Am I Saved? Am I Sure ? - Paul Washer Message

How do I Know that I'm Saved? - Paul Washer Message

Come to Christ, He is Mighty to Save - Paul Washer

Calvary Chapel O'Hare (Chicago) - Proclaiming the Gospel in the Streets at Christmas through Song - 12.19.10

Free Gospel of John - Pocket Sized for Witnessing Situations

Join the Pocket Testament League. Membership offers low-cost or free Gospels of John for witnessing situations. Members can receive up to 30 Gospels a month for free, sponsored by other members. Additional copies are available at a very low cost, or by donation to the ministry. These are high-quality, pocket-sized Gospels of John, in a wide variety of translations, cover-styles, large-print, and in Spanish.

Street Preaching to Unbeliever (Ray Comfort)

Some Questions to Ask When Evangelizing Muslims

This list of questions was excerpted from Answering Islam.org. Which has good resources for understanding the Muslim view of Christianity, and being equipped to answer objections. Most of the site's resources are available in multiple languages. 

1. When exactly do you believe that the Bible was corrupted and by whom?
This question is important because it is actually quite easy to demonstrate to a Muslim that when Muhammad recited the Qur'an, he made clear statements which show that he did not believe that the Bible was corrupt at that time. The Qur'an calls on Christians to adhere to the Scriptures that they possessed. There are also verses in the Qur'an which state that John the Baptist and Jesus were taught the Torah by Allah. If this is the case, then the Torah was still intact (according to the Qur'an) during the first century. Add to this the fact that we have in our possession the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint which predate John and Jesus' birth by some 200 years. Thus it is easy to demonstrate (for anyone who is willing to examine the facts) that according to the Islamic worldview and the manuscript evidence, it is impossible for the Bible to have been corrupted. The logical questions go on and on here. See:
www.answering-islam.org/Bible/multi.html
www.answering-islam.org/Bible/Text/wijngaards.html
www.answering-islam.org/Bible/jrwhy.html
Another one of my favorites is a question which revolves around the false Muslim notion that the incarnation (the ultimate demonstration of God's love for us -- particularly as it culminated in the crucifixion) somehow diminishes God's "greatness". So my question here is something along this line...
2. Philosophically speaking, which is greater, a God who demonstrates his love to the utmost extent (see Philippians 2) or one who refrains from doing so in order to preserve his image of "greatness"?
When we begin to see the world through a Muslim's eyes, and understand their perspective toward the incarnation and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and when we imagine a world without the incarnation, it is like having a "It's a Wonderful Life" (Jimmy Stuart movie) experience. We begin to see what an awesome thing the incarnation is, and we appreciate more then ever before what God has done for us! It is my belief that when Muslims are able to see this fact (that true greatness is found with the one who loves the most), then they begin to see the superiority emotionally and philosophically of the Biblical concept of God over the Islamic concept of God. See also the story that is told about the two fathers in this response: www.answering-islam.org/Emails/trinity-where.htm
Another question that one might ask a Muslim would be:
3. If you claim to be born without a sin nature (an inborn propensity toward sin rather than a natural propensity toward righteousness), then how long can you go without sinning? Can you go for a week without sin? How about a day? If you are born basically good, then why does one need to struggle and make a conscious effort to be good and not need to struggle to be bad? Why do we naturally drift toward selfishness and not righteousness?
See a great discussion that covers this and a whole lot more here: www.answering-islam.org/Intro/discussion.pdf
A fourth question might be: Would you be willing to pray with an honest heart and ask God to guide you to His truth, even if that truth is found in the Bible and not in Islam?

Free Evangelism Training Book

Living Waters ministry offers a free book which presents Biblical Evangelism, or evangelism using Christ's methods. It's an eye-opening, scripturally-based presentation. One free copy is available to each person who orders. Even shipping is included. Highly recommended.

Atheism Not Logical

"Those arguing against creation may not even be conscious of their most basic presupposition, one which excludes God a priori, namely naturalism/materialism (everything came from matter, there is no supernatural, no prior creative intelligence).² The following two real-life examples highlight some problems with that assumption:

1. A young man approached me at a seminar and stated, ‘Well, I still believe in the big bang, and that we arrived here by chance random processes. I don’t believe in God.’ I answered him, ‘Well, then obviously your brain, and your thought processes, are also the product of randomness. So you don’t know whether it evolved the right way, or even what right would mean in that context. Young man, you don’t know if you’re making correct statements or even whether you’re asking me the right questions.’

The young man looked at me and blurted out, ‘What was that book you recommended?’ He finally realized that his belief undercut its own foundations—such ‘reasoning’ destroys the very basis for reason.

2. On another occasion, a man came to me after a seminar and said, ‘Actually, I’m an atheist. Because I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe in absolutes, so I recognize that I can’t even be sure of reality.’ I responded, ‘Then how do you know you’re really here making this statement?’ ‘Good point,’ he replied. ‘What point?’ I asked. The man looked at me, smiled, and said, ‘Maybe I should go home.’ I stated, ‘Maybe it won’t be there.’ ‘Good point,’ the man said. ‘What point?’ I replied.

This man certainly got the message. If there is no God, ultimately, philosophically, how can one talk about reality? How can one even rationally believe that there is such a thing as truth, let alone decide what it is?"

from Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis

Effective Evangelism Using Your Personality Style

Asking Questions for Evangelism

Preaching Gospel - Street Witnessing (Ray Comfort)

Praise God for the Lord of the Harvest!!!

Well, after 15 months of prayer, planning, preparation, the Chicago Harvest  happened, and it happened in amazing fashion.

• 47,600 attended
• 4,758 responded to the invitation to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord 
• Over 200 churches united in prayer, promotion, bringing guests, ushering, ministry and evangelism training, follow-up counseling, and post-Harvest follow-up

The Lord is truly “able to do exceeding abundantly beyond what we can ask or think.”

Here is a link to the Greg Laurie/Chicago Harvest Crusade stats, photos, blogs and the archived webcasts. 

There is a sense here, that this has  been the beginning of a new and great work of the Spirit that He is doing in Chicago.

Free Book for Atheists

Good News for Atheists



A kind person made it possible for atheists to receive a free copy of, How to Know God Exists (this book was a finalist in the 2009 Retailers Choice Awards). The offer is only for atheists. If you don’t believe God exists please know that we have given away books and dinner vouchers to atheists many times before, and never once have we followed up with literature or a visit. All books will be signed. We only want those who ask for the book to get one. Simply email your name and address (formatted as you would on an envelope--three lines, caps and lower case) to request@livingwaters.com And one final note... Christians, please do not have books sent to atheists who haven’t requested a copy.

Video: Witnessing to Atheist (Ray Comfort)

Street Witnessing with Gang Members - LivingWaters.com

Street Preaching Video 8/21/10 (Ray Comfort)

False Conversion Video - Evangelist Ray Comfort

Mark Cahill - Lukewarm no More

8 Reasons People Don't Share their Faith

Sharing Jesus with Your Friends - Mark Hall (Casting Crowns musician)

How Much do You Have to Hate Someone to NOT Share the Gospel with them? Question from an atheist.

Preach the Word

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Street Witnessing Goes South, then Surprise!

Harvest Crusade Chicago: Greg Laurie

Taking the Gospel to the World

But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." — Mark 1:38

Jesus went and met the woman at the well in Samaria because she had an appointment with God. In Jesus' detour into enemy territory, we see two important concerns as we bring the message of the gospel today.

First, we have to go to where people are. Jesus did not say that the whole world should go to church; He said the church should go into the whole world. As Mark's Gospel tells us, "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature' " (Mark 16:15).

When Harvest Ministries was doing an outreach in Disneyland a number of years ago, I was asked, "Why are you doing this in a place like Disneyland? Why would you come and hold an event in a place like this?"
I said, "Because Jesus said, 'Go into all the world,' and He did not exempt Disneyland. There are people there. And we want to reach people." The glorious thing is that many people came into the kingdom through that outreach. We need to go to where people are.

Second, we need to care about the people we speak to. Jesus needed to go to Samaria because He cared about this woman (see John 4:4). When the apostle Paul was in Athens, he saw the city that was given over to idolatry, and his spirit was stirred within him (see Acts 17:16–17). He felt righteous indignation as he saw so many turning to false gods.

In the same way, any effective sharing of the gospel must always begin with a God-given burden. We have to care. Jesus cared. Do you? Do you want to reach out to perishing people?

We should go to where people are. We should care about them and reach out to them.

~ Greg Laurie, Pastor, Harvest Ministries

Seeds of Gospel Spring Suddenly to Life - Ray Comfort Street Witnessing

Are You a Good Person?

Just Stop and Think

Creation Calls -- are you listening?

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.

~ Psalm 19: 1-2

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God has made it plain to them.

~ Romans 1:18-19

Scripture Reference Guide

I have a book recommendation. It's the Calvary Chapel Scripture Reference Guide from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale. It is 259 pages of scriptures (New King James Version) by topic such as: Anxiety, Bitterness, Conscience, Insecurity, Witnessing and many more. It goes for around $9.99 at the Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale Bookstore.

