An Unexpected Evening of Evangelism Training

This afternoon I received a message that some "Christian people" (as I heard someone once refer to them) were going to meet in the city square for an evening of evangelism. I quickly made plans to go, since I was also hoping to do so this weekend. With all the people out tonight, it was amazing to also see so many Christians of various church affiliations out tonight passing out tracts, preaching, and just sharing the gospel with anyone willing to listen.

I met a young brother in Christ, A., who had come out for the first time to learn about street evangelism. I spoke with him about the gospel and some ways that I like to meet people and asked if he would like to accompany me. I later learned that he is a religious studies major who wants to specialize in evangelism. He asked me how long I had been doing this. It is amazing, but this blog was started seven years ago, so I have been going to the streets to share the gospel for more than ten years now.

Very quickly we met a young passerby, I., who was willing to stop and talk for a few minutes. A few minutes turned into something like a half an hour as this young man expressed his struggle with faith as the child of a Christian home who, now, after beginning a science major, finds himself helplessly agnostic. We connected right away and spoke for a long time. He seemed to grasp everything I said and everything I shared with him from the Bible, especially on the topic of faith. I recommended three churches nearby his campus where he could go to learn more. My prayer is that I will see him again in one of them and follow up with him.

My young partner and I had a very healthy discussion afterward about the gospel, languages and Biblical evangelism and apologetics. I also pray for his future in this kind of ministry as he learns and grows.

Then I met T. from Haiti. We spoke in Spanish, because he said his English is not so good yet. He would like to meet me again, so he asked if I will be there tomorrow. I told him I plan to be in the morning. In either case, I said, "Que Dios le cuide" (May God take care of you). My prayer for him is that God would lead him to know the Scriptures and read them more as God leads him in faith through Jesus Christ.

So much more I could say about tonight, but I am tired and I have some studying to do. I must say, I am grateful that God has been merciful and gracious to me, one so undeserving. I pray for the glory and praise of the Lord as He works a new creation in us, His people. Amen. 

Morning Good News at the Square

The good news. It was an ironic morning. I met up with a man who, in a certain aspect, resembles the governor of Pennsylvania. He is a dear Christian brother who wants others to know the God of the Bible, Jesus Christ. We grabbed some coffee and had an edifying conversation. Afterwards, we hit the street to talk to people and pass out tracks.

People are full of stories. While Tom spoke with a man who appeared to be in his seventies about his new experience in joining a church, I spoke with Luis, a quiet Puertoriqueño (Puerto Rican — Latin Americans don't refer to themselves as "Spanish" unless they are from Spain, in which case they are not Latin American, so it's best to just ask their heritage). We talked about everything from the gospel of God's grace (la buena nueva de la gracia de Dios) to family and children and church (familia, hijos, iglesia). He told me he reads la Biblia at home, so I took the opportunity to recommend a good church in the area for him to look into. God bless Luis!

There was a gentleman on the wall from SW Philadelphia. I can't remember his name, but he was a real nice guy and we talked. I should do better at remembering everyone's name.

Caleb came walking over pointing to his shirt. It said, "Play Hard and Pray Hard." He told us his basketball team, members of which were fired up for the gospel, was travelling for a tournament. He agreed to pray for us. The Biblical figure Caleb was a man of rock-solid faith. He wouldn't back down at the sight of Israel's tall enemies, but quieted the people's fears with words of encouragement (Numbers 13:30).

Tom had a sign on that wall with the question: "Are you going to heaven? Free test." So as people passed by, I asked them if they new the answer to that question. There was a young couple passing by who stopped, willing to hear the question. The young man answered, "I know I am going." He responded to my "why" question with, "Because I believe in Jesus." So I asked why he should be accepted by God as a believer in Jesus and not millions of other people who don't believe in Jesus; like Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others. He said that was too deep a question. Of course, I pointed out that it's no deeper than the thoughts we all have concerning these things. They both seemed very eager to hear me explain the answer. My response was along the lines that the good news in Romans 1–5 shows how sinners need to receive a perfect sacrifice of blood and righteousness from Christ, who provided it on the cross and empty tomb, to make us perfect and acceptable before God. We're all in the same boat. We're unworthy due to real guilt. God's holiness requires perfection and God's Son provides it. I pray they both dig deeper into such world-tilting matters.

Lastly, I talked to Angel. He came up in gold chains, covered in tats and a cigarette between his lips. If I could judge hearts, I'd say he is as great a man of faith as I  have met in a long time. His answer to the heaven question was totally Christ-centered. His testimony was that of a former gang-banging, multi-million dollar drug lord turned to Christ. He spent 15 years in prison and after reading the gospel in the Bible and meeting Christ, he became a testimony of God's power to save, speaking to youth all around. He asked me a question to test my knowledge of Scripture, and after that, we just encouraged one another with Bible stories and testimonies of God's grace. Angel in Greek is ἄγγελος meaning 'messenger.' May the Lord use Angel to continue spreading the message of Christ-exalting transformation!

I confess, I am a sinful man. Yesterday and today I spoke unkind words to family. I also confess my need for pardon and reformation through the cleansing blood of the risen Christ applied by the Holy Spirit. Thanks to Jesus Christ, I'm able to talk freely (and guilt-free) about the truth of the Bible, because it is a gift meant to be shared.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
(1 Corinthians 1:27-31 ESV)

Proclaiming the Triune God

The following is a little tract I'm working on as part of a series of very brief evangelistic messages that I've been producing. During the long period of time I have spent not blogging, I have not stopped writing. Much of my writing has been in the form of making little tracts or doing personal Bible study. Here is one of my newest tracts titled:

WHAT IS THE TRINITY?

GOD has not hidden Himself from people so that they cannot know Him, but has revealed Himself in history and in the Holy Scriptures. In the Bible, God speaks of Himself as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We read God saying, “Let us make man in our image,” in Genesis chapter one. We also read the Shema, a Hebrew confession of faith, which says, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This confession tells us that God is one. Yet God speaks of Himself as “us,” and also reveals Himself as Father, Word, and Spirit. In John 1:1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word refers to Jesus, the Son. In verse 14 it says, “And the Word became flesh.” That is, the Word, who is called God, became a real, physical man. Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Jesus also spoke of another Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit. At His baptism, the Father spoke of His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. Jesus also sent His disciples into the world to teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). God is three, yet one, which is why we use the term Trinity. While we may not understand everything about God, we can and must understand what He has clearly revealed about Himself. God has told us what He is like in the Bible, and the Bible shows that He is three distinct Persons in unity and harmony as one God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See the New Testament for more.

Practical Advice for Street Witnessing

With over five years of experience preaching the gospel of God's grace to strangers in streets, university campuses, and marketplaces, I can safely admit that I've had to learn the hard way, having made many mistakes. My purpose is not to write a list of practical "How Not To's", but "How To's" with a few "Not To's" included.

So here it goes:

1) Study your Bible with a heart to love, revere, worship and obey God before trying to teach others. Remember your priorities: God made all of us, and it is therefore God first, God in the middle, and God last. God in Christ is our primary object of love, knowledge, obedience, respect, and authority. He is our Sovereign LORD to whom we owe complete loyalty. When we see God as He has revealed Himself in the gospel of Christ, and He really amazes us, we become all the more persuasive toward outsiders. (The Holy Spirit is He who converts people, however, we are responsible under God's Sovereignty to strive at being persuasive by His grace within us).

2) People can sense your attitude, despite how "right" you are. If you want to persuade others of the beauty, sweetness and love of God's grace through Christ, then show it both with an attitude and by words that are genuine and full of grace (see Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”).

The message of the cross is offensive to natural sinful people, but the messenger does not have to provide backing to their revulsion by exhibiting unattractive behavior and manners himself. In support of this point, carefully read Romans 12:9-21; Ephesians chapters 4-6; Colossians chapters 3-4; Philippians 2:1-15; 1 Peter 3:8-22; 2 Peter 1:5-8; the book of Proverbs, especially noting those that speak of the use of the tongue; etc.

3) Just to emphasize and build on that last point, think about how you yourself speak on a daily basis, and then think about what the Bible says about how we should use our speech. Take Proverbs 12:18 for example: “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

In other words, if you are wise you will speak words that will help, comfort, heal, and give life, not words that will harm or hinder the spiritual health of your hearers. Doctors don’t needlessly criticize their patients and then intimidate them into accepting treatments. That would be ridiculous! (This is clearly one of the “How Not To’s” I said would be mentioned, and it’s worth repeating! So, speak courteously, as befits a winner of souls. Too many of us are already experienced enough at failing with this.)

4) Don’t put the gospel through a cookie-cutter. The gospel is a glorious, magnificent, world-tilting message of truth, salvation, love, promise, and glory to the repentant and humble, and God has given 66 books in our language to teach it to us. It can be explained from many different passages of Scripture, so I recommend getting real familiar with some and using them often. You can read Matthew 5-7 and Romans 1-8 for a number of useful texts. But also use a variety of other passages whenever possible, or when a different situation calls for it. You may not have time to give a full presentation of the gospel in every situation, so be ready to be clear and helpful with whatever you can say.

