“This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).
The Old Testament constantly insists that there is only one God, the self-revealed Creator, who must be worshiped and loved exclusively (Deut. 6:4-5; Isa. 44:6– 45:25). The New Testament agrees (Mark 12:29-30; 1 Cor. 8:4; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5) but speaks of three personal agents, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together in the manner of a team to bring about salvation (Rom. 8; Eph. 1:3-14; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 1 Pet. 1:2). The historic formulation of the Trinity (derived from the Latin word trinitas, meaning “threeness”) seeks to circumscribe and safeguard this mystery (not explain it; that is beyond us), and it confronts us with perhaps the most difficult thought that the human mind has ever been asked to handle.
It is not easy; but it is true.
The doctrine springs from the facts that the New Testament historians report, and from the revelatory teaching that, humanly speaking, grew out of these facts. Jesus, who prayed to His Father and taught His disciples to do the same, convinced them that He was personally divine, and belief in His divinity and in the rightness of offering him worship and prayer is basic to New Testament faith (John 20:28-31; cf. 1:18; Acts 7:59; Rom. 9:5; 10:9-13; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Phil. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17; 2:9; Heb. 1:1-12; 1 Pet. 3:15). Jesus promised to send another Paraclete (He himself having been the first one), and Paraclete signifies a many-sided personal ministry as counselor, advocate, helper, comforter, ally, supporter (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15). This other Paraclete, who came at Pentecost to fulfill this promised ministry, was the Holy Spirit, recognized from the start as a third divine person: to lie to him, said Peter not long after Pentecost, is to lie to God (Acts 5:3-4).
So Christ prescribed baptism “in the name (singular: one God, one name) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—the three persons who are the one God to whom Christians commit themselves (Matt. 28:19). So we meet the three persons in the account of Jesus’ own baptism: the Father acknowledged the Son, and the Spirit showed his presence in the Son’s life and ministry (Mark 1:9-11).
So we read the trinitarian blessing of 2 Corinthians 13:14, and the prayer for grace and peace from the Father, the Spirit, and Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:4-5 (would John have put the Spirit between the Father and the Son if he had not regarded the Spirit as divine in the same sense as they are?). These are some of the more striking examples of the trinitarian outlook and emphasis of the New Testament. Though the technical language of historic trinitarianism is not found there, trinitarian faith and thinking are present throughout its pages, and in that sense the Trinity must be acknowledged as a biblical doctrine: an eternal truth about God which, though never explicit in the Old Testament, is plain and clear in the New.
The basic assertion of this doctrine is that the unity of the one God is complex.
The three personal “subsistences” (as they are called) are coequal and coeternal centers of self-awareness, each being “I” in relation to two who are “you” and each partaking of the full divine essence (the “stuff” of deity, if we may dare to call it that) along with the other two. They are not three roles played by one person (that is modalism), nor are they three gods in a cluster (that is tritheism); the one God (“he”) is also, and equally, “they,” and “they” are always together and always cooperating, with the Father initiating, the Son complying, and the Spirit executing the will of both, which is his will also. This is the truth about God that was revealed through the words and works of Jesus, and that undergirds the reality of salvation as the New Testament sets it forth.
The practical importance of the doctrine of the Trinity is that it requires us to pay equal attention, and give equal honor, to all three persons in the unity of their gracious ministry to us. That ministry is the subject matter of the gospel, which, as Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus shows, cannot be stated without bringing in their distinct roles in God’s plan of grace (John 3:1-15; note especially vv. 3, 5-8, 13-15, and John’s expository comments, which NIV renders as part of the conversation itself, vv. 16-21).
All non-Trinitarian formulations of the Christian message are by biblical standards inadequate and indeed fundamentally false, and will naturally tend to pull Christian lives out of shape.
Excerpt from Concise Theology
by J.I. Packer
30 November 2009
25 November 2009
Ten-Pound Christians
"So he called ten of his servants--and gave them ten pounds. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'" Luke 19:13
We are doing business in this world for Christ. Each one of us has something of His--a pound which He has entrusted to us--to trade with as His agent. Our life itself, with all its powers, its endowments, its opportunities, its privileges, its blessings, its possibilities--is 'our pound'.
Our life is not our own. We are not in this world merely to have a good time for a few years. Life is a trust. We are not done with it either, when we have lived it through to its last day. We must render an account of it to Him who gave it to us. Our business is to gather gains, through our trading with our Lord's money. We are required to make the most that is possible of our life!
"The first came forward and said--Master, your pound has earned ten more pounds!" Luke 19:16
We always find a few of these ten-pound Christians among the followers of Christ. They are those Christians who, from the very beginning, through divine grace--strive to reach the best things attainable in life. They are not content with being merely saved from sin's guilt, with being mere members of the church. They make their consecration to Christ complete, keeping nothing back. They set their ideal of obedience to their Lord--at the mark of perfectness, and are not slack in their striving, until they reach the mark in heaven. They seek to follow Christ entirely, fully, with their whole heart. They accept every duty--without regard to its cost. They seek to be like Christ, imitating Him in all the elements of His character. They give their whole energy to the work and service of Christ. They lie, like John, on the Master's bosom, and their souls are struck through, as it were, with the Master's loving spirit.
These ten-pound Christians grow at last--into a Christ-likeness, a spiritual beauty, and a power of usefulness and influence, by which they are set apart among Christians, shining with brighter luster than other stars, in the galaxy of the church. Their one pound has made ten more pounds! Their high spiritual attainment has been won by their diligent and wise use of the one pound with which they began!
J.R. Miller
We are doing business in this world for Christ. Each one of us has something of His--a pound which He has entrusted to us--to trade with as His agent. Our life itself, with all its powers, its endowments, its opportunities, its privileges, its blessings, its possibilities--is 'our pound'.
Our life is not our own. We are not in this world merely to have a good time for a few years. Life is a trust. We are not done with it either, when we have lived it through to its last day. We must render an account of it to Him who gave it to us. Our business is to gather gains, through our trading with our Lord's money. We are required to make the most that is possible of our life!
"The first came forward and said--Master, your pound has earned ten more pounds!" Luke 19:16
We always find a few of these ten-pound Christians among the followers of Christ. They are those Christians who, from the very beginning, through divine grace--strive to reach the best things attainable in life. They are not content with being merely saved from sin's guilt, with being mere members of the church. They make their consecration to Christ complete, keeping nothing back. They set their ideal of obedience to their Lord--at the mark of perfectness, and are not slack in their striving, until they reach the mark in heaven. They seek to follow Christ entirely, fully, with their whole heart. They accept every duty--without regard to its cost. They seek to be like Christ, imitating Him in all the elements of His character. They give their whole energy to the work and service of Christ. They lie, like John, on the Master's bosom, and their souls are struck through, as it were, with the Master's loving spirit.
These ten-pound Christians grow at last--into a Christ-likeness, a spiritual beauty, and a power of usefulness and influence, by which they are set apart among Christians, shining with brighter luster than other stars, in the galaxy of the church. Their one pound has made ten more pounds! Their high spiritual attainment has been won by their diligent and wise use of the one pound with which they began!
J.R. Miller
23 November 2009
How are you being treated?
John 15:18-20
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
How's the world treating you, Christian?
Take a walk with me back in time a couple thousand years ago. Christians were routinely put in an arena with blood thirsty lions that were waiting to tear their limbs apart while spectators went crazy with delight. Why did these Christians allow this to happen? They could have simply renounced their faith and would have been set free. Backsliding wasn’t as common then as it is now so what was the motive to let a lion rip you apart?
How about trying to translate a Bible into the modern English language of the day as William Tyndale did in the 16th century? Tyndale’s final words as he was about to be burned at the stake? “Oh Lord, open the King of England’s eyes”.
Fast forward to July, 2005 - When 34-year old Jiang Zongxiu went to her neighboring market last June in Guizhou Province, China. Along with her mother-in-law, Jiang went through the marketplace, taking opportunities to hand out Bibles and Christian literature and telling people about Jesus. Only this day they had an encounter with the Chinese police.
The two Christian women were handcuffed together and brought to the police station. They were interrogated throughout the evening of the 17th. The next morning they were sentenced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to 15 days incarceration for "suspected spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order."
Jiang and her mother-in-law knew the risk of spreading Christian literature in communist China. Both had been active in their church for more than 10 years and dared to go forth. Even when they were arrested, interrogated and sentenced to serve 15 days, they were willing to accept the consequences of their actions - all from a government that claims to have "freedom of religion."
But it was not enough for the PSB to arrest and beat these two Christian women for the crime of passing our Christian literature. In the afternoon of June 18th, Mrs. Jiang Zongziu was pronounced dead by the PSB office of Tongzi County. They claimed she died of "natural causes." The fact is she was beaten to death.
Christian, when was the last time you shared your faith? No, I'm not talking about that fish on the back of your car. I'm talking about walking up to that friend, co-worker, brother, grandmother that you know is not saved and sharing the Gospel.
Have you resided yourself to just showing up to church on Sunday and keeping to your own little world? Has your witness become non-existent because at the mere mention of the name of Jesus a sinful world would stop smiling at you? Are you reluctant to mention the word ‘sin’ to a sinner because he might be offended? Are you afraid to mention the bloodstained cross because the world might laugh and spit in your face?
150,000 people will die worldwide today and a vast majority of those people are going to hell.
Who do you know in your own little world that needs a Saviour?
How's the world treating you, Christian?
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
How's the world treating you, Christian?
Take a walk with me back in time a couple thousand years ago. Christians were routinely put in an arena with blood thirsty lions that were waiting to tear their limbs apart while spectators went crazy with delight. Why did these Christians allow this to happen? They could have simply renounced their faith and would have been set free. Backsliding wasn’t as common then as it is now so what was the motive to let a lion rip you apart?
How about trying to translate a Bible into the modern English language of the day as William Tyndale did in the 16th century? Tyndale’s final words as he was about to be burned at the stake? “Oh Lord, open the King of England’s eyes”.
Fast forward to July, 2005 - When 34-year old Jiang Zongxiu went to her neighboring market last June in Guizhou Province, China. Along with her mother-in-law, Jiang went through the marketplace, taking opportunities to hand out Bibles and Christian literature and telling people about Jesus. Only this day they had an encounter with the Chinese police.
The two Christian women were handcuffed together and brought to the police station. They were interrogated throughout the evening of the 17th. The next morning they were sentenced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to 15 days incarceration for "suspected spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order."
Jiang and her mother-in-law knew the risk of spreading Christian literature in communist China. Both had been active in their church for more than 10 years and dared to go forth. Even when they were arrested, interrogated and sentenced to serve 15 days, they were willing to accept the consequences of their actions - all from a government that claims to have "freedom of religion."
But it was not enough for the PSB to arrest and beat these two Christian women for the crime of passing our Christian literature. In the afternoon of June 18th, Mrs. Jiang Zongziu was pronounced dead by the PSB office of Tongzi County. They claimed she died of "natural causes." The fact is she was beaten to death.
Christian, when was the last time you shared your faith? No, I'm not talking about that fish on the back of your car. I'm talking about walking up to that friend, co-worker, brother, grandmother that you know is not saved and sharing the Gospel.
Have you resided yourself to just showing up to church on Sunday and keeping to your own little world? Has your witness become non-existent because at the mere mention of the name of Jesus a sinful world would stop smiling at you? Are you reluctant to mention the word ‘sin’ to a sinner because he might be offended? Are you afraid to mention the bloodstained cross because the world might laugh and spit in your face?
150,000 people will die worldwide today and a vast majority of those people are going to hell.
Who do you know in your own little world that needs a Saviour?
How's the world treating you, Christian?
The Great Commission
Reconciliation by the blood, by the substitutionary sacrifice of the infinite Son of God,this is the message for our ministry: if we do not testify this it were better for us that we had never been born; for if we do not preach this constantly and incessantly, we have missed our main topic, we have failed in the great commission which our Master sent us to execute.
C.H. Spurgeon
C.H. Spurgeon
20 November 2009
17 November 2009
13 November 2009
11 November 2009
09 November 2009
Pride Fest: Team Member Perspective Take Five
Wayne teamed me up with his ministry partner who has a lot of experience with evangelism. I am shy and awkward around other people and my job was to walk with and stand and pray as my team mate introduced people to the Lord. My team mate approached a number of people and delivered "million dollar bills" and questioned and searched for open doors. My partner is very friendly, open and caring and does not intimidate people. It seemed to me that he was having more of an impact on people than he thought he was.
We went to one booth with two young women selling t-shirts and other small items. One of the women was named "L". My team mate began as usual and I prayed for an open door and that God would speak through him. He began to focus on "L" and she was speaking openly and honestly with him. During their chat it felt like there was electricity in the air around us and it became intense.
At a certain point it was like a lightning bolt came down, through my partner and into "L". I saw it, my team mate saw it and the woman's friend saw it. It shocked both of them and even me and her friend became very nervous and started moving things around on the table and trying to distract "L". She got up and walked outside and came back several times as though she didn't know what to do. I watched the friend while my partner kept talking with "L". I have known Wayne's ministry partner for several years and this was his voice but it didn't sound like him speaking. There was no hesitation at all and every word seemed to be chosen by God specifically for "L". This may sound overly dramatic and I can't say what really happened but this was what it felt like to me.
It was truly an awesome experience!
I know our people fairly well and their hearts do not contain hatred for anyone. They were there out of love and concern for people's souls. It had nothing to do with homosexuality. These were God's children they were talking with.
Here's the part that Wayne and my team mate don't know yet:
For the rest of the morning I felt lighter as though a burden had been lifted from me as my partner continued to approach other people. In our condensed, 4 session, Way of the Master class Wayne had asked us all to examine our hearts and ask "Am I doing enough?". The answer is clearly no. Went to most of his 8 part series and then to this festival with them.
My part was small but was a blessing to me!
I had a commitment to be at the Capitol at noon for a protest against corruption in government. Got there about 12:30 and said "Sorry for being late, was at the Gay pride festival." Jaws dropped and someone said "NO WAY".
This gave me the perfect opportunity to hand out 4 million dollars and explain what we were doing and why. Explained that we hadn't gone there to protest but to save souls. Told them about "Way of the Master" and the Ten Commandments and discussed it with them.
For most people this would not be a big deal but it was another cliff for me to jump from.
This was a great day for me!
----------------------------------------------------------------
I know that you were way outside your comfort zone that Saturday. I praise God that you swallowed your fears and joined us in proclaiming the good news to the lost.
You went from a classroom environment on learning how to share your faith to actually watching someone share their faith to handing out tracts yourself.
We may be hearing about you open air preaching on the streets of Canton soon!
Thank you for your obedience and thank you for being a huge part of His Feet on the Street!!!
Dawg
We went to one booth with two young women selling t-shirts and other small items. One of the women was named "L". My team mate began as usual and I prayed for an open door and that God would speak through him. He began to focus on "L" and she was speaking openly and honestly with him. During their chat it felt like there was electricity in the air around us and it became intense.
At a certain point it was like a lightning bolt came down, through my partner and into "L". I saw it, my team mate saw it and the woman's friend saw it. It shocked both of them and even me and her friend became very nervous and started moving things around on the table and trying to distract "L". She got up and walked outside and came back several times as though she didn't know what to do. I watched the friend while my partner kept talking with "L". I have known Wayne's ministry partner for several years and this was his voice but it didn't sound like him speaking. There was no hesitation at all and every word seemed to be chosen by God specifically for "L". This may sound overly dramatic and I can't say what really happened but this was what it felt like to me.
It was truly an awesome experience!
I know our people fairly well and their hearts do not contain hatred for anyone. They were there out of love and concern for people's souls. It had nothing to do with homosexuality. These were God's children they were talking with.
Here's the part that Wayne and my team mate don't know yet:
For the rest of the morning I felt lighter as though a burden had been lifted from me as my partner continued to approach other people. In our condensed, 4 session, Way of the Master class Wayne had asked us all to examine our hearts and ask "Am I doing enough?". The answer is clearly no. Went to most of his 8 part series and then to this festival with them.
My part was small but was a blessing to me!
I had a commitment to be at the Capitol at noon for a protest against corruption in government. Got there about 12:30 and said "Sorry for being late, was at the Gay pride festival." Jaws dropped and someone said "NO WAY".
