Do You Know For Sure? Can You Know For Sure?

When I give away Bibles out on the street corners in Marshalltown, I always try to give a brief overview of the Bible, give out the gospel message, and ask the person a question like this: "If one of these cars passing by went out of control, (remember we are standing on a street corner with traffic going by), do you know with confidence that  God would allow you into Heaven?" 

Most answer by saying, "I hope so", or "I'm trying", or "I don't know." I understand that answer: it was my answer some 24 years ago, before I came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I explain this and more in the audio message that I gave at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market this past Saturday, August 3, 2019, from the corner of 3rd Street and Court Avenue. You may listen to that message by clicking on this LINK and then hitting the play button with the audio comes up.

Hope this encourages you. Maranatha!
Paul

Earnestly Contend for the Faith

Today is Saturday, August 30th, 2014, the last weekend of the summer, and the start of Labor Day weekend here in the United States. I made it down to the Des Moines Farmers Market in the historic Court Avenue district, to herald the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to:
1. Extend God's offer of forgiveness to all who will repent & trust in Jesus - and Jesus alone - to save them from the consequences of their sin against God.
2. Encourage believer's to boldly live for and share Jesus Christ with everybody & anybody while they can during this short life here on earth.

This is my little corner of the harvest field. Someone commented about there being "better soil" elsewhere, but all these people are eternal souls, who will spend eternity either in the presence of God with unspeakable joy, or as miserable creatures suffering the judgment of God forever separated from His love. No, this is my field, and I will work it as long as the Lord gives me strength of body & mind to do so. Here's my view from the south-west corner of Court Ave. and 2nd Street where I spoke today.

Wow, what an excellent day! My friends from the Atheist booth down on Court & 3rd drop by to pay their respects. I always enjoy their efforts to disparage or to stop the preaching of the gospel, because they help draw a crowd of interested listeners, and that was certainly the case today. So thank you, my atheist friends: I love you for Christ's sake, and I am praying for you. You claim to be "free thinkers", but will never know freedom or experience truth until you humble yourself before your God, whom you do know, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. May that be true for all of you!

It was a great day, and the war of worldviews was on! Praise God that I was clothed with His holy armor (Ephesians 6:10-18), and that the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Click HERE for the link to the audio.

Please remember, this is a raw, on-the-street recording, so while it may not be Dolby stereo, it pretty much reflects the environment we work in. It includes times where I am standing on my box & speaking out to people walking through the Market, times when people came up close & personal to dispute what I was saying, and also personal discussions between 1 or 2 people. I left it all on there, and you can skip through or listen to as much or as little as you like.

PLEASE NOTE: I was down at the Market alone today. You will hear comments or statements made by other Christians who jumped into the fray. I do not endorse or approve of anything anyone may have said in support of the gospel proclamation. Be a Berean (Acts 17:11), and check out everything everyone says (including me) against the Scriptures.

You'll want to hear how things went down...it was a real rhubarb, but God is always faithful, and I am so much more encouraged to live for His glory, both publicly & privately, and to reach out to those who are blinded and taken captive by the enemy or our soul, through false religion or philosophies that are contrary to the revealed word of God. Please pray for all who heard, especially the atheists, that they might repent and trust Christ Jesus before it is eternally too late. Maranatha!

Getting Ready....

Hey brothers: hope you are getting ready for the warmer weather, to reach out to our lost world with the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course we don't let cold weather slow us down, and there are people to meet in the malls, convenience stores, and the Wal-Marts, and we can chat with them about the eternal truths of God. If we love God and we love them, we will try to reach out to them. We don't have to have perfect, memorized presentations or lots of charisma...it's not our ability, but our avail-ability that God wants, and God can use our mistakes and fumbles in our efforts to be light & salt in this dark world.

So along those thoughts, I wanted to show you my new preaching platform. It's a little taller than my toolbox platform, and about twice as wide, so you can move around a little bit (and try not to fall off).  I have a bunch of new tracts ready to go, so if the Lord allows and we can proclaim Christ in the outdoors this year, I'm going to give this platform a try.

Mission Good Friday will be here in about a month, so maybe I can use it to share the biblical account of Jesus' death, burial & resurrection, under the blue sky, because I get the day off as a company holiday! I put this on the Calendar page...come join us if you can! In any case, don't wait for "perfect weather" to live for the Lord and share Him with everyone you can, until He comes to take us outta here, or we go to be with Him.

When The One You Love Becomes Your Enemy

A few things have been on my mind lately, one of which is how to live and share the gospel in a world like today. People today most definitely describes the people talked about in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. These people are the most unloving of them all. But Jesus commanded every Chrisitian to love thier enemy (Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 6:27). But the problem that I run into is this...who is my enemy, and what do I do when the people I am trying to reach become my enemy?

Who Is My Enemy?

