Preaching Christ crucified at a Tent Revival & the Abortion Clinic

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." -Hebrews 13:12-14

My pastor, Brian Croft, preached these verses this past Sunday & it was such an encouragement to me. God has called me & all Christians to take the gospel 'outside the camp' of our church walls to a dying & lost world where Jesus wants us to go. Why? Jesus is outside the camp waiting on us to follow him & bear the reproach he endured joyfully as he is with us. We do this because we live for God's glory & we know that we have no lasting city here, but we seek the city of God to come in heaven. God gave me the opportunity to fulfill this call by preaching the gospel at a tent revival & at the abortion clinic this past weekend.

TENT REVIVAL: You must be Born Again
I've found that if you make yourself available to preach God's Word wherever & whenever God will open doors you can't imagine. One Thursday night I couldn't of imagined that just 3 nights later I'd be preaching at a tent revival on Cane Run Road. But in God's providence I was given the opportunity by a fellow street preacher (Jessie) to preach God's Word at this tent meeting that has been going on for 3 weeks. Jessie was a drug addict that God set free & now he joyfully preaches freedom in Christ in the same areas that he once was in bondage & lost. I like this brother's zeal & willingness to go outside the camp & box to seek & save the lost. I appreciated when he said that he doesn't aspire to do anything but street preach & clean toilets if that's what God would have him do. The harvest is great but faithful laborers are few.

I preached from John 3:1-8 & Ezekiel 36:25-27 about the absolute need of being "Born Again." Without this spiritual new birth we cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. I emphasized that being born again is a work God does in us not something we can control. Jesus compares the Spirit of God to the wind that blows where it wishes & we cannot control it but it accomplishes the transformation of hard hearts into soft hearts. It makes those who are dead in their sins become alive in Jesus Christ. I preached the gospel & pleaded that all cry out to God to do this work in them. Evidence of the new birth is seen in Ezk. 36 where we see this work take place in believers hating the sin they once loved & loving the God they once suppressed & ignored. God was lifted up & with us in this service & he is doing a work in his people through the proclamation of his Word.

Hostility at the Abortion Clinic
Emotions are always running high & the atmosphere is always electric at the death mill on 2nd & Market St. I was out with my team the Jude 23 Network open air preaching, praying, & opening our mouths for the unborn who cannot speak for themselves. The Clinic Escorts (Pro-Abortion) were particularly in a sobering mood as they wore flowers in memory of their fellow friend & clinic escort who passed away this past week. This man had been an Abortion clinic escort for over 10 years & was opposed to the gospel but now he must give an account to God. Wow that hit me hard thinking that just last week I & others preached the gospel to him and now he is in eternity.... you better believe the gospel message is urgent, sinners are dying every second! On this morning me & Jerry took turns preaching & it was my first real taste of anger & hostility toward the gospel.

As I began to preach the sober reality of death & mentioned that we are all going to follow in their friends footsteps (who recently died) the clinic escorts became furious & one cussed me out. As I preached God's justice against sin & God's law the clinic escorts were very hostile & opposed. But I know seeds were planted in them as I expounded the grace & love of God seen in Christ crucified to save sinners. Throughout the morning around 23 women came to have abortions & I pleaded with them that God has wonderfully made the child in their wombs & please don't murder their child. Just across the street is a Christian clinic that will help & give other options to these mothers. As we preach we often see these women & their accompanying family look through the blinds in the waiting room at us because they can hear everything as they sit there. God empowered me to be a bold witness for him, I felt the presence of God as I went outside the camp to herald the good news. God comforted & strengthened me with Proverbs 24:11, "Rescue those who are being taken away to death."

Preaching at the Death Factory

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously,defend the rights of the poor and needy." -Prov. 31:8-9

One thing that really upsets & deeply hurts me is the thought that around 115,000 unborn children are murdered everyday (that's around 5,000 every hour!). At one point my wife was an unborn child & I thank God everyday for her life.... at one point every human being was in the womb. David says in Psalms 139, "For you(God) formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." God wonderfully made each beautiful child in the womb (we can't imagine the love God has for each child) & how do you think He feels about the daily genocide of unborn babies? The Bible is clear that He is angry with the wicked everyday & his wrath abides upon those who participate in this (and all sinful acts). But there is hope....

