Wednesday, June 30, 2010

No Excuse!


Ever think or say to yourself something like this? "I wouldn't even know where to start or what to say when it comes to sharing my faith." I know I have said it. I actually think that that was a more prevalent excuse I used than having a fear of man or even rejection. Let's look at Proverbs 22:12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful. Perhaps your not knowing what to say to start a witnessing conversation is in direct correlation to your acting disobedience of not doing it? Listen guys and gals, don't confuse your not wanting to do something with not knowing where to start. You don't need to worry about what you will say when you share the gospel message. Let's look in Ephesians for your encouragement with this. Ephesians 6:19 tells us, 'Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,' Paul clearly shows that he leans on the Lord for what he will say when sharing the gospel. That is what we need to do. If you try to do it on our own, it's probably better that you don't know what to say anyway. If, however, you rely on words to be given to you by God when you pray for them, what do you have to worry about then except listening to His command to share the gospel? Remember, you aren't going to say anything that will send a non-believer to Hell. They are already on their way there apart from Jesus anyhow. Stop having your words frustrated by disobedience and share your faith today.

Mark 13:10-11 (New International Version)

10And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Immediate Obedience


I was reading through the Gospel of Mark today and a verse jumped out at me. Mark chapter 5 verses 18-20 read, 'As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.' This man was saved from so much and he showed how much he appreciated his salvation from demon possession by being immediately obedient to the Lord. Are we saved from any less? Is being saved from the flames of Hell and the weeping and gnashing of teeth any less worthy of our faithful gratitude towards Jesus? Amazingly only about 2% of people saved from a terrible eternity in Hell go and tell people what Jesus has done for them. That's an amazingly low number of people who actually care enough about the lost to share the gospel with them. What's more amazing is the the 98% of "believers" who refuse to obey the 2000+ year old standing order of the Lord to go out and make disciples (Mark 16:15). It reminds me of the Songs of the Lukewarm Church listed on wayofthemaster.com and that modern gospel hit, "It's my Secret What God Can Do." Do you fear sharing because you don't know enough? Did this man in Mark 5 have time to read the Bible or take an online course before sharing? Did the woman at the well go through some extensive evangelism academy? Absolutely not! They were just so grateful to God that they just had to let people know what He had done for them. What's keeping you from doing the same? Stephen went to the grave to share the gospel in the book of Acts yet 98% of the modern day supposed Church won't even go next door to give their neighbor the Good News. I was in the lifeboat praising the Captain(Jesus) but not obeying His command to reach down and save the people drowning in the water just last year guys. It's a stagnant existence for a believer. Don't be like the pre-crucifixion Peter who followed Jesus at a distance. Be like the Peter in the book of Acts who preached the gospel and was on the front lines for the Lord. Don't be cold in this aspect of your faith. Be on fire with a passion for the unsaved. Be like our Lord and Savior who came to seek and save that which was lost. Let Him be your example. Don't wait for anything and let nothing get the way of sharing your faith with someone today. Obey Him immediately.

Revelation 3:16 (New International Version)

16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Commitments?


At some point in your life you may have heard the results given about how many people got saved at an outreach or a crusade. "90 bazillion people showed up and 8 bazillion of them made commitments to Christ." There's a good chance that the biblical gospel was never shared. The evagngelist may have gone up there with a message of a wonderful plan, filling a God shaped hole in your heart, or even promises of Gifts of the Spirit and a better life. That will get numbers if that's what you are looking for. Inevitably, if you run into one of these people who have made a "commitment" based on a non biblical gospel, which is no gospel at all, they will tell you that they aren't living like they should, or that they need to get back to church, or something like that. The problem is that people are being told, "Just make a commitment" or "ask Jesus into your heart" or "accept Jesus." Walking with the Lord is not as easy as that and Jesus accepts us, we don't accept Him. Not only that, people can't appreciate what they are being saved to because they haven't heard what they are being saved from. If the biblical gospel was preached, not leaving out sin, future Judgment and punishment in Hell, you may not get numbers. Why? Because people have to humble themselves and admit they are not a good person. They have to concede they are sinful and ask for forgivness. That's nowhere near as easy as making a commitment to a wonderful plan for their lives. Let's look at this from another angle. Say you get married. That's a commitment to your spouse. If you are out with your friends all the time, away from home, or looking at other people with lust, if you act on your lust by cheating on your spouse, or if your spouse feels unloved, the initial commitment is worthless. In the same way, if you are not born again, repentant and soundly saved; if you are not spending time with God in His word and in prayer; if there's no evidence of your faith by your works; what's the point of the commitment? What's the point of getting others to make this same superficial commitment? To pad your eternal resume? To have Jesus as an insurance policy of salvation in case it's all real? Let me tell you, He is real and He should be our example. He came to seek and save that which was lost. He came to save sinners, which I am the worst. We are called by Him in Mark chapter 16 to make disciples. Is that anywhere on your list of things to do today? How important is your commitment when you won't even obey one of God's greatest commands to His followers. Maybe you are sharing your faith. Are you doing it biblically? Are you going for numbers or commitments? If you are going for numbers and decisions please don't bother. If you are doing it biblically and in loving obedience to the Lord, keep up the good work. We don't want to make backsliders with a commitment based on promises that may not come true and I'm pretty sure we don't want to be false converts who are told, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Whatever you do, do it for the Lord. If you are doing it for the Lord it should be done biblicaly, including sharing the gospel. Go for planting the seed. That is a success. False numbers and false converts are not a success at all. If you are a follower of Christ, make a real commitment today. Make a commitment to see your sin as exceedingly sinful so you can truly appreciate the Hell you were saved from and to share with other Hellbound people this truth without compromise. If you are not saved today, I will not tell you to make a commitment. I tell you repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ who died for every lie, theft, lustful look, and hateful thought you've ever had. He rose again on the third day defeating death to give those who repent and trust in Him eternal life. We don't know when we will die. If you wanna call repenting and trusting in Christ a commitment, go ahead. Call it what you want to but do it today before it's too late. Do this because you feel truly sorry that you've sinned against God. Don't do it as a backup plan while trying to live life as a good person. Don't do it because you think it could be one of the ways to Heaven, do it because He is the only way to get to Heaven. Do it because He nailed His commitment to you to the cross.


