August 11, 2012 Open Air Message

The following is not a transcript, but it is generally what my brother from Calvary Chapel Wichita and I preached to the dance club attendees last night in Wichita's Old Town party area as they walked from one club to another:

Good evening.  My name is Kevin.  My friend and I attend Calvary Chapel on South Hillside.  Our pastor knows we are here and we are under his spiritual authority.  We are here to share the gospel with you tonight.  We are not here to argue, but if you have questions, please come and ask.  We will be happy to answer your questions.  If you need a Bible, we have some available for free.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever trusts in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  This is God’s offer to you and it is open to anyone.  Whosoever may come to Him.  God’s promise to you is eternal life if you will only repent (turn away from sin) and trust Jesus Christ.  But for those who choose not to turn from sin and trust Jesus, God has promised eternal judgment in the lake of fire.  The Bible says it will be a continual destruction

Why do we need Jesus Christ?  Because we have broken God’s law, the Ten Commandments.  God will judge us on the Day of Judgment.  He knows every thought and attitude we have.

Have you ever lied or stolen?  Then God sees you as a liar and a thief.  Have you ever hated anyone or looked at anyone with lust?  God sees hatred as murder and lust as adultery.  If you are like me, you have broken God’s law and sinned against Him.  There is no innocent person on earth and God will by no means clear the guilty.  His promise is judgment in the lake of fire for all those who choose not to turn from their sin and trust Jesus Christ, trusting that His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins.  But that is not God’s will.  He has made a way for us to be forgiven.

God has given us a choice between heaven and hell, between life and death.  About 2000 years ago, God came in the flesh, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life; never once breaking God’s commandments.  Jesus Christ gave His perfect life on a cross as the sacrifice for our sins.  Three days later, He rose from the dead and defeated death.  If you are trusting in the One who has defeated death, what do you have to worry about?  Nothing.

If hell didn’t exist, we wouldn’t be here.  We are not here to ruin your fun.  Since hell does exist, we have come to warn you about God’s coming wrath.  God is holy and just.  He will by no means clear the guilty.  But God has made a way for us to be forgiven.

As folks walked by and only caught pieces of the message, we continued to repeat in the hope that the Lord would use the preaching and the gospel would be planted.  We preached this for nearly an hour last night between 11 p.m. and midnight.  No one came up to speak with us or ask a question.  No one did more than look at us and make a quick comment as they walked by.  But, we are NOT discouraged!

"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

To God be all the glory for whatever fruit may come of our service to Him!

Thank you for reading!  God bless you!

Myths and Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #6 – If We Share Our Faith, We Are, “Shoving Religion Down Peoples’ Throats.”

This myth differs from the others in that Jesus’ followers don’t say it.  Instead, we hear it from those who have not yet humbled themselves before their Creator and put their trust in Him as Lord and Savior.  It is used by the powers and principalities of darkness to discourage Christians from sharing the words of eternal life found in the Bible.

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

A quick evangelism tip – When someone accuses me of shoving my “religion” down their throat, my quick, friendly response is, “Not at all.” because, (1) I am merely offering the message of eternal life and not shoving anything down anyone’s throat, and (2) Christianity is not a religion.  It is a Master/servant relationship, even a friendship, with our Creator by His miraculous gift of re-birth; of making us new creations with a new way of viewing things, new desires and eternal life.  Our response is voluntary servanthood to Jesus Christ borne from our thankfulness for His grace and forgiveness; our thankfulness for His suffering and sacrifice of Himself on the cross to pay for our sins; our thankfulness for His resurrection from the dead.  This relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6)

The truth is that we Christians constantly have things shoved down our throats with which we disagree.  Sometimes it seems we are swimming in them!  You can probably think of others, but here are a few examples in, for lack of a better one, alphabetical order:

Blasphemy:  We hear God’s name used worthlessly, disrespectfully or to curse so much that we tend to become deaf to it.  When was the last time you heard Adolph Hitler’s name used for no reason?  Or a serial killer’s name used in vain?  When was the last time you heard someone excitedly say, “Oh my allah!”?  People don’t use those names in vain because they don’t despise those names as much as their Creator’s name.  “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” (Matthew 12:34) and, when people despise their Creator, they use His name worthlessly.  They blaspheme the only living God, the God of the Bible, the One who gives them life and breath, the One who will hold them responsible for how they have lived their lives and the One who “will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

