Evangelism

We had a great time last Saturday evening returning to one of our regular preaching spots. A group of about 14 evangelists gathered at the Pony Express rider in Old Town Sacramento for an evening of witnessing to the party goers and locals.

We started up with a little fellowship meeting with friends we haven’t seen in a while. It was good to see John Horazy and Angela Goldthwaite! We also had Reformed Think Tank co-host Mark “Chosen Clay” Christensen join us for the first time on the streets. I look forward to many more wonderful opprotunities to get out there with my new found friend in the Gospel!

Just wanted to share a couple of video clips from the evening. Even my Brother and co-host, Robert “Plus Robert” Hornak took to the stool once again! You can find all of the videos on the Reformed Evangelist You Tube Channel.

Brother RC Kicks off the Preaching!

Plus Robert Preaching The Gospel!

Ryan “Brother RC” Dosier continues to be a blessing in my life as I watch him grow as an Open Air Preacher. I consistantly find him now training and equiping me on the soap box!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Our friend Kevin Williams shares this with us:

“The refusal to believe in anything you can’t see yourself is absurd. Think about it? I’ve never saw Napoleon with my own eyes, but that doesn’t mean Napoleon didn’t exist.” -Richard Dawkins.

In the same British Television program that Dawkins made this admission, he also presented Ernst Haeckel’s Embryo drawings, which have been known to be fraudulent for well over 100 years as proof for the fairy tale of evolution. Also Australian John MacKay shows Dawkins that evolution is not science, but a religion of philosophy and blind faith.

This week we continue the discussion around the topic of the problem of evil and its implications for believers. As Calvinists or Arminians we still must be able to give a logical and Biblically Coherent answer to Nay Sayers who use this as their #1 excuse to deny the reality of the God of the Universe.

As promised, I am providing links to two resources mentioned during the discussion last week by Dr. William R. Downing, pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Silicon Valley. He has produced two wonderful works that I highly recommend and directly pertain to the current discussions on the Reformed Think Tank Series.

The Problem of Evil: 16 pgs.

Lectures on Calvinism and Arminianism: 522 pgs.

You can also hear his sermons on Sermon Audio or Sunday Evenings @ 7:30 on KFAX radio. Two sermon series that are well worth the listen are “Evangelism and Apologetics” and “What is the Gospel”. Over 45 messages combined!

Join us again this week, Lord willing, as we discuss further this topic of evil and how it pertains to election as we delve into the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans - Specifically Romans Chapter 9. We will be reviewing a few sermon clips from the Ligonier Regional Conference 2007 where Dr. John MacArthur deals directly with this topic.

Soli Deo Gloria!

While I was secretary of a small Southern Baptist church, the Pastor allowed me to fill the literature area in its lobby with a variety of gospel tracts. The colorful tracts hung on the wall in neat little stacks, yet members eventually came asking if there were any tracts they could give to encourage other Christians. Since I already personally own and have read many CCEF books, I went to their website first to check out the booklets they had. The booklets cost a little more than the tracts, but they fit the need so well. I set up a display table and a sign that stated “Take. Read. Return.” to help keep the cost down and filled the rack with around twelve selections. The neat thing was to check exactly which booklets people were taking home to read. The most popular booklet by far was on ADHD… hopefully that didn’t say anything about the children in the congregation. I hope you’ll consider adding some CCEF booklets to your arsenal of tracts you carry around. Many of the topics are also hot topics the people you witness to are facing and they also work well for encouraging other Christians.

Contemporary new booklet series delivers biblical solutions
This Sunday, churches across the country will fill with smiling, nicely dressed people.  But looks can be deceiving.  From the anonymous back-row pew-dweller married to an abusive spouse to the prominent church member struggling with a secret addiction, the body of Christ is not immune to the messes that accompany daily living in our fallen world.  Some may wonder if God is really big enough to handle their problems-or if he even cares for them at all in their present circumstances.  These people desperately need to feel his healing touch, but are the folks at church ready to deal with such serious crises?  Do they even know where to start? 
 
CCEF and its publishing partner New Growth Press are pleased to introduce a new series of booklets that will equip pastors, counselors, and everyday Christians to provide encouragement and real life-giving answers for people dealing with serious problems. CCEF faculty and invited contributors long recognized for adherence to scripture and excellence in counseling technique, have authored this exciting collection of 21 new titles.  The topics are divided into three categories: Parenting Resources, Marriage and Family Resources, and Resources for Personal Change. 

For Karen Jacklin Teears, president of New Growth Press, the release of this new series is especially meaningful.  “One of our most important roles at New Growth Press is to enable our insightful authors to address pressing issues from the perspective of Christian faith, especially areas of hidden sin that have been sidestepped by the church in the past.  Basically, we write candidly about the issues that most people don’t want to talk about,” she says.  “Like everything else we publish with CCEF, these booklets are very gospel-centered and dense with scripture.  This series is a great resource for churches who want to meet the changing needs of their congregations.” 
 
