Preaching Christ! the Living water

This was a special night, perhaps my last one with the Jude 23 Network because I'm moving to Wilmore, KY this week to attend college. Lord willing I'll be back in the future to labor with these precious people that I love so much. My first witness was with a group of four teen (18/19 yr. old) guys who had a little head knowledge of the gospel. They listened and were very open with me as I laid the 'foundation' to bring in the gospel. I wanted to let them know that being a Christian is a supernatural work of God, through faith, that can be seen by the fruit of one's life. 'Without holiness no one will see God' so I challenged these guys to look at their daily lifestyle in light of God's Word. Do you see a continual, not perfect, but a constant growing in love, purity, holiness and seperation from the world to God? Or are you growing in your friendship with the world & the things of this world?

Brandon & Nick

Soon I began to talk with two young men, Brandon & Nick, who have actually talked with John on couple other occasions. Hoping to water the seed that John has been sowing I engaged them in their conscience. As we began they said they didn't believe in God or Christianity and were loosely spewing profanity left & right. Over the next hour or so I began to see their hearts soften and their minds began to understand the heart of the gospel. That Christ is the only way because He is the only sufficient sacrifice for sin. All men are sinners and will pay for all their sins in hell unless God rescues them Himself....which He did!!!! In the person, in the life & in the sacrifice of the only righteous man to ever live (Jesus Christ: fully God & fully man).

These guys had questions about what is true repentance? and how can one know they're saved if they still sin? I explained that true repentance & faith is a gift from God which comes with a new heart, a new Spirit and with new desires to love God & hate sin. A true Christian isn't left on his own! No, God makes him a 'new creature' who now has the ability to fight against sin with his new heart & the Holy Spirit because sin, death & Satan has been defeated for us by Christ. Sure we may stumble, but we don't stay there because conviction will come and we now despise sin because we don't want to grieve our new treasure & life (Jesus Christ). When Christ died on the cross he paid for all the sins of believers (past, present & future) so that we can have peace with God and overcome sin, not continue in it. Brandon & Nick said they respected me for admitting my failures & the Jude 23 Network for sharing the gospel with them.

These guys even agreed with me that they felt guilt and little satisfaction in their lifestyles of sin. That it gave them enough pleasure to keep them coming back, but I told them their is One who is the bread of life & the Living water......eat! drink! and you will hunger & thirst no more! "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. " -Jn 6:35. The Prophet Jeremiah's cry was 'Stop drinking the world's dirty empty jugs of water that can not fill you when you could drink from the fountain of living water'. I told these guys what the bible says about them: That their spiritually dead, blind, slaves to their sins and cannot see the beauty & glory of Christ. That is whats stopping them and amazingly Brandon & Nick agreed with me?!!!! They said they know they're sinners and would go to hell if they died, so all I could do was tell them to just repent & trust Christ. Come as you are, let God clean you up. Even Christians on their best day deserve to go to hell (no one is good enough to deserve heaven) only trust in the person & work of Jesus Christ.

I think God really blessed His Word preached because it seemed at least theses two guys were rocked by us just lifting up Christ. We just proclaim Christ crucified and resurrected and hope the Spirit will convict and draw men to repentance. I pray and hope to see Brandon & Nick in heaven one day. Lord do this for Your own name sake.

Friday Night Evangelism: Men are spiritually dead

According to the bible all lost-unregenerate men are:

-spiritual dead in their sins

-sinful by nature & objects of God's wrath

-blinded by Satan to the gospel of the glory of Christ

-wicked, evil, God-haters, arrogant, etc.

-unable to submit to the law of God

-and they love the darkness rather then the Light (Christ)

Wow! Is that hard for you to believe? Well its true and only points to the glorious truth: Men are great sinners who are in need of Christ the great & only savior! Knowing these truths leave me absolutely helpless & hopeless when I share the gospel with the lost. I cannot hope that they would see Christ as beautiful because they're blinded by Satan. I cannot hope that they would invite Jesus into their hearts because they hate Him & love the darkness. I cannot hope that they would submit to Christ because they don't have the moral ability. All I can hope for is that through the preaching of the gospel God would send the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sins, regenerate them with a new heart, open their spiritual eyes & ears and raise them from the dead unto life in Christ!

Michael the apostate

I witnessed to a young man named Michael, who 'tried' to be a Christian but after many years of frustration he decided he was an athiest. It took a while to break down some walls but I finally got him to understand that repenting & trusting in Christ is not merely an intellectual decision but a supernatural work of God in a persons heart. Where a man is now spiritually raised from the dead (regenerated) and transformed into a new creature with a new heart that loves this God who he formerly ignored & hated. Michael admitted that he had broken God's law, was gulity & deserving of hell and even understood the work of Christ on the cross (absorbing the wrath that we deserve as sinners). But then he said an amazing comment, "Sure I can believe, & I have in the past, this stuff about Jesus in my mind but I can't make my heart love him when I don't! I don't believe it in my heart and I don't think I should have too." Wow, this backs up everything the bible says about the lost and this comment affirms why I'm a calvinist. I told him my hope is that he would consider our talk seriously and that God would open his eyes to repent & believe the gospel of Christ.

Athiests who prove the Bible

I witnessed to a group of 6 teens who were very hostile and angry with the gospel message. For one, they thought God was unjust to send 'good' people in other religions & unreached tribesmen to hell if they don't believe in Christ. I explained that people don't go to hell just because the don't believe in Christ (the devil believes in Christ!) but rather people go to hell because they're sinners. Men may try to do good works to earn their way to heaven but what about all the sins they've commited in their lives? Is God just going to over look those? Never, God is completly holy & just, therefore he will not look over any sins but all sins will be punished. For example, if a man commits a crime & is guilty but says to the judge, 'what about all the other good things I've done in my life?' The judge will say thats good but you must still pay for the crime you've commited. It may seem noble to do good works but God demands perfection & the only way we can be perfect is if Christ pays for our sins (through his death) and we get his perfection/righteousness through faith. They went on to say that I was arrogant to claim Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. But I told them that the message of the cross is foolishness & offensive to them because they are spiritually blind & dead. I pleaded with them to repent but they only buckled against the gospel.

Friday Night Evangelism: Propitiation & Mr. 502

I knew this night of evangelism with the Jude 23 Network was going to be full of great witnessing & even hostile people....why? well before I hit the streets, my daily bible reading led me to Ezekiel 2, where God appoints Ezekiel to preach to a rebellious people. God gave him the Word which he was to proclaim (whether people listened or not). God told him not to fear the people, God also empowered him with the Spirit and told him only to preach the Word which he received. This sounds alot like Paul in (1 Cor. 15:1-4). That's our duty.... better yet, our privilage...to depend on God, empowered by the Spirit to go out into the world (Bardstown Rd.) and preach the gospel which we've recieved & have been saved by.

Propitiation?
Most Christians don't know what this means, well you should because its one of the most important things God did on the believers behalf. Propitiation means that (for all Christians) when Jesus was on the cross he satisfied the wrath of God and paid the just penalty for sin that God demands. Thats right, rejoice! Sin must be dealt with but God himself, on the believer's behalf, vindicated his justice & justified the sinner by condemning Christ in our place. So whats that have to do with Bardstown Rd? Well I had a great witness with two guys named Adam & Nick. I took them through the law and then to their just punishment (hell) and then began to explained the work of Christ on the cross. I said, "just as on earth when you break a law you must be punished, Christ went to the cross and".......then an amazing thing happened! Adam's eyes opened and he looked at me and said, "Christ paid our punishment for sinning". Yes! Yes! Yes! I yelled...inside my head. They seem to really 'get it', I just pray that they biblically repent & believe in Christ. I gave them some materials & tracts, I hope that seed fell on good soil. And by the way, no, I didn't have them repeat 'the sinner's prayer', I just told them to repent...like Jesus did.

Mr. 502 (rapper)
I also witnessed to Donny, a young aspiring christian rapper (or at least a professing Christian). As we talked I could tell he had a Christian backround but he was very unsure & shaky about his faith. Its all the same to me, I took him through the law then explained the gospel. I really think it helped Donny alot, he was very thankful for our conversation. As we were exchanging emails, he gave me his demo CD and told me he raps. He said alot of people get offended by what he says but he felt he needs to appeal to the world so that they'll listen to to him. I told Donny to be careful, without holiness no one sees God & a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. I'm dealing with a local pastor here in louisville right now on this issue. He uses worldly-sensual marketing schemes (even pornography) to advertise his sermons & church. We are to reach the world but not be like the world. The world doesn't need to be affirmed, they need to be told to repent, deny themselves & follow Christ.

Its a joy to herald His gospel & tell sinners of the glory of Christ. Christians I hope you pray with me for more laborers to be raised up. People want joy and to treasure something that will satisfy them....they're just dead in sins and looking for it in bars, clubs, movies & malls. Let's go to them outside our safe church walls & be the church! "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth." (1 Cor. 3:7). These are individuals I had a chance to witness to & will be praying for:

-Derek & Jay (believed in a God but had no knowledge of who He is)
-James (soft heart, great witness)
-Alex (agnostic, made him really think)
-headband kid (really made him think despite his mocking friends)
-Amy (Lesbian)
-James (homeless guy)
-Donny aka Mr. 502(shaky with his faith but wants to rap for Christ)
-Nick & Adam (They seemed very convicted & understanding of Christ's work on the cross)
-Alley/Audrey/Lori (teens who never considered eternal consequences until today)
& many others that I gave gospel tracts too!

I Thank God I was ready....out of season

Be ready at all times, in & out of season, to share the gospel…the hope that is within us… that allows us to live the way we SHOULD live. The ‘hope’ in Christ as our future reward, biblically, should help us overcome the fear of death, sacrifice comforts for the good of others, boldly share the gospel to the lost, forgive, grow in holiness, forsake worldly pleasures, etc. This hope compels me to examine my life & heart before God’s word to check myself as well as my motives. Paul exhorts us to be ready at all times to share the gospel; this doesn’t just mean have your testimony ready or an organized evangelism plan. It means live it out; when no one is looking & when its not always convenient.

One way God has helped me ‘live out’ my walk is through meaningful prayer with purpose. I do pray for opportunities to serve & share the gospel but what about those blown or missed opportunities that happen many times? There is a homeless man I have seen all over town, especially within a few miles of where I live. I’ve seen him asking for money at stop lights, walking everywhere and I think I even saw him downtown once. Well I drove past him at a stop light not long ago & decided to pray for him, for his soul & that, Lord willing, I may get to share the gospel with him.

A few days ago Amanda & I rented “The end of the spear” and as we walked out of the store there he was!!! The homeless man I prayed for was in my grill asking for change! I ran to my car and got a dollar & a tract and was so excited to be able to finally share the gospel with this man. His name was Phillip too, he listened intently as I witnessed to him and I pointed to my church (which was down the street) and invited him to come. The commission is to ‘go’ but be ready if God sends them to you.

Pray for Phillip, not that he gets more change but that he would be changed….in Christ. That he would repent & believe the gospel…so that the Lamb would receive His reward.

Celebrating Dependence on Independence Day

A few oxymoron's ran through my head on Independence Day. The first is why do we celebrate freedom (through winning battles & wars) only to harm our own selves with fire works? I’m mean I like fireworks but I wonder what the statistics are on how many limbs & even lives are lost for the sake of fireworks & entertainment? I think it’s a true oxymoron to have to blow up things & fight wars so that we can only harm ourselves from within. Anyway, I’m thankful for the country I live in, the blood that was shed for my daily freedoms I so easily take for granted, like the freedom to share the gospel. But as I see how American leaders & citizens celebrate our flag and independence I can’t help but think of their complete dependence….on God for every single breathe & heart beat. With the utmost respect to those who have served this country I say this:

The American flag can be such an idol (even to believers) how many millions will reverence it, fight for it and even die for it above the cause of Christ among the nations? Dying for our country is commendable but not when it replaces one’s desire & devotion to lay our lives down for King Jesus above all else. You’ll never see the world praising one who desires to give His life up for the gospel, but how many shows, articles, ads are there praising a troop? My point is this: ANYTHING that goes above God or draws our affections away from God to it or has our loyalty to it above our loyalty to Christ is pure idolatry.

I want to celebrate Independence Day by declaring my absolute dependence on God, His Word and the work & person of Jesus Christ as my atonement. Not just my citizenship in a free country but my citizenship in a land who’s Maker is God. Not just any freedoms but now the freedom from sin, death and the law. Not just being born in the land of the free but being born of God, in Christ, to enjoy Him as my treasure for all of eternity. I hope all Christians don’t settle but look at all things in this life as a means to the ultimate end, a shadow of what is to come. The chief end & purpose of all man is to glorify God and enjoy Him….not fireworks, not flags, not watermelon, not country or even family.

True freedom only comes in Christ, apart from Christ we may be free to roam on this earth but the chains of sin still holds in a prison awaiting the final righteous judgment of God. Good news, while we are yet sinners Christ died for us! He didn’t die like us (we deserve death because of our sinfulness), He was sinless so He died in our place as our sin-bearer (taking our punishment of sin upon Himself). As Jesus hung on the cross He satisfied the wrath of God & justice was served for those who would turn from their sins (repent) & trust in Him alone. Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later proving to the world that He alone defeated death & by no other name can we be saved. Dependence day on Christ will be the greatest day of one’s life.

Divine Appointment?

According to Theopedia.com:

The providence of God may be defined as His guardianship and care for His creatures and creation. Also, any manifestation of such care may be described as providence.

The Sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11); nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that He does so, always and without exception. In other words, God is not merely sovereign de jure (in principle), but sovereign de facto (in practice).

God’s providence should be the Christian’s courage and God’s sovereignty should be the Christian’s confidence to endure life's unpredictable valleys, trials & struggles. This past weekend I encountered, what some may call, a divine appointment. But first lets back up…I was exhausted after a long night of street witnessing. At 7:30am the next morning I plan on going to Asbury College with my bud, Brian , for a FCA camp & hear fellow street evangelist Mark Cahill speak….I’m pumped, but very tired. I fall asleep on the couch as Amanda watches a movie & eventually wake up to my cell phone ringing! It’s Brian & its 7:55am!!! Long story short, I’m still out of it, my ride back to Louisville fell through at the last minute and the trip is officially cancelled.

No fear God’s providence is near
Later that afternoon I took a jog around my hood & was flagged down by some neighbors who have known me since I was a baby (despite never actually talking to me-just my grandmother). One thing led to another and before you know it we’re talking about God, His sovereignty & they’re son who recently passed away. They were very precious people and I was deeply touched to see their confidence in God and His Word to sustain them as they cope with the loss of their son. After a time of fellowship I prayed for them…and we finished with a sweet silence.

As I began to leave they told me how they needed some encouragement and just happen to come outside and saw me running by. I told them I was supposed to be at Asbury college for a camp. We both agreed God was behind our meeting and he truly does care for His own. Proverbs 20:24 says, “A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?” It is a mind-blowing and amazing mystery to know that behind all of our decisions God is working all things to an ultimate end & purpose. The fact that my jog & these neighbors going out to get some fresh air is a fulfillment of Phil 2:13 "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

In the Christian’s life it is awesome to know that He is working all things out for His glory and our eternal good, even when we can’t see or understand why things happen the way they do. This is our comfort when the storm comes, suffering comes, persecution comes or even when death comes. I know that God is for me now, He has reconciled me to himself through the cross of Christ. All my wrath has been satisfied and removed so all that’s left for me is God’s love, mercy & grace…it won’t always be a bubbly sweet love but it will be an everlasting & sustaining love for all my struggles. Maybe this is why, “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.” (Proverbs 10:25) God’s love doesn’t always remove pain but it does sustains us to know Him greater through it. We praise You God because only You are sovereign and have the freedom to do what seems good to You.