Evolution:  Can a Christian child attend a public school without having the theory of evolution taught as undeniable scientific fact?  Evolution would be seen as a silly fairy tale if it were not so entrenched in our society.  Can anyone watch a nature program on tv without being taught the completely unscientific and unnatural principles that everything came into being by itself and that one species changes into another species?  All evidence points to all creatures reproducing after their kind just as the Lord tells us in Genesis 1:11-12 and 1:24-25.  Nothing is more impossible than Creator-less creation!  Every building has a builder.  Everything that exists has a Maker.  It is a scientific impossibility for something to exist without a beginning.  The only evidence-based, scientifically proven possibility is that the God of the Bible created everything just as He tells us in Genesis, but the evidence-less opposite is shoved down everyone’s throats.

Humanism:  We are steeped in humanism in the United States.  We are indoctrinated through media to believe that humans are powerful, capable, knowledgeable, creative…  In reality, “Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” (Psalm 144:4)  Any abilities we have come by the sovereign grace of God.  Our Creator owes us neither our next breath nor heartbeat and our lives are His to take at any moment in whatever manner He chooses.  Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  To claim otherwise is to tell God that He is a liar.  It is the height of arrogance.

Occultism:  Our culture here in the U.S. is full of the occult camouflaged as entertainment.  How many movies in just the past few years have dealt with vampires, zombies, witchcraft, sorcery, etc?  In the June 29, 2012 Wichita Eagle newspaper, I found 5 movies about the occult out of the 19 reviewed.  That’s over 25% of the movies showing here on the fringe of the Bible belt!  How many bands sing of the glories of wickedness, witchcraft and satanism?  Do you know what even mainstream bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were really singing about?  Lyrics can be easily found online, but read them at your own risk.  Horoscopes are found in newspapers across the country.  Palm and tarot card readers have ads in the phone book and online.  For a few bucks, a stranger will tell you your “future” by phone.  We are so surrounded by the occult that it is part of every day life.  We have ceased to see it for the demonic trash that it is.

Religiousness:  We are told that the Dalai Lama is a “holy man”; that various Islamic clerics deserve extra respect due to their religious standing; that the Pope is more than an ordinary man; that rabbis are above the rest of us spiritually.  Please don’t misinterpret this as disrespect toward these people.  I’m sure it would be a great experience to meet them.  I would certainly post about it on this blog.  However, they are all people who, one day, will stand before God to give an account of their lives just like the rest of us. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,…” (Hebrews 9:27).

All of the above are shoved down everyone’s throats.  It is way past time to step back and look at what we are being fed – especially by the media in the United States.  “I will set no worthless (wicked) thing before my eyes.  I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me.” (Psalm 101:3)

Don’t allow anyone to intimidate or discourage you by accusing you of “shoving your religion down their throat.”  Quickly and lovingly deny their accusation and continue taking the best news in the universe to those who have ears to hear it.  Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.  Rejoice, and be glad for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)  Be encouraged brothers and sisters in Christ!

Thank you for reading!  God bless you!

News From the Streets

So far, the summer street evangelism season has been going well.  Wichita’s River Festival was held about a month ago.  The Lord provided great weather and lots of folks who accepted gospel tracts.  A few also let me take them through the Good Person Test.  It is always encouraging to see other Jesus followers obeying Him by sharing the best news in the universe and several were out in the crowds during the River Festival.

Since then, we have continued the Old Town bar/party area evangelism adventures on Friday and Saturday evenings.  The Saturdays, particularly near midnight, have recently become even more out of control than previously.  Maybe it’s the hot summer weather?  I have been asking the Lord about leaving earlier (like 11 pm) due to the over-the-top wickedness that happens, but have not sensed an answer.  We may, at some point, need to knock the dust off our sandals and leave these late night people to their sin.  That would be disappointing in a way because people turn 21 years old every day and head straight to the bars.  There are always fresh faces in Old Town.  They desperately need the no kiddin’ around, biblical gospel message we bring to them.

A dear brother and sister in Christ in Baja, Mexico gave me some mini-books of Bible verses.  The books have a good selection of verses that speak of comfort and, most importantly, salvation.  I have given them to people who go through the Good Person Test with me and older folks for whom the print on our other tracts is too small to read.  They have been very well-received and are rarely rejected.  My hope is that people will read these booklets because they are not intimidating although they may never crack open their Bibles.