For More Information:
http://www.calvaryftl.org/Bookstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=cat.prodInfo&productID=136711

www.agentsforchrist.org

Agents for Christ School of Evangelism

Calling All Agents!!!!

Lessons learned, knowledge gained from witnessing at Calvary Chapel O'Hare Block Party

Share ideas, insights, problems, suggestions from experience street witnessing at Calvary Chapel O'Hare block party.

Weeping for the souls who are deceived

Lord Lord? I Never Knew You - Paul Washer

Praise Report - Calvary Chapel O'Hare Equipping for Evangelism and Block Party Outreach (June 18,19, 2010)

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

~ Revelation 5:1

As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God
~ 2 Corinthians 9:13

I shall give thanks to You, for you have answered me….This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it
~ Psalm 118:21, 23-4

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Calvary Chapel O’Hare, and to the Body of Christ, partners in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,

We (Liz, Scott, Leo, and Todd, of Calvary Chapel O'Hare, in Chicago) want to share with you some of the observations we had about events several weeks ago, in which we clearly saw God’s hand and Spirit working and moving among us. We saw this, in ways that were astonishing to us; especially in answer to the prayers which we had been praying with you–even above and beyond what we asked-- to see God’s vision for this event unfold. We hope you’ll forgive us for our delay in sharing this with you. Our purpose is to give all the glory to God for the great things He’s done.

Below are the points of the Vision Statement the Lord led us to create at the outset of our planning, and what we witnessed.

Your fellow bondservants in Christ,

~ Liz, Leo, Scott, and Todd

P.S. Go here to see a slide show of the event:
 ______________________________________________________________________________
A. Gospel will be preached and our body will hunger to reach the lost:
The Gospel was preached to young and old, English and Spanish speakers, even to the firefighters who we did not expect to come. Witnessing teams and others also shared the Gospel on the street with our neighbors. One brother who had never done street witnessing shared the Gospel, and another who had never witnessed in Spanish saw the Lord allowing him to clearly preach the Good News to a group of neighbors, all in Spanish.

We clearly saw our body hunger to reach the lost, not just through the street witnessing that occurred, but at the “Equipping for Evangelism” event. Despite the heavy storms causing blackouts, and the traffic jams (of more than an hour) about thirty church members came to this event on a Friday night—about a third the attendance of our Sunday service. One member said before the meeting, “I’ve got to get there. I know it’s going to be hard, but I have to get there. The Lord has just been speaking to my heart. It’s time to get radical for Jesus!”

Dennis Zech (whom we hosted, of Ministry through Mystery) shared a message had two themes: “Go with what you’ve got,” and “Get out of your comfort zone.” He shared a story of a young woman who was preaching the gospel, relying mostly on John 3:16. A man questioned her about dinosaurs, evolution, and the existence of God. The woman replied, “I don’t know about all that, but I do know this,” quoting to him John 3:16, again. The man returned the following day, telling the woman that he could not sleep the night before because of what he had heard, and because of that gave his life to the Lord.

As we reflected later, we also saw that the Lord had used the blackout to teach us, through our lives and through Dennis’s message. With no electricity (no lights, no air conditioning) we held the meeting in the Fellowship Room, lit by candles, and some car headlights. The worship team played acoustically, and we sang together without projected lyrics. Jeff held a flashlight so that Dennis, the hosted ministry leader, could read from the Word. As we sat—the men sweating, the women perspiring--jammed together like sardines, we were learning to “Go with what we had,” and “Get out of our comfort zone.”

The sense of fellowship and encouragement was felt by everyone. One guest remarked, “It was all great. Nothing negative. All positive. Now how we do this? How do we go out and preach the gospel?” This is a question a man hungry to reach the lost would ask.

B. Those who hear will be saved and bear fruit:
A young couple who was invited to the block party while they were sitting sitting at a nearby park gave their lives to the Lord and got saved with repentant and understanding hearts. One of the Spanish-speaking women who heard the Good News came to faith. About six boys, 12-17 years old, heard the news of salvation through Christ, and professed him as Savior and Lord. After several of them had heard the gospel, and were given their New Believers’ Handbooks and New Testaments, they excitedly approached Leo (who had witnessed to them) with more of their friends and said, “My friends haven’t heard the lecture. Can you give them the lecture?” Except for the Spirit of working God in them, what teenage boy tells an adult that he wants to hear a “lecture!” or to have his friend hear one? We cannot know at this time whether those who confessed Christ have borne fruit, but there was some evidence of this initially. All of the boys were interested in us contacting them further so that they could attend future youth meetings. One boy asked Todd, “Will they teach us what the Bible means?”

C. We will rely on God through prayer, faith, Word, and spirit, all with repentive hearts:
We prayed corporately twice a week, at our planning meetings on Monday, and at the prayer meeting on Wednesday, at which others joined us. The Body prayed through our weekly e-prayer updates. As we did, we saw the Lord guiding us in every aspect of our planning. There was amazing unity, even about issues we had differences of opinion about. We relied on Him through prayer to give us the answers, or when needed, we just waited on Him. We also saw that every detail did matter to the Lord--how to allocate the limited budget, where to hold the event, and whether or not to have a band—because, after all, this was His event. As we were guided and led by His Spirit, we simply followed and lent our hands to what He was unfolding.

A strong spirit of repentance came over us during several of the prayer meetings, and we confessed many things before Him and to each other.

At times, when things did not seem to be coming together, we felt heavy and burdened. We also experienced what we felt was the attack of the enemy. At these times, we relied on God’s Word to renew our minds and guide us in prayer and praise to Him. Through this, we were always restored to joy with hopeful expectation about the great work our God would do.

D. God will do a great work and get all of the Glory:
Initially, we planned to hold the magic show event in the park near the church, so that we could draw more people, and because we expected that unsaved people would not want to come into a church. As we prayed about this, the elders shared with us that they felt we should have it on our block, as there were already plans for a block party for sometime this summer. We saw His hand, in many ways, leading us to a more intimate event than we had planned initially, so as we prayed, we saw that this was much better to accomplish the vision He had given us.

On Friday evening, as the storm came and the electricity went out, one of us told the Lord, “Oh, Father…I know this is of You. I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but it’s exciting. And you’re doing it all for us! Thank you, Lord!” And as we saw, it was of Him, to accomplish His plans and purposes, and to glorify Himself.

We saw God orchestrating many things through the storm and blackout at the block party as well: because there was no electricity, we really had to “go with what we had” and trust Him to do the rest. Also, for our neighbors it was cooler to be outside and in the breeze than inside their homes. The church members and neighbors were mostly strangers to one another, so had there been electricity, it might have been easy for people to stay inside their respective “comfort zones” (church and homes), yet God used this to bring us together, to His glory.

Amazingly, about 45 minutes before the show was scheduled to be held outside, the power was restored to the church. Dennis Zech, the ministry leader we were hosting, asked about holding it inside the church, where it was now much cooler than the parking lot. We asked some neighbors if they would come inside to see the show. They said, “Yes! It’s too hot out here!” Amazingly everyone came inside the church, no one stayed outside. Everyone saw the show and heard the gospel preached! Considering that we had never expected people to come inside the church, we saw that this was clearly God’s Spirit at work, making the impossible, possible.

It was also amazing for us to see how much the Lord provided for His event—almost like the loaves and fishes that fed five thousand. Our budget was limited, yet many, many donations came in—of food, equipment, supplies, large and small games; He even led us to find things we didn’t know we had in our future sanctuary area!

E. That the truth of the Father and the Son be declared:
This happened by Dennis sharing the gospel at the magic show, with the firefighters, and through the street witnessing teams. This was especially evident among the neighbors and guests with Catholic backgrounds, who knew of the Father and Son, but did not have understanding of why the Father had sent His son, and His gift of saving grace through faith in Christ alone. These truths were declared to them, and many believed. One brother witnessed to the man who came to pick up the dunk tank and moonwalk after the block party was over. He shared these truths, which the man said he knew, but had not understood, even though He had accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. Through this, the man grew in understanding and saw the assurance of his salvation and the hope of eternal life.

F. Body of Christ will be built up:
We felt that the Body really demonstrated that, through Him, we could love our neighbors as ourselves, because we did so many things for them with such care, including prayer, sharing God’s truth, entertaining, feeding, connecting with and getting to know them, and inviting them into God’s house.

Also, we (and others) saw the amazing unity that the Body had towards these things, especially on the day of the event. Dennis remarked about this—about the unity He saw among the Body.

We observed that the Body was very encouraged to plan an event that was centered around and focused on sharing the Gospel; we believe that the boldness of our witness, corporately, has also increased.

We were encouraged, ourselves; to see some among us, who had not taken leadership before, demonstrate it. We grew in our own leadership ability, and saw others grow as well. We were particularly encouraged to see youth in the body take leadership—of the games ministry, video and photo shooting.