5) Each person you meet is different, so I believe you can preach the good news in a different way to everyone you meet, depending on individual needs. To illustrate this, let’s say you meet Sally from the local baptist congregation. She grew up in the church and never thought of herself as anything but saved, yet she doesn’t seem to have come to grips with how great her sin and her need for a spotless sacrifice really is. You will preach truth to her according to what she needs to know about the gospel, which she may not have grasped yet. Next you meet Mohammad, an immigrant Muslim. Now things are different. Mohammad, on the other hand, doesn’t think of God, sin, or salvation in the same way you do. You may have to define what you mean by your terms, such as repentance, justification, mercy, justice, the Triune nature of God, the deity of Jesus, and so on, before Mohammad can grasp what must be accepted for true light and life. Don’t change the message of the gospel, it is the same for both, but change the method. Speak to Sally and Mohammad according to what they need to come to terms with.

This list was inspired by another list that I read from theCripplegate.com, called Street Evangelism in Six Steps.
Also check out An Alternative to Cold Evangelism.

Encouragement to My Fellow Christians to be more Evangelistic

(Note: This post was taken from something I wrote a few years ago in response to a question about what I would want to say to encourage others in evangelism)

Having the right understanding of the gospel and the Bible is very important (Colossians 1:9), and so I want to try to encourage others to read the Bible with a passion for understanding it.

Prayer is where it all begins.

We all need to begin by praying for a heart that loves Christ more, and seeks His glory in reaching those for whom He gave His life (Matt. 9:38; Luke 11:2; Rom. 10:1; 2 Thes. 3:1).

Timidity is not a good thing (see 2 Tim. 1:7), and it is not loving, but rather selfish and insincere. I know this, because timidity has plagued me all my life. A good way to overcome this fear is to know the Bible inside and out. It is not enough to read books and hear sermons about the Bible. We have got to read Scripture for ourselves.

We need to become familiar with the abundance of wisdom and understanding that the Scriptures provide for those who love Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:3). And we must not forget that our love comes directly as a result of His unfathomable love for us (1 John 4:10).

We need to be familiar with the cross and with the power of His resurrection (1 Cor. 2:2; Phil. 3:10). We need to have died with Christ, that we may live together with Him (Rom. 6:8; 2 Tim. 2:11). We need to live by grace and not by our own efforts (1 Cor. 15:10). It must be Christ in us moving us to will and to work according to His good pleasure (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 2:13).

I really believe 2 Corinthians 13:5 applies directly to every Christian in our day, which exhorts us to "examine" and "test" ourselves to see if Christ is really in us. There is a wonderful sense of confidence that comes with having the proper assurance of Salvation. The letter of 1 John was written so that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13), so I think we should read that New Testament letter carefully for that end.

As established believers in the faith, we need to continually return to the source and fountain of living waters. That is where we get refreshed. We must always be going before the Throne of Grace and seeking our High Priest who is able to help us in our weaknesses. It is the power of Christ, and not us that will give us the victory so that we may overcome. Christians ought to pray together for the world, because that is when God will begin to work in sending us for missions and various ministries according to our gifts.

- In His grace, Penn T.

The Foolishness of Preaching the Cross of Christ, part 1

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, not in wisdom of words, so that in no way would the cross of Christ be made empty.
(1 Corinthians 1:17)

John Gill says in his commentary on this verse:

but to preach the Gospel; for which he was most eminently qualified, had peculiar gifts for the discharge of it, and was greatly useful in it. This was what he was rather sent to do than the other, and this "not with wisdom of words". Scholastic divinity, or the art of disputation, is by the (f) Karaites, a sect among the Jews, called חכמת הדברים, "wisdom of words": this the apostle seems to refer to, and signifies he was not sent with, or to preach, with words of man's wisdom, with human eloquence and oratory, with great swelling words of vanity, but in a plain, humble, modest manner; on which account the false teachers despised him, and endeavoured to bring his ministry into contempt with others: but this way and manner of preaching he chose for this reason,

John Gill made the point well, that Christ sent Paul to preach (the word is euangelizesthai to proclaim the gospel, to evangelize) without using the impressive words of what is considered wisdom by an unbelieving world.

The world thinks that they will only find truth by higher knowledge, intelligence, philosophical and logical wisdom, etc. But the gospel goes forth in plain, common, simple terms, so that even the uneducated can understand by the grace of God.

The simple message of the gospel is the proclamation of facts and belief in what those facts indicate. The cross of Christ was an event in history. Jesus, who is called Christ, was crucified under the authority of Pontius Pilate. The power of that death lies within God's purpose, that Christ would suffer the wrath in place of all who believe in Him as the fulfillment of the Scriptural Messiah (the Christ). His resurrection from the dead authenticated and produced real salvation for God's elect.

The foolishness of it all can be seen in that people are called to believe the only eye-witness accounts written down, which are the New Testament Scriptures. To the world this is not an expression of wisdom. However, to us who believe, it is the power of the cross of Christ.

Grace Abounding: Estoy en Santo Domingo

I am in Santo Domingo (estoy en Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, for the week. My pastor, brother and a fellow evangelist friend are here on a mission - to spread the glorious gospel of God's grace through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

So far, it has been an amazing learning experience for us. The Dominican people are very warm people. Yesterday, we visited an huérfanato (orphanage) and spent most of the day learning about the needs and conditions of the orphanage/school and the community. We taught the older kids from the Bible, then later spent a lot of time playing with the little children (los niños).

Our evangelism experience has also been very good. Keep us in prayer as we continue to share the gospel with more people, spreading tracts, booklets and portions of the Bible in Spanish for the people of Santo Domingo to read.

Grace to all who love our great Lord and King!
- Penn

Grace Abounding: Returning to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

If the Sovereign LORD wills, early Friday morning, I will be taking off from New York with my pastor, brother and friend to fly back to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

We are taking a lot of Bibles, New Testaments, Gospels of John, tracts and booklets to give away on the streets. It is our desire to share the gospel with as many people as possible while we are there for a week.

We are especially looking forward to the opportunity of mutual edification and godly fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ there in Santo Domingo.

We also need prayers, and will be rejoicing along with those who pray for all that our gracious Lord and God does in response to them.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you who trust in Him.

-Penn

Grace Abounding: Evangelism and Missions

I've been busy the past month planning a second trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for evangelism Oct. 30 - Nov. 7, and also to visit my friend Rita, from New Human Life blog, and other Christian brethren there. 

My brother, Lee, has begun using his video camera to help in our mission work here in Pennsylvania, and will be carrying it with him to Santo Domingo as well. You can watch two of his videos on You Tube under "LiveBOLDLYforChrist".

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the [one] name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

(Matthew 28:19-20).

Grace Abounding: 4th of July, 2009 and Answer to prayer for a muslim

I am so glad that my relationship with God is real!

What do I mean? I mean, I know God and He knows me, and He continually reminds me of this everyday. His mercy toward me is greater than any earthly father or mother or friend.

God is my God, my Maker and my Savior. I know the Father, because I know His Son and the love He has shown. I know His Holy Spirit, who is working in me to know Christ Jesus. This is a supernatural thing, a work begun by God about 7 years ago, which has continued on till today. Praise be to the only God and my all in all!

I just wanted to say all that. (You can read John, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians and 1 John if you need to know where I'm coming from).

Ok, now on to the news.

Today had its ups and downs, but the Providence of God was clearly seen in it. When I arrived at 69th Street and saw pastor Mark witnessing to a guy, and Herman Lee handing out tracts, I went up and greeted brother Herman. He told me his son Andre was with him, but he was up the street window shopping.

When Andre came back, I said hello and exchanged a few greetings then I gave him one of my tracts, which I wrote here (we had met once before in the same spot). Andre is with the sunni muslims, but his dad has been witnessing to him when he can. I also think he's had some hard experiences and is searching for the answers or the truth.

After we spent an hour handing out tracts and meeting people on 69th Street, we went back to pastor Mark's place. There Andre spent an hour letting us talk to him about the gospel and the Bible. He asked a few questions, but we did a lot of sharing the good news. He was very open to it all. I gave him a Greasy the Robber booklet and an Is the Bible Reliable (Piper) pamphlet. He accepted them and seemed eager to read them in his search for truth.

I praise God for this, because we have prayed for him. Herman has prayed for him a lot and requested our prayers, and now we had this opportunity. Praise be to the Lord!

I drove home after that and spent the evening with my family and grandmother, who we call Gram. We were at her house in the woods, eating together and setting off fireworks, with the Amish neighbor's watching. The Amish girls that came to watch lost their dad a number of years ago, so I think I should begin praying much more for them as well. Their brothers did not join us for whatever reason, and the other farm neighbor's were away on vacation. But the sunset was beautiful and the fireflies were just as amazing as all the fireworks we saw.

There was also an incident with two young cows at home, that happened later, but that was brief. The dog was excited to see us arrive home, and when I got on my computer, I read some questions a friend had for me about God's Sovereignty and Christ's return. We as believers need to be ready and excited for Him to return at any time.

The Lord is in control of the hardest times as well as the good, and I am certainly glad to be one of His. Are you?

This is grace abounding today, which is now Sunday, July 5th. Grace and peace!

Grace Abounding: Laboring in the Fields

The past 3 weeks have been very difficult ones, however, they have also been filled with God's grace as it continually flows through Christ to all who live by the Spirit (John 1:16,17; Romans 8:9,10,11). Without going into detail, I will say that I am very thankful to God for all the saints who are praying for my family and for the church I attend. I have also been learning Spanish much better than before, and can understand it pretty comfortably when hearing it spoken. I can even converse in Spanglish with Latin Americans in Philadelphia when witnessing on the streets. I have met many people, one man from Ivory Coast spoke French, and we were able to find him a Bible to read in his language. Another time, I talked to a young man from the "Hebrew Israelites" and just exhorted him with love to read Romans and stop following those who distort the truth. He reasoned with me for a few minutes out of the Bible, then walked away mad. May the Lord grant him and those with him a humble heart of repentance and genuine faith in Christ.

In addition, tomorrow early in the morning, I plan on taking a trip to the Dominican Republic with two Christian brothers, and our plan is to take some gospel tracts and spend almost a week witnessing to people on the streets. We are going to meet a friend and by God's grace, perhaps some other people who will join us in our endeavor. Although I am not giving a lot of detailed information, I am asking for sincere prayer that God would open up communication with people, open their hearts up and also reveal His Son for the salvation of sinners.

Thank you and may the Lord bless all who lay their hands to the plow with joy, and don't look back!

Grace Abounding from Philly

It has been a while since my last grace abounding update since I have insufficient time to write. Therefore, I have posted an 18 min. conversation I had with a man on the street. This is one example of many people who stop to talk to a "lunatic" street evangelist. It is by no means the perfect example of evangelism, but I hope it will motivate some of you to pray and perhaps go out and talk to people by God's grace. God bless!

(Note: The conversation focuses somewhat on baptism in the beginning, so if you are confused about a proper understanding of baptism, then please see some of the resources I have linked to on my sidebar. Thanks.)

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For the Love of God, Souls and the Terror of Hell

"Let all that you do be done in love." - 1 Cor. 16:14

"If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord come!" - 1 Cor. 16:22

"For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you." - 2 Cor. 2:4

My grandmother passionately reminds me often that, "Love is the key," as she points her finger directly at me. "And don't you forget it," she always adds. That is very true, and with love in mind, I want to passionately remind those who read this post that it is out of love for God, His glory, His Son and His purposes in this world, that we must not only earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3), but we must earnestly and passionately seek to evangelize the lost.

Such a word as "evangelize" is offensive in much of Western culture today, yet is it not a word overflowing with love? It means to announce the good news and seek to convince others of its beneficial truth. It speaks of a message widely hated around the globe. Yet it is a message with the best interest of the glory of God in mind according to His saving purposes, and without knowing and believing it, guilty souls will spend eternity under the just wrath of God in hell. So it also contains the best interest of all people.

Here is a message by Mark Dever that he spoke at John Piper's church almost two weeks ago. I hope that all will listen to it. May it move you to your knees and move you to plea passionately to God for the love and the power to do what Jesus sent His people out as "lambs among wolves" to do, which is to share the good news.

If you are genuinely born again by the Spirit of God, then consider for yourself the love of God that He would send His Son into the world to save such an unwilling, unfaithful, unloving, unworthy, sinful rebel such as yourself. Then also consider what it would cost you to give up a little time for prayer, a little money, a little pleasure, a little acceptance with this ungodly world, a little pain, a little heart-ache to follow Jesus in the most rewarding and joyful experience possible during our preparation for eternity.

And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16 ESV).

May grace be multiplied to those who love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ under many trials.

A Portrait of Jesus in the gospel of Mark, part 1

How wonderful it is to meditate on the Lord Jesus, whom we know as "Christ" (the Anointed, who fulfills all of the Old Testament prophecies that God would come in human flesh and be King forever)! The gospels were also written to be evangelistic, to help others come to believe in the one God the Father has consecrated and sent to be the Savior of the world. That is why I am writing a summary of the Gospel of Mark. I will be posting summaries of each chapter, until all 16 chapters are completed, then I hope to use what I learn to write an evangelistic tract about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Here are the first 2:

The Gospel According to Mark
A Brief Summary about Jesus Christ, the Son of God

1. The word "gospel" means "good news." It is called "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1). To fulfill prophecy, John the Baptist came as a witness calling people to repent, turn from their sins and return to the Lord in preparation for the Christ [the Messiah or Anointed One]. Jesus himself was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, while God the Father testified from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11). Immediately Jesus went away to be tempted by the devil, resisted every temptation and returned preaching, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel." Jesus also called some fisherman to follow him, taught with astounding authority in the Jewish synagogues, commanded an unclean spirit to come out of a man, healed Peter's mother-in-law from a fever, taught crowds the Word of God, went to pray alone, and then healed many more from various diseases and ailments. He even had compassion on a leper, being willing to touch him to make him clean.

2. As he traveled through each town, crowds came to hear Jesus preach and be healed by him. A crippled man was brought to him on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:5). Some scribes thought he was blaspheming, since only God could forgive sins. But Jesus proved his authority to forgive by telling the man to get up and walk home. Immediately the man got up and walked! This amazed all the people. Then some religious leaders criticized him for eating with sinners and tax collectors. So he explained that it was not the righteous [or good] people who needed him, but sinners that he came to call to repentance [because those who think they are good see no need for a Savior].

From the Series: A Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

• part 2

JESUS: Intro Evangelism Message

I'm in the thought process of writing more of my own evangelism tracts. One time, I experimented on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, asking confessed unbelievers if they would allow me to share for two minutes about who Jesus is and what He did. This was at the bus stop lines, and we normally walked down the line handing out tracts and speaking to people one on one. Although most turn away their faces, there are always a few who are willing to talk for a few minutes.

That was when I started sharing Christ briefly, by mainly focusing on His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension, ending with His promise of the Holy Spirit to those who believe. I would describe in vivid detail the bloody suffering and death of Jesus, and every time those unbelievers heartily accepted a tract or a New Testament from me after hearing about how Jesus suffered and loved sinners. Well, now I've begun writing this down, only in more detail, and it will be much longer than a two minute brief presentation, but more like a tract/pamphlet.

Here is what I've written so far. Feed back will be very much appreciated by anyone. (Keep in mind, that this is a work in progress, and will need to be edited. Thanks.)

Who was Jesus?

The fact is undisputed that a Jewish man named Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the land of Israel and that he was from Nazareth. He taught in Galilee, and was known by the Jews and many people from other nations. In fact, his name has been the only name that the Christian faith has proclaimed from the first century, 2,000 years ago, even until now. No one who has taken the briefest look at the past 2,000 years of history can deny that the impact this one man has had on the world is like no other who has ever lived. Even if you don't believe religiously in Jesus, you cannot deny the uniqueness of his character, which has convinced millions of people to learn of his teachings. It was Jesus who began the most despised sect of Jews that ever existed. It was Jesus who was so hated by religious leaders, that they passed the death sentence on him, even without a just cause. It was Jesus who made people rejoice with great joy and hope, while others gnashed their teeth at him in rage. It was Jesus who was hunted down to be murdered from his infancy. His parents had to flee away from Israel and hide in Egypt, while king Herod ordered a gruesome massacre of all two-year-old and under male babies in that land. It was Jesus who was accused of being a bastard, because his mother conceived him before she was married. Yet the holy Scriptures tell us it was because she (a virgin) had been chosen by God to bring His Son into the world, who would save His people from their sins.

Being no ordinary teacher, Jesus travelled through towns and villages, speaking in the Jewish Synogogues and declaring to people that the kingdom of God was about to come, as their Scriptures had predicted. People were amazed at how he spoke, with power and with authority, and yet without flaw. Multitudes crowded around him to be healed of all their diseases and ailments. It was testified that he had brought people back to life after they were dead. Even those who did not like Jesus could not deny his miracles, they just said he did it by an evil power. When Jesus forgave a man's sins, the religious leaders accused him of blaspheming, because "only God can forgive sins," they said. Some didn't like him because he spent time teaching those who had been publicans and immoral. Unlike the sophisticated teachers of his day, he held little children in his arms and blessed them in the name of the Lord. He also touched people with skin diseases and they were healed. They said he opened the eyes of the blind, gave hearing to the deaf, made mute people able to speak, made cripples walk, made deranged people return to their right mind. Spirits of demons which had oppressed and possessed people were driven out by Jesus when he commanded, and those people were set free. Sinners, found at his feet, the joy of knowing their sins were forgiven. They were transformed from being rebelliously selfish to being humble and obedient like no others. Jesus was a preacher to the poor, a doctor to the sick, a merciful shepherd to the wayward and wandering, a deliverer to those held captive.

