive father bought him for $200, he stated. His father said, “You’ll never amount to anything. I wish I’d never bought you.”
“The hurt dealer uses things like this to tear you apart bit by bit,” Nolan said. He continued by testifying how he was on the verge of suicide when a member of an evangelistic Southern Baptist church shared the gospel with him and he received Christ.
“Jesus comes to heal the deepest hurt of every human heart,” he said. “The big change for me was that I went from being a sinking ship to a workmanship.”
“This carries the idea of our lives being a canvas on which God wishes to paint a masterpiece of Himself,” Nolan continued. “The Christian experience is nothing more than giving God the brushes. Let Him pick the colors. We allow God to paint a picture for others to see.”
Nolan continued by telling how he was able to meet his biological mother and found that she was also a Christian living in a dilapidated home for mental patients. He closed his message by walking through a simple plan of salvation.
“I’m trying to describe to you the indescribable joy of being swallowed up by the love of Christ. Give your life to Him,” he said. “The hurt dealer doesn’t want that to happen. He wants to see your soul go to hell forever. Stop listening to the devil. Satan wants to steal the painting and in so doing, steal the glory.”
Encouraging his listeners to confess God before the world, Nolan issued an invitation. During the altar call led by popular Christian recording artist Casting Crowns, scores of people — many of them teenagers or younger — responded by coming forward for prayer and counseling. (Editor’s Network)
Share with others: