What A Fun Day!

You won't believe what a blessed day - what a fun day - we had reaching out with the hope of the gospel and proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ down at the DMFM this morning. God worked in such a special way, in my life: I was up late last night, 'till at least midnight, checking out a couple of videos of people who came out of the Jehovah's Witness cult. I woke up at 1:30 with a irritated cough, and when I rolled out of bed at 7 AM, I felt sick, weak, and tired. Not to get into too much detail - I have a lung disease which leaves me fighting relatively constant low-level infections, for which I take a monthly dose of antibiotics to keep under control. This morning felt like a flare up: joints aching, slight sore throat, and a little feverish.



Patrick Henry speech notes & million dollar 4th of July tracts

 

But, I had committed this morning to gospel outreach, and I prayed for God to work his mighty power through my weakened body, downed a couple ibuprofen & Tylenol, used my inhaler, and started my July antibiotic 2 days early. I had printed out Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech last night, so I completed organizing my thoughts and scriptures, and packed about 400 "Happy 4th of July" million dollar bill tracts to hand out to the Market-goers.

We prayed on the drive down for a place to park, a place to stand and speak & give out tracts, and for the Holy Spirit to work in people's lives, and all of those prayers were answered. We got a spot in the parking ramp very quickly. The north-east corner of 4th & Court was open (wind behind me), and a musical group across the street was just leaving. This is the same spot I read the Patrick Henry speech last year, and the intersection was packed.

Click HERE for the audio. My battery died near the end, but you'll get the meat of the message. I left in about 8-10 minutes of audio at the beginning, when I was greeting people, and announcing that we'd be reading the Patrick Henry speech. You'll get an idea of what goes on before we start, but just fast forward if its too boring.

Just  before I started speaking, Frank Chirico showed up, and that was another blessing and a help. Frank works most weekends, so it is rare that we get to labor together in the harvest field. Praise the Lord - when I transitioned from the Patrick Henry speech to the proclamation of the gospel, a woman walked up and wanted to "ask a question" (she really wanted to present the claims of Roman Catholicism - thank God he delivered Mary, myself, and Frank from that false gospel!). I was able to slide her over to Frank, and keep going; without Frank being there, it would have been difficult to keep the flow of the message and make the link between the liberty and freedom of Patrick Henry's speech, and the freedom we all need, and can only obtain, through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, thank you, bro! God brought you right when I needed you.

Mary and Frank on the corner of 4th & Court Ave. I spoke just to the right of
where Frank is standing, a point from which I was surrounded by Market-goers.
360 degrees of preaching freedom - it was a blast!
 

I felt ill right up to the time I began speaking. But after that, God faithfully supplied his supernatural power. I experienced that scripture:

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13)

God gave us the desire to reach out to those around us, and he supplied the power needed to do it. I had a blast! I mean, I experienced the joy of the Lord, and the Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. I don't take video, but many stopped to hear the Patrick Henry speech, and also to hear of the bondage and slavery that both sin and religion bring, and of the only cure: the freedom that is in the Person of Jesus Christ. So let me publicly thank the Lord for his kindness to us this morning. Mary also had a neat encounter with a young man who regularly tap-dances for donations near the corner of 4th & Court. Since we usually see him, Mary approached him to give a tract and talk to him. Turns out he was raised Mormon, so Mary got to share the real gospel, and we hope to give him some stuff to help him understand the difference between Joseph Smith, the Mormon false prophet, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior of sinners.

When finished, Frank and I joined Mary in passing out the 4th of July tracts, and about 11:45 you could feel the air cool off, and the smell of rain. The heavens opened up, and it rained hard for a few minutes, with everyone running for cover. Right behind us was an overhand from the Surf Shop bar, and Mary jumped in there. I was already soaked, so I didn't care. I told Frank, "Look, a captive audience." So when Frank headed for his car, I took a few minutes, standing in the rain, and spoke to the group there, reading the gospel message from the back of the tract. One guy decided it was more tolerable to get wet than to listen to the gospel message, and took off. But there were believers there, too, and one lady thanked me. A few more tracts went out.

Walking back to the car with Mary, I was struck by the beauty and wonder of what I just experienced.
What a joy to lift up the precious name of Jesus. What fun - may I say that in a reverent, holy manner? What fun to publicly identify with the one True God, and to proclaim his mighty power to save. To be able to warn sinners to flee from the wrath of a Holy God! To offer the only means of escape that Jesus provides, full and free. There is nothing like it, brothers and sisters.

Reader, if you are a stranger to the grace of God: if you are religious but not born-again, or if you are just lost; listen: you will have to give a full account to your Creator some day. God does not desire that any perish, but he is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). He's done everything needed to purchase your forgiveness and salvation. Jesus paid it all on the cross 2000 years ago, and God will forgive you and receive you as his child if you will repent and trust in Jesus Christ, that he died for your sins on that cross. Come to him today, by faith - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,...." (Acts 16:31)

Many False Prophets

1 John 4:1
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

Just happened to be reading through 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as Jude today, and have been meditating on this particular verse (among others). It is so easy to read over this, but think about it:
MANY false prophets are gone out into the world? Look around, bro: its not just the typical cults anymore (JW's, Mormons, etc.), its not just the major false religions of the world (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Roman & Greek Orthodox Catholicism, etc.), but now includes the anti-Christ "Health, Wealth, and Prosperity" teachers, the seeker-sensitive Church-growth teachers (based on mind-power & new age beliefs, with roots in Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller), the so-called "Emerging" Church teachers (really should be called "Merging Church" - merging right back into Catholic mysticism heresy & new-age Spirituality that denies  the Lord Jesus Christ, and the sufficiency of the Holy Bible).

MANY FALSE PROPHETS!
So, how will you know a false prophet? Jesus said by their fruit (Matthew 7:16). And in the preceding verse, Jesus warns us "BEWARE of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." They are not sent by God, but are tools of the adversary, who's desire is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Yes, that is Satan's "wonderful plan for your life."

We need to all be Bereans, and examine the words of anyone claiming to speak for God against the Holy Scriptures. Filter everything you take in through God's word! Your music, your movies, your magazines, your books (at the "Christian" bookstore), your talk shows on television and radio....The Jews of Berea where called "more noble" than those of Thessalonica, because "they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11). We are RESPONSIBLE to be Bereans: not only for ourselves, but for the souls of men and women around us. To not be hearers of the word only, but doers of the word (James 1:22).

Just one more motivation for those of us who know the Lord Jesus as Savior to go out into our communities and proclaim the one and only true gospel of the one and only true God, and point others to the one and only true Savior of sinners, Jesus Christ. Just one more reason to "Fight the good fight of faith,...." (1 Tim 6:12), and "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15). The time is now to "...earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3).

If Jesus Christ has saved you, He saved you to be His witness (Acts 1). Can I exhort both me and you to this end? The false prophets are out there and active, and millions are being led to an eternal Hell by them. Time to man up, step up, study up, pray up, and then step out, reach out, and shout out for your Lord, with the hope of the gospel. Do it today, for none of us is promised tomorrow.

An Update on the ISS website....

God is great.
Lots of evangelism going on.
Frank is wrapping up in Utah with his outreach to Mormons at the annual Manti Miracle Pageant.
I've been out several times with some of our witnessing crosses, and was able to make it to the little Farmers Market here in Marshalltown for the first time this season.

Just wanted to let you know that we continue to work on this website:

Added some links to the side bar:
1. www.mormoninfo.org
2. www.jwinfo.org
3. www.musliminfo.org
4. www.courageouschristiansunited.org

These include some helpful information for people involved in Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), Jehovah's Witness, and the religion of Islam. I hope they help you minister to those involved in these religions, and that precious souls who are trapped in these religions would escape to the freedom and eternal life that is in Jesus Christ.

Started adding some pictures to the "Pictures" tab that Frank set up. Still trying to figure out how to use this page effectively, so check back if you're interested...it may get better.

I did complete the gospel message on the "How to Become a Child of God" tab. This is such an important subject, so I hope I have it presented in a way that is understandable to the reader and faithful to God's word. If I can find a way to communicate this message of hope and love better, and still warn sinners to flee from the coming wrath, I will make revisions as needed. What I don't want to do is to appeal to man's emotions, or make the gospel some kind of sales gimmick. For those of you who pray for us and our ministry, please pray that in all things we would faithfully proclaim the gospel in a Biblical, God-centered and God-honoring manner. And pray that we would be an encouragement to the body of Christ, and that people will come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through the efforts of those of us who participate on this website.

May God richly bless you.

Manti, UT Mormon Miracle Pageant Mission Trip 2013

Tomorrow, 7am, I, Frank, along with 50 others from First Family Church in Ankeny, IA will be traveling to Manti, UT to witness to Mormons during the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant (M3P) from June 17th through June 30th. I will be going for only one week (17th through 24th)


The M3P is an event that commemorates the story of how the Book of Mormon came to be, and how Joseph Smith became the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).  The pageant is described in the website as:

"The saga of the Mormon Miracle Pageant begins by telling the story of Joseph Smith, a prophet of God. This remarkable man was instrumental in the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our time. Through the power of God, Joseph translated the Book of Mormon, a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas which was inscribed on gold plates.
Those who believed in Joseph's message and the Book of Mormon endured epic struggles. Travel with them through the hardships of persecution, the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the sacrifices made on their journey west. Watch as a cast of over 900 reenacts events which occurred in the Americas, such as the resurrected Christ showing Himself to the people of the New World." - www.mantipageant.com

 This video uploaded by our team leader, Tom Urban, describes what we will be doing.  Please pray for us as we share the true Christ with the lost Mormons of Utah. 

Success: What Is It?

Mary and I made it down to the Market today, and it was an interesting day. We got down a little later than usual. I talked to several people, so the preaching was shorter and kind of "here-and-there."

Right away I ran into a man named Ken, a big, burly man, and a believer, who I've seen every year since 2009 when we started preaching at the Market. We never really talked, so he asked how I came to know the Lord. I shared about that, and we enjoyed a few minutes of the fellowship of Christian brothers.

We set up at the cross-walk between 4th & 3rd, and while I was preparing, Mary came up with another man named David, also a believer, and we talked a bit about evangelism and the times we live in. Up on the box, I started out with the true definition of success....

SUCCESS: FINDING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD

 

So today I had a woman heckle me, which was great. It is rare down at the Market, and usually consists of a "drive-by", but this woman came up to the box and wanted to engage. I really should pray for more hecklers, because it grabs a lot of people's attention - gives them an excuse to stop and see what's going on - and as other open air preachers say, it can generate a crowd really quick. Since the preaching was intermittent, I won't post all of it; but here is a brief exchange with my heckler:

Click HERE for the audio.

 

A man by the name of Don came up and shared how he had been saved out of radical Roman Catholicism. Since my background is Catholic, I could identify. This fella was driving 300-400 miles to attend a Latin Roman Catholic mass somewhere in Illinois! Praise God that he was delivered from this deep bondage, being born-again by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. (Don has my cell phone number: if I hear from him, I may ask for his written testimony, and if I get it, I will post it here on the website).

 

By the time I finished with Don, it was a little after 12 Noon, when the Market shuts down. I finished up with a few minutes of clearly presenting the gospel out of 1 Corinthians 15. Mary had passed out all her tracts, and had walked a few blocks down to 2nd Street where our friends Steve and Theresa Paul had their organic grains stand set up. We enjoyed visiting with them, and helped pack things up before leaving.

 



Brothers and sisters, the Lord has given us the command to preach the gospel and to be his witnesses wherever we are. It's not a numbers thing: you are successful whenever you step out by faith and reach out to someone with the hope of the gospel. And it is an act of worship to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and to give glory to our Most High God.

Contact us if we can be of any help. We want to encourage you to be bold, and to be the people that God created us and saved us to be:

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(Titus 2:11-14)

The Gospel of God...Awesome!

I love Dave Hunt. He went to be with the Lord on April 5, 2013, and has left a treasure trove of books, tapes, and teaching videos for those of us who remain on this side of eternity.

I never met Dave, but his "Search the Scriptures Daily" radio program was a great help to me as a new Christian in the mid-1990's.  On Saturday afternoons, I looked forward to listening to Dave and T. A. McMahon on "Search the Scriptures Daily" on our local Christian radio station where we lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Fond memories...I look forward to seeing him again, and finally meeting him, in Heaven.

This video teaching on "The Gospel of God" is excellent, and shows the powerful, important, and oft-neglected use of Biblical prophecy in both gospel evangelism to the lost, and in exhortation and encouragement of the brethren. Dave's love for the Bible is contagious, and I hope it rubs off on you as it has on me. Enjoy!

Turn Around!

We've had just a tremendous amount of rain in central Iowa this past couple of weeks. So much so, that along with weather alerts from the weather app on my smart phone, I've also been getting flood warnings multiple times a day. On the radio, we been hearing that little jingle from the National Weather Service, "Turn Around Don't Drown", as a reminder to take areas of flooded rivers, or other flood waters, seriously. But despite the many warnings, some people refuse to take heed.

This morning, Mary read an article from the local newspaper about a man who had to be rescued from the Iowa river last night, after his car was swept away as he attempted to drive through a closed section of flooded roadway. According to the article, the man had driven through two "ROAD CLOSED" signs into 6-inches of water, tried to turn around when his car began to fill with water, and was swept into the river. The rescue personnel included three fire departments, the Tama sheriff's office, the Poweshiek County Sheriff's office, Tama Ambulance, and the Iowa State Patrol. The man survived by jumping from the car and hanging onto a couple of trees, and had to be rescued by boat, with the three of the rescue personnel linking arms in order to reach him.

I used this as a springboard to the gospel down at the Farmers Market in Des Moines this morning, because it is so fitting. Click HERE for the audio.

The guy who nearly drowned will have his day in court, and will have to face the judge and give an account for what he did. According to the State Trooper in the article, this man not only endangered himself, but the many people who were involved in his rescue. You know, he will be without excuse on that day...I mean, he drove around the warning signs! He's going to pay a HEFTY fine, and that's not counting the fact that his car is still in the river, and will remain there until the flood waters recede.

And like that man, all of us have "driven around" God's warning signs regarding the imminent danger we are in because of our sins against a Holy God. Our conscience has warned us again and again and again, until we've hardened our hearts to the point that our conscience is reduced to the background noise of an annoying jingle on the radio.

The concept of the fear of the LORD has been replaced by:
... the Seeker-Sensitive "god" (think Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Joel Olsteen) who is accepting and warm and fuzzy, and who wants you to have your best life now. Or
... the Emergent "god"(think Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Dan Kimball) who doesn't want you to get bogged down with boring (zzzzz) doctrine or Bible reading; where experience trumps understanding, "love wins", and everyone goes to Heaven...even the Devil. Or
... the Contemplative "god" of the New Age (think Tilden Edwards, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Helen Schucman, Oprah Winfrey, Shirley McClain, Leonard Sweet) which teaches that we really are all "god", and that Jesus Christ didn't come to reveal his divinity, but to show us we are all divine. The "god" who mocks the thought of a dead Christ, or that it is a mistake to cling to the old rugged cross.

My, my, with all this being offered to humanity, the Biblical concepts of the surety of Judgment Day and the fearful reality of an eternal Hell have been so watered down, they look like nothing more than 6-inches of water across the road ahead...hardly anything to be worried about!

Galatians 6:7-8 
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

God has given us ten clear warning signs in his moral law, the Ten Commandments, yet we just drive around them in order to go our own way, do our own thing, be our own god, in rebellion to the Almighty God who created us, and who deserves our love and worship. The one true God who desires for us to be reconciled to him. Out of love, God calls us to repent - to turn around - to turn to Him in humility and surrender, and look to the only One who can rescue us from the consequences of our sin: the Lord Jesus Christ, mighty to save! All the rescue personnel and equipment in the world cannot deliver us from the judgment of God, but the Lord Jesus Christ jumped into the deadly waters of iniquity and took upon Himself the penalty of our sin, "the just for the unjust", that he might bring us to God. Jesus Christ gave his all, to the laying down of his life, shedding his blood to make atonement for us, that we might be justified, not by our good works, our religious acts or efforts, but by the righteousness that God gives freely to all who will repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

Have you heeded the warning? If not, will you repent? Will you "turn around" and look to the Lord Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection to rescue you from the coming floodwaters of the judgment of God? Unless you repent, you will perish...Look to Jesus Christ, O sinner, and live!