Messages to the Church

From Nate Pfiel -


From Steve Lawson -

King Eddie, Rabbi Ralph and the Issue No One Wants to Address...

Many of you are probably already familiar with the video of Messianic Rabbi, Ralph Messer, anointing and crowning the false teacher, Bishop Eddie Long at New Birth Worship Center in Georgia.  It went viral within hours of being posted last month.

I have had a few weeks to digest the whole "Bishop Eddie Long Coronation by Rabbi Ralph Messer" thing. I can't deny that the whole scene left me very nauseated and not just for the blatant abuse of a 300+ year old Torah scroll that supposedly came from Auschwitz (especially since those crazy Nazi's were so protective of Jewish religious scrolls). Sadly, that is not my greatest concern.

You see, I have friends who not only go to Rabbi Messer's "Synagogue," but also are under his direct tutelage. In the last year, through them, I have had the opportunity to meet Rabbi Messer in person. I even sat across from him at their wedding reception, in which he had performed the wedding ceremony. I can't say we tackled the great theological debates of the day, as I had barely spoken to the man. I shook his hand before the wedding ceremony began and said hello. That's about it. The ceremony he officiated was very Hebraic in its roots and I did not see anything I would have considered un-Biblical. The couple he did the wedding for are very dear friends of my wife's and mine. I probably would not even be writing this, except for this video: 

   

 This video is very disturbing. But what is more disturbing is our friends - who we know to be very Biblically astute and good Bible teachers in their own right - being under the pastoral headship of Rabbi Ralph Messer.

When our friends got married last summer, I did not think to look too much into the background of Rabbi Messer or his congregation (after all, my friends would have caught it, right?). I did not think I needed to. So, when this video surfaced and went viral, I was more than a little stunned to see this guy marching across the stage with a Torah scroll in one hand and a microphone in the other (figuratively speaking), claiming that Bishop Eddie Long (who had just settled out of court - pay offs for the silence of 5 people - claiming they had inappropriate sexual encounters with Bishop Long) had "King DNA."  This after wrapping him in the venerable/valuable Torah that had survived Auschwitz and who knows what else. 

As is my usual response to things like this, I would normally be responding to the percieved heresies I see in that viral video, were it not for this video...

   

Yes, that is our good friend Steve Wilson who is a watchman on the wall, pointing out false teachers and teachings with the light of the Word of God. There are a score of other videos denouncing Rabbi Messer for this and King Eddie, for that matter, but I am rather partial to Mr. Wilson's militaristic bluntness (he was a military instructor before he became an evangelist...) when it comes to dealing with cults and false teachings. There is also a very well done critique of the Rabbi's antics in this article. In fairness to Rabbi Messer, he did respond to the allegations of the Jewish and scholarly community with this follow up video:

   

Personally, I found a lot of that video to be hard to swallow. But again, I could have responded to the video itself, however, that is well covered territory...just spend a few minutes on YouTube and you will find a plethora of evidence that would make any jury shake its head over these two gentleman (I especially liked that false teacher, Kenneth Copeland, telling Rabbi Messer that he was now being appointed to the office of "prophet.") Nope, I am going to leave that all alone. 

That being said, I have two big questions. The first big question that it appears no one has addressed with Mr. Messer... 

If you are a Godly man and a Christian...if you claim to be an expert in Torah, Tenach and the New Testament writings (you do, after all, teach the "Hebrew Roots of the Christian Faith")...how could you elevate a man like Bishop Eddie Long, who - it is patently clear - is a false teacher? This is a man that is part of the same group that includes Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Juanita Bynum, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Marilyn Hickey, Joyce Meyer and so on. They teach a theology that is very anti-Christ. Galatians 1:8-9 says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."  That is pretty strong language for those who would preach a Gospel other than that delivered in the Scripture. "Let them be accursed..." That means, that you are to treat them as though they are cursed - unsaved. Paul said, in regards to those who are attending the church, but acting as though they were not really Christians, "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor 5:5)." Meaning to push them out of the Body until their wickedness is broken so that they can be brought back into fellowship. Finally, if they are supposed to be "brethren" (as you have commented multiple times about Bishop Eddie), Paul admonishes us with "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light..." (Ephesians 5:4-8)

Bishop Eddie Long has made no public denunciation of his sexual misconduct, yet his wife is divorcing him and he has settled out for court for millions of dollars to keep his accusers out of a very public courtroom setting. He has said nothing about being repentant, nor sought reconciliation with his wife.  On top of that, the greater offense is that he has preached a false Gospel, mangled the Word of God in His teachings and has no outward sign or repentance. 

This leads to another (and I think more important) question.  Since it is patently obvious that Bishop Eddie Long is a false teacher, false prophet and also abusive of his position as pastor, why didn't you witness to him?  You say he needs grace and forgiveness...yet both of those things are only found in THE GOSPEL!  Why did you stand in front of all those people and tell them Eddie was a king?  You had a chance to not only give him the Gospel truth (which you are an expert of), but you had a chance to give that same truth to the entire congregation that has been sitting under his false teaching!  

Rabbi Messer, this is the man that you hoisted up in the air and told a crowd of over 9000 people that he had the DNA of a king and that he was anointed of God.  Despite what the video shows, you did not wrap a Torah around this man and restore him to his Godly place as a pastor.  You wrapped him in a bloody sheep pelt and restored him to his throne of death.  Now he can continue to tickle the ears and blow about his every wind of doctrine so others can be led astray.  Congratulations.

Evangelism, Missions and Network Marketing

So, this is a little off the wall for a business or evangelism blog.  But it really gets to the heart of a matter my wife and I hold dear.

We have had the plan to work in full-time evangelism and also sponsor missionaries ever since we got married. Our goal is to be full-time preachers - whether in churches (for the equipping of the Body - for the work of the ministry), or out of churches (witnessing and proclaiming to the lost).  Further, we have a farm picked out that will be used to house and train missionaries.  When a missionary needs to go on furlough for a few months from working over seas, they can stay on the farm for free as long as they are willing to teach the students that will be living there.  We would also have guest preachers who would come and stay with us on the farm to teach the students on Biblical Evangelism (ex: Ray Comfort, Tony Miano, Mike Stockwell, Robert Gray), when they can make the time.  Further, our goal is to also support, substantially, ministries like Living Waters and preachers like Mike Stockwell and Robert Gray (and our list of Biblical preachers is pretty big, Jeremiah's Cry, IANA, et al) so that they can spend all of the time they can in proclaiming the Gospel.

Let me define "substantially."  We want to be able to call up Tony Miano and say, "Hey Tony, how many Gospel tracts does Living Waters print in a year and what is the cost?" And when he gives us the answer, we want to be able to say, "Here is a check for the cost of the year's worth of Gospel tracts - give them out as you see fit until this money is used up."  We know we could trust that much money with Tony and the rest at Living Waters, because we know that God has entrusted them with a powerful ministry.  We know that preachers like Mike Stockwell, Robert Gray (look 'em up on YouTube) and the others we watch and pray for would also be responsible with gifts like that because we know that they are in the war for the lost...heart, sword and trowel.  

We want to be able to go to a group of street preachers and say, "How are you doing on Gospel tracts?" When they tell us how much they need, we place the order for what they want and send it to them.  

And finally, once a missionary intern completes our training program, we ant to be able to fully fund their mission (wherever they are called).  

We figure that this will probably result in 90% of our company's profits going to this calling.  We even decided to call our company "The 90/10 Holding Company" to reflect our goal of giving 90% to the ministry.  It will be a huge undertaking, but Jesus is worth giving everything (it is His already), since He purchased us.  Out of gratitude, we want to do this.

What does this have to do with network marketing?

Well, our business is a network marketing business. We develop other businesses owners within our company, which is Organo Gold.  Network Marketing is the business model that is responsible for creating more millionaires than any other business model.  

I don't say that to appeal to the greedy side of our nature.  I say it to demonstrate the power of network marketing and to show you, the reader, what it could mean to the active Body of Christ.

Imagine if all of those who professed Christ (especially those who do so publicly) took part in one of these businesses with the focus of setting themselves free from debt and then directing large amounts of funding into ministries that focus on Biblical community (their churches) and proclamation of the full Gospel?  

The reason I direct you toward network marketing is not to get rich off of you when you buy my coffee, but to show you a way that we as a community of Christians could create a massive money flow to support missions and missionaries (whether foreign missionaries or domestic street preachers).  

I happen to believe that this particular network marketing business (Organo Gold) is the best one out there to get involved with. Why? First, we are ethically sound as a business.  Second, we want to be the most admired corporation in the world - it is in our mission statement and the representatives live that out in their businesses.  You won't be hearing of any accusations against Organo Gold legitimately, because of the integrity of the leadership and the strength of character of those who are distributors.  It just won't happen.  Third, it is absolutely "ground floor." What this means is that people who start now and follow the plan could very seriously be considered millionaires or more in the next three years.  And finally, it is coffee...  Organo Gold has taken the most consumed beverage (next to water) that is really an addiction and made it healthy.  They added a health component that you cannot see, smell or taste and put it with a gourmet coffee.  And you grow a business by initially giving away coffee samples.  It does not get any easier.  There is not a bunch of products or pills.  It is just coffee.  Simple and easy.  

Organo Gold is not affiliated with any religious institution, nor do they support any. However, the individual distributors are all mentored to have a mindset that is charity motivated.  One of the goals that the leadership talks about is to have a company that has the most million dollar givers.  Everyone of the people that I have dealt with in OG has a charity or ministry that they want to start when their business has grown.  And the beauty of network marketing is in this: if a distributor helps another distributor to be prosperous, both distributors can then donate to whatever charity they want, since they both can prosper if they follow the plan.  

Again, what if many believers were to get in a network marketing business together? Can you imagine the economic powerhouse that would create?  Can you imagine the number of street preachers that could be funded? Can you imagine the number of overseas missions (indigenous and otherwise) that could be funded?  Can you imagine?  All this is possible if everyone actually worked together with that as the goal.

If you are leery of this kind of business, that is fine.  We will still love you and our goal is not to get rich off of you!  Perhaps you would simply buy a box of coffee from us.  On the other hand, if you see what it is that we want to do, perhaps you could contact all your fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord and join us in our mission.  

Contact us at bauercafe@gmail.com and we can help you however you may choose to help us in our pursuit of this goal!

From Our Friends at Crown Rights Media

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Sissified Jesus?

Voddie Bauchum hits it out of the park with this one...

An Emergent Christmas (w/Wretched Radio)

About "The Love of Money"

As my wife and I get rolling in our network marketing business to support our ministry and many others, I keep hearing our leaders give a staunch defense of “wealth” and being “wealthy” when they are speaking to groups or in trainings. There is almost always a comment on how wealth is not bad and how many people make it a self righteous badge of honor not to be wealthy. It is as though the trainers feel that they need to defend having wealth because others try to paint it as evil. Unfortunately, this accusation about wealth being evil is commonly leveled at them from “Christians” who say that money is “the root of all evil…”

Being a Christian, an evangelist and business owner (AKA: a dirt bag saved by God’s amazing grace as well as a business man who wants his company to become very wealthy), I want to address this from a purely Scriptural standpoint, as it is the Scripture that is being taken out of context by these folks who paint a broad brush over people who have either generated or have been given wealth.

The passage being taken out of context is from 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV). It says:

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Too many out there will take a verse of Scripture and quote it without the benefit of the surrounding Scripture. They avoid using the Scripture in its proper context. They do this so that they can make their point and not the point that is in the passage. Further, they do not bother to go deeper into the structure of the passage in its original language, which will release the fullest meaning we can attain. In the above passage, we have such a situation…

The English Standard Version here paints a slightly different and more literal/accurate picture of what is being said. It is not different, just more concise. The more literal translation would be “For the love of money is a root for all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that many have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pangs (sorrows).” As you can see, it is not quite as black and white as many would have you believe (as good intentioned as they may be…).

So what does the Bible really tell us about wealth or being wealthy? What should the Christian position be when it comes to pursuing a higher income or wealth?

First, let’s see what the rest of the passage looks like with our verse above in context…

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:6-19)

It is important to note here that this is not a blanket condemnation on the wealthy, nor is it a condemnation on wealth. Money in and of itself, is not evil. The love of money, however, is “a root” for many evils. So, Scripture tells us that we need the right mindset when it comes to money. It is telling us that if we are to pursue wealth, we need to do so within the confines of Scripture, so that we will not “wander away from the faith…” A Christian who would be wealthy needs to “…flee these things” (falling into temptation, into snares, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction). Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.”

The passage in 1 Timothy 6 prioritizes our (as well as any who would be wealthy) thinking so that we focus on eternal things and Godly attitudes (“charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share…”).

Jim Elliot, who was a missionary and a martyr for the Word of God made this comment: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim understood something about wealth, though many would not have considered him wealthy. His focus was on God and using everything he had to proclaim His name among the nations. He so believed this that he gave his life in the mission field. His sacrifice was so powerful that the tribal chief who gave the order to kill him, in South America, became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ as did his tribe.

When it comes to physical wealth, the Christian needs to realize that no matter how much they make, God may choose to take it away. He will have a good reason for it and it may simply be that he will use you as a testimony to someone else. It may be that you are not using it in a fashion that glorifies Him. It may be to save you from being led away from the faith…but if you have a mindset that is focused on Him, you will have put your trust in His provision, and it will not matter to you. Knowing that wealth is a gift and that He will provide for you no matter what, gives us the proper perspective when it comes to wealth.

Money is not evil in itself: it is amoral. That is, it is without morals…it is a thing, nothing more. It is the love (obsession, pursuit) of money that is a (not the) root of all kinds of evils. It can become an idol. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If your relationship with money is for generosity and charity and helping others to come out of poverty, I see no issue with that. If your heart is in seeing His name proclaimed among the nations, then it is in the right place and money will not be a hang up for you. Having said that, I have yet to meet anyone in Organo Gold (Christian or not) that did not want me and my lovely bride to succeed and were willing to help us do so. Superstar OG Diamond, Casey Nilsen, the 22 year old wunderkind, put it like this, “If you give you will receive. Do for others what you want to be done for you and the wealth will roll in.” This is a young woman who gives liberally of her time to set people financially free. My wife and I are beneficiaries of Casey and her amazing parents, Deanna and Stephen, who are taking the time to equip our little company to become a wealthy powerhouse. And our powerhouse will be used to train and fund missionaries to go all over this nation and the world preaching the Gospel. They will not have to worry about finances, because Organo Gold is going to be such an incredible cashflow for our company, we will be able to support them. They will be able to focus on God and preaching. How will that happen if we see money as evil? We will never be able to support them with that mindset. On the other hand, if we have a Biblical mindset about wealth, we will see how easy it is to take our wealth and invest it into the Kingdom where the reward has eternal impact.

Wealth - in and of itself is not "sin"

So, contrary to what the naysayers would tell you, accumulation of wealth or having wealth is not a sin. 1 Sam 2:7 tells us that the Lord makes some poor and makes some rich. He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the dunghill so that they would sit with princes. Why? Because the pillars of the earth our His. To put it another way, it all belongs to Him. We are just custodians. He can give to whom He wants and He can take away. In 1 Chr 29:12, the Bible tells us that riches and honor come of God Himself and that He rules over all. Abraham, Job, King David and King Solomon were extremely wealthy. David, despite his wealth, was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14).

In Deut 8:11-18 we see not only that wealth comes direct from God, but a powerful warning to those who obtain wealth – know the One who gave it to you and give Him all the credit.

We will also need to give Him glory when he takes away from us too. In the story of Job, we see a case where God required that all of Job’s wealth be taken away from him. We also see that Job did not scream in defiance to God, but submitted to the requirements God had for him. In verse 1:21, Job says, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And in the verse prior to that it says when all of his wealth and family were taken from him, Job tore his robe, shaved his head and worshipped God. A believer should not see wealth as evil, but they should be willing to part with it when it is required of them – trusting in God’s provision as Job did. Several years ago I had to learn this lesson personally. A career I had started with a fire department in Denver was taken away from me. God allowed it to happen and I rebelled when it first happened. I was nothing like Job… Never the less, God used it to teach me many valuable lessons that carry me to this day. My wife and I have a very different view of what money is and what it can be used for.

You see, we should not “love money.” It opens up doors to many potential problems. Least of which is it competes for God’s affections in our heart – that is idolatry. As a result of this idolatry, it is at the heart of many kinds of evils. How many stories are there of wealthy people who lost everything only to drink themselves into a stupor or even suicide? But it is not money itself, or wealth, that is evil. It is man’s heart that is evil (Jer 17:9). And it is the evil in man’s heart that covets, commits murder, theft, lying and violates all ten of God’s Commandments (see below). On the other hand, the love of God has His righteousness at its core. And wealth in the hands of a Godly man or woman is used as a tool that can accomplish great works for the Kingdom and to His ultimate glory.

How many missionaries could you support if you were wealthy? How many pastors would be able to preach the full Word of God to their congregations without the fear of their congregation bailing on them because they were offended? If you were there with God given wealth, you could give him the assurance that he is doing right by the Lord when you support him in his efforts.

I would be remiss as a preacher to not warn about the possibility of the love of money. To love money ignores true gain (1 Tim 6:6; Phil 4:11-13; Ps 63:15); and focuses on the temporal (1 Tim 6:7; Job 1:21; Eccl 5:15; Mt 6:19-20; Mk 8:36; Lk 12:15-21). It obscures the simplicity of life (1 Tim 6:8; Eccl 5:11; Mt 6:24-33) and results in sinful entrapment and succumbing to harmful desires and eternal judgment (1 Tim 6:9; Deut 7:25; see Achan in Josh 7:1-26; see Judas in Mt 27:3-5; Acts 8:20-23; see James’ warnings in Jas 5:1-5).

Bottom Line…

It is real simple to look at wealth from a skewed Biblical perspective and take a few verses out of context to say that wealth is evil and justify one’s own poverty. It is another thing to look at wealth from a proper Biblical perspective and understand it (Deut 15:7). It really comes down to the heart of the person with the money and whether they want to do it their way (vanity, social status or to accumulate material things) or God’s way.

We need to remember that any good thing we have comes from God. We do not deserve it. We do not have any way in which we can earn His favor. Why? Because there is no one righteous…no, not even one (Rom 3:9-18). We have all broken God’s Law with the knowledge that it was wrong before we even broke it (Rom 2:15). If we have told even one lie, we are liars before God and guilty of eternal Hellfire. If we look with lust, it is the same as adultery (Matt 5:28). To hate someone is the same as murder (1 Jn 3:15). How many of these have we willfully broken over the course of our lives? And that is only three of the Commandments. There are still seven more cannons pointed at us. And yet, the Bible tells us that God is rich in mercy. We have no way to pay the wages of our sins. We would have to be perfect and we are far from it. And this is how God demonstrated His love for us – in that we are all still sinners, Christ died for us. And if a man or woman will repent (turn away from what they know is wrong and turn to God in submission and gratitude) and trust in the greatest gift of all history to this creation (Jesus Christ and His resurrection), He will bestow upon them eternal life and Heavenly riches. Anything beyond His saving grace is just Him lavishing His love upon you. That is grace (receiving that which we do not deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve).

I have heard it said that abundance is our birthright. But we need to remember that God rains down on the just and the unjust – He is not a respecter of persons (Rom 2:11). The real blessing of being “born again” is available to all who will put their trust in Christ. Otherwise, the only birthright we have outside of Christ is death and damnation. And outside of God's amazing grace, these are guaranteed. But God is rich in mercy and His gift of salvation is absolutely free. You cannot earn it, but He will bestow it on you if you come to Him. And once you receive that gift, the wealth that you have over the course of your life (however much He gives you) can be wisely invested to His glory.

The bottom line is simply this: wealth is not evil. It is what you do with the wealth and your motivation for attaining it that can be.

Wealth is a gift from God. It is a provision so that we can give Him glory and use it as the servants used their talents the Master entrusted to them (Matt 25:14-30). It is a matter of stewardship. And the truth of the matter is that when you die, you cannot take it with you (Luke 16:1-13). So, instead of sitting on it, spend it in His service!

(editor's note: click here if you would like to know how you can work towards better health and financial freedom - SB)

180 Movie - Testimonials

How to Witness to a Polar Bear (revisited)

It has been over a year since we heard from Paul in Alaska. If you will recall, I did a 3 part series on "How to Witness to a Polar Bear" in which I told you about the witnessing opportunity that was presented, in God's timing, while I was on the North Slope.  You can read those stories here

I have not spoken with Paul for almost two years.  Shame on me.  However, God in His grace has made it possible for me to catch up with Paul and see how he is doing.  I am very pleased to pass on to you that Paul is reading his Bible daily, has not smoked marijuana since the last time I witnessed to him. Further, he has not been drunk since then either.  To put it in context, he has been living a Christian life since March of 2010!  How awesome a God we serve!

I wanted to give you this update for a couple of reasons. And before you read any further...they may be hard for you to hear if you subscribe to the "friendship/don't talk about sin/be their friend/don't make them uncomfortable" school of evangelism...