We saw many serving, even those had not signed up to—with genuine joy—and their willingness to serve and labor with diligence, even zeal. For example, those who helped set up worked with joy, speed, and excellence—to the exact specifications of our layout, even improving upon it. They worked diligently even though it was very hard to see in the church when getting and finding materials. At the end of the event, when we saw how much food, supplies, equipment had to be put away, trash to be thrown out, and that the church needing to be reset-up and cleaned, we expected the clean-up ministry to be there until very late that night, but in a few hours it was done, everything put back, vacuumed and cleaned.

We saw the Lord developing, maturing, and fulfilling the proper functions of the Body and the spiritual gifts He has given us, in accordance with Ephesians 4: 7-8; 10-12; 15-16:

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it  says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The initial idea for the event was Pastor Jeff’s, and in his role of teaching and equipping the body for works of service, many of his messages from Romans were directly applicable to the purpose of this event. The elders, as overseers, appointed someone to administrate, who then delegated functions for others to lead. The elders continued to oversee and pray, fulfilling their proper functions. The gifts He has given the Body then worked together—evangelists equipped others to use their gift to share the gospel; those with the gift of service, served; those with the gift of giving gave; those with the gifts of leadership, led—all things growing up together into Him. Together, we were able to show God’s love--among ourselves and to our neighbors--and share His message.

G. Spiritual strong holds in the community will be torn down; H. Waste places will be rebuilt:
This happened, as mentioned in point E above, because we witnessed to many Catholics, and among them, many were youth who not only responded to the message of the Gospel, but who also showed a hunger for God’s Word. We also know that many seeds were planted for this to continue, because we went door-to-door to a total of eight neighboring blocks to invite others to the event. This opens to the door for future works of the Lord to tear down spiritual strongholds in the community.

Any time someone gets saved they are pulled out of the mire and seated with the heavenly hosts. So in praise and thanks to God, lives will be transformed, with the hope that the waste places (sin) that people are struggling with will be rebuilt as temples of the Holy Spirit. We know that they can have deliverance from it. We know that the Gospel went out to many, and it particularly strikes us that so many youth responded, who can now live to seek out and serve the Lord, with or without their parents help, and who God may also use to bring their parents to salvation.

I. Mission of the church will be executed:
Our mission is “Following Jesus. Building His Kingdom.” And we felt that this is exactly what the church did. We followed Jesus by accepting His call to love our neighbors and to preach the gospel. In the end we built His kingdom by presenting the truth of the gospel—both through our actions and through the Word of Truth. Many who heard accepted by faith and were transferred to the Kingdom of Heaven.

J. That we will get to know our neighbors, serve them and have an opportunity to share the power of our testimonies:
We really saw that we served our neighbors from the food, to the games, and from the children to the way to the adults. With the kids we gave them a fun and safe place to play with the Moonwalk, dunk tank, and games; and for the adults with the food, volleyball and fellowship. Also through the service we were given the opportunity to share our faith. We had been praying consistently that God would go before us and prepares the hearts of the people that would come to the block party, and we saw just that!

One example was a couple who, the night before, came together to pray in their home, something they had not done in a very long time. The next day while they were playing at the park with their young daughter and a member of the church happened to drive by and see them. He got out and invited them to the block party! They were ready and willing to hear the whole gospel truth with repentance. They wanted to come to know the Lord and that day were saved! That is all God!

K. We desire to lead others to Christ that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit and grow in the word of God:
Ephesians 1:13 says: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” so those who believed were filled by the Holy Spirit.

We gave out New Testament Bibles to each of the new believers, though we don’t know if they have grown in the Word. We were all impressed by the hunger of the young people who accepted Christ and their eagerness to know His Word.

Jesus Died - Powerful Message Excerpt from Paul Washer

Empowered by the Holy Spirit - Paul Washer

Live for Eternity - Paul Washer

What is Salvation? (In 2 Minutes) - Paul Washer

How to Confront Sinners

"When David sinned with Bathsheba, he broke all of the Ten Commandments. He coveted his neighbor’s wife, lived a lie, stole her, committed adultery, murdered her husband, dishonored his parents, and thus broke the remaining four Commandments by dishonoring God. Therefore, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to reprove him (2 Samuel 12:1–14).