The booklets are designed for use in a variety of settings.  Pastors and counselors are encouraged to utilize them in conjunction with regular counseling sessions.  The concise format, affordable price, and contemporary, compelling cover art make these materials ideally suited for the check-out area or gospel tract section of a bookstore or a free display in a church lobby.  “So many of the issues addressed in this series are associated with deep shame, and many people haven’t yet summoned the courage to talk to someone about their problems,” Teears reflects.  “The simple act of reading a booklet can be the first step toward confronting and dealing with their sin..”

Though each of the 21 topics included in the scope of this series was chosen to speak directly to known issues within the body of Christ, several are of particular need in churches today. 
 
In an era in which divorce has become as common within the body of Christ as in the secular world, the release of Divorce Recovery by Winston T. Smith could not be better timed.  Smith offers biblical advice on how to forgive an ex-spouse, help children cope with divorce, and begin the process of starting over again.  He also explores the biblical issues surrounding remarriage. 
 
Single Parents by Robert T. Jones speaks directly to the needs of a growing segment within the church population who often feel out of place and marginalized by the rest of the congregation.  Jones instructs single parents to embrace their identity as Christians rather than attempt to fit in either the “singles” or “parents” categories.  Regardless of the circumstances surrounding their single parent status-whether they are divorced, widowed, or have never been married-readers will be encouraged to discover that God’s heart breaks for the widow and the fatherless, and he has extended some special promises just for them. 
 
Every parent-whether they are single or married-will experience moments when their children push them to the limit.  How Do I Stop Losing It with My Kids? by William P. Smith offers readers a new perspective on effective discipline.  The booklet examines the real reasons parents often lose control of their own emotions when dealing with misbehavior and reveals the most effective methods of winning a child’s heart.  This ultra-compact guidebook delivers specific, workable suggestions for frazzled parents.
 
Unfortunately, when adults lose control, children are often the ones who pay the price.  For anyone who has ever suffered from verbal, physical, or sexual abuse, David Powlison’s Recovering from Child Abuse presents an encouraging message: Abuse is not the last word of your life story.  God is at work in you, and he can redeem even the most painful and unfair moments of your life to accomplish his purpose for you.  Because the formative nature of child abuse causes deep wounds that often carry over into adulthood, the booklet includes practical strategies that will help abuse victims learn to trust others again, release bitterness, build healthy sexual relationships with their spouses, discipline their own children in appropriate, loving ways, and learn to deal with conflict.

Purchase all 21 new titles for only $55 from WTS Books!

This week we introduced the topic of Unconditional Election and discussed many various subtopics to the general Calvinistic Doctrine of Predestination. Without a doubt “God’s Sovereignty in Election” and the “Problem of Evil” came up.

This is a very sensitive subject for Calvinists as well as Arminians and we both have to deal with the fact that evil is a reality. Regardless if you say He “permitted” or “ordained” evil that still doesn’t answer the so called problem.

As promised, I am providing links to two resources mentioned during the discussion by Dr. William R. Downing, pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Silicon Valley. He has produced two wonderful works that I highly recommend and directly pertain to the current discussions on the Reformed Think Tank Series.

The Problem of Evil: 16 pgs.

Lectures on Calvinism and Arminianism: 522 pgs.

You can also hear his sermons on Sermon Audio or Sunday Evenings @ 7:30 on KFAX radio. Two sermon series that are well worth the listen are “Evangelism and Apologetics” and “What is the Gospel”. Over 45 messages combined!

Join us again next week, Lord willing, as we discuss further this topic of evil and how it pertains to election as we delve into the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans - Specifically Romans Chapter 9. We will be reviewing a few sermon clips from the Ligonier Regional Conference 2007 where Dr. John MacArthur deals directly with this topic.

Soli Deo Gloria!

No Way! I didn’t go see Joel Osteen this weekend, although I did visit a church that seemed more like a shopping mall than a house of worship. There were escalators! It was so exciting.

After church, my wife and I went for fellowship at Chris deVidal’s house. Several guys who were once part of The Great News Network were there and we ate and shared testimonies of how we were drawn to Christ. My wife left me with Chris so she could attend a ladies meeting. Chris told me Ken Ham was in town so we spontaneously [that's nothin' new for us reformed charismatics] went to hear him speak on Creationism and Apologetics.

First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida takes up several city blocks and is one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in our country. Chris and I met up with some friends of his from Grace Community Church and we even saw some folks from our church, Grace Covenant in the crowd. We decided to sit in the baclony so that we wouldn’t be distracted by all the people dancing and waving their hands. Also, when those baptists talk in tongues it can get so loud. We were excited to be able to listen to Ken Ham and wanted a clear view… the ginormous video screens helped and the balcony was quite comfortable.

We came for Ken, but First Baptist’s massive choir and full orchestra made for some nearly lively worship. All joking aside, First Baptist were good hosts and God was glorified through song and superior instrumentalization. After worship they baptized almost ten people — mostly middle and high school kids and a few infants. Actually they might have been adults… the baptimal was so far away everyone looked like ant or infant.

After a time of prayer for teachers and a time of passing tithe plates… finally Ken was up to speak. He introduced his Creation Museum and went on to share some Scriptures with us. Ken made a case for the importance of believing the actual account of the book of Genesis using Scriptures like John 3:20, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” And he shared 1 Peter 3:15 which says, “[B]ut in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”

The talk was short, and many other points were made, but it was great to hear Ken Ham talk about how the gospel is the central theme that runs throughout all of the apologetics, radio ministry, and personal speaking he does. I left the meeting with yet another reminder to keep the main thing the main thing — the gospel at the heart of all I do.

Saturday, 9 August, 2008

I had been in bed all week with a bad dose of the flu, so I had decided that I shouldn’t preach tonight, unless I inflame my sickness. As I drove into the city, I was hit constantly with the feeling of illness and also with head-spins, but the thought of being able to hit the streets of Brisbane was one that encouraged me to keep on going.

The night was cold, and it was surprising that we had such a small team gather for prayer and bible reading. At this stage there was only three of us present, so we were bracing for the fact that it may be a very busy night for us.

After spending time in fellowship we made our way up to our preaching spot, on the journey we ran into the Barnard family and also Peter. So our numbers swelled. We were then joined by a few more team members in the mall.

It was good to see everyone in position, from the preacher to those handing out tracts, and even our regular agnostic heckler Alex.

Ralph was the first preacher up for the night, and he did a bit of preaching, he preached the Word of God, and dealt with hecklers for about fifteen minutes, then tagged me into take over. I had to preach, even though I knew it would be unwise for me physically to preach, I had the preachers itch so I had to get up.

I started by engaging Alex over the creation of the world. He had stated earlier on that he only accepted empirical evidence, yet he didn’t have any empirical evidence for his version of how the world came about. Once we pointed that out to him he decided to make some argument to prove how old the earth was (this still wasn’t empiric evidence), but the problem with much of his argument was the fact that it was all built on a presupposition.

We debated over the topic of how only God is eternal, and how the universe is not. This then led into the biblical discussion of how God one day will send Jesus Christ back to earth to judge humanity for all their sins.

By now a good size crowd had gathered, and other hecklers had entered into the discussion. We covered a wide variety of topics from “How we got the Bible” to “Does God exist.” It was a good open air, and many people got to hear the gospel. God has been gracious once again in bringing a crowd in for His glory!

After preaching for about an hour I started to notice that my voice was getting weak due to the flu that I had. So I tagged Ryan in to continue to debate the atheists. By the time I stood down, there wasn’t much I could do as I had some really bad head spins. While I was trying to get over my illness I was approached by a man who had ‘advanced’ past Christianity. It was his position that once one grows in spirituality you realise that Christianity is merely a step on the path to knowing the great all wise spirit.

He stated that the best way to be connected to the spirit was by loving and not judging anyone. This was an interesting thought, so I started to ask the man to explain, and he quickly passed judgment on Christianity. This then led to a discussion about how inconsistent his worldview is. The man after a while became rather angry at me, and once again proved how “unloving” he was. It was hard to witness to this man, as every time I presented the gospel to him started to wall up and wouldn’t listen.

The rest of the night was spent dealing with one to ones, while Ryan preached. Overall it was a great night.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Full report with pictures: http://www.operation513.com

While there why don’t you sign up for our newsletter, it is an easy way for you to stay in loop in regards to what God is doing through Operation 513 worldwide!

Also check out the latest Operation 513 - “The Appointed Time” broadcast: http://www.operation513.com/theappointedtime.php

I must just really be out of touch! I didn’t realize until last night while viewing videos on YouTube that the 2008 Olympics had already started. So I felt we would do our part to keep up with the times and share this little article by Jim Ellif as he shares the Apostle Paul’s perspective of the Olympic Games and how they can relate to the life of the Believer.

Seven Laws of the Race, By Jim Ellif

The motif of the Olympic race was dear to the Apostle Paul. Did he sit in the stands in Athens or Corinth? Perhaps so. Regardless, parallels between “the games” and the believer’s race in life were often on his mind. He (along with the author of Hebrews) gives us seven laws for running the race.

1. Run to win
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NASB)

2. Observe strict discipline
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training . . . . I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

3. Don’t look back
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

4. Get constant encouragement
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, [see chapter 11 for a list of encouragers] let us . . . run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

5. Throw off restraints
” . . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

6. Discount pain
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:22-24

7. Don’t let up until you cross the line
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Copyright © 1989 Jim Elliff,
Christian Communicators Worldwide, Inc.
201 Main, Parkville, MO 64152 USA

Saturday, 2 August 2008

I was excited about tonight and as I was preparing for to leave home the idea of being able to stand and preach once again the glories of Christ was really awesome. What privilege we have as fallen human beings to stand and give testimony about our great and merciful God who saved us not because of anything we have done, but rather He saved us by His grace alone, so that He may get all the praise! It is a tremendous honour for any Christian then to stand and declare the good news of salvation to anyone who would listen. And to also plead with them, to look unto Jesus Christ and be saved.

When Andre, Tamara, and I arrived in Brisbane, the first thing we noticed was the fact that the car park was full! Each week for the past few months I have been able to park in the same car park, yet tonight I had to park elsewhere, this of course was a good indication of how busy the night was going to be.

We made our way over to King George Square, and on the way we ran into a good friend of ours who had just returned from a few weeks away on mission trip. Warren has been a real blessing to the team in the whole time he has been coming out with us. And it good to be able to call him a brother and also a friend.

Before too long we were joined by some other team members, and after a bit of a chat about theology, we started to pray for the evening, we prayed that God would be gracious to us, and that He would draw a crowd in for His Glory. We also prayed that He would Sovereignly draw His elect unto Himself.

After this time of prayer, we all opened our Bibles and read the Scripture together. Then once we had finished, we were able to spend some good time in fellowship. And once again discuss theological issues. I have heard other ministry leaders say that one should not talk about theology. I think that as Christians it is good for us to encourage each and other and also challenge each other over different theological thoughts. Of course there is a time and place to discuss such things, and when witnessing that is a time not to talk theology, but when we are fellowshipping together our conversation should be God focused, so it is in those times that we should be talking about the Study of God (theology).

At 9pm, we were in our normal spot in the Queen Street Mall, and we began to set up for the night. As per usual we set up the Bible table, which is a great place to have one to ones, and also to engage in apologetics. Since this table has been set up we have been able to distribute 100’s Bibles. This is an awesome privilege, since we have been given the chance to put the very word of God into the hands of people who do not know Him. While it is probably the most expensive part of our weekly outreach, I think it is by far one of the most beneficially to the gospel ministry.

Alistair was the first preacher we had tonight, he has come along way in his preaching. He used to just stand up there and preach for a few minutes then stand down. But now he is preaching for longer periods of time, and he is preaching with a passion. Something I noticed with Ali’s preaching is the fact that it is saturated with the Word of God, what I mean is, when he opens his mouth to preach or answers a question he does so with Scripture. This of course is the best way to open air preach, or for that matter, preach in general. As our words really mean nothing, but it is the Word of God that will not return void.

Ali’s preached for near on forty minutes, and during that time he was able to engage a few hecklers with the gospel. I must say it is always encouraging to see God raising up more and more open air preachers with the passion to take the gospel to where the lost are.

Just after Ali finished preaching, a drunk man came up and decided to tell us how much God loves him, and how much God hates us. This man was offended and angered at the fact that there were Christians in the mall preaching about Jesus. Even though this man claimed to love Jesus. I tried to deal with this man, but he was too drunk to even have a decent conversation with.

As the drunk man stumbled off up the mall another man appeared to take his place. This man was carrying a Bible, and very quickly declared himself to be a **** evangelist. One didn’t need to have the gift of discernment to quickly realise that something was not right.

This man walked up right next to me and said “I’ve save 200 people from hell!” Then he paused and waited for me to respond. I presume he wanted me to congratlate him on all the people he had saved, yet I couldn’t do that. My response was “You didn’t save anyone from hell. If they got saved then it was by God’s own election.” The man quickly replied, “Yeah, I know that but I saved them” then he continued “What has God ever done for me? I hate Him, He does nothing for me!” This is an odd thing for an “evangelist” to say, so I pointed out to him that the very fact that he currently lives, and currently breaths is a sign that God is doing something for him. God doesn’t have to give him life, yet it is by an act of kindness that God allows him to live. The man replied rather angrily “If God cared for me, he would give me a job, give me a home, and give me lots of money!”

I pointed out to the man that no where in Scripture does God promise us any of those things. But the man just kept rambling on about prosperity. This man showed clearly the curse that comes from that charlatans on TV that preach “health and wealth” those TV “prosperity pimps” are not ministers of the gospel, but rather they are servants of their own wallet. They cause people to curse God because of their antics, and they are saving up God’s holy wrath that will be revealed against them on the day of judgement! (2 Peter 2:3)

The angry and bitter man (who has ever right to be bitter as he was sold a lie) left yelling his hatred for God. So I began to prepare to preach. My opening for the night was going to be on “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” As I started in on this topic a few people began to gather in and listen, and as I went through an analogy illustrating how in life bad things do happen, I swung to Luke 13 and explained how when Jesus walked on earth He got asked some similar questions.

I pointed out to the people that had stopped to listen that Jesus answered the people by saying “No, unless you repent you also will perish!” As I expounded on that I showed the crowd that the real question is not “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people” but rather “Why would a good God allow bad people to live?” This of course then spring boarded into talking about the total depravity of man, and how apart from God’s grace we cannot ever be saved.

God showed His favour towards us by bring back the drunk man from before. The man began to heckle, God used this man’s heckling to draw a large crowd in for His glory. The man began to really fire up and the louder he got the bigger the crowd got. Some of the members of the team commented that this was either the biggest crowd we have ever had or the second biggest. I am not sure how big it was, as my focus was on dealing with hecklers and preaching the gospel.

More hecklers began to enter into the discussion, and some of them had genuine and good questions but others were just plain silly. I would say that the majority of the time was spent on the gospel, with very little time being spent on apologetics. We spoke in depth about how bad things happen in this world, and how this is a result of sin. Then we spoke about how society as a whole is sinful, but we must always remember that society is made up of individuals who are sinful.

About half way through I could feel my voice starting to go, this was from the fact that I still hadn’t fully gotten over being sick. Then a man came running into the middle of the crowd and through a tract that was on fire in front of me. The crowd erupted in cheers as the gospel burned. This man later on professed to be an atheist, and wanted me to answer the question “Does God exist.” I tried to engage him in apologetics but he wasn’t interested. He was more interested in performing to the crowd. But at least he stayed, and got to hear the gospel a few more times.

One young bloke decided to be a bit of a clown, so he jumped up next to me and began to mock me while I preached. He turned and passed wind into my face while preaching. The crowd took great delight in this, but I kept on with the gospel. After preaching open air for a few years it takes a bit to really annoy me. This young bloke seemed to think that it was his job to annoy me for the night. The problem is he failed rather miserably.

The next trick this bloke did was to get a handful of ice and pour it down my shirt. Now this being the middle of winter, and being cold already didn’t really do much to make me feel good. But I ignored his ice antics and kept on preaching. He decided then that it would be funny to throw stuff at me while I preached. This is not an uncommon thing, so once again I ignored him.

But this young bloke had strong willpower and endurance. He then decided to climb into the garden behind me and proceed to shower me in bark. This once again I ignored, and kept on preaching that Christ Jesus can forgive us of any sins we have committed.

The young bloke seemed to calm down for a short while (maybe to think of new ideas), and during that calm in the storm I was able to freely preach the gospel, and also to answer questions from the crowd.

As it neared the hour mark of the preaching, I knew my voice didn’t have much left in it, so I was preparing to tag Ryan in, when our young clown decided to do one more show. This time the man let out a loud yell of “I love you!” then came running towards me at a full pace arms spread wide. Then in for the hug he came. The problem is it wasn’t your usual ‘drunken’ hug, but rather it was a full on tight embrace. This man was so close to me while he hugged me that I felt like he was attached to me. He then started to talk about how much he liked to hug me, and how much he liked to smell me. This led him to start smelling me while I was preaching. The crowd seemed to enjoy all this. I was able to pry him off me and he said he was leaving. He took a few steps and then turned yelling “I cannot be separated from my love!” Once again he became attached to me. Alex (our regular agnostic heckler) then came over and tried to get the man off me by saying “Let’s make them look silly by our arguments, and not by our actions.” I really appreciate what Alex tried to do, but the man refused to listen. And once again I was engulfed by his full embrace.

At one point I was able to pry him off my left side only to get him to let go and hug me from my right side. I then called in a couple of the team members to come and get him off me. Snowy came across and was able to wrestle him off me, but the man quickly came running back again. So Snowy grabbed him once more, but this time the man didn’t let go of me, so as Snowy pulled, I was pulled off the pulpit. Quickly I was able to get back up and continue to preach.

The young man then came and jumped up on the pulpit with me and once again began to hug me. This time he decided to act like a dog and try to have sex with my leg. Snowy once again pulled him off, and again pulled me down. Once again I was able to jump back up and preach on.

Some of the team members by now had headed down to the police station in order to get some police to come and assist. And they later told me they could see everything that was happening as the police were watching the situation on a TV in the station (probably having a good laugh!). Once the young clown heard that the police were coming he hugged me once more, said he loved me then left up the mall at a very quick pace.

I looked down the mall and could see two police officers approaching, so I handed a large wad of in-depth tracts to Ben and told him to hand them out to all in the crowd. A large number of the crowd took tracts, and the reason I got him to do that was because I knew that once the police arrived the crowd would leave. This is what happened, so I quickly wrapped up the open air. But before I could stand down Alex decided it was time for his weekly heckle. Since my voice was nearly gone, I told him to wait as Ryan would be next, then I turned to the crowd and told them that up next was the debate “Does God Exist?” Quite a number of the crowd stayed as Ryan got up to engage in debate with Alex.

As soon as I got down I was surrounded by a few Christians who were encouraged about seeing the gospel preached in public. This by far is one of the most encouraging things for me as a gospel preacher. I don’t want to just preach so that the lost get saved, but I want to be able to encourage other Christians to go do the work of an evangelist.
The rest of the night for me was spent dealing with Christians, some who loved open air, and others who thought we should be doing “healings, signs and wonders”.

Ryan preached for the rest of the night, and many one to ones followed. God truly was gracious in allowing His gospel to go forth!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Full report with pictures: http://www.operation513.com

While there why don’t you sign up for our newsletter, it is an easy way for you to stay in loop in regards to what God is doing through Operation 513 worldwide!

Also check out the latest Operation 513 - “The Appointed Time” broadcast: http://www.operation513.com/theappointedtime.php

Controversial New Testament scholar N.T. Wright discusses his books on the resurrection of Jesus Christ at a recent Veritas Forum. Listen to Why Does Jesus’ Resurrection Matter? Considering Its Relevance for Today:

Download Part 1 (MP3)
Download Part 2 (MP3)

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church — Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian’s future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today’s premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity’s most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community’s hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of “new heavens and a new earth,” revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the “second coming” of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise.

Resurrection of the Son of God — Why did Christianity begin, and why did it take the shape it did? To answer this question which any historian must face renowned New Testament scholar N. T. Wright focuses on the key question: what precisely happened at Easter? What did the early Christians mean when they said that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead? What can be said today about this belief?

This book, third in Wright’s series Christian Origins and the Question of God, sketches a map of ancient beliefs about life after death, in both the Greco-Roman and Jewish worlds. It then highlights the fact that the early Christians’ belief about the afterlife belonged firmly on the Jewish spectrum, while introducing several new mutations and sharper definitions. This, together with other features of early Christianity, forces the historian to read the Easter narratives in the gospels, not simply as late rationalizations of early Christian spirituality, but as accounts of two actual events: the empty tomb of Jesus and his “appearances.”

Resurrection (DVD) — N. T. (Tom) Wright, in this 50-minute presentation, walks us through the political, historical and theological issues at stake in Jesus’ day and today. Shot on location in Israel, Greece and England, Resurrection presents the essence of Wright’s thinking on the most important event in the Gospels. Well-known for his landmark The Resurrection of the Son of God, Wright brings clarity and insight to one of the most profound mysteries in human history.

“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the body also.” Hebrews 13:3

Sunday 9 November is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Every year, an average of 160,000 Christians worldwide die as martyrs for Christ.

This year Christian brothers and sisters have been persecuted for their faith in Christ: in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Burma, Red China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

“All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12

Perhaps we will never suffer the vicious and violent persecution which Christians in Zimbabwe and Northern Nigeria are suffering at this time, but if we remain faithful to the Lord, then there will be times when we will be misunderstood, slandered, discriminated against, threatened and abused.

Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, because you are not of the world, but I choseyou out of the world, therefore, the world hates you.” John 15:18 -19

When the Lord warned His disciples of coming persecution (Matthew 16:21 16; 26:31-35), they responded with disbelief. Because they did not believe Christ’s warning, they did not “watch and pray.” As a result, they denied the Lord and ran away (Matthew 26:40-46; 56; 60-75).

The Apostle Paul strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to remain true to the Faith by teaching: “We must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22

Jesus taught that many believers would forsake Him (Matthew 24:9-10) when trouble or persecution comes because of their superficial commitment. Those with no roots in God’s Word would quickly fall away (Matthew 13:21).

In response to the clear warnings of these Scriptures, and in the light of the increasing hostility towards Christianity in so many circles, it would be wise for every Christian to study what God’s Word has to say about persecution.

“And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11

Christians can overcome satan by the Blood of Christ’s Atonement, and by the Word of God, not only the Word known and memorised in their heart and mind, but their living testimony of applying the Word of God to every area of life. Jesus taught that we should not be afraid of those who can only kill the body and after that can do no more. But the Lord Jesus told us Whom we should fear. We must fear God, Who after the killing of the body has power to throw both body and soul into hell forever (Luke 12:4 -5).

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to Salvation for everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

You Can Change the World Through Prayer and Action

In the daily battles of life, one can be tempted to give in to depression or fatigue as we see sin and compromise increasing. Yet, there is hope: God is sovereign. Nothing is inevitable except what God has decreed. And there is great power in prayer. Nothing is beyond the reach of prayer - except that which is outside of the Will of God.

Christians are not doomed to defeat, but called to victory. If God can actually change us, then He can use us to change some part of this world. Christians can change the course of human history by prayer and obedience to God. The Bible is full of example of believers “who through faith conquered kingdoms…” Hebrews 11:33 and recent history confirms the power of prayer (Here are some examples from The Power of Prayer Handbook):

Shortly after I was converted to Christ early in 1977, I remember a missionary from Overseas Missionary Fellowship urging us to pray for God to open the doors to Red China. Even as we prayed my heart was filled with unbelief - how could a Communist country like China ever be open to the Gospel again? Yet, we have seen Mao Tse Tung die, his little “Red Book” discredited and the doors to China have gradually opened since. Not that China is at all free - the brutal massacres of thousands of unarmed civilians in Peking’s Tianamen Square have shown that Communism is still in control in China.

Brutal slave labour camps, and ongoing harassments and persecution of the House Church movement make it clear that the battle for the soul of China is still raging. But whereas in the past people questioned if the church had even survived the “Cultural Revolution” and vicious persecution in China, now we know that there are over 100 million Christians in China.

When I first started praying for Mozambique in 1981, it was firmly closed to the Gospel. And many of my friends thought I was foolish to try to enter Marxist Mozambique on my motorbike, loaded with one thousand Gospels and New Testaments in Portuguese and the Jesus film. Yet, God opened the doors time and again and we managed to deliver many tons of Bibles and relief aid and show Christian films throughout that war torn Marxist country, which is now open to the Gospel.

As the persecution of Christians in Angola intensified under the Marxist dictator, Agestino Neto, we prayed for God to intervene. Shortly after Neto declared that: “Within 20 years there will not be a Christian or a Bible left in Angola! I have destroyed the Bible!” he died in mysterious circumstances on an operating table in Moscow. Today the church is flourishing and thriving in Angola and we have delivered many thousands of Bibles to believers there.

When I first saw the Berlin Wall in March 1988, and the many crosses in memory of those who had been shot in the back, whilst fleeing socialism, I wept. I prayed, as had so many others, that God would break down that evil system even as he had demolished the walls of Jericho. Yet, how amazed I was when our prayers were answered in 1989, and millions poured across the border for the first look at the other half of their city and country.

When my wife, Lenora, and I visited Romania for Easter services in 1989, we experienced the oppression of Communism and witnessed the tyranny of Ceaucescu. Along with millions of others we prayed. And before the year had ended, we saw the dictator Ceaucescu executed, Communist symbols smashed and God’s Word openly proclaimed in the public squares of Romania.

Albania had declared itself to be the first fully atheistic state in the world in 1966. Yet, in answer to prayer, the Communist government of Albania was forced to re-open many churches in 1990. Oppression continued but tens of thousands packed the few open churches each week until the Communist regime was overthrown.

When my father-in-law, Rev. Bill Bathman, and I drove into Albania, in 1993, we were inundated with ministry opportunities and people hungry to hear about the God Whom they had been forbidden to even whisper about for all those decades of Communism.

In Nigeria, where the 12 Northern states have declared Islamic Sharia Law, Muslims have burned down many hundreds of Christian churches and have killed thousands of believers in recent years. Yet, tens of thousands of Muslims are coming to Christ in Nigeria and the churches are dynamic.

In Sudan, I have had the privilege of ministering in many churches which have endured repeated aerial bombardments by the National Islamic Front government. We have flown far behind enemy lines to the Nuba Mountains - an island of Christianity in a sea of Islam. The Nuba church in Kauda was bombed 18 times in a 12 month period. We went there to encourage them, actually they encouraged us. We not only found the church building still standing, but the church was packed to overflowing for Sunday worship services! They were not going to allow 18 brutal air raids to keep them from their highest priority: to worship our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The Episcopal Church of Sudan in Kotobi was attacked by helicopter gunships and burnt to the ground, 23 August 1996.. Five civilians died in the hail of bullets and shrapnel from these gunships.. We had the privilege of conducting worship services in the charred remains of the building, and, after the church was rebuilt, conducting many seminars and services in this building which is a testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ is building His Church,” and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!”

The birthplace of Christianity in Moruland, in Southern Sudan, is Lui Cathedral. In 1965 the cathedral was burned down by Muslim government forces who also destroyed the hospital and school buildings. Yet all these buildings were later rebuilt by the local Christians. Then again in the 1980’s the Arab army swept over Lui and occupied the mission station putting an end to all education, medical and spiritual work for the second time.

When I first saw Lui, in May 1997, it had just been liberated from the Muslim government forces by the SPLA Resistance movement. The signs of the Arab occupation were everywhere trenches, gun emplacements, pill boxes, mine fields, the debris of war, a newly painted mosque and many vandalized graves. There were a shocking number of broken crosses in the graveyard by the cathedral. Rev. Jeffery Kayanga pointed out the huge tree Laro: “The first Christian missionary, Dr. Kenneth Fraser, chose that tree to start the first Moru church under because it was the same tree under which the Arab slave traders had bought and sold our people as slaves.”

By the slave tree were the graves of the early missionaries and Christians and beyond the graves the remains of the church that they had established. The cathedral in Lui was restored, and soon packed to overflowing with thousands of enthusiastic Christians. The hospital was renovated and the school restored. Then the government of Sudan Air Force bombed this community on 10 separate occasions, severely damaging the church for a third time. Yet, Fraser Cathedral in Lui has been restored yet again. It is the church that will not die. A dynamic testimony to the vibrant faith and resilience of the persecuted Christians in Sudan. We have had many seminars and services in this church that has been bombed 10 times and rebuilt time and again.

This year, please remember the persecuted and pray for them at your church or school.

Pray for the courageous Karen Christians suffering under the Buddhist military dictatorship in Burma. Pray for Christians suffering under the brutal Communist dictatorship in North Korea. Pray for the many Christians imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea.

Pray for the millions of Coptic Christians suffering under militant Islamic persecution in Egypt. Pray for the many Christians in India suffering under vicious militant Hindu Nationalists. Pray for the Christians suffering violent Islamic Jihad in Indonesia. Pray for the Christians in Laos, who have been tortured, beaten and attacked by the Communist authorities. Pray for the courageous Christians in Vietnam, for healing, courage and grace as they suffer violence at the hands of the Communist authorities. Pray for Christians in Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, for strength to endure persistent discrimination and persecution. Pray for the Christians in Zimbabwe who have had hundreds of churches bulldozed and burned down by the Communist government.

Pray that the persecutors of the church may be exposed and opposed. Pray that the persecutors may be brought to repentance, or that they may be removed. Pray that the persecutors may fall into the traps that they have dug for others, that their declarations may come back to haunt them, and that their actions against God’s people be exposed, confounded and confused.

“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous, but terror to evil doers.” Proverbs 21:15

Saturday, 26 July, 2009

I was excited at the idea of witnessing tonight, but sadly I knew I would be unable to open air due to the really bad head cold I had. As I prepared to head out on the street, I could feel my voice slowly going, and this concerned me as I had the honour of preaching at “For His Glory Evangelical” the next evening.

When I arrived in the city, the first thing I noticed was how dead the mall was. There were very few people walking up and down the Queen Street Mall. Based on what I saw anyone could be mistaken, and think it was the early hours of the morning, instead of the busiest hour of the night.

As per usual we met in the now drastically smaller King George Square for a time of prayer and fellowship. We spent some time reading through Psalm 119 and then had a time of just general building each other up in the faith. I have found these times of fellowship before the outreach to be very important, as it limit’s the “chit chat” during the actually outreach. Which in turn means more people get to hear the gospel.

Tonight we suffered from a shortage of preachers, which is something we haven’t experienced in quite some time. Normally we have so many preachers, that we don’t all get to have a preach.

Since it was really quiet I didn’t expect much of a crowd to gather, and this proved to be true for a little while. Ryan preached first and he did a good job, his apologetics in regards to atheism are brilliant, and each week we have regular atheists who come in and argue. We have found this to be a good way to help the people of Brisbane, as many people like to think “there is no God”, but after seeing what atheism offers many people we speak to afterwards, believe that there is a God who created the world, this in turn then creates an opportunity to tell of Jesus Christ.

Alex the agnostic was present from the time we started right through the time we ended. He is more regular than some of our team members, and to be honest most of us look forward to see Alex each week, and also to hear his ‘latest’ arguments on why God does not exist.

While Ryan was preaching, I noticed that our regular cranky old Catholic man was present. This man comes past every now and then, and normally hurls some abuse about us being Protestant and then wanders over to the nearest female and starts to get a bit ‘friendly’. Tonight was no different, he began to talk to some of the females on the team, so I walked over and stood near him. Normally that is all it takes, and he moves on, tonight was no different.

The next preacher up for the night was Ralph, he spoke for a bit about the gospel of Jesus and how that can set you free from all your sins. He spoke on the atheism and evolution debate, thus showing how there must be a God who created everything. Then once again he swung back to the Gospel.

The mall was near deserted, so we decided that once Ralph finished we would just hand out tracts, and do one to one for a little while. Then once that had been done for a time, then Ryan would preach again.

During this time many one to ones were occurring. Then it came time for Ryan to preach once again.

This time Alex couldn’t control himself and longer and he began to heckle Ryan as he preached. This of course grew a small crowd in. It was an interesting time, we had other atheists heckler, we had two agnostic philosophy students enter in the fray, and also then turn their attention to the atheists and told them to stop arguing theology if they don’t believe in God.

Then one loud mouth young bloke was heard from among those listening. He was your typical false convert. He was swearing like anything, and then in the same breath claiming to be a Christian. He then started to yell at us for preaching the gospel, and talking about sin. In his mind he was led by the Holy Spirit, and we weren’t. I challenged him on his Christianity, and how he was saying one thing, but then by his fruits showed another action. Every time I used the Bible to show my point, the man would become more hostile. Eventually he stopped heckling and started talking to the atheists.

During this time, I got to have a one to one discussion with Alex. And I must say my respect for Alex as a heckler has diminished. We were speaking about “The Truth” and how there must be a standard of truth. Alex of course believes that truth is not knowable. So I tried to use some basic logic on him showing that from the law of non-contradiction that there must be truth. The reply that Alex gave was rather interesting, his answer was “We could be in the Matrix, and we may not even be here.” Then to prove his point he showed us a hole in the back of his head, which could be the socket for the Matrix plug.

Once again Alex illustrated the truthfulness of Scripture:

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” - Psalm 14:1 (ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Full report with pictures: http://www.operation513.com

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