Paul was a hardened, mountain of a man that I met in Alaska.  He was as wild as the frontier he lives on.  He still works on engines and has a gift for fixing them.  He has lived a hard life and made bad decisions that had consequences.  This is the man I met when I fulfilled a medical contract to work on the North Slope.

In the course of several conversations that began with me preaching to him the Gospel in our first encounter (Law, sin, mercy, grace, salvation, resurrection), Paul came to know the Lord with tear filled eyes and a tender heart.  If you had met him before the first conversation, you would have thought that there was no chance this man could be saved.  However, inside this trash talking young man was an intelligent man who asked questions and ultimately saw his sin before God. 

My wife mailed a Bible up for us to give to him before the job was through and he started reading Psalms the first night he had it.  I had warned him that the Christian life could become hard - friends abandoning you, losing girlfriends, mocking and ridicule, etc.  But I also told him that we are more than conquerors through Christ and that these things would only be temporary.

Jump a head almost two years later. 

I got to speak with Paul on the phone last night and I am pleased to announce that he is still faithfully walking with the Lord today!  This is pretty amazing for a couple of reasons...

First, Paul's dad committed suicide earlier this year.  Paul was close with his dad and it has certainly hit him hard.  However, Paul said that Jesus has been carrying him through it.  He said if it weren't for the promises in the Word of God, he might have considered suicide himself. 

The other reason he told me about was something that did not surprise him, but definitely showed him that God's hand was upon him...

In February of this year, Paul interviewed and got a conditional offer from Raytheon to work on various engines.  It would have involved him going to New Zealand for two months, beginning on the 19th of February.  If you will remember, Christchurch (where Paul would have gone to stay for two months) was hit by a 9.2 earthquake on February 22.    Oddly enough, Paul had been informed that he did not pass the psychological test that Raytheon gives all employees. Something he considers a badge of honor!  Had Paul been awarded the job, he would have been there when the quake hit, right in the epicenter.

Through all of these things, Paul says that if I had not warned him that things could get really tough for him as a Christian - persecution, temptation, tribulation - he would not have made it through with a peaceful mind.  When tragedy struck (job turned down, death), Paul pushed in closer to the Lord and was comforted by His Word.

You see, Paul first and foremost, saw his sin before a Holy God and his need of a Savior.  When he realized the plane was going down, he did not have to be convinced about how amazing and wonderful the parachute was.  He did not need to have to be coerced by people who would tell him that the parachute would allow him to have a wonderful life.  No...he saw that the plane is going down and the parachute would save his life.  He grabbed the chute, put it on and now no one can ever get it out of his hands...he holds it in a desperate grip. 

When we witness to people, it is so important that we show them their position before a Holy God.  We should not wait to do this...we should do this as soon as we possibly can.  Like, when you a meet them!  I heard a message today that was great up until the point where the pastor said that witnessing with your lifestyle was the best way to reach the lost.  It broke my heart.  When someone is drowning in the water, you don't stand on the shore and show them your "Swimmer Safety Lifestyle."  That is not how you save a drowning person - you throw them a lifeline and pull them in (Jude 23). 

Paul saw the lifeline I was able to throw him.  I did not stand around looking like I was a saved person...I got into the rescue and threw him a rope - The Gospel of Jesus Christ!  And the Gospel is able to save Paul (and anyone else) to the utmost (Rom 1:16)!  And when he is truly and soundly saved, the world can throw tribulation and persecution at  him and he will only cling tighter to the Savior.

And that is what a Christian should be ready for.  When we get tossed into the Lion's Den, we trust our Lord and press in closer to Him.

Praise God!  Another saint who was able to trust in the Lord instead of fall away when life got tough!  Because the Lord is Faithful, Paul is still flyin!

Video Producer/Preacher Profile - Marcus Pittman

These videos are from Crown Rights Media - and our good friend and fellow evangelist, Marcus Pittman. His website is: http://www.youtube.com/user/transplantministries

Lawsuit from Persecution in Chicago

Biblical preaching can put you
 against principalities and powers
who are behind the flesh and blood attackers...

For those of you who follow this blog, you may know our friends and fellow laborers from Colorado Springs, the Johnson's of IANA Ministry (http://ianaministry.com).  This is a lawsuit they are involved in regarding a suburb of Chicago restricting open air preaching.  


US Federal District Court-Illinois District
Federal Lawsuit Case 4:11-cv-04058-SDL-JAG Johnson v. City of Rock Island


From the court records……….


Nature of Case


This is an action under the federal civil rights laws by which plaintiff, an individual who is compelled by his sincerely-held religious faith (Christianity) to go “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16: 15)—the gospel being the “good news” that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, fully God and fully man, was crucified in order to pay the penalty (eternal punishment) for the sins of all who do and will believe that He is God, and that he died and rose from the grave three days later (some 2000 years ago). Plaintiff seeks to redress and remedy the violation of his federal constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. More specifically, plaintiff seeks a declaration that his own rights were infringed and suppressed when the defendant, an Illinois municipality by its police officers, unlawfully interfered with and shut down his public presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which plaintiff was carrying on in a wholly peaceable and orderly manner on a public sidewalk, a quintessential traditional public forum for time immemorial. Defendant enforced a heckler’s veto against plaintiff, and used trickery and deceit as well as the imminent threat of unlawful arrest to force and induce plaintiff to cease and desist from exercising his rights of free speech, free assembly, and free expression of his religious faith. 


- to see the rest of the story, go to http://ianaministry.com/?p=2314

Zombie Crawl

Every Evangelist looks forward to this time of year. Pumpkins being carved. Candy and caramel apples. The Lord delivering people in desperate need of the Gospel right to your door. Large numbers of people gathering in one place to act like they are the living dead and to receive the Gospel from the aforementioned Evangelists...what a wonderful holiday, right?

In Ft Collins, we will be going out as a team to preach to the annual attendees of the Ft Collins Zombie Walk. The Lord, in His sovereignty has decided to place all of these lost people in one location and with one thing on their mind - death. And we get to use it to talk to them about the ultimate statistic - 10 out of 10 people die - and what comes after death. Because it will not be a zombie apocalypse...it will be judgment at the hands of the ultimate righteous standard and standard giver.

Halloween season is a huge opportunity to talk to those who have not Christ. They come to your door and will take Gospel tracts with their candy. They will be in large parades of people who dress up like the walking dead, just for you to have the opportunity to talk to them about what will happen when they really die. For the Evangelist, this is like hunting season with a captive herd. Will you take advantage of the opportunities the Lord has arranged for you?

If you are in Ft Collins on October 21st and would like to join us in reaching the lost, we will be in Olde Towne square (on the south end) at 6:45PM to pray and start preaching at 7PM.  We are planning on staying out til around 11PM.  Depending on how many of you are going to be out there witnessing that night, we are going to set up a couple of distractions for the would-be zombies.

First, we are going to have Einstein out there and we may do him up as zombie too…  We are going to have a board with all the celebrity million Gospel tracts and let people turn their favorite celeb into a zombie.  And finally, we will need a volunteer to lay on the ground under a sheet so that we can have a “dead body” on the ground to spark the open air preaching that we will be doing.  Nothing says we will die and stand before a Holy Judge like Zombie Night!  And the beauty of it is that the Lord will put all these people focused on death in one place to hear the Gospel!