In just over a week, Wichita’s hugest car show will be held downtown.  It’s called Automobilia and covers about 10-12 city blocks, has several stages for bands, a food court, etc.  Thousands of people will be attending and I have been trying to find the laborers the Lord is raising up.  We need cooler weather, (90 degrees without any storms would be fantastic!), and Jesus followers who desire to glorify Him by denying themselves, distributing tracts and following the Holy Spirit’s lead.  Your prayers are appreciated!

Thank you very much for your prayers for wisdom, sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading and however else you are led to pray.  You are partially responsible for whatever impact Jesus is making through us!  May God bless you!

Myths and Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #5 - "Ask Jesus into your heart to be saved."

On the surface, this misleading phrase seems to be a simplified way to explain how someone can receive forgiveness for their sins and eternal life.  But, when we compare it to Scripture, we find it to be a lie.  It is pure deception from satan, the father of lies himself.

Although some pastors, preachers, Christian bands and others are in the habit of using this misleading phrase, there is no biblical foundation for it.  If you, dear reader, can show me where the Bible says people must ask Jesus into their hearts to be saved, I will eat this blog – computer and all - while it’s plugged in!  Go ahead and search.  In reality, the Bible says we must repent and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)

 “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

The “ask Jesus into your heart” phrase is another wicked part of the unbiblical, man-centered, easy-believe-ism of the modern gospel message that is no gospel at all.  This dangerously deceptive phrase removes the saving power of the gospel in the same way as leaving a key ingredient out of a medicine removes its curative properties.

The result is that we have many people who profess to be Christians, but who have not repented from sin and do not truly follow Jesus as Lord.  They do not understand the enormity of their sinfulness before God.  They are unrepentant because the “ask Jesus into your heart” message does not refer to repentance.  If they are unrepentant, they continue to be “workers of lawlessness” who transgress God’s Law (1 John 3:4) and Jesus does not know them. (Matthew 7:23)  They are without Christ’s righteousness and are comfortably and obliviously on their way to eternal judgment in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)  Unless they repent, they will perish.  We Jesus followers commit a high crime against those who do not yet know the Lord by holding back the hard truth of the biblical gospel message.

Think about this.  If a person must simply ask Jesus into their heart to be saved, it puts Jesus into the position of being, a get-out-of-hell-free idol that requires no repentance from sin.  The “Jesus” a person asks into their heart is just a mental image, not the biblical Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords and King of kings to whom we must turn and trust to save us from God’s wrath.  This idolatry itself is sinful and will certainly save no one from their sinfulness before the holy, righteous and just God of the Bible.

If you are someone who claims to be a Christian because you asked Jesus into your heart to save you, please do not be offended by this post.  Instead, obey 2 Corinthians 13:5 and search the Scriptures to make sure you are in the faith.  Here are a few Bible verses to consider:

    “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does

       the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

     “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see

       the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

     “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life,

       but the wrath of God abides on him.”  (John 3:36)

      “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You

       have sent.” (John 17:3)

    

     “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not

       wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Here is the evangelistic difficulty with this misleading phrase.  People who have “asked Jesus into their heart” tend to be inoculated against the biblical gospel.  They believe their salvation is a done deal and that they are on their way to heaven with little or no regard to how they live their lives.  When someone tries to share the biblical gospel message with them, their response is something like, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about me.  I asked Jesus into my heart years ago.”  They have a false assurance of salvation because they have “asked Jesus into their heart” and believe they are thereby saved from the just punishment of hell.  Scripture indicates that they likely are not saved from God’s wrath because they have not turned from and forsaken their sin.  Their trust is in a prayer they may have prayed instead of Jesus’ sacrifice of His perfect life in payment for their sins against God.  Their trust is in a mental image of Jesus in their heart instead of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection from the dead and His defeat of death.

Those of us who are true Jesus followers, must repent of trying to be nicer and less offensive than Jesus.  Jesus set the evangelistic example for us by very directly teaching that people must turn from and forsake their sin and believe the biblical gospel. (see Mark 1:15 above)   We are urged to speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)  If someone is unknowingly heading for a cliff and certain death, the most loving thing we can do is warn them and try to get them to turn around.  If someone is heading for eternity in hell, (and most people are because we know the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are those who enter by it. - Matthew 7:13), the most loving thing we can do is tell them to turn from and forsake their sins and trust the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

”For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

May God bless you as you go and share the biblical gospel message that offends people enough to save them from their sins!

Ready For Summer!

Hello Jesus followers!  I returned from visiting my family in Christ in the Mexican state of Baja Norte a week ago and it has taken until now for the trip to distill into a blog post.  Sorry for the wait!

After a super early flight to San Diego and walking across the Tijuana border, I was waiting for my wonderful brother and sister in Christ in front of a McDonald’s.  We headed south to their home in the town of Colonia Vicente Guerrero (CVG) for a week of catching up, evangelism training and Mexican-style street evangelism.  If eternity were to be like this week, I would not be disappointed.

Before we go further, there is some important business that needs our attention.  If you believe Tijuana is horribly dangerous as it is portrayed in the U.S. media, please stop.  Yes, it is a huge city and a person can get in trouble there just as they can here in Wichita, Kansas or any other U.S. city.

Here is the truth.  I was only “accosted” by professional taxi drivers wanting me to ride in their cabs.  I said, “No, gracias.” and had no problem.  The McDonald’s was very clean and the employees were quick, helpful, kind and gave me the correct change.  Lots of people were around and they were quick to smile and say, “buenas tardes” (good afternoon), when I greeted them.  This was while I dragged luggage along behind me.  Trust me.  People could tell I was a gringo, alone and away from home.  Anyone with a functioning brain cell would deduce that I was carrying money.  If you ask for and use the wisdom the Lord promises to give you (James 1:5), there is no reason to fear heading south of the border.  In fact, if the Lord tells you to go anywhere, GO!  Don’t hesitate and don’t turn to the right or the left!

Once in CVG, after picking up some friends in the city of Ensenada and visiting Costco there, we all crashed for the night.  The following days were filled with visiting family, street evangelism as opportunities arose, fabulous family dinners, good conversations, fish tacos (mandatory when you visit Baja – if there is not a law, there should be), and explaining/demonstrating/discussing biblical evangelism ideas with individuals and groups.  It was an extremely encouraging visit and I can’t wait for the Lord to send me back there for a visit or until He returns.

Now, back to the title of this post.  Events are beginning to pop up on the street evangelism calendar.  We have every Saturday evening in the Old Town area of Wichita, of course.  Wichita’s annual River Festival will be June 1 - 9 during which folks celebrate the little creek that dribbles through town by having lots of concerts and other events that bring people out of their homes.  Wichita has way more than its share of car shows, so we will likely be sharing the gospel at some of those.  Street evangelism-wise, things will probably be busy from now through September.

If you are in or will be visiting the Wichita area and would like to join us and learn to share your faith the way Jesus did, we are patient, kind and eager to teach.  Just comment on this blog or search for me on Facebook and leave a comment for me there.  It would be an honor and pleasure to help you fulfill our Great Commission to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  (Mark 16:15)

Thank you for reading and God bless you!

Toughening Up

One thing that develops as we share our faith is a thickening of the skin; a resistance to outside pressures.  When hitting the streets and talking with people, my goal is to simply follow the Holy Spirit’s lead in speaking the truth in love to help people understand their sinfulness and God’s plan to save them from sin and His wrath.  Occasionally, individuals ask us to go somewhere else, move across the street, etc.  I ignorantly obeyed a couple of times, but then began to resist unless they were police.  That brought confrontation and the thicker skin.

Last Saturday evening, we had a productive time in the bar/party area of Old Town in Wichita.  It’s prom season and many couples from local high schools were out having dinner.  They were fairly open and receptive.  The Lord allowed us to have a few conversations about the Law and Gospel and everyone was happy.

Toward midnight, when the party people had made things more…. umm… interesting, it seemed the Holy Spirit was leading us to read Scripture.  We stood on a footstool on a sidewalk and began reading through Hebrews 1 & 2 as people walked by with abundant room.  Most seemed to ignore us, but they could hear what we were reading.  After only a few moments, a nearly panicked man quickly walked up and frantically said, “What are you doing?!?  What are you doing?!?  You shouldn’t be doing this!!  Don’t you know you’re not supposed to push religion on people?!?”

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

This man is not our enemy.  I hope to speak with him sometime.  We recognized this event to be what I call a demonic distraction the instant he came up to us.  The man was a pawn in a small spiritual battle.  Our true enemy, satan, didn’t want Scripture to be read in public.  satan will try to keep you from reading your Bible, too, so go read it and give him a miserable day.

My first response to the man was to ignore him and keep reading.  This may look rude in practice, but I never want to stop doing what our true enemy hates.  This is where the thick skin develops.  The man kept trying to distract us by ranting about the earth’s population, so I turned to him and told him firmly and clearly that I would keep reading.  The man immediately turned and walked away.

“Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  James 4:7

Was this little spiritual skirmish fun?  Not at all!  It was a stressful few minutes.  Now I look back on it and think, wow, the Lord helped and protected us and maybe I handled the situation correctly.  Our skin is thicker and the Lord has already prepared us for the next battle.

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Psalm 18:2

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love.”  1 Corinthians 16:13-14

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”  Ephesians 6:10-11

Thank you for reading!  May God bless you and protect you in your battles.

Myths & Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #4 - People will come to a church service to hear the gospel

Many Bible-believing, Jesus-following fellowships fall for the myth that evangelism can be done within their church walls.  Their intentions are good.  They truly desire for people to come to know Jesus Christ and have eternal life through Him.  They host guest speakers, concerts and other events with the hope that people will come, return for a church service and let God make them new creations in Christ.  However, with few exceptions, those who are not yet Christians will neither attend the special event nor a church service.  I’ve witnessed this during years in California, Mexico and Kansas while observing many events at a wide variety of churches.  After many hours of planning, lots of work and lots of spending, the evangelistic results of nearly every event held on church grounds have been disappointing.

There is a good reason for the disappointing results.  Those who have not yet chosen to follow Jesus Christ may offer many excuses for not attending church, but they all boil down to this simple concept:  In the same way that criminals do not like police stations, people who have not yet chosen to accept their guilt of sinning against God and His gracious offer of forgiveness do not like church services.  The Bible teaching at a Bible-believing church activates the consciences of those who attend.  Since admitting guilt before God is uncomfortable, those who have not yet placed their trust in Jesus Christ tend to stay away from church services to spare their consciences and/or pride and/or love for their sin.

So what should we do as Jesus followers who want to reach those who are headed for eternity in Hell?  Should we soften the teaching in church services so that no one is confronted with the reality of God’s coming wrath on all those who disobey Him? (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)  Watering down God’s message to make it more palatable to those who do not yet believe will lull those who are not yet Christians into a false sense of eternal security and stunt the growth of true Jesus followers who want to learn, grow and follow the Prince of peace.  Neither of these results are acceptable, so church services cannot be made “seeker sensitive” if we want people to know the Savior.

In Mark 16:15, the Lord Jesus Christ commands His followers to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  We receive a similar command to “Go…” from Him in Matthew 28:19.  If you know and follow Jesus Christ, these commands apply to you.  Since Jesus said to “Go”, we should not stay within the church building.  Staying in the “holy huddle” of fellow Christians may feel safe, but it is dangerous because it is disobedient.  It is the opposite of what Jesus commands us to do.  Are we to fellowship with other Jesus followers?  Absolutely!  Hebrews 10:25 refers to “… not forsaking our own assembling together…”.  But, if we are continually surrounded by fellow born-again Jesus followers, we tend to get comfortable and cease reaching out to those who do not yet trust in the Savior.  The mission field begins one footstep off the church’s property.  So, go to church, fellowship, get yourself prepared for the mission field and step outside in faith.  Peter could not walk on water until he got out of the boat.

So where do we go?  Jesus’ command is “to all the world” and “to all creation.”  This is exactly where the Apostle Paul and his fellow travelers went because they feared God and obeyed Him.  They feared God more than man.  God will tell us and/or lead us if He has a specific place for us to serve.  Maybe He will open opportunities to reach neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, store clerks, “friends” on the web, strangers in a city park or people in another state or another country.  He has provided Bibles, Books of John, gospel tracts and the Good Person Test (take it here) as tools.  It’s up to us to prayerfully and obediently go somewhere and use these tools to reach the lost.