I know that we as Christians obviously have enemies like Satan and his demons. But if we look at the word enemy from Matthew 5:44 in a Strong's and Thayer's concordences, it takes on a more important meaning. The word enemy litterally means:

A person who is hateful, actively hostile, and an adversary. It is talked about as a person who is hostile toward the things of God.

So what this means is that those who oppose me on the street as I witness, those who try to stop me preaching, and those who are yelling and cursing at me are those who I am supposed to be loving. So those who the bible says, "curse you, hate you, spitefully use you, and persecute you", I am supposed to love.

How Am I To React... In Thought, Word, and Deed (Matthew 5:44)

The human knee-jerk reaction to a person yelling at me would be to yell back. An eye for an eye...right? But Jesus said to love these people. So how do I go about doing that? Lets look at some scripture to get a better understanding.

Bless (Word)

Bless those who curse you. What does it mean to bless? It means to:

Speak well of, to consecrate a thing or person with God's blessing and prayer, to cause to prosper, make happy, and bestow blessings on.

Blessings here indicate more of spoken words and not action (which we will see next). So when a person is cursing me out, I should respond with a sincere, "God bless you."

Do Good (Deed)

Do good to those who hate you.
What does it mean to do good? I can think of alot of things, but scripture says:

To do beutifully, finely, excellent, well. To do things that are excellent, noteworthy, commendable, noble, and worthy of honor.

So here it's putting your action to the blessings of your mouth. We must not only love in tongue, but in deed and truth. Some practical things we can do is buy them lunch, offer to help them in any way.

Pray (thought)

Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

Alot of times we may say the right thing, do the right thing, and then all there is left to do is pray. I cannot change a person's heart, but I can lift him up in prayer to the one who can, and that's God.

There are some times when I cannot say or do anything in the moment, or I'm not even near the person who is coming against me. To spitefully use really means to threaten, unjustly accuse, or to insult and slander. Most times when people sling insults they are behind your back and not to your face. Look at the Apostle Paul and his dealings throughout his letters on how people accused him and slandered him before he got there and after he left. They were cowards.

But praying for people not only helps the one who is coming against me, but helps me, the one who is being persecuted. When things are at their worst, and seems like there is no hope, a person can get bitter, angry, and want to seek revenge. But it's hard to be bitter and angry towards a person who you are praying for. It for the most part aligns my thinking with God's word.

This has been a good reminder for me. I always have to keep my heart in check and often site 2 Timothy 2:24-28 as a good example of what an evangelists heart needs to be when sharing the gospel with the lost, saving them from the ultimate enemy which is Satan himself. Continue to pray for us as we share Christ with this world that despritely needs Him. 

"And Where I Am, There Shall Also My Servant Be"

 



That's a quote from John 12:26. Below is a video clip I just stumbled across, of a man preaching the Lord Jesus in Dublin, Ireland. Its short - too short - but I was encouraged by hearing this gospel herald laboring in his corner of the harvest field.

  



 It sure is a blessing to me to see & hear this faithful older brother. He's playing the man for his Lord and Savior, and demonstrating love to his neighbor's and countrymen. I've never seen this gentleman, and most likely will never meet him on this side of glory, but I love him!

You older brothers and sisters in the Lord: don't let some pipsqueak youth pastor put you out to pasture. We who are laboring in public gospel outreach are few, and there is a great work to be done.
150,000 people dying every day, and without Christ they will perish for ever.

WE NEED YOU!

By the power of the Holy Spirit in you, come out on the street and join us, and lift up your voice like a trumpet, declaring what great things the Lord has done for you. God can and will use you, if not to preach, to encourage and pray for those who do, or to share the gospel in conversation or through a gospel tract. If you are in Iowa, check out our Calendar of Ministry Opportunities, and feel free to contact us or stop by and see us. We would love to meet you.

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)

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)

Delays, Delays....

Last Saturday, May 4, was the opening day of the 2013 Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market. But it was rain city, and cold, so we didn't make it down for any gospel outreach. And this Saturday, I have a class from 8-11:30 AM, so ixnay on the Market again. Delays, delays....

But I know that God has other people working down in Des Moines, faithfully pointing people to the Lord Jesus Christ, handing out gospel literature, and proclaiming the good news of the gospel. And I've been able to go out several times a week here in Marshalltown: passing out tracts downtown over the lunch hour, and hitting the high traffic corners with witnessing crosses.

Here's hoping and praying that you are taking the opportunities God gives you to faithfully share Jesus in your Jerusalem. As I've said many times to my brother Jim Bagbey, after a morning of preaching and sharing Christ at the DMFM...this may be the last chance we have to do this; we can never assume that the Lord will give us another day. The trumpet may sound, or I may step out of this life and into His presence in a heartbeat. So if the Lord delays His coming another day, don't YOU delay in faithfully fulfilling His command to GO!

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.   For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: