Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Loving the whosoevers, Liberty Christian Academy Youth Pastor bridges the gap

Tue, 07 Feb 2017Asa Keimig | Marketing and PR Coordinator

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) weekly convocation gathering recently featured Liberty Christian Academy’s (LCA) Campus Pastor, P.J. Preston, who spoke to students about loving the word “whosoever.” Along with his role at LCA, Pastor Preston serves as the Senior Pastor at The Hope Co. He received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA Tech), where he was a three-year starter with the VT Hokie football team. He received his M.Ed. in Leadership from Longwood University, and his M.A. in Religion was completed at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Preston’s message to faculty, administrative staff, and student-doctors was simple. Love the word “whosoever.” He shared that the word “whosoever” is used 163 times in the Bible, but in today’s society people are afraid of the “whosoevers.” He referenced the late Martin Luther King, Jr., who was willing to stand for all people and bridge the gap between cultural and racial divisions. King did so as a reflection of Jesus Christ who is the ultimate bridge between the gap of cultural and racial divide.

“Doesn’t matter who you are, what your skin color is, how much money you have in the bank, or anything else, in God’s eyes we’re all the same,” said Preston. “God puts everyone on the same level.” He referenced Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Whether money in the bank, skin color, a fancy car, a nice job or no job, none of that affects one’s ability to become saved.

Preston also shared John 4:14, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” and then shared three simple steps to help someone take the water of life freely:

Look for the whosoevers

The whosoevers are what gives scripture weight. The Bible doesn’t say if a certain group of people call on the name of the Lord they will be saved. The Bible says whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. No matter what God has called you to do in life, you have to look for the whosoevers and look for people who need the water that leads to everlasting life.

Help the whosoevers

Sometimes we look at people and judge them and are either drawn to them or turned off by them. We have to be just like Jesus and help all the whosoevers. Preston shared how he was preaching at the Richmond Outreach Center and after his message, he went down off the stage to greet people and was shaking their hands, and hugging them. While he was greeting people after the message, he could see in the distance a man in dirty, torn clothes waiting in line to greet him, and as the man got closer Preston could start to smell him. As the man got closer and closer, Preston felt God telling him, “Don’t you dare treat that man any different than how you’ve treated all the people before him.” We can’t look at people and write them off.

Love the whosoevers

This is what God has called us to do. God has called us to love and it doesn’t matter who it is, what they look like, or anything else. He has called us to love all people with a genuine love, not a conditional love because God’s love is unconditional. God will call you to do great things. “God doesn’t call the qualified,” said Preston. “He qualifies the called.”