John 14:6 (New International Version)
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Weeds...

So today while I was tending to my yard and pulling some very large, ignored weeds. God gave me this message to share with you all.
Weeds are like sin, that come into your yard (life) whether you fertilize or not and do not require any assistance or food from you to grow and quickly take over your yard or life. If we do not keep our life protected, maintained and focused on Christ
Sin can quickly come into our lives.

You see weeds are prickly and drown out and kill the good things they are around. While they do not require extensive root systems, some do have deep roots. When we think we have pulled it out we really only took the surface portion. Weeds just need a place to grow, doesn't matter if it's rocks, mulch or grass. Sin is the same way, if your guard is not up it will quickly take root in your life.

You see weeds are ugly just like our sin in Gods sight. God doesn't want us to just scrape and remove the surface portion of our sin, He wants us to go for the roots, dig deep to find that root and make sure it gets removed all the way from your life.
When we remove the weed from the ground it cannot sustain on its own and quickly shrivels and dies.


This is how our sin is and we need to not get lazy and relaxed in our walk with Christ. We need to perform spiritual weeding of our lives and make sure we have the Tree of Life growing in us.
Let me encourage you to examine yourselves daily and keep your roots firmly planted in our Creator. Do you have any weeds that you need to remove from your life?

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Saturday, June 26, 2010

Rocking on the River

So tonight I got to be a part of 31 evangelists who went to Front street mall in Cuyahoga Falls to share the Gospel with an estimated 8000 people that were supposed to be there.

I knew big things were gonna happen tonight because there was a lot of adversity in getting there to begin with... traffic, construction we think an accident then 3 parking garages later and several streets down we found a parking spot.

We started handing out tracts and Paul who rode with me got up on the box and did a great job and had someone heckle him for a little bit and you would see people stop and listen to responses.




Beth and Aaron also got up on box to preach and several people gathered to listen while others made rude comments as they passed by.












One amazing thing was a 12 year old boy, Isaiah who stopped Beth after she was done and wanted to know how to get right with God and Beth was able to talk and pray with him.

 


I did not get on the box but I did get to have several really solid conversations in a one to many scenario and passed a lot of tracts out. A lot of people heard the Gospel tonight!

Tonight after Paul and I were done I needed dinner so I went to Little Caesars to get a ready made $5 pizza for my 10'o clock dinner and I ran into an old friend who I have been praying for over the last 2 years. He was with his girlfriend and I was able to talk to them for about 40 minutes and share the Gospel with them and answer some questions they had. I invited them to Church on Sunday as I will be preaching and thought thy might be more comfortable coming when they know someone there.

Praise God, pray for all the seeds that were planted tonight. Pray that God uses this night to soften hearts and reveal Himself to them.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, June 25, 2010

Always an Audience of One

Above is a picture of a public park near my house. I will start by saying, "where were the parks like this when I was a kid!?!" Now that we have that out of the way, the reason we went here was for a homeschooling curriculum sale. As we pulled up, I noticed 2 guys in their 20's playing some hoops. I had it in my mind to witness to them even if it meant playing a game of basketball in slippers. So I took my girls to play for a bit then I made my way over to the court. I asked the guys if they were with the home school group and they said they were not. I introduced myself and gave each of them a million dollar bill tract. Bishop, the bigger of the two, was open to the good person test so I took him through it. So mission accomplished, Gospel shared. We played ball with a couple kids from our group who were also there as I talked with Bishop. I know you must be thinking what the point of this story is. I'm not reporting any miraculous conversion after I shared the Gospel or anything so what's the point? Here it is. God's grace showed it's face when Weldon, one of the boys from our group that played with us, came up to me near the end of the book sale. He says, "hey was the the 'What Did Jesus Do' thing you did with that guy back there?" I was floored. Apparently Weldon had taken a Way of the Master class at Sunday school and he recognized it in action.

For those that don't know, WDJD is W-would you consider yourself to be a good person? D-do you feel you've kept the 10 Commandments? J-on Judgment Day will you be innocent or guilty? D-destiny, will you go to Heaven or Hell?

He said he'd never actually seen it used before and that seeing me do it really encouraged him to try it on his own now! To be honest, I was kinda discouraged after sharing with Bishop. I kept thinking of the academy and how we sometimes are preaching to an audience of one, Jesus. Turns out that my audience of One did have plans for that witnessing experience. They might not have been for Bishop. Of course there is the chance that maybe he went home, read the tract and talked to someone else and gave his life to Christ. I'll probably never know in this life. I'm just thankful that God showed me some fruit of obedience in Weldon and in being an encouragement to him. Share your faith guys. You never know who's listening, just know that He is and will use your service for His good works.

1 Corinthians 3:6 (New International Version)

6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Lime in the Eye!!!