There is great significance in the order in which the reproof came. Nathan gave David (the shepherd of Israel) a parable about something that David could understand— sheep. He began with the natural realm, rather than immediately exposing the king’s sin. He told a story about a rich man who, instead of taking a sheep from his own flock, killed a poor man’s pet lamb to feed a stranger. David was indignant, and sat up on his high throne of self-righteousness. He revealed his knowledge of the Law by declaring that the guilty party must restore fourfold and must die for his crime. Nathan then exposed the king’s sin of taking another man’s "lamb," saying, "You are the man...Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?" When David cried, "I have sinned against the Lord," the prophet then gave him grace and said, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Imagine if Nathan, fearful of rejection, changed things around a little, and instead told David, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. However, there is something that is keeping you from enjoying this wonderful plan; it is called ‘sin.’" Imagine if he had glossed over the personal nature of David’s sin, with a general reference to all men having sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. David’s reaction may have been, "What sin are you talking about?" rather than to admit his terrible transgression. Think of it — why should he cry, "I have sinned against the Lord" at the sound of that message? Instead, he may have, in a sincere desire to experience this "wonderful plan," admitted that he, like all men, had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

If David had not been made to tremble under the wrath of the Law, the prophet would have removed the very means of producing godly sorrow, which was so necessary for David’s repentance. It is "godly sorrow" that produces repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). It was the weight of David’s guilt that caused him to cry out, "I have sinned against the Lord." The Law caused him to labor and become heavy laden; it made him hunger and thirst for righteousness. It enlightened him as to the serious nature of sin as far as God was concerned."

from Living Waters.com

The Spirit, Through us, Convicts the World of Sin

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing....it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

                                                               John 15:1-5; 16: 7-8

Evangelism Training and Outreach Next Week at Calvary Chapel, O'Hare

We have some great events coming up at our church this weekend that we're praying will help encourage and equip our body to be more effective in sharing their faith, as well as lead people to Christ by preaching the gospel to the unsaved in our neighborhood.  Ministry through Mystery, an evangelism team that has traveled throughout the US and other countries and led thousands to Christ, will be conducting a training this Friday (June 18th) at our church (Calvary Chapel, O'Hare in Franklin Park) on "Equipping to Evangelize Using Illusion". 

They will be encouraging and equipping us to share the gospel more effectively, including using simple pocket magic tricks as "ice-breakers" to get a conversation started with unbelievers and to demonstrate principles of the gospel message. I believe this would be particularly effective in open-air (street) evangelism. I know this will take a lot of practice to learn these methods and incorporate them naturally in witnessing conversations, so we're planning on having some follow-up trainings available for those who attend from our church, and other churches and ministries. 

If anyone reading this is in the Chicago metro area, and would like to learn more or to attend, please contact me using the email option in the "About Me" tab below, right. (There are several other evangelism training and outreach events we will be involved in this summer and early fall--including more open air evangelism, possibly in downtown Chicago, as well as the Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie at the Allstate Arena--in which anyone from the area would be welcome to participate. For more information about these events, please contact me the same way).

The next day, Saturday, we are helping to organize a block party on our block and inviting the neighbors from the surrounding streets. The Ministry through Mystery team will do a magic show that will involve preaching the gospel. Our prayer is that the Word of God go forth and bring lost people to Christ, and that all glory will go to God. 

I will post an update on the training and the block party event soon afterwards.

How to Know Someone's Relationship to Christ

I heard a message on the car radio last week that offered some diagnostic questions to help discern someone's relationship to the gospel message, and to help address stumbling blocks.

These questions would be most useful with someone to whom you know the gospel has been preached--someone who has been recently attending church, for example, but whose response to the gospel is unclear.

The phraseology and sequence of the questions is intentional. Below are the questions from my notes:

1. Have you ever personally trusted Christ, or are you still on the way?

2. How far along the way are you?

3. Would you like to become a real Christian and be sure of it?

In response to question #3, the speaker suggested walking the person through the key verbs in John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Lord willing, I will use these questions with a tollbooth operator to whom I gave a gospel tract this weekend, and who asked me to follow up with her. (We had a long line of cars behind us..not really enough time to preach the gospel, but enough to learn that she had heard it, and wanted to know how to be assured of salvation for herself, and her children). I'll report how the Lord uses these questions in our conversation.

Aim for Repentance Rather than a Decision

"As you witness, divorce yourself from the thought that you are merely seeking “decisions for Christ.” What we should be seeking is repentance within the heart. This is the purpose of the Law, to bring the knowledge of sin. How can a man repent if he doesn’t know what sin is? If there is no repentance, there is no salvation. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Many don’t understand that the salvation of a soul is not a resolution to change a way of life, but “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The modern concept of success in evangelism is to relate how many people were “saved” (that is, how many prayed the “sinner’s prayer”). This produces a “no decisions, no success” mentality. This shouldn’t be, because Christians who seek decisions in evangelism become discouraged after a time of witnessing if “no one came to the Lord.” The Bible tells us that as we sow the good seed of the gospel, one sows and another reaps. If you faithfully sow the seed, someone will reap. If you reap, it is because someone has sown in the past, but it is God who causes the seed to grow. If His hand is not on the person you are leading in a prayer of committal, if there is not God-given repentance, then you will end up with a stillbirth on your hands, and that is nothing to rejoice about. We should measure our success by how faithfully we sowed the seed. In that way, we will avoid becoming discouraged."