Whether you are able to come out with us, or you are simply answering your door for trick-or-treaters, don't pass up the best time of year for Evangelism - when they show up at your door...and give them not tricks and treats, but give them the message that will transform their lives - the Gospel!

A Couple Powerful Videos on False Conversion

Prepare to have your worldview changed...

Witnessing after TRANSFORMED

This "Get Out Of Witnessing" card does not exist...

On September 17th, TRANSFORMED - the evangelism conference that will light the fire of witnessing in you - will finish up around 4:30 PM.  After that, everyone is encouraged to go downtown to the Coors Stadium/Rockies game to put to practice what you just learned.  here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144313802319950

Remove Jesus to Share Jesus?

We removed J***s from His photo to make sure we did
not keep you from hearing the Gospel.

A couple of months ago, I attended a church that my wife grew up in.  The reason we were their was because my mother and father in law still attend that church and they were having a vote to change the name.  The church had "Baptist" in the name and many felt that the name was keeping people from hearing the Gospel in their church. "I want my friends to feel comfortable here so that they can come and hear the Gospel..."  This was a common theme with many of those who got up and spoke at this meeting that occurred after the main service.

The concern was that thanks to the apostates over at Westboro Baptist, all Baptist churches were condemned by name association.  That any church with Baptist in the name would be avoided like some plague dropped on Egypt. I think this church misses the point completely on the issue of Gospel proclamation - namely that it should be done by church members in the public, not bringing the public into the church to hear it proclaimed.  It is certainly not church name related.  I think that "proclamation thing" may be in the Bible somewhere...

I wrote about this church in an earlier post regarding the $2 million building program, so that they could have "curb appeal," in order that they may draw people into their church to hear the Gospel.  Sad truth here is that whether a name change or $2 million building program, it is a waste of effort and money.  If you want to update/upgrade your building for your congregation, fine.  Don't do it so that you can draw people in.  That is not the purpose of a church building.  And certainly don't go borrow $2 million to do it.  Could you imagine a church that actually spent $2 million on legitimate Gospel proclamation and evangelism training? What a crazy notion...

Not all of the members were on board (and still are not, according to my sources).  About 30% said no to the name change.  And to their credit, there were people who stood up in the name change meeting and stated very clearly that Jesus said to "go into the world..." not bring the world into the church.  One member even pointed out that the meetings leading up to the name change were held over several weeks and accumulated many hours of time investment by church members.  He then said, "In the last year there has been one meeting about evangelism and that lasted four hours, with the lunch break...where are our priorities?"  Where are our priorities, indeed...

This church now has a new name and logo.  I won't mention their name, but it now no longer sounds like a church.  It instead sounds like a rehabilitation center.  The name does nothing to point to Jesus (the purpose of the Church) and while the logo looks nifty now, what is the point?  Appeal to man?  Or appeal to Christ?  In the course of my 20 year EMS career, I have picked up and dropped off intoxicated people at centers with the same name...

Today, I just found out that Campus Crusade for Christ is going through a name change as well...They will be removing "Crusade" and "Christ" from their name and going simply with "Cru." (link here)

What?

According to Vonette Bright (co founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), “We want to remove any obstacle to people hearing about the most important person who ever lived – Jesus Christ.” Especially that pesky obstacle of His name...

What is this Christianity coming to?  All of these places while probably thinking they are doing great things are actually denying the Lord.  They have a form of religion, but the deny the very One who it is all about.

Where is Scripture does it tell us to avoid the name of Jesus as Christians?  Where does it say that we are to look like the world in order to bring the world in?  News Flash...it doesn't!

  

Jesus warned us that the world would hate us.  We are told not to conform to the world, but to be apart from it (James 1:27, Php 2:15) - separate as a candle's flame is from darkness (Matt 5:14).  The reason a light on a hill is seen so well at night is because while it is surrounded by darkness, it cuts through for all to see - it stands out against the background.  Come on church!  Stand out, for crying out loud!  Stop trying to look like the darkened hill...be the light on top of it. In the darkness, but not of the darkness.

Do you realize that if every Christian (so called...) actually did as Jesus did, we would have a revolution?  People everywhere in this nation would quickly choose sides and the real Christians would be physically crushed, but spiritually...well, that would see Jesus' proclaimed to the nations, including this dead one we are living in. And since He is our life, we benefit no matter how hard or bad we are beaten, crushed or killed.  

Do you really believe that death has lost its sting (1 Cor 15:55)?  Do you really believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6)?  Do you stand on Scripture as the inerrant Word of God (1 Thess 2:13)?  Do you believe that each person who is rejecting the truth to embrace the lie (2 Thess 2:11) is dead in their sins and facing eternity in the presence of God's holy righteousness, which means eternal fires of torment for the non-believer (Jn 3:18)?  If you do, then stop trying to blend in with the world so they will like you and start preaching the Gospel!  They will hate you for it, true (Lk 6:22, Jn 15:18, 1 Jn 3:13) .  But this is what Jesus told us to do (Matt 28:18, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8) and it is the Gospel that is the power of God to the salvation of all who will believe (Rom 1:16).

Change the name by removing Jesus?  Make our church look more worldly?  Where do they get this nonsense?  Certainly not from the Bible..

Why Modern Youth Ministry Can Be Dangerous

If you are a youth pastor...please have an open mind.  I have looked at a lot of youth over the last few weeks at Christian youth conventions and I believe there is a lot of truth to this video.  It does seem to be a springboard for the Family Integrated Church movement - which I do not subscribe to, but the Bible really does not show a model for youth ministry either.  Truth is, there are many kids who don not have a father to teach them and their mother's are overworked trying to keep a roof over their heads.  The same is true in motherless homes.  I think a good youth pastor can be very effective in this case.  Thank you Erin Foster for showing the example on that!


Official Divided the Movie (HD Version) from NCFIC on Vimeo.

Why are We Here?

To say that the last two weeks have been eventful in our spiritual life, would be an understatement. Hard changes have had to occur and some feelings have been hurt. But in all of it, the Gospel has been placed ahead of the rest (as it should be) and I believe God will be glorified.

Last Sunday, my pastor said something that while very simple, was very profound. He said, "The purpose of the church is not to get people to go to church. The purpose of the church is to direct people to Jesus Christ." He then went on to "preach it" in a no compromise fashion (at which point I wanted to stand up and cheer).  I hadn't heard that kind of preaching in several years from a church I attended.  Further, I had been struggling with how to articulate that very statement for the last seven years. I knew what it was. I would strive to tell people those very words. However, the majority of people that heard me trying to say it only heard me telling them they are not sharing their faith. Every time I have given a sermon (in my old church, or elsewhere), there was always someone who would come up to me afterwords and tell me that I was too hard with the message and I needed to say it "nicer" to people. There was always someone who felt conviction and instead of dealing with the conviction, they got mad at me for hurting their feelings.  The truth was that the Word of God convicted them of their lethargy regarding the Gospel (and their lack of willingness to proclaim it) and they wanted to ignore that and blame me for being insensitive or calling them names.  

All of this led to my wife and I leaving a church that we had been with for over 5 years.  It was excellent in teaching the Word (exposition of Scripture), but no one was interested in proclamation of the Gospel.  And when I brought it up, eyes rolled and people got angry.  On the final visit, I was on the verge of tears when I brought the subject up again.  Instead of people wanting to address the issue and "getting it," I got angry looks and exasperated parents.  We still have a great burden for this church and they are on the verge of being an Acts style church, but this very important question about the mission or purpose of the Church is ignored and rejected.  As a result, they will have well fed sheep that won't reproduce.  So, they are like most every other church in America, except that they have a teacher that teaches the Bible well.  And until the pastor is willing to preach the Gospel fully (and knowing that the full message will offend people), they will have a great place to fellowship on Sunday and a pastor that really does love them, but not enough to risk offending them. 

So, to answer the question presented in the title of this post, "Why are we here...?" the answer is pretty clear.  We are here to proclaim the FULL Gospel of Jesus Christ to LOST people.  The only reason Jesus has not raptured His Church yet, is so that we can pull more sinners out of the fire...

Many people will say that there are other purposes to the church being here.  Fellowship.  Worship.  Learning the Word of God.  These are what people will tell you are "the purpose of the Church."  But that is not true.  All of those things are not part the purpose...they are the benefits.  These things are for your benefit and to equip you to do the work of the purpose, or mission - reaching the lost with the Gospel of Jesus...in other words, "outreach." 

Lots of churches have "outreach" programs.  At least, that is what they call them.  They will have booths at festivals and offer to pray for people.  They will put on Christian concerts in hopes that non-believers will attend and somehow miraculously be saved. They will hand out bottles of water with little Scripture verses taped on them.  They will even put on dramatic plays that supposedly encourage people to become Christians because the story had some moral component.  But there is no proclamation of the Gospel. 

For example - Our witnessing team recently had a booth at the "Desperation Conference" in Colorado Springs.  The purpose of the concert...er...um...conference is to make youth "desperate for God."  This is done by having several great worship bands and youth pastors perform...er...um...preach to the youth and make them "desperate."  What we discovered, was that while the name's original purpose was far from being fulfilled, the name was actually appropriate for a very tragic reason...they were desperate because they did not know the Gospel.  We spent three days doing the equivalent of open air preaching to about 300 kids.  The question we would ask was, "What is the Gospel?" The answer was never given to me once.  I think one of the other team members may have had a teenager get it right.  But out of 1000 teens, we were able to talk to about 300.  Of those, maybe one or two could tell us what the Gospel is.  Why?  Because pastors are afraid to offend their congregations, or they are just flat out ignorant of the Gospel (a la "emergent church").  In the meantime, goats are being entertained and sheep are starving (thank you Connie for the very accurate description!).

It is my experience so far, that youth groups today are being led by people who are barely past high school themselves. Or if they are, they dress and act like the youth they are supposed to be leading.  They have no life experience and they are only there until they can leave.  In rare cases, you will find a youth pastor who is leading his youth and he has a real hunger for youth ministry. But this is the exception - not the rule.  And before anyone says their denomination is stronger and better than all of that, I looked in the parking lot of the Desperation Conference and I saw vans and buses from all of the churches that are generally considered "Biblical." Which means we witnessed and preached to the AOG's, Calvary Chapel's, The Dream Center (LA, Calif), New Life Church, Vineyard and just about every other "denomination" out there.  We should not have had to witness to them.  We should have been there to equip them.  The truth was, it was a tragic number of false converts who thought they were saved. And what was worse, their pastors did not know the truth to tell them, or were afraid to tell the truth to them because it might drive them away.  

By the way...this Desperation Conference (concert?) got me to wondering.  When did everybody decide that having a concert with Christian performers was what we needed to do to get unsaved people to repent and believe the Gospel?  Is there a missing Gospel that says, "Go ye into the world and invite wretched sinners to a worship conference...baptizing them, but only if they are comfortable enough, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost..."  Maybe that is what it says in the "Message 2.0 Version."  Watch out, because in the end of July here in Colorado, there is going to be a big worship festival called "Heavenfest." Churches all over the state are telling their youth - "We have a hundred tickets...go invite your unsaved friends!"  Basically, they are saying, "Tell your friends who God hates because they are wicked and rebellious (Psalm 5), to come and worship with you..."

I have heard pastor's say things like, "I wish we had some 'fresh meat' in here..." referring to non-believers visiting their church.  My response is always the same - "The church is not for non-believers.  The fresh meat is outside...go get them."  A church in northern Colorado just changed its name for the sole purpose of being more agreeable to people so they can come into the church to supposedly "hear the Gospel."  They said the name they have had for over 30 years was too offensive.  They even borrowed $2 million for a building program that would give them better "curb appeal" (their own words - not mine).  This concerns me. Because when we translate that through the lens of Scripture, it becomes "Let's go into debt so we can be more appealing to the world." In other words, it is not Biblical.  Debtors are slave to the lenders and we are to be lights in the world, but not of it...(Prov 22:7, Php 2:15, Rom 12:2).

Over the last couple weeks something else has occurred to me.  Many of the pastors who rebel at the idea of witnessing to the lost are also pastors who have never open air preached.  They may have delivered great sermons from a pulpit, but they have never felt the anger of a crowd or witnessed how fast a crowd can turn when the Gospel is spoken out loud to the public.  Question...how can a pastor prepare a congregation for persecution for proclamation of the Word of God, if they have never felt persecution for the proclamation of the Word of God?  All of my pastoral heroes have one thing in common. They have done (or do) open air preaching. John MacArthur, Paul Washer, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, John Edwards, George Whitefield, Dwight Moody...and the list goes on.

Those pastors who have not open air preached the full Gospel message, tend to have a fear of offending those in their congregations if they unleash with the full Gospel.  And yet Jesus warned us that we would be mocked, ridiculed, beaten and even killed because of our obedience to Him and the proclamation of the Gospel.  Paul the Apostle was beaten, stoned, imprisoned and finally beheaded because he refused to NOT preach the Gospel.

So what's the deal then? Why are they so afraid of offending?  It is pretty simple really.  First, they do not want people to dislike them.  This is a normal emotion for all of us.  But the message of Scripture is one that will cause people to hate us if we proclaim it.  Second, is a lot like the first...church numbers.  If a pastor preaches the full Gospel to his congregation, it will chase people out at first.  It is like the shepherd's crook that keeps the sheep in line on the one hand, but smacks the goats and wolves painfully on the other.  When a pastor first starts magnifying the attributes of God and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many people in the meetings or congregations will be offended.  This is because they probably were not truly saved in the first place.  But those that remain, will develop a deeper understanding of who God is and how they can glorify Him in the proclamation of the Gospel to the world (not just to the church body on Sunday). If the pastor sticks to this, he will discover church growth of a different and Biblical kind.  People who are hungry for God's Word and want to proclaim it to the world will start attending. If a pastor will overcome his fear of proclaiming the Gospel to lost people and actually preaches the full Gospel to his congregation and in the open air, he will inspire those in his congregation to do the same.