This gave me the perfect opportunity to hand out 4 million dollars and explain what we were doing and why. Explained that we hadn't gone there to protest but to save souls. Told them about "Way of the Master" and the Ten Commandments and discussed it with them.
For most people this would not be a big deal but it was another cliff for me to jump from.
This was a great day for me!
----------------------------------------------------------------
I know that you were way outside your comfort zone that Saturday. I praise God that you swallowed your fears and joined us in proclaiming the good news to the lost.
You went from a classroom environment on learning how to share your faith to actually watching someone share their faith to handing out tracts yourself.
We may be hearing about you open air preaching on the streets of Canton soon!
Thank you for your obedience and thank you for being a huge part of His Feet on the Street!!!
Dawg
07 November 2009
Pride Fest: Team Member Perspective Take Four
First and foremost I felt compelled to go and in any way possible proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Upon arriving at Piedmont Park I was struck by a number of issues. It was overwhelming to see the number of vendors situated around the park catering to the homosexual community. As we passed several of them I could feel the presence of Satan and that was a chilling experience in of itself.
However our purpose there was to spread the gospel and as we found out quickly was not easy to do. Nobody was really interested in talking about the true gospel nor were they happy to receive a track. However we continued to pass them out until ordered not to. Except for the Christians there trying their best to proclaim God’s Holy Word, it seemed as though there was a complete absence of the Holy Spirit. However we pressed on remembering the Great Commission.
I pray that someone, after reading a track, had second thoughts about their lifestyle and fell down on their knees to proclaim Christ as their Savior.
The ramped sin was everywhere and what bothered me the most was the exposure of little children accompanied by homosexuals as if to say to them this lifestyle is acceptable. As I walked I prayed and asked God to at least deliver the children to Jesus. I guess we will not know in this lifetime what, if any, impact we may have had, however I am comfortable that what we did was what God asked of us and I would do it again when needed.
Remembering always first we PRAY.
I think we always need to remember Psalm 114 and what God did for His people, He still performs miracles and that next person we talk to could be the one He is waiting for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your obedience in helping us bring the gospel to a small section of the world last Saturday morning!
Your presence there was like having a patriarch among our midst!!
God bless you!
Dawg
Upon arriving at Piedmont Park I was struck by a number of issues. It was overwhelming to see the number of vendors situated around the park catering to the homosexual community. As we passed several of them I could feel the presence of Satan and that was a chilling experience in of itself.
However our purpose there was to spread the gospel and as we found out quickly was not easy to do. Nobody was really interested in talking about the true gospel nor were they happy to receive a track. However we continued to pass them out until ordered not to. Except for the Christians there trying their best to proclaim God’s Holy Word, it seemed as though there was a complete absence of the Holy Spirit. However we pressed on remembering the Great Commission.
I pray that someone, after reading a track, had second thoughts about their lifestyle and fell down on their knees to proclaim Christ as their Savior.
The ramped sin was everywhere and what bothered me the most was the exposure of little children accompanied by homosexuals as if to say to them this lifestyle is acceptable. As I walked I prayed and asked God to at least deliver the children to Jesus. I guess we will not know in this lifetime what, if any, impact we may have had, however I am comfortable that what we did was what God asked of us and I would do it again when needed.
Remembering always first we PRAY.
I think we always need to remember Psalm 114 and what God did for His people, He still performs miracles and that next person we talk to could be the one He is waiting for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your obedience in helping us bring the gospel to a small section of the world last Saturday morning!
Your presence there was like having a patriarch among our midst!!
God bless you!
Dawg
06 November 2009
Pride Fest: Team Member Perspective Take Three
Although I enjoyed talking with everyone I encountered Saturday, I saw no conviction. I experienced hate in a couple of instances, although, I never once brought up any one's sexuality; it was because I brought up Jesus. But who knows, I planted the seed and the Holy Spirit does the rest as the Lord so chooses. My friend and I were able to talk with quite a few. She initiated almost every conversation. You rock!
The one young man who touched my heart was "Baby." He was working at a skateboard store across from the park. He had very long, thick dreadlocks and tattoos everywhere and he was very easy to talk to. At first, my Christian friend was talking to him and then she migrated to his co-worker. I continued talking with Baby. I was able to discuss The Commandments and Salvation with him. We talked about our sinful nature and Christ's love for us and many other things concerning Christ and Salvation. Baby had led a hard, tough life and wants to do better as an example for his daughter. Please pray with me for Baby. We talked for a good while and he listened!
God is loving. Look at David of the Bible. Think about all the mistakes he made, some of them horrible mistakes, but when he came to his senses he literally fell on his face and begged God's forgiveness (more than once!), and what happened, he was forgiven.
Or Paul, wow, look at his life before he was a Christian. He was one of the meanest, cruelest men of his time and when he came to Christ, God used him as one of the greatest men to ever proclaim the gospel.
God can take those most vile, cruelest conditions or people and make them into warriors that witness, minister and preach the Word to others. He takes the meekest and makes them bold in His Name. He takes Christians that are shy and makes them a comforter or an encourager. He takes the Christian that is frail and makes them strong.
This is why we witness about Christ and Salvation to others, no matter who they are, where they are, even in places most may not even want to hear. If someone doesn't want to hear, or dismisses the conversation, we thank them for their time and go on.
If someone listens and voices their point of view, we listen and continue telling them about the Christ of the Bible. We witness to people about Jesus Christ and Salvation as the Bible teaches us and because God expects us to as Christians.
We witness out of love for Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour first, and secondly out of love for God's creation, the man or woman you speak to, the child you may teach in Sunday School, the co-worker you see each day, the patient you tend to in the hospital, the young mother in front of you at the grocery store, and, yes, even the young gay man at the Pride festival, or the dude looking at the cool camaro at the local car show in front of Publix.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You have come a long way in stepping out of your comfort zone!
As one whom God has gifted to encourage and comfort people you are able to use that gift in your one-to-one witnessing encounters that the lost can definitely sense in your interaction with them.
The one young man who touched my heart was "Baby." He was working at a skateboard store across from the park. He had very long, thick dreadlocks and tattoos everywhere and he was very easy to talk to. At first, my Christian friend was talking to him and then she migrated to his co-worker. I continued talking with Baby. I was able to discuss The Commandments and Salvation with him. We talked about our sinful nature and Christ's love for us and many other things concerning Christ and Salvation. Baby had led a hard, tough life and wants to do better as an example for his daughter. Please pray with me for Baby. We talked for a good while and he listened!
God is loving. Look at David of the Bible. Think about all the mistakes he made, some of them horrible mistakes, but when he came to his senses he literally fell on his face and begged God's forgiveness (more than once!), and what happened, he was forgiven.
Or Paul, wow, look at his life before he was a Christian. He was one of the meanest, cruelest men of his time and when he came to Christ, God used him as one of the greatest men to ever proclaim the gospel.
God can take those most vile, cruelest conditions or people and make them into warriors that witness, minister and preach the Word to others. He takes the meekest and makes them bold in His Name. He takes Christians that are shy and makes them a comforter or an encourager. He takes the Christian that is frail and makes them strong.
This is why we witness about Christ and Salvation to others, no matter who they are, where they are, even in places most may not even want to hear. If someone doesn't want to hear, or dismisses the conversation, we thank them for their time and go on.
If someone listens and voices their point of view, we listen and continue telling them about the Christ of the Bible. We witness to people about Jesus Christ and Salvation as the Bible teaches us and because God expects us to as Christians.
We witness out of love for Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour first, and secondly out of love for God's creation, the man or woman you speak to, the child you may teach in Sunday School, the co-worker you see each day, the patient you tend to in the hospital, the young mother in front of you at the grocery store, and, yes, even the young gay man at the Pride festival, or the dude looking at the cool camaro at the local car show in front of Publix.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You have come a long way in stepping out of your comfort zone!
As one whom God has gifted to encourage and comfort people you are able to use that gift in your one-to-one witnessing encounters that the lost can definitely sense in your interaction with them.
It was awesome to see my 'better half' out on the streets sharing Christ with the lost!
Dawg
04 November 2009
Pride Fest: Team Member Perspective Take Two
My objective here is not to get into a philosophical debate about the validity of the Scriptures, nor do I speak to others to condemn others to eternal damnation. Yes, God accepts the sinner, but that does not mean that He accepts our sins. The Bible states that “all have sinned” and that “the wages of sin is death”. We do not convict - God's word convicts. God said it, which settles it. The topic is already covered.
The Bible also states that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for our sins that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus even said I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.
Mark 16:15 – “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Jesus did not say he who is with out sin, Go! He just said Go. Peter, Paul, and the other disciples did not simply live by example - they went among the other sinners and let them know God loved them and wanted them to repent of their sins.
Although “Go” is a simple, two letter command that a dog could learn to obey, it is not always simple for Christians such as me.
Even as the smallest member of the body of Christ, I am required to obey God’s commandments – even when doing so is completely out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone consists of listening to others or talking to a single individual on a casual basis about sports, family, and showing concern for others while making them laugh or smile. It does not include writing coherently, speaking to large groups of people, or “boldly witnessing” about something as important as another person’s destiny throughout eternity.
I went to the festival on Saturday for the following reasons:
1. Jesus said “GO”, so I am required to obey. (This is a simple and straightforward command.) Like everyone else, I am imperfect, but I went.
2. God may love the sinner, but he does not love the sin and can not allow sin into Heaven.
3. There is a guaranteed way to heaven that everyone needs to know about.
4. There were a lot of people at the event. (It would not have mattered what the event was.)
Although I was just walking around talking to others, I was asked by a couple of people what I was protesting. My simple, honest answer was that I was not protesting anything. I was at the festival because it was an opportunity to talk to other people on an individual basis because I care about them.
Many people that you run into on the street may never enter the doors of a church - and will never ask you what is different about you in your life. They will not enter the gates of Heaven because no one bothered to talk to them about God. This is why I was there – Jesus said “Go”.
It is true that we, as Christian men and women, are not responsible for judging another person's heart - that is God's responsibility. We are, however, responsible for obeying His commandments. With love, we must simply let others know what the Bible says, that we care about them, and that everyone has the opportunity to come to Christ. Please keep in mind that we (or I) do a disservice to others when we do not tell them that their actions and attitudes could keep them out of heaven.
I heard someone say once “If you believe there is a Heaven and a Hell, how much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them about Jesus?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for you commitment to seek and share Christ with the lost. You have one of the biggest hearts for people that I have the privilege to know. You have been a huge blessing to me and my wife over the past couple years!
Thank you for letting God use you in the Great Commission!
Dawg
The Bible also states that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for our sins that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus even said I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.
Mark 16:15 – “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Jesus did not say he who is with out sin, Go! He just said Go. Peter, Paul, and the other disciples did not simply live by example - they went among the other sinners and let them know God loved them and wanted them to repent of their sins.
Although “Go” is a simple, two letter command that a dog could learn to obey, it is not always simple for Christians such as me.
Even as the smallest member of the body of Christ, I am required to obey God’s commandments – even when doing so is completely out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone consists of listening to others or talking to a single individual on a casual basis about sports, family, and showing concern for others while making them laugh or smile. It does not include writing coherently, speaking to large groups of people, or “boldly witnessing” about something as important as another person’s destiny throughout eternity.
I went to the festival on Saturday for the following reasons:
1. Jesus said “GO”, so I am required to obey. (This is a simple and straightforward command.) Like everyone else, I am imperfect, but I went.
2. God may love the sinner, but he does not love the sin and can not allow sin into Heaven.
3. There is a guaranteed way to heaven that everyone needs to know about.
4. There were a lot of people at the event. (It would not have mattered what the event was.)
Although I was just walking around talking to others, I was asked by a couple of people what I was protesting. My simple, honest answer was that I was not protesting anything. I was at the festival because it was an opportunity to talk to other people on an individual basis because I care about them.
Many people that you run into on the street may never enter the doors of a church - and will never ask you what is different about you in your life. They will not enter the gates of Heaven because no one bothered to talk to them about God. This is why I was there – Jesus said “Go”.
It is true that we, as Christian men and women, are not responsible for judging another person's heart - that is God's responsibility. We are, however, responsible for obeying His commandments. With love, we must simply let others know what the Bible says, that we care about them, and that everyone has the opportunity to come to Christ. Please keep in mind that we (or I) do a disservice to others when we do not tell them that their actions and attitudes could keep them out of heaven.
I heard someone say once “If you believe there is a Heaven and a Hell, how much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them about Jesus?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for you commitment to seek and share Christ with the lost. You have one of the biggest hearts for people that I have the privilege to know. You have been a huge blessing to me and my wife over the past couple years!
Thank you for letting God use you in the Great Commission!
Dawg
02 November 2009
Pride Fest: Team Member Perspective Take One
I took the Way of the Master course after a good friend recommended it. I expected it to be a how-to guide to teach me how to witness to the lost. As we moved through the lessons, the Lord captivated me, molded me, changed me & ignited a passion in me that has changed my walk in a profound way. He gave me the compassion I desired, the conviction I needed & the transformation He knew was necessary to reach out to others with the love of Christ.
I would challenge anyone that says they love the Lord but are doing little to introduce Him to others to take the course. If you are committed, it will change you to the core.
Piedmont Park Testimony:
Towards the end of my time in the park, I ventured onto the sidewalk outside the grounds to see about the people uninvolved with the festival. My trusted partner stayed behind & stood by a brother who was sharing directly from the Word with all who passed by. It was beautiful.
I noticed two young men across the road & up ahead of me. They stood in one spot & lingered on the sidewalk for some time. Truth be said, I was a bit intimidated by them. I finally crossed the street & began walking toward them while praying, “Lord, I’m gonna walk, you do the rest”.
I approached the two young men, gave a smile, shared a tract & introduced myself.
We got to talking about their “Christian background”– one stated that he was a Christian – “he went to church”. His friend listened as he explained that he had “done some time”, got into some bad deals but that he had decided to go the high road now. We moved into the 10 commandments & the Holy Spirit took over.
That young man never took his eyes off me except when he hung his head, recognizing that indeed he was headed for hell. I shared the gospel with him & by this time my partner joined us. He let us know that he knew it was time to repent, come clean with Christ & trust in Him wholly.
He shared that, yes, he would go home & get with the Lord that night and pull out his bible. We hugged & parted ways. (I’m not a hugger). It was so cool.
---------------------------------------------------- --------------
Thank you for your obedience to share the gospel to the lost. You have been huge blessing and encouragement to me and others during these last two months in the WOTM class.
This is just the beginning!
Keep up the great work in the Lord!!
God bless you,
Wayne
I would challenge anyone that says they love the Lord but are doing little to introduce Him to others to take the course. If you are committed, it will change you to the core.
Piedmont Park Testimony:
Towards the end of my time in the park, I ventured onto the sidewalk outside the grounds to see about the people uninvolved with the festival. My trusted partner stayed behind & stood by a brother who was sharing directly from the Word with all who passed by. It was beautiful.
I noticed two young men across the road & up ahead of me. They stood in one spot & lingered on the sidewalk for some time. Truth be said, I was a bit intimidated by them. I finally crossed the street & began walking toward them while praying, “Lord, I’m gonna walk, you do the rest”.
I approached the two young men, gave a smile, shared a tract & introduced myself.
We got to talking about their “Christian background”– one stated that he was a Christian – “he went to church”. His friend listened as he explained that he had “done some time”, got into some bad deals but that he had decided to go the high road now. We moved into the 10 commandments & the Holy Spirit took over.
That young man never took his eyes off me except when he hung his head, recognizing that indeed he was headed for hell. I shared the gospel with him & by this time my partner joined us. He let us know that he knew it was time to repent, come clean with Christ & trust in Him wholly.
He shared that, yes, he would go home & get with the Lord that night and pull out his bible. We hugged & parted ways. (I’m not a hugger). It was so cool.
---------------------------------------------------- --------------
Thank you for your obedience to share the gospel to the lost. You have been huge blessing and encouragement to me and others during these last two months in the WOTM class.
This is just the beginning!
Keep up the great work in the Lord!!