From "Tools for Witnessing" at http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/aimforrepentance.shtml

Delivering God's Message

A.W. Tozer said,

"We who preach the Gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum."

Who Thinks About Heaven and Hell? Witnessing Clip with Ray Comfort

Praise the Savior

Praise the Lord! He is mighty and faithful to save. Today He used brother Scott and I to preach the gospel to a woman in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who received the Lord as her savior. We will pray that our new sister can find a solid church home and grow strong in the Lord

The Torch of Christ

The Underground Church in Vietnam

Come to Christ. He is mighty to Save - Paul Washer

"Be Assured" - Paul Washer (Dutch subtitles)

Planting a Seed with an Atheist

Saviour King

The Lord's Battle

April 20, 2010 Fight the Lord's battles. 1 Samuel 18:17 The Christian is involved in a continual war, with Jesus Christ as the Captain of their salvation. He has said, "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."2 Listen to the battle cries! Now let the people of God stand firm in their ranks, and let no man's heart fail him. We may feel in these days that we are losing the battle and unless the Lord Jesus shall lift His sword we do not know what may become of the church of God in our time; but let us be courageous and bold. Seldom has there been a time like this as biblical Christianity trembles on the brink of capitulation to pluralism and empty religious routine. We are in great need of a bold voice and a strong hand to preach and publish the Gospel for which martyrs bled and confessors died. The Savior is, by His Spirit, still on earth; let this encourage us. He is always ever in the middle of the fight, and therefore the outcome of the battle is not in doubt. And as the conflict rages, what a deep satisfaction it is to know that the Lord Jesus, in His office as our great Intercessor, is prevalently pleading for His people! Turn your anxious gaze from the battle below, where, enshrouded in smoke, the faithful fight in garments rolled in blood. And lift your eyes above where the Savior lives and pleads, for while He intercedes, the cause of God is safe. Let us fight as if it all depended upon us, but let us look up and know that it all depends upon Him. On the basis of our Savior's atoning sacrifice and in the strength of the Holy Spirit's power, we charge you who love Jesus to fight bravely in this holy war, for truth and righteousness, for the kingdom and the crown. Onward! The battle is not yours but God's, and you will yet hear Him say, "Well done, brave warrior, well done!" 2Matthew 28:20 Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg

The Son of Man, A Ransom for Many

Praise the Lord! Tonight (4/10/10) God used this message to help lead a young man who had not accepted Christ to repentance, confession, and trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior!

________________________________________________

Excerpt from Sermon by William Wright
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Full Sermon (PDF): http://media.sermonaudio.com/mediapdf/214041387.pdf
Full Sermon (audio) http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=214041387

Our Lord Jesus Christ was innocent and he was treated as if he was guilty. Why? Because God was at work in it all. Why was there a trial? Because God was at work in it all. Why did our Lord Jesus Christ not speak up and defend himself? Why did he not say that he was innocent? Because you can come to no other conclusion than he chose to be found guilty.

But, my dear people, there was someone else in the narrative. Christ the innocent one is dealt with as if he was guilty. There was another man whose name was Barabbas. And you will discover that Barabbas is declared on the page of Scripture as being a man who was guilty. He has already been tried and found guilty of sedition and of murder. There was no doubt about Barabbas’ guilt. There is no question raised about the crimes of Barabbas. There is no question raised, there is no objection either from Barabbas or from
anybody else concerning the sentence that Barabbas had received. He was a rebel. He was a murderer. He was guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt. If it had not been for the fact that our Lord had been arrested and brought to trial at that particular time, then Barabbas would have been put to death and that would have been the end of it. We would never have heard about Barabbas again.

But he is mentioned in the narrative because of the circumstances that took place in his life. He is a rebel, a murderer, tried, found guilty. Suddenly he finds that he is treated as if he is innocent. And Barabbas is released and Barabbas is set free. And these are the two people that we have presented before us in the narrative concerning the trial of Christ.