On the other hand, most churches in the US today not only have a pastor that is afraid to proclaim the full Gospel, but the members of his congregation don't like Gospel preachers either.  Gospel preaching members in a lukewarm church tend to be seen as "judgmental, divisive, hard talking and irritating." They bring up the lack of Gospel proclamation in their church during leadership meetings and they are confronted and marginalized. If they have the privilege of being able to teach from the pulpit, they will also have the privilege of seeing people get angry, roll their eyes and later accuse them of name calling.  I have experienced this and I know many others who have as well.  When my wife and I attended the Ambassador's Academy a year ago, half the class was worried about how their respective churches would receive them.  My wife and I had the privilege of taking a Bible study of five older ladies though the School of Biblical Evangelism book this spring.  It started off with some who were worried that their husbands would disapprove.  But by the end of the study, some were more worried about how their church would approve.  They had been profoundly changed and had a burning desire to reach the lost.  The problem is that they are in a climate that would extinguish the burn if it could.  When these ladies start to be obedient and start addressing the lack of proclamation in their church, members and leaders there will probably get angry with them as they have with others.  Just as people have gotten angry with my wife and I.  Just as they have with those other faithful street preachers we pray for and support as they obediently preach the Gospel in and out of their church walls.  But here is the truth...regardless of how a church treats us, or how angry supposed Christians or non believers alike get with us, we will continue to preach the Gospel...in season, out of season, in building, out of building.  We do this for Him.  We do this because He told us to.  We do this because He first loved us and we do this for His glory alone.

So, instead of getting angry at people like me, my wife, or any of those faithful missionaries who go out every day in this country, and preach the full Gospel, perhaps you should go "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12), so that God will change your heart and drive you into the world to preach the Gospel you are so afraid to speak out loud.  He lived for them. He died for them.  He rose for them.  He deserves them.  And He commanded you to go and PREACH to them!  Stop attacking the faithful when it is your own guilt and lack of action that is at fault and start proclaiming the Gospel to lost people...the time is short, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers aren't doing the work...

And if you are one of those who recognizes that the Gospel must be preached and you are either actively preaching, trying to get back into it, or building up to it, our prayers are with you.  We will be there in prayer or in person to encourage and come along side you.  But do not let fear control you.  You are an obedient child of the most High God. You are royalty -  a son or daughter of the King of Glory!  And if He is for you...who can be against you?

History of the Modern Gospel

This series of videos highlights my concern for what is happening in churches today...


History of the Modern Gospel: Introduction from Real Truth Matters on Vimeo.

Harrassment on College Campus

http://arrestedpreacher.blogspot.com/2011/06/harrassment-on-college-campus.html

New Blog

Hey All!

We are launching a new blog through Watersource Ministries, called the "Arrested Preacher." It will be focused on the erosion of our 1st Amendment rights to free speech, religion and press and specifically, videos of open air preachers who are arrested for preaching the Gospel. Please follow this link (http://arrestedpreacher.blogspot.com) or use your smartphone to QR scan the black and white code on the left.

Osama is Dead

Jonah preaching to Nineveh

As I was sitting there yesterday looking at some Facebook postings, I caught one from a good friend of mine saying, "I pray for Bin Laden's soul...Jesus died for him too." I saw this and at first, it brought me up short. After all, he was right.  Dont take that wrong...the Bible is clear that God uses governments to bring evil men to justice ( Rom.12:14 – 13:7), but it also says that He takes no pleasure in the death of those who are lost (Ezekiel 33:11) - preferring that they would turn from their wickedness and repent so that they might live.

As my wife and I were doing our daily Bible study in Jonah, we were going through chapter 4.  And my friend's statement on Facebook came back to haunt me again. God asks Jonah if it is right that Jonah be angry that God gave mercy to Nineveh.  Jonah, being a patriot for his homeland said, "It is right for me to be angry, even unto death!" God then lovingly chastises him pointing out that he felt more mercy for a gourd (which he did not make) that he derived benefit from, then the 600,000 souls (which God created) that would have perished if God had removed his goodness from the city in the form of judgment. 

Christine and I talked about this and then my friend's statement came back to the forefront of my mind and I got to thinking...like Nineveh was to the Northern Kingdom, so was Osama Bin Laden to the United States of America. 

If God asked me to go to Osama and preach the Gospel to him, how would I have reacted? This was the man who took responsibility for one of the most diabolical attacks on our soil.  He was our enemy. His troops have killed our brave soldiers on Afghan soil. He was our enemy! 

I could totally see myself, buying an airplane ticket to somewhere - anywhere...other than the Middle East where OBL was.  I would have tried to hide form the presence of the Lord, just like Jonah did. And once He turned me around, I probably would have given a message much like Jonah..."40 days and you get yours!"

Nineveh heard Jonah's message and their king was struck by the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.  He then not only repented in sack cloth and ashes, but he caused his entire nation and their livestock to do the same.  Result - God, who is rich in mercy, held back his hand and Nineveh was spared. 

I do not know if OBL ever heard the Gospel, but I do know that if I had preached it to him and he repented, I would have been angry too.  I would have cried out to God that I regretted preaching to OBL because I knew God's mercy was so rich.  In my selfishness, I would have forgotten how much mercy God has shown me and been selfish in my view.  However, thanks to people like my fellow brother in Christ on Facebook, I would have been reminded that my Father takes no joy in the wicked perishing, but does delight in the soul that repents and puts his trust in Jesus.

As I watched the news coverage on the internet, all I could think about was my friend's statement, "Jesus died for him too..." Yet, many people were chanting, "America, America, America!" at baseball games and in large venues all over the country. 

If Bin Laden's death will teach us anything, I hope that it will teach us mercy and an urgency to see the Gospel proclaimed to all people. Yes, America...rejoice.  But not that America got Bin Laden.  Rejoice that God is just and holy and that He provided a way that even Bin Laden could have been saved.  Rejoice that God's justice is true and that no one can escape it. Think on this and then search yourself.  How do you stand against the judgment bar of a holy God?  See your need of a savior then repent in sack cloth and ashes.  Crawl on bloody knees to the foot of the cross and say, "God have mercy on me - a sinner..."

Transformed is Coming to Colorado!

Watersource Ministries is partnering with Living Waters to bring the Transformed conference to Colorado. Ray Comfort, Emeal "EZ" Zwayne, Todd Friel and Mark Spence put on a conference that will change your views on evangelism and fulfilling the Great Commission.

In order to do this, we need to offset the cost of the conference for Living Waters (who puts the conference on). The conference  will be free to anyone who wants to attend, however, it costs Living Waters in the neighborhood of $10,000-$12,000 to put it on. If we could get 120 people to donate $100 each (or 240 people at $50 each...you get the idea!)...it would be covered!

 

The conference is scheduled for Sept 17, 2011.  We would like to get the money in the bank by May 31st. Donations can be made at www.watersourceministries.org. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit, so all donations are tax deductible. If you would like to partner with us, use our Paypal link (lower left side) or you can send checks (payable to: Watersource Ministries) direct to our snail-mail address available here on our website ("Contact Us" link). Be sure to note in the donation that it is specifically for the Transformed Conference. Any overages will be used to further the Gospel!

