I enjoyed church this morning. Especially when I saw a guy Zeke and I shared the gospel with the previous day walk into the service with a friend.
This is what it's all about. Going out into the world and seeking people who are lost in their sins and sharing Christ with them, offering them reconciliation with God.
Jesus came into the world to seek and save that which is lost and I couldn't help but feel a sense of this with sharing the gospel with one of these guys and then seeing him rock up to church the next day with a friend.
What a joy it is to be used by God to reach others with the gospel.
May God do a work in these guys' lives. May they be born again.
David getting into a conversation at the gala day.
I was out sharing the other weekend with a group of guys at a church community outreach gala type event. I began a conversation with a couple who were just sitting down and I guess waiting for friends.
As I initiated with the guy he seemed disinterested and somehow managed to weasel out of the conversation in fact he got up and left. I found myself talking with his partner.
As I shared with her it seemed as if what I was saying was all new to her. I took her through the law and she was humble enough to admit that she'd violated God's law. It then made sense to her that if God were to judge her at the end of her life she'd be guilty and end up in hell. She began to see her need for forgiveness.
I could see a sobering expression on her face, as if she'd just realised the seriousness of her situation. That if her heart were to give out that night she'd end up in hell forever!
I asked her a question. I said, "Do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn't end up in hell?" and her words were a lot more profound that she may have realised.
She said, "He sent me you?"
The pure naivety in her response made he laugh in my mind. I said to her "Yes He did send me to you, not to save you but to tell you about the Saviour Jesus Christ, how He died on the cross for your sins, and then three days later rising from the dead."
As Christians we need to remember that we are Ambassadors for Christ and He sends us to people to share with them the message of eternal life.
May God give us strength to be a witness for Him as he sends us to people in our community.
I was stoked to hear that Brad Thorn was speaking about life and faith at my former Christian University group (StudentLife Tandem Ministries) back in Dunedin.
I was super stoked that a friend uploaded the video onto YouTube for the world to see. I was wondering how it went so it was great to be able to watch it from sunny Whakatane where I now live.
Brad's story reminds me that it's not just those in poverty and sickness and hardships that need God. Jesus isn't just for those who are down and out, he is also for those who are doing really well in life, who are rich, popular and successful. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, those lost in poverty and those lost in prosperity.
All of us, no matter how rich, poor, popular, unpopular, need righteousness or a right standing with God. We're all sinners. We're liars, theives, greedy, adulterers, fornicators, blaphemers, haters of God, lovers of other things. We naturally don't agree with God or want to follow Him. We are intrinsically rebellious.
None of us have followed God's holy laws perfectly and that's what He requires. So each of us stand as convicted criminals against the Creator of the Universe in desperate need of forgiveness.
God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, and without the righteousness of Christ we will perish on that day. Why? Because we have no righteousness in and of ourselves. That's why we need the one who never sinned. Our LORD Jesus Christ.
So the next time you think that you don't need Jesus, think again.
Please visit needgood.com to see if you do truly need God.
Below is part of a facebook message I read that a friend shared on my wall. It was about a person whose laptop lay on their bed and somehow caught on fire. "The reason I am writing this to all of
you is that I have seen many of us using the laptop while in bed. Let us
all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let
us make it a rule not to use the laptop on bed with blankets and
pillows around. Please educate as many people as you can.
"Please pass to everyone you know, you might save one's life"
In a spirit of love my concerned friend posted this so that people could escape the tragic possibility of their bed catching on fire. Finally she pleads with people to pass the message on as it might save someone's life.
I couldn't help but liken this to Evangelism.
In a spirit of love for people we should be letting people know about God's holiness and that many of us live rebellious lives, breaking many of His laws. The consequences are real. Those who sin will die. No theif or fornicator will enter Heaven. All liars will have their part in the lake of fire. But God so loved the world, He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
As Christians we have the message of eternal life. The solution to defeating death! So please educate as many people as you can and pass this message on to everyone you know, you light save someone's life eternally.