Once we go into all the world, we must open our mouths.  When we research the word “preach” in Mark 16:15 (also Matthew 10:7, Luke 9:2, Acts 10:42, 2 Timothy 4:2 among many other verses), we find it is the Greek word “kerusso” which means to publicly herald the message of a king.  In the case of Christians, we have the fearful and humbling honor to publicly proclaim the message of the King of kings so that those who never darken a church’s door will hear it.  Remember, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)  Given a wise choice of location, a couple of Jesus followers who are distributing tracts, having one-to-one conversations and open air preaching the Law and Gospel can reach, in a few hours, more people than a whole city full of churches will reach on church property in a year.

The easiest ways to get the Law and Gospel out from behind the church walls are to post Bible verses on social media, leave good gospel tracts where they will be found or give them to people.  The most biblical, scary, exhilarating, humbling and foolish feeling way to publicize the Law and the Gospel is by heralding in the open air to those why may happen to hear.  Putting fish symbols on our cars and wearing snazzy Christian t-shirts are nice, but they do not get the job done like sharing a serious, loving conversation with someone about eternity and where they will spend it.

Now that it is clear what we should do to reach the lost, here comes the difficult part.  Are you scared?  Me, too.  Every time.  We must overcome the fear of man that keeps us within the church building.  Perfect love casts out all fear.  If we really love those who do not yet know Jesus Christ, the fear of man fades away.  Prayer, love for the lost, a little study and practice help us defeat the fear of man.  If we fear God more than man, we will obey Him and go into all the world and preach the gospel as He has commanded.

God has given us powerful weapons.  If you were a soldier behind enemy lines and you had no weapon with which to fight your way back to your unit, you would have good reason to be fearful.  But, God has given us (1) prayer, (2) His Law which is written on every person’s heart (Romans 2:14-15), (3) the Holy Spirit as our Helper, and (4) an ally within every person which is their conscience.  When we use God’s Law, (the Ten Commandments), to activate a person’s conscience, they will see their sinful state before God.  When they agree that they are sinful and headed for eternity in Hell, it is time to explain the gospel as God’s plan for their deliverance from His justified wrath.

“The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” (Proverbs 29:25)  The devil loves to have Christians cowering in fear.  We must let our love for Jesus and our love for people overcome our fears.  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)  We must go outside the church walls and proclaim that Jesus Christ alone is the way, the truth and the life.  No one will go to the Father but through Him! (John 14:6)

          And the master said to the slave, “Go out into the highways and along the

          hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”  Luke 14:23

I hope this encourages you to go and share the most important message in the universe!  May God bless you and guide you as you go!

$419 For a Cookie???

That’s what the cookie served on the plane cost and it wasn’t even warm. But, along with it, Frontier Airlines was nice enough to throw in flights to and from Sacramento so I could visit my brothers and sisters in Christ in California’s beautiful central valley. It was a bargain!

Over the past weekend, the Lord gave me a narrow window of time to jet to Lodi, California. That’s where I lived for eleven years, came to know the Lord and was discipled through several godly men before serving on the mission field in Baja.

The purpose of the trip was to fellowship with and speak to the wonderful saints of Unto the King Fellowship about the biblical evangelism we do on the streets of Wichita. They have a strong desire to obey Jesus by preaching the gospel to every creature and they want to do it effectively and biblically; the way Jesus did.

UTKF is a small, very warm, intimate and loving, Bible-based fellowship of Jesus followers whom I have known for quite a few years. The Lord has used them greatly to support me prayerfully and financially while I served in Mexico and in the current street evangelism ministry.

During UTKF’s Sunday morning service, I walked them through the Good Person Test and explained what we say to people and what we do during our evangelism adventures. I also shared some of the pitfalls and arguments we have encountered and what we have done to overcome them. They eagerly received tracts and resources to ground themselves in and apply the biblical evangelism concept of giving the Law (the Ten Commandments) to proud people and giving grace (the Gospel message) to the humble. You can find this concept used by Jesus Himself in the account of the “rich, young ruler” in Luke 18:18-23.

The weekend was also packed with a trip through the redwoods to the coast north of San Francisco for lunch with two sisters in Christ and a couple of quick evangelism adventures Cali-style. By the way, while fishing for men in Lodi, I found the folks there to be very friendly and extremely open to the gospel – more so than in Wichita. They were eager to have a good conversation, ask questions and listen. Their respectfulness was off the charts! Lodi is much smaller than Wichita. Is this friendliness and openness a function of a smaller city or is there more to the story?

All glory to the Lord for an outstanding trip and whatever fruit He brings from it! Thank you for reading and may God bless your fishing expeditions!

Myths and Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #3 – “God Loves You and Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life”

The “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” phrase may be the most misleading and destructive of all phrases used in modern Christianity.  It is deceiving and makes people comfortable on their way to Hell. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)  Without a doubt, if you are a born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, God loves you beyond the human mind’s ability to comprehend.  But, the other half of this misleading phrase depends on what the word “wonderful” means to you.

Before we go further, a very important note:  This phrase should NEVER be used in evangelism!  It is completely man-centered and misleads non-believers.  There is absolutely no biblical precedent for telling any non-believer “God loves you” or “Jesus loves you”.  None!  Jesus Christ, who is God, (John 10:30, Colossians 1:15-18), loves everyone, including all serial killers, rapists, despots, child molesters and worse, so much that He paid for their sins by suffering and giving His perfect life on a cross to allow them the opportunity to live in perfection forever. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, 1 Timothy 2:5-6)  At the same time, God’s wrath abides on everyone who has not repented and obeyed the gospel. (John 3:36)  Using the “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” message will not show a person his guilt of transgressing God’s Law and his need to repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  At best, it will bring a deceived, unrepentant  non-Christian into fellowship with true Christians.  It will lead people to believe they are saved from God’s wrath and Hell when they are not.

Have you read the book of Acts or Foxe’s Book of Martyrs?  Ask yourself this:  When Stephen preached to the council in Jerusalem and was stoned to death, was that God’s wonderful plan for him? (Acts 7:2-60)  What about the Apostle Paul being beaten, stoned nearly to death, shipwrecked three times and surviving in the ocean for a night and a day? (2 Corinthians 11:25)  How wonderful was it when the leaders of the reformation in Europe were burned to death at stakes for trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation rather than following the traditions of men?  Missionaries have taken the gospel to unreached places and have died of terrible diseases or have been killed by natives.  Wonderful?  Really?  What about Christians who miscarry babies, are falsely accused and punished for crimes, are paralyzed, or suffer other terrible circumstances?  The orphan whose parents are persecuted and killed probably does not see God’s plan for her life as wonderful.

To most people, a “wonderful plan” for life does not include poverty, disease or much difficulty of any kind.  Jesus said to His disciples, “In the world you have tribulation…”. (John 16:33)  This verse alone should settle the matter, but Scripture offers many more indicators of the troubles we can expect in the following passages:  Acts 5:41, Romans 8:16-17, Philippians 1:29-30, 2 Timothy 1:12, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 3:14, 1 Peter 4:12-13, 1 Peter 4:19 and Revelation 6:9-11.  These are a few of the verses that apply to the suffering, persecution and non-wonderful lives of Jesus’ followers.  Our hope is that the Lord is with us in the midst of the troubles we face in this fallen world.  His promise is that He is with us, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

If you use the misleading “wonderful plan” phrase, especially when speaking with those who do not (yet) follow Jesus, please stop.  Certainly not because I ask you, but because it obviously disagrees with Scripture.  It misleads those who do not yet follow the Savior and, in a way, inoculates them against the true, biblical gospel.  Once a person is deceived into believing God is thrilled with his life and wants to unveil His plan that will be wonderful for him, he does not want to hear the truth about his sin against God and the necessity of repentance and rebirth. (Luke 13:2-5, John 3:3)  The “wonderful plan” message creates unrepentant, false converts and makes the evangelism process much more difficult for those of us who evangelize the lost the way Jesus did by lovingly showing people their sin with the Law and then sharing God’s grace when they are ready to repent of their sin. (Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 23:12, Romans 7:7, 1 Peter 5:5)

Now, all of the above being said, God certainly has a plan for each person.  It is clear from Scripture that He is active in our lives and in world events; weaving together the tapestry of His perfect plan leading to the day when His perfect will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  I’ve heard it said that we see the unsightly underside of His weaving and He is glorified by the topside of His tapestry where He sees the reality of what He is doing.  “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Ok.  This post may have stepped on some toes.  It is never my intention to offend anyone by what is written in this blog.  If anyone is offended by Scripture, that is between them and the Lord.  The purpose of this post and every post here is always to equip, edify and encourage followers of Jesus to do what He has commanded:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  (Mark 16:15)

Thank you for reading.  May the Prince of Peace give you His perfect peace through your trials! (Isaiah 26:3)

A Quick Evangelism Report

Since the Lord has continued to provide good weather during this winter, my brother in Christ and I have continued to hit the streets.  If the hotdog venders can stand a little cold, we will certainly do it to share God's law and gospel!