Whether you are in Colorado or not, if you know people that would interested in this, please share this link with them! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163744500350617

For more information:

http://www.watersourceministries.org

http://www.livingwaters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=372

Robbed Hell

Robbed Hell - C.A.S.T. Pearls Presents from Canon Wired on Vimeo.

CCU and the Evangelism Conference

In September, I read an article that said Colorado Christian University was going to be engaging in what it called "A Year of Evangelism."  It went further to state that its goal was to equip every student and every staff member to be able to reach the lost. In my excitement, I sent a quick email to the university president - through their website - and told them that we would make ourselves available to them for training and encouragement during actual witnessing encounters.  After all, if you are planning on equipping people to share the Gospel, you would want people who are actual street preachers with lots and lots of experience, witnessing on the streets...right?

Last October, we met with a gentleman who is the organizer for Colorado Christian University's evangelism conference on the 28th of this month.  He informed us that the keynote speakers would be Lee Strobel (Case for Christ), Mark Mittelberg (co-author with Bill Hybels, Becoming a Contagious Christian) and Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries.  Of course, as soon as I heard Mark Mittelberg's name, warning flags went up in my head, but I kept quiet.  I figured, if we just got in, that would be enough.  We could then work with leaders and churches that were genuinely interested in having the congregation get "out of the pew" and out into the war.  Win/Win as far as I could see. Icing on the cake would have been a chance to show from Scripture and demonstrate Biblical evangelism to these three giants of modern Christianity.

During our meeting, the gentleman from CCU was very excited and said he wanted us to have a prominent booth in the conference and was planning on referring people to Watersource Ministries and our network of street preachers around the state (16th Street Outreach, IANA/I am Not Ashamed Ministry, Talmidim Outreach, etc., as well as our Western Slope evangelists) for teaching and practical training on one to one witnessing and open air preaching. And as I said, he was excited and seemed very sincere.  We parted ways with the understanding that he was going to do "due diligence" on our ministry and what we do, but saw no reason that would prevent us from being an integral piece of their mission for "A Year of Evangelism."

So, that was the second week of October.  Then...nothing.

Calls went unanswered.  Emails were ignored.  Voice mails disregarded.  

Around December 15th, I finally gave up trying to call.  I figured that the way we engage in evangelism (Biblically) was probably too radical, and I knew that it would not have been welcomed by Dr. Mittelberg.  So, I said, "OK Lord, its your show.  I will just continue to do what you have called me to do."  

Two days ago, I got a call from one of the Colorado leaders (Steve Johnson - IANA Ministry) in the Springs, who wanted to know what was happening with CCU and I broke the news to him.  Of course, this was upsetting, as he also was going to be a part of this project we were hoping to be involved in.  He also thought that the presence of Dr. Mittleberg was probably the reason for our dismissal.  After hanging up with Steve, I got a wild hair and sent a quick message to the organizer of CCU's event asking if our ministry had somehow insulted him or his school.  And (I nearly dropped my Blackberry) he responded.  In summary, he said that the organizers felt that the evangelism we taught was in "conflict" with what the conference speakers were teaching.

"Conflict?"  I guess if you mean that we teach a person about what sin is and why it is such an affront to a Holy God, instead of just asking "Do you know you are sinner?" then, yes, I guess we are in conflict.  If anything, I appreciated his straight response.  Usually, there is a myriad of excuses given, all pointing to the same issue - "You are too radical for us and what you do offends people..." At least he was truthful.

Here is the issue at hand...this group has flyered, petitioned and invited just about every church leader in the Denver Metro area and surrounding counties to come to this conference.  It sounds like it will be a packed auditorium on the 28th of January.  Pastors and church members alike are desperate to know how to reach the lost and they are coming to this conference to become equipped.  However, as I read through the manual that was prepared for the attendees (I was given one by the organizer in our first meeting), I see nothing that I can Biblically equate with actual, Biblical evangelism...

There is some good apologetics things (does no good when witnessing to lost people, other than to get into a good argument that no one wins) and of course the old standby of "Here is your sinful life, here is the gulf between you and God and here is the cross, which makes a nifty little bridge that you can cross over when it is wedged into the chasm between you and God." However, there is no use of the Law to bring the knowledge of sin - the "schoolmaster that brings us to Christ."  (Gal 3:24). There is no understanding of what our individual sins are, nor, in its proper context, Grace which is AMAZING in light of how brazenly we have offended God with every aspect of our lives.  There is no definitive talk of repentance, which Jesus makes very clear, is absolutely necessary if one is truly saved by God from His wrath (Lk 13:3).  

Instead, it is filled to the brim with "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life...he'll fill that hole in your heart that only He can fill..." Of course, if you are one of the tens and tens of readers of this blog, you probably know how unbiblical this method is.  As is the "pray this pray out loud...if you do that, then you are saved!" which is also highly unbiblical as well and puts the so-called evangelist in the position of God, pronouncing someone saved.  Folks - there is only one sinner's prayer in the Bible and it says, "God have mercy on me, a sinner..." (Lk 18:13). I can find none of the complete Biblical teachings on Biblical evangelism in their book that they have printed for the conference goers...

Part of the problem with these teachers, is not that they are wrong, but that what they teach is incomplete.  Telling people that all they have to do is "believe" contradicts Scripture.  2 Peter 1:10 tells us to "make our calling and election true..." and 2 Cor 13:5 tells us that we need to "examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith..."  After all, the "demons believe and tremble..." (James 2:19) right? So, to follow the techniques outlined in the conference book would be like giving someone a half of the Gospel.  If it is effective, you might get a person who sees their wickedness and falls at the foot of the Cross.  However, the common results from these methods have not changed since the days of Charles Finney who was one of those who started them - you get a half a Christian, who is not a Christian at all, since there is no such thing as a half a Christian.  People can accept God as a savior.  The trouble is with Him being Lord.  This is where this "method" fails utterly and completely.  The refusal on their part to at least examine what they are teaching is what is going to mislead hundreds or more leaders of churches into dragging this "1/2 Evangelism" approach into their respective churches.

The sad results of this method are well documented.  According to one study, for every 10 that come through the door with this type of evangelism, only 2 might actually stay for fellowship and actually be saved (that is - God actually makes them aware that they are saved, not some evangelist with a prayer and a date card for you to write down the day that you said the prayer). 

I don't know if you are planning to attend. And I am certainly not going to tell you that you will not get a lot of useful teaching out of it.  However, if you are planning on getting prepared to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, I would strongly encourage you to visit websites like www.livingwaters.com, gostandspeak.com, 16thstreetoutreach.org, ianaministry.com, or www.watersourceministries.org, so that you can add effective and Biblical tools for evangelism to the great apologetics training you will receive from Lee Strobel and company.  But, if you think that the evangelism that will be taught there will be everything you need, to be an effective witness for the Gospel, think again.  You will get half of the Biblical evangelism used in the New Testament  (God has a wonderful plan...etc.), but, because it is considered "controversial" and may cause you to turn people away (which Jesus warns us will happen, more often than not...), you will not hear a full Gospel presentation that involves making a person truly aware of what their sins are, why they are an enemy of God, who's wrath abides on them, and why the GRACE demonstrated in the cross of Calvary, is so absolutely amazing.