Of course you do, We all do. I mean who hasn't watched countless news stories of murderers, rapists, and other various criminal related activities and had highly judgement attitudes towards the culprits on screen? It's simply just what we humans do. But have you ever wondered why we make these judgement calls?
We are judgmental beings because we're made in God's image. God cares about justice and because we're made in His image, we care about justice. All the courts systems we set up is evidence of that. Within each of us is a God-given conscience. It's like a referee in our heads. Like the 'angel and devil on your shoulder' concept. It's that place of the knowledge of right and wrong.
Your conscience is like an impartial judge in the court room of your mind, judging the thoughts you think about, the words you say, and the deeds you do (including the thoughts, words, and deeds of other people). That's why when you watch a news clip of a disgusting child molester, your conscience screams out from within you "that is wrong!" That's why when you tell an outright lie, steal from work or cheat on your spouse with an adulterous thought of another, your conscience screams out from within you "that is wrong!" And what usually comes next is guilt.
With all of these internal and external judgement calls firing left right and centre, how can we know whether our judgements are right or wrong? Do we just go by gut feeling or is there a more objective way?
Think about a sports referee for a moment. A referee makes judgement
calls all the time about the actions of the players during a game. How does the referee know whether an action committed by a player is right or wrong? Well, he judges all actions according the the rule book. The rule book is the ref's objective standard in which he judges by. Believe it or not humanity has a 'rule book'. An objective standard in which we can judge all acts in life by. God's success criteria if you will. It's the Ten commandments (See Exodus 20:1-21). God has written theses laws on our heart so we can know what right and wrong is, and more importantly so we can judge our own actions and see whether we are doing what is right in the eyes of God, or whether we're breaking his law and under his judgement and condemnation.
Referees judge all actions according to the rule book
How would you feel watching a rugby game being refereed by someone who doesn't know the rules? I could image some unpleasant words being shared among the boys. "How can this ref make the right judgement call if he doesn't know the rules?" And yet sadly people all around the world make judgement calls on all sorts of moral issues but don't have an objective standard in which they can judge anything by. They don't know the rules. They are refereeing their lives by what feels good and kinda sounds right and throwing the rule book out the window.
The results can be seen in the widely accepted practices of abortion and homosexuality in our society. This is evidence that the rule book is very much out the window. The problem with the rule book being thrown out is that right and wrong disappear with it. People are then left to make up their own right and wrong. So without any objective rules to follow, a pedophile can stand in the 'this feels right for me' camp. Here's a simple guide to judging morals correctly. If God says an act is right, it's right. If God says an act is wrong, it's wrong.
So how do you relate to God's law? I'll be honest I've broken them all. Many times. I've loved other things more that God, made up a God that I was happy with, used God's and Jesus' name to curse, been busy doing stuff and not thinking about God, disrespected my parents, hated people in my heart which is murder in God's eyes, lusted after many women which is adultery in God's eyes, stolen things, told lies and desired things that belonged to others. I am what the song Amazing Grace refers to as 'a wretch'.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see".
That's why I'm a Christian. Saving grace is in Christ alone. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Have you ever wondered why you feel guilty about something you've done that no body else knows about? Well that's because you've violated your God-given conscience, and deep down you know that God knows all about you, what you think about, what you talk about, and the deeds you do in darkness. Don't be fooled. His eyes are in every place beholding the wicked and the good. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God, to whom we must give an account.
Instead of judging others, let us soberly judge ourselves.
Listen...
... to the voice of your conscience...
...what is it saying?
Please visit needgod.com to examine yourself under God's law and be sure to navigate to the end of the presentation where the Good News about Jesus is clearly explained. I hope that God gives you faith to believe.
We had another successful time out sharing the gospel today. I always remind myself that success is never defined by how many people pray to receive Jesus that day. It's obviously an awesome thing for that to happen, that's how we want everyone to respond but that's not how you measure success.
Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative in the power of the Holy Spirit to share Christ, and leaving the results (good or bad) in God's hands. Salvation is of the Lord.
Darren and his family came along and David came with a friend. I was deeply encouraged by the faithfulness of the people who showed up, giving up some of their Saturday's to preach and teach the truth of Jesus to people in love.
Brenda engaging in conversation
Brenda had some good conversations. She was encouraged to chat with a 13 year old girl outside the
library who told her that she follows Christ. She also talked with a lady who had strong views of Maori spirituality from her whanau. The lady said that to accept Christ would mean to reject opposing thoughts and ideas she's learned from her whanau growing up.That's the challenge we all need to come to terms with. We need to reject anything that attempts to set itself up against Christ.
Darren chatting with a knowedgable bloke
Darren chatted with an elderly lady who didn't warm very well to his company. He also chatted with a guy(in pic) who was very knowledgeable. He then had a great chat with some youths. As he was sharing I could sense a very tense mood in the air. The youths weren't joking around or being silly, they were taking the gospel very seriously. I could tell by their body language that their hearts were brought to a place of being contrite and humble.
I talked with a guy who professed to be a Christian but then later found out he was trusting in his own righteousness to get to Heaven, which is in fact no righteousness at all! I told him that he needs the righteousness of Christ to cover his sin. I pray that he would be come a true follower of Christ.
I also spoke with a gang member who was not long out of prison. God was on this guys case because he had told me that two people this week had talked with him about getting right with God. For some reason he felt drawn to share some of his life journey with me. He said he was brought up a Christian and knows all about Christ, but something was holding him back from making a commitment to follow Him. He said it was because of bad things that happened in his life that turned him away.
God doesn't promise our life on earth to be easy and free from calamity. In fact He promises that life will get harder. It's through much tribulation that we enter the Kingdom, and Jesus said that the world would hate us because of Him. Those who have faith in Christ shall suffer persecution, not might suffer, but shall suffer. So that's why it's not legitimate to tell a person that they'll prosper in worldly ways if they become a Christian. If someone is promised a prosperous life here on earth, and then runs in to tough times they'll conclude that the promise was a lie and turn away from the faith. This is what I believe happened to the gang member I talked with.
We need to tell people they need Jesus not for happiness, but for righteousness. God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, none of us have any righteousness of our own so we must fly to Christ and shelter in Him.
He alone can save us.
Behold the promises of God:
1. trials
2. temptation
3. persecution
4. eternal life
Are you willing to endure the first three to gain the last?
Jesus is our example. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. So Jesus endured trials, temptation, and persecution, for the joy of being back with the Father which He had set before him, and that's exactly how we need to see things in light of suffering.
Gospel tracts are kind of like pamphlets or flyers. But instead of having information about a business or a cause on it, a gospel Tract has the gospel message on it (Usually on the back).
Gospel tracts are great in that they can fit places human beings cannot, like inside jean pockets. They can go places we cannot E.g. into the houses of those you give them to. They can stay places we cannot. E.g. You have to check out of the Motel but a gospel tract can stay. Gospel tracts don't mumble their words or forget what to say. They can often communicate the gospel better than we can verbally.
The final reason why they are great is so important it needs it's own paragraph. Paul says that the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16). Did you get that? What is Paul saying that's the power of God that brings salvation? It's the Gospel! So as Christians we can trust in God's gospel which is the power of God that brings salvation. Not our eloquent words or human wisdom.
If you're staying at a bach or a motel or a holiday park, leave a gospel tract there. These places usually have an area set aside for leisurely reading so strategically place a gospel tract where someone who's browsing the area might find and read.
I usually like to dive into a pool, while my wife dips her foot in to test the waters. Placing a tract in places like this could be a 'foot-first' step for you in evangelism, I mean it's so easy that anyone could do it. This approach may seem like an insignificant or cowardly thing to do, but don't be discouraged but those thoughts, it's better than doing nothing.
Think of the fate of those without Christ. God's righteous holy anger against sin will see them cast into the lake of eternal fire. They need to hear what we've got to say. Tell them the gospel, the good news about Christ! That through Him alone God pardons our sins forever and gives us what we don't deserve, Heaven, and a new heart.
So weather you evangelize head first or feet first the important thing is that you do something, because people are going to Hell.