Those who were against him said he was a deceiver, a blasphemer, a drunkard and a glutton, and that he had a demon in himself. Yet Jesus was the complete opposite of all that they accused him. It made them mad when he exposed their hypocrisy in broad daylight. Therefore we are told that many times his enemies conspired to kill him.

To those outside his way, Jesus was either a lunatic or an extremely crafty fraud. But to those inside his following, Jesus was more than just a man, though they could not believe it until after he rose from the dead. They saw him walk on water, command a storm to obey his voice and calm down, turn water into wine at a wedding, make a tree wither and dry up, feed thousands of people with a few pieces of bread. His closest friends saw him transform himself into a glorious man shining with light bright as the sun or as lightning. They called him a prophet, and even "the Son of God," which for a Jew, could get them expelled from their strict monotheistic (belief in only one God) religion. Jesus himself believed and taught there is only one true and living God, and that all people must repent and worship Him alone. He even claimed to be from Him and to be His only begotten Son. That is why Jesus made himself a whip and angrily drove out those merchants from the temple of God, because he said, "you have turned my Father's house into a den of thieves." Far from committing any sin, with the deepest conviction, Jesus upheld the holiness and worship of the one true and living God.

Everything Jesus taught was perfectly accurate and in harmony with the 39 books of the Jewish Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). Everything he did and said were in direct fulfillment of what those books had prophesied he would say and do. Those books were in fact written about Jesus, who is the Christ (Greek for Messiah, meaning "Anointed"). Jesus was anointed with the powerful Spirit of God, in order to live a life of perfect submission and obedience to his heavenly Father. This was in order to preach and teach, to perform miracles, to free those held under sin's bondage and Satan's, to give life to the dead, to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe in his name, and one day, upon his return, to rule as supreme King over all the earth.

to be continued...

Sovereign Grace: Evangelism

"And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48 ESV).

I am thankful to God that evangelism is not a man-centered duty or field of labor. It is one that is empowered by His Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31), and is rewarded with joy as the word of the Lord is glorified, since He had caused them to believe who had been "appointed to eternal life." Praise God that we can pray and labor to evangelize a world which hates the light (John 3:19-20), for some will believe, because they must believe and be saved, since God is ever faithful to His own promises (Genesis 12:1-3)! "...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

An Evangelistic Tract on Knowing God

Do you know God? How we can know God through the Bible. Check out my little message by clicking here: Knowing God and the Bible.

Grace Abounding: God Answers My Prayers!

"God answers all my prayers." That was the statement I kept hearing from Mark, a homeless man I met on 69th Street this Saturday. He had alcohol on his breath, and must have drank enough to make him just under the influence. He knew the Bible extremely well, and was quoting Scripture to me most of the time we talked. A faithful follower of Harold Camping from "Family Radio", Mark could have talked my ear off all night. He insisted that I give him a prayer request so that he could pray for me about that thing. So I told him that I want to study and learn to understand accurately and communicate the Bible. He wrote it down in his "book of miracles." We argued about a few things, and Mark ended by denouncing me as not working for God (at least not in the correct or true way or something), even after he had begun by commending me. He kept saying that he works for God, and that God answers his prayers and people have been healed from his prayers. He even went as far as to tell me he doesn't even pray anymore because God will just give him what he knows he needs or wants or something like that. Although there were some serious things about Mark's faith and attitude that came up that night, one thing he reminded me of was that God answers my prayers. When I challenged Mark about his hope for heaven, he got upset at me, because he said that you can't know if you're going to heaven... in other words, you might lose it. He asked me what mine was, insisting on it. So I told him, I said, "Mark, you wanna' know what my hope for heaven is?" He answered, "Yeah, I really wanna' know. What is it?" So I said, "It's Christ!"

Which, as I mentioned, reminded me of how God answers my prayers all the time. It does not surprise me anymore that the LORD answers my prayers, but it does still make me in awe of His endless mercies. I will not say that God gives me everything I ask for, but that He is so gracious, as my heavenly Father, to first give me eternal life in His Son and eternal hope through His Holy Spirit. 1 John 5:13-15 says,

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him."

It then continues to teach how to pray and how not to pray for a believer who sins.

That verse is one that I love. First, John says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." Then he goes on to say that we have such confidence toward God to ask anything according to His will, knowing that He hears us and will grant that request.