For those that haven't seen it, there is a Corona beer commercial where a couple sits on the beach. A woman walks by and the man stares. He keeps his stare on her across the screen. When he turns back, his significant other squirts lime right in his eye. Of course, they ended up making one where the female casts a lustful glare at a passing man. In comes the third commercial in the series that I just saw while watching the World Cup. In the final installment of this 7th Commandment Trilogy, the man watches a group of females pass. As he looks back to his companion, he squirts the lime in his own eye! This immediately reminded me of the Bible verse Matthew 5:29. "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." So I got to thinking, "I guess the world understands that concept." The guy knew it was better to burn his eye with lime juice than to be in trouble with his partner. What I still don't think that the world gets is the verse before that one. Matthew 5:28 says a lustful look is the same as adultery in the eyes of God. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."Now I've heard every excuse or reason from "I'm not gay to it's only looking to I'm only human" when it comes to this topic. To me it just seems better not to take the chance with my eternal destination because of an extra look or too long of a look. Averting my eyes seems a way better option than gouging out my eye, burning for eternity, or even getting a lime in the eye. Maybe you can look without lusting. I don't seem to have that ability so I do my best to look away when at all possible. It's worth it to me because I know that when we are judged by the 10 commandments that God will judge our thoughts as well as our actions in this area. He tells us specifically that adulterers will not inherit His kingdom and I definitely don't want to store up wrath for myself on the day of wrath, do you? Don't forget this is just one of the Commandments we will be judged by. Maybe it's the only one you're guilty of. If you're guilty of one, you've broken them all according to the Bible. So, if you're reading this and you've found yourself guilty against God's Law, repent and trust in Him today!

Romans 2:5 (New International Version)

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

God has a wonderf.....EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!


So I'm cruising the internet today waiting for my beautiful bride to bring home my copy of the new Transformers game when I stumble across a link that says "Who is Jesus?" Knowing who He is I clicked just to see. Lo and behold the first thing that it says was that God has a wonderful plan for your life. Ever since taking the Online School of Biblical Evangelism and the Ambassador's Academy these words are like nails going down a chalkboard to me. Jesus never said this to anyone, anywhere in the Bible. In fact He says just the opposite in John 16. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."What He did do while witnessing was to use the 10 commandments. Examples would be the woman at the well and the rich young ruler. He never promised any wonderful plan. He simply showed them their need for salvation by showing them that they'd fallen short of God's Laws. I think Ray Comfort's analogy for this is great so let's bring it more current for you with a horrific event most of us were around to see. If you were to get to go back in time to Sept, 10 2001 and share the Gospel with those who worked in the World Trade Center, would the "God has a wonderful plan" message be approppriate? That question leads to this one. If it's not the right Gospel message in all situations, can it be the biblical message? That is why biblical evangelism is so important. It appeals to the sinner's conscience, which everyone has. Now back to the woman at the well. She was enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. Telling her God has a wonderful plan for your life may reenforce her current lifestyle. She might have even said something like, "ya He sure does!! Hehe wink wink." It may cause her to think "what could be better than what I'm doing now?" One of the functions of the Law is to stop the sinners mouth. No justifications. No excuses. Using the Law when witnessing is biblical guys. It works on the homeless, millionaires, and everyone in between because of their God given conscience. Please, don't just listen to what I'm saying here. Be like the Bereans who tested everything they heard against scripture. Also, listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret and read God has a Wonderful Plan. I'll leave you with a few compelling verses that show the importance of using the Law when witnessing.


Galatians 3:24 (New International Version)
24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

Romans 7:7 (New International Version)
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."

Psalm 19:7 (King James Version)
7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:

Romans 3:19-20 (New International Version)
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

How far will you go?


Philip: Crucified, Phrygia, A.D. 54
Matthew: Beheaded, Ethiopia, A.D. 60
Barnabas: Burned to death, Cyprus, A.D. 64
Mark: Dragged to death, Alexandria, A.D. 64
James (the Less): Clubbed to death, Jerusalem, A.D. 66
Paul: Beheaded, Rome, A.D. 66
Peter: Crucified, Rome, A.D. 69
Andrew: Crucified, Achaia, A.D. 70
Thomas: Speared to death, Calamina, A.D. 70
Luke: Hanged, Athens, A.D. 93

How many of these followers of Christ held on to their faith all the way up until martyrdom because they were promised that "God has a wonderful plan for their lives" or "Jesus loves you" or for any other reason that the modern Gospel gives for people to come to Christ? I can say with great certainty that these faithful guys knew that being a follower of Jesus was about righteousness and not happiness. Their sin; lies, thefts, lustful looks, any hatred, not putting God first; those were the reasons they repented and put their faith in the Lord so that their name would be written in the Book of Life. It wasn't because they were promised a better life here on earth. Don't you think that if Paul was told "God has a wonderful plan for you" and then he came face to face with the executioner's axe he mighta said something like, "hold up, my life was supposed to be made better and this doesn't look good. I take back what I said about Jesus." Carry that down the list. These guys knew that Jesus was the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. They knew that Jesus wasn't the genie in the sky there to grant every wish and desire. Will God bless you? Yes. Is everything you have given by God? Absolutely. Should these things be the draw to Christ. Absolutely not. Not everyone has the same lifestyle, or gifts, or blessings. But we all have a conscience. That is why it is so important to use God's Law when witnessing. Appeal to the sinner's conscience so they will stand firm in the faith through trials and tribulation after their conversion. They will follow Christ because they saw their sin as exceedingly sinful and not for the promise of a better life or the gifts of the Spirit or even just as a religious duty. Are you soundly saved today? Will you go to the axe, the rope, or even the cross like these early followers? Or will you turn and run because you came to Jesus for hopes of a better life? Evaluate yourself against the 10 commandments. See where you have fallen short. Repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus today, then read and obey your Bible.