Hope is found in Jesus Christ that is why many come out to the Abortion Clinic every Saturday to pray, preach, and offer other options to the woman considering abortion. God commands Christians to open their mouth for those who cannot speak for themselves and are destitute. Our country is systematically & barbarically murdering unborn children daily by tearing them limb from limb (seriously watch an abortion video). I can't see how you can possibly suppress the truth of this wickedness & sin that is considered okay in this country. But not me, no sir I will pray & preach the gospel in hopes that those who participate in this evil turn from their sins & come to God who is ready to forgive. I will preach the gospel to those who volunteer to be "Clinic Escorts" they support abortion & escort women into the clinic but they will hear my voice & the men of the Jude 23 Network pleading for them to turn to God.

Love isn't Hate
When John was preaching to the women going into the clinic one of the escorts came at John and said, "why so much hate!?" Isn't it amazing that we as Christians who love God, love people, & love the unborn are considered hateful because we're taking a stand against the systematic murder of children. John replied, "Sir, we are telling the mother not to hate their child by killing them." As Christians we are to boldly stand for truth, justice, love, & God even when the world reviles or hates us. One day when we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ everything we've said & done will be brought into the light. Those who said we 'hate' will realize how much love we really have for them. Jesus is our example, he lived a perfectly good & sinless life but still the world hated him & nailed him to a cross. As his servants how can we expect any better treatment?

My first Open Air preaching experience
After Jerry had preached he prompted me to open air preach as well. I'm glad he did because God has put that desire in my heart and all I needed was that nudge. So Jerry lined me up by preaching the law & sin to bring me up to share the gospel. This was my first official open air so I must admit I was very nervous but once I opened my mouth God's grace was sufficient. I was encouraged to see many of the Catholics and clinic escorts listened. It was a joy to point sinners to the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If God can save a sinful, selfish, rebel like myself & raise him up to preach the gospel in front of an abortion clinic... then God can do anything believe me (better yet believe in God). While preaching I noted that some of these woman made an appointment for an abortion but we all have an appointed with death & we'll stand before God in judgment. We must be righteous- absolutely perfect and free from sin (Mt. 5:48). No amount of good deeds will cover our sins, our sins must be punished to be forgiven. Only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ will suffice. He died as the punishment for your sins paying the sinful debt we owe God & by repentance & faith we receive the benefits of this sacrifice on our behalf. When we turn from sin & trust in Christ God will forgive us of all sins, grant us eternal life, & give us the Holy Spirit & a new heart to live for Him. May God open hearts & draw them into eternal joy. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!

Abortion Clinic & Art in the Arbor Festival

The day before Mother's Day is a charged atmosphere On 2nd & Market St. in downtown Louisville because life & death are at hand. This Saturday morning I joined the guys of Jude 23 to pray & preach the gospel in front of the Abortion Clinic. There were pro-choice(death) supporters with nearly 40-50 Clinic escorts for the women coming there to have abortions. But there were many Pro-Life supporters gathered to pray, some had the red tape over their mouths (LIFE), but we open air preached. The crowd was hostile especially some of the clinic escorts (you can see it in the video posted from WHAS 11). It breaks my heart think that right here in my own city hundreds of babies are being murdered by their own mothers every month. God help us, God help me to fervently pray against this & for the mothers to turn to you.

Later that afternoon I headed to the Art in the Arbor festival held at Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church. I must mention that the Unitarian Church is associated with Liberal Christianity but it is NOT Christian. There are a variety of non-biblical beliefs between different Unitarian branches but they all deny the Trinity (One God revealed in 3 persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit). I'm not really concerned with that I came to 'seek & save the lost' at this festival. So with a pocket full of gospel tracts I prayerfully went in & began passing them out & talking with people about the gospel. Lets just say that I wasn't received with open arms.

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." -2 Tim. 3:12-13

These verses were real at this festival. I encountered a lot of rejection toward the gospel and a blatant false teacher. Paul says to Timothy that you can bank on this: living boldly & godly for Christ will make you a target for persecution in a sinful world that is hostile toward God. Making matters worse there are 'impostors'-- evil & false teachers who further deceive the masses & themselves toward destruction.

Hostile toward God
I don't know what it is with the 'older crowd' but they often don't want to engage in any conversation about God. Many took my gospel tracts then wanted to give them back & some people flat out told me they didn't care & didn't want to hear anyone's opinion about what it takes to get to heaven. Another man said, "Heaven is a place were you can drink all the beer you want & realize you don't have any money." It never surprises me that most of these people look outwardly gentle & compassionate but they are all the same inwardly as the Bible proclaims (sinful, hostile to God, rebels, & blind). I'm sure I could have talked with them about anything but God & they would have smiled & liked me but the moment I discussed spiritual matters that concern their sinful state before a holy God 'the monster sticks its head out.' And let me be clear, I'm always respectful, gentle, never judging or condemning but when you began exposing that men are not nearly as good as they think they are & that Christ is the only way to have their sins removed & forgiven- the offense of the gospel becomes evident.

Wrong way to Heaven Mr. Preacher
I gave a tract to a couple of men & asked them, "what do you think happens to you after you take your last breathe?" One of the men responded, "Well I'm going to see the Father's face in heaven & be with him." I said, "Amen, that's what I will be doing, but how do you get to heaven." He responded again, "Well brother you have to live a good life." I asked him, "so you have lived a good enough life to get to heaven? Do you mind going through some of the 10 commandments to see?" Then this man began walking away & said, "I don't need this, I'm a preacher myself!" Wow, this man is exactly what Paul described when he spoke of "evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

This man claimed to be a minister of God but had deceived himself into believing that he has lived a good enough life to earn heaven's reward. The Bible is clear that there are none that are righteous, holy, or good enough in themselves to earn heaven because 'all have sinned.' Jesus is clear that we must 'be perfect as the Father is perfect' to enter into heaven (Jesus said perfect not simply good). So what have we earned by living 'good lives' as sinners? The wages of our sin, which is death (eternal death in hell). This is why Jesus Christ came to live a perfect & sinless life (because we haven't & can't stand before God innocent). Then he expressed the highest degree of love & grace by laying down his life on rugged cross as a sacrifice for sins he had not committed. The one innocent lamb of God took the place of us guilty sinners! The punishment we deserve fell upon him as he bore the wrath of God for our sins so that God remains just when forgiving sinners. That is why salvation comes by faith alone apart from works. At best our 'good deeds & life' are stained & filthy with our sins. We need the blood of Jesus to wash us white as snow. We can never live a good enough life to save ourselves, God is clear that sin is what will send us to hell because it must be punished & good deeds don't remove our sins... only trusting in the person & work of Christ will remove our sins. So don't listen to any false teacher or preacher who says just live a good life. So "no Mr. Preacher that's the wrong way to heaven... it leads to hell."

Making Today Count for Eternity

I've been trying to make an effort lately to make each day count for eternity. I recently read a great quote, "If something is not worth dying for than its definitely not worth living for." As a Christian I have to really examine my life & look at what fills it up. Does it show that I value Christ or things of the world? That's convicting but we have "One life to live that soon will pass, only what's done for Christ will last." With all this said, I'm going to try to give a gospel tract or share the gospel with someone everyday. That is a cause worth living for: sacrificially loving others & serving Christ on my way into eternity.

Since I've made this resolve God has brought many people my way to share the gospel with and many have been very receptive. I pulled up to a gas station the other night & gave a million dollar bill gospel tract to the man pumping gas next to me. His name was Aaron, we got into a great conversation about what happens after death. He told me that he hoped he had lived a good enough life for God to let him into heaven. We may try to live a good life but we can never live up to the standard Jesus set when he said, "be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). So I took him through some of the 10 commandments & Aaron began to see his sinfulness before a God of holiness & justice. From there I took Aaron to the cross of Christ & showed him where love, forgiveness, truth, and grace was demonstrated for him.

Aaron had a soft heart, I could tell God has been working on him. He told me that his girlfriend is taking him to church & wants him to get right with God. He also has another Christian friend who has been encouraging him & I was the third person God sent. Wow, what an honor to be part of God's work to a soul when I was just pulling up to get some gas. But God works every detail out for his glory & this is what I was created to do. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10).

Please Pray for:
-Aaron (Gas station/ He was very receptive to the Gospel & it seemed God may be drawing him)
-Chris & Shane (Chris was an old childhood friend & Shane was a high school senior.. they were both very open to the truth)
-Jeff (Jeff had a Christian background but appreciated hearing the Gospel explained)
-3 teen girls (ages 13-15, they listened intently & I pray God uses that seed I sowed)

Evangelizing on Derby Eve

Louisville is hopping at this time every year with Thoroughbred racing, Derby hats, celebrities, and parties. Bardstown Road is no exception and I had the honor of going 'outside the camp' to reach the lost with the gospel on Derby Eve. I was very encouraged to link up with some faithful brothers in Christ who are just as zealous about preaching the gospel as I am. The weather was great and there was a buzz in the air as soon as I arrived.

Over a four hour period I passed out hundreds of gospel tracts and shared the gospel with more people than I can remember. This was a special night because I had one great conversation about God & the gospel after another. I encountered a mixture of some very hard hearts and some very soft hearts that God seem to prick as I was speaking to them.

Hard Hearts
I hadn't been out on Bardstown Rd. in a while so I kind of forgot how dark it was spiritually. While one of our guys was open air preaching multiple people were cursing at him & blaspheming God's name. The police showed up & tried to shut us down but we weren't on private property so we were able to continue preaching. When my friend Jerry was preaching a kid came up and mooned him! We were in front of Ear-x-tacy so lets just say we were doing our part to 'keep Louisville weird.' I even talked with a young man who claimed to be a Wiccan & he had died 3 times already. He was very obstinate & claimed he didn't care about God & was going to live the way he wanted to live & sin all he wants. I was able to give him a tract so I pray that will be a gospel seed planted for another to water soon.

Convicted Hearts
There were so many great conversations I had but I will highlight one specifically. As the night went on me, John, Danny, & Jerry decided to walk to a cafe a little further down the road to open air preach and continue witnessing. But when we arrived there was a band playing outdoors. It didn't matter because God was taking us to another spot that was a harvest field. By a dark bus stop next to a McDonald's we begin to have great conversations with people & they were very receptive to the gospel.

I witnessed to a group of 5 teens (first to the 3 guys & then to the two girls). I asked them, "If you died tonight & stood before God & He asked you 'why should I let you into heaven?' what would you say." They all told me about how good they have tried to be in life & that should get them in heaven. So I took them through some of the 10 Commandments to see if they were good in God's eyes since that is who they must answer to. As I was doing this they admitted they had lied, stolen, lusted, etc. you could literally see the conviction on their face. A couple of them looked as if they were about to cry! Once I explained that our holy God will punish all sin by sending the guilty to hell & that would be the fair & right thing for God to do they were stunned. They were ready for the good news that God doesn't leave us in our sins but provides 'the way, the truth, & the life' to heaven(Jesus Christ).

I explained that Jesus didn't die on the cross for his sins because he was perfect. I looked in the eyes of these kids and ask them, "Whose sins did Jesus die for if he wasn't dying for his sins?" They nodded their heads and said, "For our sins." After I finished speaking with them they said, "I want to get right with God right now!" This was amazing because I've never had someone say this to me so I asked them if they wanted to pray. I explained that praying doesn't guarantee they are saved because Jesus said 'the one who does the will of my Father' & 'the one who preserves until the end will be saved.' But right there on the street corner we prayed and they asked Christ to cleanse them of their sins. They said that they attended a church so I told them to tell their pastor what had happened & I encouraged them to begin reading the book of John in their Bible & praying for God to make them more like Christ.