All that simply to say, I am so glad that the LORD has been granting me the desire to read the Bible more. I also have some good books I've picked up again after setting them on the shelf for a while, such as Holiness by J. C. Ryle and a book by John MacArthur on Revelation. I have been reading through Revelation and just been amazed at the revelation of Jesus Christ all throughout as "the Lamb who was slain" and as God in the flesh of a man. Jesus is God, and God became a man, and this man is the eternal Son of God who died on a cross. It is amazing! And the prayer part is that I would continue seeing Christ in the Scriptures, which is happening so much lately, and that I would be praying more, and continue to be sanctified in the Holy Spirit to be useful to the Master. This request is still an ongoing process, but God is faithful, and I just wanted to share the benefit of joy and hope that comes from knowing Christ, my solid hope. :)

Grace Abounding: Please Pray for Evangelism

I was in West Philadelphia yesterday evening with my dear friend and older brother in Christ, Herman Lee, Sr.. We met at 69th Street in Upper Darby and began passing out gospel tracts around 4 pm. It was really an amazing time. I had been praying all day for God's Spirit to move and work in me to witness to the lost. The temperature began dropping as the evening became darker. There were a lot of people walking up and down the street, and they all looked so needy to me. That is, they all seemed to be so blind to the fact that eternity is awaiting them very shortly, and they need to have a righteousness that is not their own to be saved from the judgment of God against sin. I praise God that He has provided Jesus Christ to be our righteousness, but most people will never receive that free gift because they have no genuine saving faith in Him.

Well, as the day grew colder, I put on my hat and gloves. People kept walking by. I spoke to at least half a dozen people, both young and older, about their souls. Most of the time, I just began preaching instead of asking all the standard questions. And not surprisingly (because of God's purpose in preaching - 1 Cor. 1:17 and etc.) they listened. I spoke to a young professing athiest, just preaching to him about how God has provided so much evidence by sending His Son to be the Savior and changing the lives of wicked lawless men to be transformed by His power through grace, and how doubting God's Word is the same as calling Him a liar, and this young kid stood their and took it all in so openly. The words just began flowing from my lips. I told him that all the false religions in the world point to Jesus Christ as the only way, because that is what they are all so vehemently denying. I told him about the love of God in sending Christ to take our sin upon Himself. I gave him a New Testament to read, and left him with another tract for him to give his lady friend who was waiting for him over by the wall. I exhorted him to read the Bible, and he was agreeing to do it. Amazing to see God's grace at work there!

There was so much more that went on. People of different ages heard the word preached. Many of them recognize they need to check themselves to see if they are genuinely saved. Many of them were relying upon their works, which are as filthy rags in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6). Many of them were genuinely interested in knowing the truth about these things. Others left the tracts we passed out to them torn up on the sidewalks. But generally, most seem very open on 69th Street in Upper Darby.

One young man was the son of my fellow laborer, brother Herman. He had become a Muslim, and both him and his friend (who I tried speaking to) were closed to hearing the gospel. Please pray for Andre. They would not accept anything from me.

I am so blessed, as the most unworthy of saints, to be used by God in evangelism. You can labor together with me by asking God to cause fruit to come out of all this, and for sinners to be converted to true grace, the grace that changes sinners into saints.

God bless to all who serve the King!

Grace Abounding: Rejection is Good

Last night, Matt and I hit the streets of York again. This time, it seemed people were walking around all over the place for such a small downtown city area. We gave away some tracts, talked with a few people about why the gospel is good news, again using Romans 5:6 as our text. Although a few people were open, most rejected us. I am used to getting rejected, and it is good for me to not always have huge success in witnessing, because it reminds me that 1) people are lost without the power of God's grace, 2) people are naturally enemies of Christ, 3) Jesus promised we would not be liked, 4) it keeps my heart from resting in this world, 5) it makes prayer a necessity. We did pray afterward for some of the people we met. We also prayed that the Lord would drive away all the religious demons in that city, and that people's hearts would be opened to the good news. Man-made religion seems to make hearts twice as hard as they normally are, and that seems to be the case often in York.

There are probably more reasons why rejection is good for me. It makes me laugh to think of what Bob says in Pittsburgh, "The Lord knew we needed the rejection today." Praise God! I'm looking forward to seeing answered prayers! Yesterday I was simply praising God that He always hears my prayers and that He answers me in supernatural ways. To me, that is just amazing, because I do not feel like one worthy of the same experiences as those in the Bible, but that is what we are - supernatural children. That is also one of the privileges of being a child of God by grace through faith in Christ (1 John 5:14-15).