Revelation 21:27 (New International Version)

27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

When in Rome...

So today is one of those lazy vacation days where we chill out and bum around. Almost too tired to swim, but sooner or later I am sure we will snap out of it.

So the kids saw a commercial on tv for a local comic book store and wanted to check it out, so we jumped in the car and up up and away! Sorry couldn't resist.

After bumming around for a while I got the kids some cards and after paying I pulled out a small stack of are you a good person comic tracts and asked the man running the shop, "these are comics and since it's a comic shop mind if I leave them here for people to take?". He said, "sure" and I placed a stack on the counter and away I went.

As we were leaving the parking lot I noticed the man having a smoke break outside and guess what he was reading? Yup a are you a good person tract!


I pray that he is touched and others might see the importance of repentance.

I hope this encourages you to think outside the box! You don't have to be on a soapbox or doing one on ones always, remember Gods Word will not return void. Get yourself some tracts and get them into peoples hands!

The Holy Spirit will do the rest!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:New York

What Qualifies You?-Workplace Witnessing 2


It was right after we had a training class at work. The trainer, Charlie, from our Health & Safety Group stayed after a bit to chit chat with another co-worker of mine. I wasn't really into what they were talking about so I picked up my tattered Bible to finish up my daily reading. Of course when Charlie noticed the taped together book in my hand, the inevitable question arose. "What is that you are reading?" As I answered and told him it was my Bible, I started shaking a bit and the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 echoed through my mind. "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." My buddy Ray then asked Charlie his thought of life after death, Heaven and Hell. It was when Charlie responded with something to the effect of just needing to be good that I knew I had to jump in and share the Gospel. For the first 3 minutes through a trembling voice, I opened up God's Law with him. The whole time I was trying to remember what they taught us at the Ambassador's Academy. "If you have fear, you just qualified yourself to share the Gospel." I did, thanks to God, calm down and share the whole Gospel. In sharing, a couple others who were there at the time quietly slipped out the door. Fortunately Charlie stuck around. He shot me a couple of questions from left field that I was able to answer but I kept running towards his conscience and the reality of Judgment Day. Come to find out he had a Buddhist background but his mom was a Christian so he's familiar with the faith. However, I can say that I'm almost certain he had never heard the biblical Gospel and that Jesus' death on the cross was about righteousness and not happiness. I left him a million dollar bill tract which he put into his wallet and I emailed him the link to the Why Christianity booklet. I was glad that God empowered me to share, not knowing anything but Christ crucified and to go into battle with my greatest qualifications, fear and trembling. Those qualities allow you to rely fully on God in witnessing situations. So, I leave you with this. If you've ever said, "I'm too scared to share the Gospel with someone!" Guess what? As we see in God's Word, you just qualified yourself and are in the good company of someone who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament-Paul.

Siren - An audible noise to alert those who help those in need...

So I have been on vacation this week in a small town called Bemus Point in New York. It has been very relaxing with the family. I have looked down at my don't quit bracelet several times and been reminded that no matter where I am I need to answer the call and share with people. So everytime I leave the condo I make sure that I have tracts in pocket and that I find somewhere or some person to give them too.

One store I went to with my family for souveniers became a place to pass out tracts. As we were leaving I gave the owner a Million dollar bill and she thought it was the neatest thing! The next thing I knew I was giving one each to the others in line behind me and they all took one and were amazed at it. I pray that they took time to read it and share with someone else too!

One night I got to have dinner with my boys so we found that the Are you a good person mini tract are about the size of sugar packets so we placed one there for the next person needing sugar and tipped the waitress well and also gave a million dollar bill. Then as we left the restaurant I gave a Million dollar bill to each table that had customers sitting there. Some thanked me while others looked with terror as I approached them and gave them a tract. I pray these folks will also read them.

While we have been here we have heard this siren in the background from time to time each day. At first I was like is that a air raid siren? It was really loud and made me think of movies where there was an air raid taking place. Then one time I looked at clock and it was noon, I was thinking it was like a Church bell sounding at noon. I dismissed it but would continue to hear at different times of the day each day so I dismissed the clock reference. While at a gift shop I asked the owner and she said it was to alert the volunteer fire and ems crews that their was a emergency. The siren is so loud so that the volunteers can hear it from anywhere they are at within the city.

I kept thinking about that siren and how it was becoming part of the background noise, only now I was starting to pray for those in need and those on the way to get there safely and to help those in need. Then I realized that while I was becomming use to hearing that siren and it becoming part of the background noise now that I knew what it was, it dawned on me that this is how most Christians are with the lost. They hear this noise, have this drive to reach and share with the lost, but over time it becomes background noise and they stop sharing their faith with others. So I wondered what if we all heard this loud siren that I heard this week and it was to alert each of us to the 150,000 people that are dying and may or may not know Christ and have not gotten right with Him. What would we do? Would we hear that call or would we ignore it?

So I decided that I will continue to use my Don't Quit bracelet as a reminder since I can't make that siren sound all the time to keep me from getting lazy with sharing the lost. What will you use as a constant reminder about sharing with the lost? Maybe a bracelet or something you can carry with you? Maybe you will just look at every person and crowd differently and wonder if they are in fact saved or doomed to Hell?