New Year's Eve was a highlight.  We waited until about 10:30pm to hit the streets because that's what everyone does that night.  It's all about midnight, right?  We found a line of maybe 50 people waiting to enter a club and went down the line handing them Ten Commandment coins with the gospel on the back.  Then we took the opportunity to open air preach to the crowd.  The Lord let us do this twice as the line very slowly entered the club and new partiers took their places in line.

One guy kept shouting "Jesus was a Jew", but everyone else politely listened as we walked them through a few of the Ten Commandments and shared that, if they have broken even one of the Commandments, God will find them guilty and the punishment will be eternity in hell.  After the bad news, of course we shared the Good News of how we can be forgiven if we repent from sin and trust that Jesus Christ took our punishment to save us from God's wrath.  What was the response?  Did they curse at us and throw stuff?  Nope.  Several people in the line genuinely thanked us and wished us a Happy New Year.

It was the perfect way to end 2011 and begin 2012!

Myths & Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #2 – “A Church Is a Hospital for Hurting People”

Like most misleading statements, there is some truth to this one.  Yes, a fellowship of born-again, Jesus-following Christians is a “hospital” of sorts.  It’s a good place to go for a person who is hurting spiritually, emotionally, physically or even financially.  A fellowship of Christians is a wonderful place to go for comfort in troubled times!  It is where one can benefit from fervent prayer and wise counsel.  As Christians, we are commanded to bear one another’s burdens because, as we do so, we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

The problem with calling a church a “hospital for hurting people” is that it tends to major on a minor, or at least secondary, point.  Whenever I have heard a church referred to as a “hospital”, it has been misleadingly stated as though the primary duty of a fellowship of Christians is to be a place for hurting people to receive comfort; to have their “felt needs” met.  This is a man-centered definition of what a church is and Scripture disagrees.

The Church, as defined by Scripture, is made up of all those who repent from sin and trust Jesus Christ for the salvation that He purchased with His own blood (1 Peter 1: 17-19).  Its primary reason for existing is to glorify God by obeying the commands of Jesus Christ and by being led by the Holy Spirit (Luke 6:46, Romans 8:14).  A local congregation of born-again, Jesus-following believers, as part of the universal Church, has the same reason for its existence.  The Bible’s definition of the Church is clearly God-centered.  It’s all about Him.

Jesus gave us the truth about our comfort in this world in a very direct manner.  He said, “In this world you will have trouble…” (John 16:33).  Jesus promises us trouble!  Not trouble from Him, but if we are His adopted children and if we are obeying Him, we should expect problems because we will be living contrary to this fallen world.  Jesus also demonstrated what it is to lead a troubled life by having a manger as His first crib (Luke 2:12), having no place to rest His head (Matthew 8:20), through conflicts with the scribes and Pharisees (Mark 3:6) and by being marred more than any man (Isaiah 52:14) before being crucified to pay for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4-5).  That’s a lot of trouble for one person!  Should we expect to lead a comfortable life if the Lord Himself had so much difficulty in His earthly life?

The Apostle Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that, “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12).  If we truly members of the Church, if our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:10-27), we should expect troubles and persecution.  We can also expect the Lord’s help in the midst.  Ask Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego about that! (Daniel 3:13-27).

One might wonder, if we do not experience trouble and persecution, maybe we aren’t living boldly enough as witnesses for Jesus Christ.  It’s even possible that, if we are leading smooth and comfortable lives, we have somehow been deceived into thinking we are Christians when we are not.  We are warned to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Folks who attend a church and expect primarily to find a “hospital” where hurting people are being comforted should be encouraged to take a look at their priorities.  Who is first on their list?  Themselves or God?  Do they prefer their own comfort or do they prefer to obey and glorify the Lord?  Comfort is nice and I’ll take it when it’s available, but not at the expense of serving Jesus.  Lord, please show me the next step in obeying and glorifying You regardless of the discomfort or problems that may come.

May the Prince of Peace give you His peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) even through the discomforts, problems and persecution He may allow into your life.  God bless you!