God bless you,
Wayne
01 November 2009
Mission Field: Pride Fest Atlanta, Ga.
This past Saturday, "His Feet on the Street" headed south to Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia to share the full gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to a community of lost souls. A weather system had been approaching in the days leading up to the Festival and it looked like Saturday would be a very wet day.
Friday, the night before the Festival, my ministry partner had come over to my house to help me go through our tracts and to make sure everything was in order for the big day. We had been praying for the last few weeks that God would use us to bring glory to His name.
Saturday morning I got up to a steady rain.
I feared that those who said they would/might come out to help us, would think better of spending the morning and part of the afternoon out in the rain.
Oh me of little faith.
Nine people in all (three of whom had never street witnessed before) were at the church parking lot ready to take the message of Christ to the lost.
Before we left the church parking lot, we circled up and prayed that God would use us mightily for His glory and for us to be meek as lambs but bold as lions in proclaiming the gospel.
When we arrived at the Park we were almost immediately picked out by an Atlanta police woman (My cross was an attention getter) who asked us if we were there to protest. We assured her in no way were we there to protest. She asked us why we were here at the Park and we filled her in with our plans. She looked us up and down and headed on her way.
We partnered up and headed out.
My wife (the strawberry blonde in the above photo)and her team-mate faced a little persecution with the first person they interacted with. After attempting to hand out a Million Dollar Bill tract, a young man told them that he didn't want their tract and that he was going to "beat the @#$* out of them all the way out of the park".
Not in the least deterred, they had several great conversations after the incident and handed out quite a few more tracts.
I had teamed up with my son and, along with the cross, we made our way along the perimeter of the park when we were approached by three young men. They asked us if we had "gotten one of these?" The young men knew why we were there and were having a little fun with us. They had spotted our cross and came over to ask if we were with Project Ezra group. After talking with them for a few minutes I asked if I could take their picture for our blog and they said absolutely as long as they could hold the cross in the picture.
These guys had just driven five hours from Charlotte, NC. to proclaim the name of Christ at Pride Fest!! Way to go guys!!!
My son and I spent the next hour handing out tracts while walking the Park until we came up to an area where vendors had set up their booths. In the near distance I saw my wife and her team-mate along with two other members of our group in what seemed like a discussion with an gentleman. As we got closer one of the team members came over to me and said that the gentleman that they were talking to was the Festival director. The director told us that we could not pass out tracts inside the Park during the Festival. He told us that 'Pride Fest' had a contract with the City of Atlanta and that no outside (non-vendors) groups or persons could distribute any materials inside the Festival.
He was kind enough to tell us that we were free to be inside the Park and mingle and have conversations with whoever we wanted and could give that person a tract during the conversation. We just couldn't stand around and hand them out. we were told that even the vendors had to conform to this rule (Vendors could only hand out literature or pamphlets from their booths).
Ok. That's fine. As a group we had probably already handed out a couple hundred tracts by the time we were told to stop.
We re-grouped and divided up again.
That's when I ran into Bill Adams from Revival-USA ministries.
Bill was standing at the corner of Piedmont and 12th street preparing to do a little preaching. Bill had told us that this was his 8th or 9th Pride Fest and has about seen it all there. Bill also had a lawyer on call and ready to help any one of us out if there were any free speech problems with law enforcement.
We also got to talk with Keith Higgins from "Saved From What Ministries"
What a blessing it was to talk to these godly men who dedicate their lives to the preaching of the gospel!
My son and I continued on our way toward one of the main entrances of the Park at 14th street. That's where we ran into a group from a church who was very wrong in their understanding of the Scriptures. This group was holding up signs in rainbow colors telling the people coming to the Festival that Jesus loved them and accepted them just as they are.
My partner in the ministry got a chance to talk to one of the members of this church. He talked for about an hour and told me about the conversation on the way back home.
My partner (the dark haired fellow) told me that this man didn't believe in the Trinity (Although, oddly enough, Trinity was the first word of the churches name). He didn't believe in Hell. He didn't believe the Bible was the inspired Word of God. He didn't believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. My partner told me that the current Bible study that this man was having in his Sunday school was about how the Bible was full of errors and was proven to be wrong (on different portions of Scripture) by some priest in the 16th century.
My partner refuted, corrected and rebuked (lovingly) from Scripture everything the man tried to throw at him.
Folks, know your Bible!! The more you study God's Word the more you can easily spot and refute counterfeit Christianity.
I'm real glad that my partner got to engage this man. My partner was able to take this man through the Law and share with him the magnificent gospel. One of the other members of the team said that he thought that hour long conversation served two purposes. One, the man got to hear the real gospel and two, he was hindered for about an hour from spreading his false message to the folks coming into the Park.
Speaking of the Park...this entrance on 14th street turned out to be a great spot for giving out the Obama Million Dollar Bills!! The Obama bills were a big hit. I overheard one woman tell another how cute Obama looked on bill. As she turned over the bill and starting reading the back she said, "Ugh..this has got something about Jesus on the back".
But you know what she did?
She stuck that tract right into her pocket book! Why? Because it had Obama on it. She was going to keep that tract because of who was on the front. Perhaps one day she may get saved because of what's on the back!
The picture below is the 14th street entrance to the Park. One of my team-mates called it the road that led to destruction - -
Rightly so I guess -
But here's the great thing...a lot of the folks that went into that Park went in there being warned that they were on the wrong road.
There are many more stories to tell and I have asked a few of the team-mates to put down their own words of the day and share them with you for encouragement.