While reading and studying at night this week I came across these words from the book "Evangelism in the New Testament" that rea
lly fell in line with this post and thought I would share as it can be very convicting and make you wonder why that siren becomes backround noise to some alerting them to those that are perishing around them and do nothing....

"Is it because of our fear for our own comfort, our own safety? Have those fears ever been endorsed as valid reasons to refrain from preaching the gospel, biblically speaking? Of course not. If fears paralyze us, in any kind of evangelism, it is because we do not have adequate love for the Lord or for the lost? (1 John 4:7-21)

Don't quit, wherever you are, whatever you are doing or going through, Don't quit! Persevere.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Celebrity Tragedy


Another celebrity didn't announce their allegience to Scientology and no, nobody died. However, there was a celebrity tragedy at my son's high school graduation yesterday at Norco High School here in California. The tragedy was a shortage of celebrity million dollar bill Gospel tracts from livingwaters.com! On our way out the door I grabbed a stack of about 70 of these tracts that I had left over from the Ambassador's Academy. I pretty much had bought these for the Hollywood portion of our class. It wasn't till I got to the stadium that I realized the previously mentioned tragedy. I could have given away thousands of these things if I had them!! I stood right behind the people who were passing out the graduation programs with my little stack of bills. People already had the mindset to take what was handed to them so one after the next took what I offered them. The only problem was how quickly I ran out! I already have it in my mind to set this up as an annual "fishing" spot. If I can get a ticket to get in and just get to my spot behind the program guy again, I'm sure I can give out stacks of these next time. The other idea I had was for my wife to pass out the tracts and I could field the one-to-one conversations if anyone asks, "what is this?" I don't know if the graduations have passed already for you guys in your area. If they are still upcoming, try to get out there and do some fishin'. If the graduations where you live are passed, mark the calendar for next year and have some stacks'o'tracts at the ready!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I Won't Condemn or Judge These People!


I think that a lot of people are in the opinion that using the Law in witnessing means being a judgmental or condemning Christian. Let me tell you that that is the farthest thing from the truth. I can't tell you the love that you feel for the lost when you're around people who utilize the Law in evangelism. What you have to realize is that you are not judging anyone when you open up God's Law, the 10 Commandments. You don't need to worry that Matthew 7:1-6 will apply to you when it says judge not lest you be judged because that is not what biblical evangelism is about. Its about using the Law as a mirror to the person's soul to show them that they've broken God's Commandments. There's no finger pointing, no saying the person is sinner without showing them why. It's simply, lovingly, opening up the Law to them and showing them that there will be judgment for breaking God's Law and their need for the Savior, Jesus. As far as not wanting a non-believer to feel condemned I just have to say, "really?" A smoke alarm going off in someone's house doesn't condemn them, they are already condemned to burn if they don't heed it's warning. The smoke alarm simply tells of the impending danger and gives the person the choice to flee from the fire that is to come. If they don't flee to salvation from the flames, they will perish. Remember John 3:18 says-"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." You can see that sinners are already condemned, why not warn them to repent, or turn from their sin and run from the fires of Hell to the loving arms of Jesus. Don't be judgmental, or condemning, and especially don't be arrogant. Just lovingly share the Gospel, the full Gospel in faithfulness to God's commands. Be the smoke alarm and warn someone of the dangers today!!

Psalm 19:7 (King James Version)

7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Contact vs Friendship Evangelism

A while back I wrote a blog article titled, "Are you preparing people for the reality of Judgment Day and Hell or just being nice to them until you go to Heaven?" This was written to get people to share their faith. To share the whole gospel including sin and future judgment, first and foremost whether it be in contact evangelism(strangers) or in the first step of their friendship or lifestyle type witnessing. I'm currently reading a book called, "Evangelism in the New Testament" by Jon Speed and in the back it has listed bible verses that deal with contact evangelism, or witnessing to strangers and also a list of friendship witnessing verses. I am going to share these verses with you now. Note that even in the case of the friendship evangelism in the bible, that the friendship started with the gospel. It didn't end up with the gospel as some sort of right of friendship between a non-believer and a Christian.

Contact Evangelism in the Bible:
Matthew 3:1-17; 4:18-25; 5-7; 8:1-13,18; 9:1-8,9,18-26,27-31,35-38; 10:1-11:1; 12:1-8,9-13,15,22-30,46; 13:1,2,54-58; 14:13-21,34-36; 15:21-28,29-31,32-39; 17:1 4-21; 19:2,16-26; 20:29-34; 21:8; 23:1-39; 27:11-14; 28:18-20
Mark 5:1-20; 7:31-37; 8:22-26; 10:1-12; 16:15
Luke 2:16,36-38; 5:1-11; 7:11-16,24-30,36-39; 8:1-3; 9:10,11,51-56; 10:1-16,25-37; 11;14,29-36; 12:13-21; 13:10-17,22-30; 14:1-6,25-35; 17:11-19; 18:15-17; 19:1-5,28-44; 22:66-71; 23:42,43,47-49; 24:46,47John 1:35-42,43-51; 3:22-36; 4:1-26,39-42; 5:1-9; 6:22-59; &:25-31,32-36; 8:1-11; 9 :1-41; 12:20-26; 18:20,21
Acts 1:8; 2:5-13; 3:1-10,11-26; 4:5-12; 5:12-16,20,21; 6-7; 8:4,5-8,26-40; 9:17-19,32-35; 10:24; 11:19; 13:5,6-12,14-33,44,45; 14:1-5,7-11,19; 20:20; 21:40-22:23; 23:1-11; 24:10-25; 26:1-32; 28:7-15,17-22

Friendship Evangelism Verses
Matthew 8:14-17; 11:19; 25:34-36; 26:6-13
Mark 2:15-17
Luke 7:36:39; 10:38-42; 11:37-44; 15:1-16:13; 19:5-10
John 2:1-10; 11:1-44
Acts 9:20-22; 19:8,9; 20:20; 24:26,27; 27; 28:23,30,31

These are taken from the back of the book. As you can see, the example from scripture is to share our faith to anyone we come in contact with, not just friends. You will find it easier to witness to strangers. Trust me that's from experience, not a book lol. I recommend anyone who's serious about sharing your faith to pick up a copy of the book here.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Why Christianity?


Here's a really great 24 page tract, more like a pamphlet, from Living Waters. You can read it online by clicking on the link below or email the link to a friend or family member who hasn't repented and put their faith and trust in Jesus. This booklet compares the Christian faith with 3 other major religions in a way that is not offensive. Please take the time to read it and pass it on today! If you are already out there passing out tracts on a regular basis, this seems like a great tool to have with you as well. Enjoy!


Saturday, June 12, 2010

Free Clothes...

So today I had the joy to go meet some members from my Church at Community Friends Church down in Cleveland.  We had people donate clothes over the last several weeks and today Community Friends had a huge clothing give away. They had something for everyone and it was great!  There was quite a decent turn out and Community Friends had water, brownies, cupcakes for people to come in and have even if they didn't want clothes.

Someone was always outside holding a sign and yelling at cars that passed by about the clothing we had inside, free no strings attached. Kids went out and told other kids and families and people would come walking from blocks away and spend a good while picking stuff out and then call for a ride cause it was too much and too far to carry home.

Everyone who came in was reminded of the 10:30AM Church service on Sunday with a small bulletin about the Church and I got to stuff them with Good Person Comic Book tracts.  I asked the Pastor, Gary, if he minded if I gave out tracts and shared the Gospel with folks as they walked by, arrived or left and he was excited for me to do so, so I did.  I went out and stood with the person holding the sign and helped draw people in.  I was able to pass out a couple dozen tracts and have conversations with several people.  I had a really great conversation with a group of kids who took the time to listen to me and seemed moved by the message of the Gospel.  They all wanted a tract to read and thanked me for sharing.

Today was a real blessing being able to go down and help another Church with such a great cause.  The people were so thankful and one guy stopped me and said why are you giving away free clothes?  Because they care about the commuity and wanted to share the love they have for our Creator and Saviour.  I really pray for this Church who has stepped up and has such a heart for the community and wants to help people so much.  May their pews be full and may everyone in that area hear the Gospel, repent and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
I hope this encourages you to get involved with your Church and get out there and proclaim the Gospel!

Letter to an Unsaved Friend or Family Member


Dear_________,


I am writing to ask your forgiveness for something you didn't know that I did. More specifically, something that I did not do. A while back I learned a truth that I should have immediately shared with you. Instead, I held on to this truth like it was mine and mine alone. In doing so, it must have seemed like I was just weird now and maybe that I didn't love you as much as I did before I believed. The exact opposite of that is true. I love you more now that I actually know how to love but I just didn't know how to share it or even that I was supposed to. Now it seems too much time has passed for me to open up to you without being an emotional wreck so I'm writing to you now. The truth I am talking about is Jesus. Now you may be thinking, "I'm a good person, why would I need Jesus?" And the truth is, you are a good person-compared to the world. But if any of us were good enough to make it to Heaven, then Jesus would not have had to die for the sins of the world. Think of a sheep on green grass. He looks pretty clean and white. That would be like comparing yourself to the world. Now you take the same sheep and put him on a blanket of snow, the snow being God's Law or the 10 Commandments. Now that same sheep looks dirty and not white at all. So I write to you to ask you to think about the 10 Commandments and how you would stack up against them on Judgment Day. If you've lied, or stolen anything, or used God's name as a cuss word you will be guilty on that day and that's only three of the 10 Commandments. The Bible says that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire, no thief will inherit the Kingdom of God, and that God will not hold anyone blameless who misuses His name. We still haven't looked at hatred which is like murder and lust which is like adultery according to Jesus. Maybe you're only guilty of lying. The Bible says in the book of James that "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." The punishment for breaking God's Law isn't a Christ-less eternity or eternal separation from God, it's Hell. You may be thinking to yourself by now, well who hasn't done all of these things and that there's probably hypocrites within the church that still break these laws. True. But the standard is God's Law, not other people. I want you to know what God did for you. Imagine for a minute that there were no excuses-no hypocrites, no church, and no religions. It was just you and God's inerrant Word. Here's what it says. That Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross for your sins-every lie, theft and lustful look. He rose from the dead three days later, defeating death. If you repent and put your faith and trust in Him you will have everlasting life. Maybe you believe in God. The Bible tells us that even the demons believe in God. Belief isn't enough. Will belief in a parachute save you? No, only putting it on and using it is what will save you. The Bible says "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ." I've shared every other dumb thing I've done in my life but this treasure I kept to myself. This is the message I should have shared with you the minute I found out just like in the Gospel of John. Chapter 1:41 says "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ)." So please forgive me and please consider the message I've just shared with you. It is so important. Judgment Day may not be some far off day. We may not have time to live like we want now and repent when we get older because we don't know when it will be our turn to go. If you have any questions please call me. I hope to talk with you real soon.


Love,

______________

Friday, June 11, 2010

A Night Worthy of Being a DiG Game Night



Last nights DiG game night was just an amazing time. It wasn't only because of the great fellowship and the fun gameplay, or even seeing all the DiG clan tags lined up six deep. It was how many people received the Gospel message in some form or another. Just as Ben, who is Death is Gain on Xbox, sent me an invite to join the DiG room, I was just finishing up a one-to-one conversation about Jesus with another player. That seemed to fire both Ben and myself up for making it a witnessing night on Call of Duty. Not only that, but Ben had already told me earlier in the day that his goal was to read the Gospel from the back of a Way of the Master tract during an intermission. I wanted to do something similar which is called "stoplight" preaching. That usually takes place at a stoplight(duh lol). But another reason it's called stoplight that you usually have about 40-60 seconds at a red light to tell the waiting pedestrians about the Law, sin-transgression of the Law, future Judgment, punishment, then finally God's grace and what Jesus did to save us from Hell if we repent and put our trust in Him. This is a great fit for Modern Warfare 2 lobbies between matches because you have about a minute while everyone reorganizes there weapon loadouts. On top of these two times preaching the Gospel, Ben helped me get through a one-to-one conversation with a fish who wouldn't quite bite on the bait of the "Good Person Test". Nevertheless, the Gospel was put out there and the others in the room got to hear it as well. Then to top it all off, we sent out a good 100-150 witnessing messages to our recent players which is like handing out 50 tracts at a time. Praise God for the technology that enables Ben and I to encourage each other to keep using our Ambassador's Academy training and for us being able to use it to share with this lost generation of gamers!! Use any and every method you can to witness to someone this week! God bless, SaulBecomesPaul/Virg.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Magnet and a Million

For those in Southern California or who listen to Pastor Greg Laurie, you may know that he does a Harvest Crusade every year in Anaheim. They usually start giving out bumper stickers, posters, fliers, etc a couple months in advance. So, last weekend at church there was a table with all of those things plus stacks of 25 magnets. I asked if I could take a whole stack and they replied, "sure." And with that, the Magnet and a Million idea came to life. I paired each of the 25 magnets with one million dollar bill tract from living waters and decided that I would go to my 25 closest neighbors' houses to give them this little gift pack. Of course this ends up being tougher than I thought between petrified housewives and scary dogs lol. But praise God that the Gospel message entered 25 households! I didn't get to engage in too many one-to-one conversations because I had presented the pack as a gift so people took it and shut the door but at least the message made it inside. I did manage to engage in conversation with a city worker and made it through the Gospel message verbally with him and his co-worker heard it too as he kept working nearby. I ask you guys for prayer for the tracts that did make it into a house. If it was a Christian household, pray that the magnet and my gesture will be reminder for them to share the Gospel with people or at least take an unsaved friend or family member to the crusade on August 6-8. For the Gospel tracts that made their way into unsaved households, please pray that the message will speak to them and that they will repent and trust in Jesus. If you are in the SoCal area, mark your calendar for the Harvest Crusade and make sure you take an unsaved person with you and remember it's not just a concert for Christians(that drives me crazy!). In the meantime, you don't need to wait for Greg Laurie to fulfill the Great Commission for you. Go out and share your faith with someone today!

Southern California Harvest 2010 with Greg Laurie

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Jesus Loves You! The Gospel in Reverse.


The following is an example of what can happen if you start your Gospel presentation by shining the light in someone's eye who is living in darkness. He can easily make you backpedal if you go into it unprepared. Remember that the Gospel of John says that "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

"Jesus loves you" says the Christian.
"Why" says the non-believer.
The Christian replies, "Well He died on the cross. Romans says that God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
"Ok, so why did he do that? What sin have I commited?"
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!"
"Ok, ok I've sinned so now what?" asks the non-believer.
"Well eternal separation from God"
"What does that mean?"
"Um, well a Christ-less eternity"
"Where would that be?"
"Not a nice place" replies the Christian.
"Like where?"
"Hell"
"What are you talking about I'm a good person and if Jesus loves me why would God send me to hell!?!"

You can see that ultimately Jesus' love doesn't make sense because you have to go back to the cross, then after the cross you need to explain why the cross and then finally the punishment for not believing what happened on the cross. So basically you started out with a message of love and have to end up talking about hell, damnation and punishment. You've already established that Jesus loves them so the idea of hell is now unreasonable and doesn't make sense to them. They never shed an ounce of self-righteousness and it is probably worse now. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. 1 Cor 1:18
To make the cross make sense, start with God's Law. For those not familiar with biblical evangelism, a conversation with a reasonable non-believer would go something like this.


"Hey nice day huh?"
"Sure" replies Don TneedGod
"Hey you know of any Churches around here?"
"I wouldn't know!"
"Oh ok, do you have a christian background?"
"No way!"
"Really? Gotcha. Well would you consider yourself to be a good person?"
"Absolutely"
"Let me ask you this, have you ever told a lie?"
"Well, um, ya"
"What does that make you?"
"A liar"
"How about stealing, ever stolen anything?"
"Yup"
"What do you call someone who steals?"
"Steeler, no wait a thief"
"Ok ever take God's name in vain?
"Sure who hasn't"
"Well Don, that's called blasphemy and by your own admission you are a lying thieving blasphmer and you have to face God on Judgment day. These are just 3 of the 10 commandments. Do you think you will be innocent or guilty on that day?"
"Guilty"
"So do you think you will go to Heaven or Hell?"
"Hell I guess"
"Does that concern you?"
"Yes"