So a big thank you to those of you who came out in the rain and gave up part of your day to share the good of the gospel with a lost community of people who may have never heard otherwise.
Thank you for being His feet on the street!
Friday, the night before the Festival, my ministry partner had come over to my house to help me go through our tracts and to make sure everything was in order for the big day. We had been praying for the last few weeks that God would use us to bring glory to His name.
Saturday morning I got up to a steady rain.
I feared that those who said they would/might come out to help us, would think better of spending the morning and part of the afternoon out in the rain.
Oh me of little faith.
Nine people in all (three of whom had never street witnessed before) were at the church parking lot ready to take the message of Christ to the lost.
Before we left the church parking lot, we circled up and prayed that God would use us mightily for His glory and for us to be meek as lambs but bold as lions in proclaiming the gospel.
When we arrived at the Park we were almost immediately picked out by an Atlanta police woman (My cross was an attention getter) who asked us if we were there to protest. We assured her in no way were we there to protest. She asked us why we were here at the Park and we filled her in with our plans. She looked us up and down and headed on her way.
We partnered up and headed out.
My wife (the strawberry blonde in the above photo)and her team-mate faced a little persecution with the first person they interacted with. After attempting to hand out a Million Dollar Bill tract, a young man told them that he didn't want their tract and that he was going to "beat the @#$* out of them all the way out of the park".
Not in the least deterred, they had several great conversations after the incident and handed out quite a few more tracts.
I had teamed up with my son and, along with the cross, we made our way along the perimeter of the park when we were approached by three young men. They asked us if we had "gotten one of these?" The young men knew why we were there and were having a little fun with us. They had spotted our cross and came over to ask if we were with Project Ezra group. After talking with them for a few minutes I asked if I could take their picture for our blog and they said absolutely as long as they could hold the cross in the picture.
These guys had just driven five hours from Charlotte, NC. to proclaim the name of Christ at Pride Fest!! Way to go guys!!!
My son and I spent the next hour handing out tracts while walking the Park until we came up to an area where vendors had set up their booths. In the near distance I saw my wife and her team-mate along with two other members of our group in what seemed like a discussion with an gentleman. As we got closer one of the team members came over to me and said that the gentleman that they were talking to was the Festival director. The director told us that we could not pass out tracts inside the Park during the Festival. He told us that 'Pride Fest' had a contract with the City of Atlanta and that no outside (non-vendors) groups or persons could distribute any materials inside the Festival.
He was kind enough to tell us that we were free to be inside the Park and mingle and have conversations with whoever we wanted and could give that person a tract during the conversation. We just couldn't stand around and hand them out. we were told that even the vendors had to conform to this rule (Vendors could only hand out literature or pamphlets from their booths).
Ok. That's fine. As a group we had probably already handed out a couple hundred tracts by the time we were told to stop.
We re-grouped and divided up again.
That's when I ran into Bill Adams from Revival-USA ministries.
Bill was standing at the corner of Piedmont and 12th street preparing to do a little preaching. Bill had told us that this was his 8th or 9th Pride Fest and has about seen it all there. Bill also had a lawyer on call and ready to help any one of us out if there were any free speech problems with law enforcement.
We also got to talk with Keith Higgins from "Saved From What Ministries"
What a blessing it was to talk to these godly men who dedicate their lives to the preaching of the gospel!
My son and I continued on our way toward one of the main entrances of the Park at 14th street. That's where we ran into a group from a church who was very wrong in their understanding of the Scriptures. This group was holding up signs in rainbow colors telling the people coming to the Festival that Jesus loved them and accepted them just as they are.
My partner in the ministry got a chance to talk to one of the members of this church. He talked for about an hour and told me about the conversation on the way back home.
My partner (the dark haired fellow) told me that this man didn't believe in the Trinity (Although, oddly enough, Trinity was the first word of the churches name). He didn't believe in Hell. He didn't believe the Bible was the inspired Word of God. He didn't believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. My partner told me that the current Bible study that this man was having in his Sunday school was about how the Bible was full of errors and was proven to be wrong (on different portions of Scripture) by some priest in the 16th century.
My partner refuted, corrected and rebuked (lovingly) from Scripture everything the man tried to throw at him.
Folks, know your Bible!! The more you study God's Word the more you can easily spot and refute counterfeit Christianity.
I'm real glad that my partner got to engage this man. My partner was able to take this man through the Law and share with him the magnificent gospel. One of the other members of the team said that he thought that hour long conversation served two purposes. One, the man got to hear the real gospel and two, he was hindered for about an hour from spreading his false message to the folks coming into the Park.
Speaking of the Park...this entrance on 14th street turned out to be a great spot for giving out the Obama Million Dollar Bills!! The Obama bills were a big hit. I overheard one woman tell another how cute Obama looked on bill. As she turned over the bill and starting reading the back she said, "Ugh..this has got something about Jesus on the back".
But you know what she did?
She stuck that tract right into her pocket book! Why? Because it had Obama on it. She was going to keep that tract because of who was on the front. Perhaps one day she may get saved because of what's on the back!
The picture below is the 14th street entrance to the Park. One of my team-mates called it the road that led to destruction - -
Rightly so I guess -
But here's the great thing...a lot of the folks that went into that Park went in there being warned that they were on the wrong road.
There are many more stories to tell and I have asked a few of the team-mates to put down their own words of the day and share them with you for encouragement.
So a big thank you to those of you who came out in the rain and gave up part of your day to share the good of the gospel with a lost community of people who may have never heard otherwise.
Thank you for being His feet on the street!
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