At this point you presenting what Jesus did on the cross for the non-believers sins will make sense and he will see that Jesus died on the cross because He loved us. Don't start with the modern gospel and backpedal the rest of the time. Use God's Law lawfully and go on the attack, stepping around issues that aren't relevant and keep your eyes on their conscience. Their conscience is our ally, or spy if you will, inside their camp. Inside their heart. Go for it, appeal to it. Use it to show them their need for salvation. Don't just shine the light in their eyes. Witness the way Jesus did it. Look to the examples Jesus gave us with the woman at the well and the rich young ruler. Jesus used the commandments to show those people their need for Him. Ultimately we are supposed to walk in His ways including the way we evangelize. A good way to start this is by listening to Hell's Best Kept Secret or reading Way of the Master by Ray Comfort. For more info check out DiGoutreach.com, needGod.com, or wayofthemaster.com. If none of these seems to make this click, the following verse about men and women of faith should tell every reason why you shouldn't tell people that Jesus loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life as the main draw to follow Christ.
Hebrews 11:36-37 (New International Version)
36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—

Monday, June 7, 2010

My Next Step - a sermon by Pastor Geoff Schultz

So my Pastor over at North Olmsted Friends Church preached an amazing sermon on False Idols just yesterday.  So amazing that I think we all need to hear it, but before you do I wanted to give you the meat because I think we need to think long and hard about this.

Pastor Geoff focused on the second commandment - false idols.  He had some great quotes, one specifically from Martin Luther - " You cannont break any other commandment without breaking the second one first."  Pastor Geoff than went on to say "anything that takes precendence over God is an idol."

Geoff went on to ask a series of questions to help determine where you are at in your life with this commandment.  "What is taking precendence over God in your life?"  The questions go like this in order asked:

"What are you disappointed with?"
"What do you sacrifice time and money for?"
"What do you worry about or what are you afraid of?"
"Where do you go when you get hurt or need comfort?"
"What makes you mad?"
"What do you dream of or what do you get excited about?"
"What brings you the most joy?"
"Whose applause do you long for?"

These are some serious questions folks, I haven't fully answered them all or given them the time they need but its on my plate.  Pastor Geoff closed by asking, "what God will you choose to follow?"

This was a really great sermon and I have really been appreciating my Pastor and his heart for Gods Law.

follow the link below to listen to this sermon:
Crush the idols

Saturday, June 5, 2010

A local fishing pond...

So today thanks to Virgil noticing there was someone from Cleveland area from Ambassador Alliance, I met up w some fellow Fishers of Men.

What a blessing to walk into this Church and meet folks and feel like I have known them for a long time, I had breakfast and shared recent experiences and we all fellowshipped and then we prayed.

Next everyone headed out, some home and others to the fishing pond, ther was a big truck exhibit at Lakewood Park and so we headed there to hand out tracts and have one on one conversations.




I had some really great conversations that were genuine and you knew the Lord was working on their heart right there. What a blessing! Well looks like the Lord has answered one of my prayers about finding fellow fishers and a pond as they do this reguraly.

God bless and be encouraged to get out ther and share the Gospel!

Ben


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Lakewood Park

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Best explination of repentance that I've heard


Ah, repent. The big, scary, Christianese word that the world doesn't really comprehend. Here's what dictionary.com says. repent-to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent. That still may be too vague for some people to understand especially if no one has ever taken them through God's Law to show them why the need to repent. Now for the super-easy definition that I learned from one of the leaders at the Ambassador's Academy. She explained to a young man that someone is punching him in the arm. The puncher repeatedly says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sure the boy can forgive the person punching him over and over, 70x7 times even. However, what does the boy who is getting punched really want the "sorry" person to do? He wants him to stop doing what he is doing, to stop punching him. And that is what God wants us to do with our sinful lifestyles. Some think that they can say sorry and continue to live however and do whatever they want. That is simply not true. Repent is mentioned in some form or another 56 times in the New Testament often times appearing twice in the same Verse. I think God wants us to understand the need for turning from sin. Maybe you're reading this today and feel you are saved because you are resting on John 3:16. I would encourage you to have an active role in your relationship with Jesus. Show Him that you are truly sorry by not "punching" Him over and over with the same sin He saved you from. If you've stumbled upon this and are not saved by repentance and faith in Jesus and are not born again, please consider that there will be Judgment one day for every lie, theft, and lustful look. The punishment for these things is Hell. The bible says that Jesus died for those sins, then rose from the dead so that if you repent and trust in Him you will have everlasting life. I hope this is an encouragement for the lost and the lukewarm to get right with God, as well as for the soundly saved to share the need for repentance to their unsaved friends. God bless, SbP.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (New International Version)
10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Do Something!


As clever as the title of this blog entry is, I can't take all the credit. It is taken from the following Spurgeon quote.

"Brethren, do something; do something, do something! While societies and unions make constitutions, let us win souls. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suvarov's idea of war is mine: `Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form a column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the center of the enemy! Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about, but do in the power of God!'" Charles Spurgeon.


Now why am I even talking about this? Well, I was at Costco and had passed out a few tracts. We were getting ready to leave and I really wanted to get rid of all of my tracts. That's when I spotted the stacks of Twilight books. In the same instance the great words of Spurgeon, "do something", came to mind. So I did. On the top book of each pile, right inside the cover, I placed a million dollar bill tract. Now when these books are purchased, someone will get the Gospel message at a time of God's choosing. I didn't have to overcome any fear of man by approaching someone. I wasn't up on a box preaching. I just did something. My encouragement to you is to do something, anything that will put the full Gospel into someone's hands. A well written, cleverly placed tract fits that bill.

Psalm 67:2 (New International Version)

2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.