On the one hand the Son of man, the prince of life, the eternal Son of God, holy, harmless and undefiled. On the other hand, a violent murderer, a rebel and a criminal. And yet, you see, there is a very real sense in which Barabbas doesn’t stand before us as an isolated individual. There is a real sense in which Barabbas stands before us as a representative figure. He represents every one of us. That is our picture as we are before God. Everyone of us as we have been born into this world, we are guilty. We are guilty of sedition. We are guilty of rebellion. We will not have God to rule over us. That is our standing and our position. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are under the curse of the law of God. And that is a basic and ultimate human problem from which every other problem stems. It has to do with our standing before God and that, deep down, is every man’s tremendous question. Whether you realize it or not this evening, the greatest question in your life is your standing before God. If you are a sinner it is to be under condemnation just as Barabbas was under condemnation.

“He that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already,”31 says our Lord. He is condemned already. Notice the word "already". Notice the world “already.” That means that there are an awful lot of condemned people walking around in this world. They don’t have to wait until they die until they are condemned. They are condemned already. And they are condemned because they have not believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ. By virtue of the fact that they do not believe, they are condemned. Unbelief is not some unfortunate defect that we are born with. Unbelief is to be without God and without Christ and without hope either for this world or for the next because we have rebelled against God. 

But then you will notice what happened as far as Barabbas was concerned. Against all his hopes, without any prompting on his part, on the sole initiative of almighty God a word of hope is brought to bear. Maybe from the confines of his prison cell he could hear the voice of Pilate saying, “Whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus which is called the Christ?”32

And here is Barabbas listening to his name and it is all now a matter of Jesus or Barabbas. The lot must fall one or the other. One will be released and the other will be crucified. If Jesus is freed, Barabbas is lost. If Jesus is crucified, Barabbas will be saved. Now remember that we are thinking Barabbas as a representative figure. And as Barabbas stand in relation to Jesus, so you stand. With respect to you it can be said which shall die, the sinner or the sinless one?

And I am here to tell you this evening that your sins are either on your own head or they are on the head of Christ. And the curse which we have inflicted, that we have accrued must be inflicted. The justice of God demands that the sentence is to be carried out. And that is a mighty issue for every one of us fallen guilty sinners. On one side the sinless Son of God and only Christ can appease the wrath of God and only Christ can make atonement for sin. And I read in my Bible that Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified. And behind the activity of Pilate I see the overruling sovereignty of almighty God because salvation is His initiative.

“The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”33 Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him...”34 The very same words. “Delivered Him up for us all.” Pilate delivered Him, but behind the acts of Pilate God was delivering Him. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

And you see what happened. Our Lord and Barabbas, they changed places. And the bonds and the curse and the disgrace and the sufferings and the punishment that was due to the murderer and to the rebel, they come upon the head of the innocent Christ. And Barabbas is given a standing and a freedom and a safety and a well being that he never deserved.

That, my dear people, is what it means to be redeemed and to be ransomed. He made him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. And if we were left to ourselves we would be eternally lost.

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”35

Can I ask you to imagine as I apply this in closing, can you imagine Barabbas in his prison cell? A messenger comes to him with the glorious news. “Barabbas, Barabbas, you are free. Your life has been spared. The death sentence has been removed. It has been removed forever. You no longer have to stand before the courts of justice. No further accusation will be given against you. You are restored to all your rights of freedom and of citizenship. You will never be treated as if you have committed a crime again, because, Barabbas, a sinless substitute has taken your place.”

How does Barabbas react? Does he react as many people react and maybe you have been reacting to the news of the gospel? Did Barabbas say, “Oh, I am sorry. You have got it wrong. You can’t mean me. Not the kind of man I am. I am a murderer. I am guilty of sedition. I have been condemned and rightly. But you have got it wrong”?

Suppose they went to take his chains off him and he resisted the moves to release him.

You would say that that man was absolutely senseless. But that is exactly how people react to the news of the gospel. They feel that they are too far gone. Too bad, Jesus, you don’t know the kind of life that I have lived. And they resist and they refuse the free offer of Christ in the gospel. It is the height of folly.

Is that you this evening? Or suppose Barabbas had said to the messenger, “Well, it sounds good, but it sounds too good to be true. It can’t be true. You are telling me something that couldn’t possibly have taken place. It hasn’t happened. I can’t believe that what you are saying is right.”

Now if Barabbas had said that, Barabbas would have done two things. He would have, first of all insulted the messenger and he would also have insulted the authorities that sent him. And those people who refuse the gospel on the basis that they say, “Well, it is just too good to be true that what you are saying sound good. It sounds very nice. But I just can’t accept it.” 

What you are doing is that you are insulting almighty God. Our Lord has said, “Whosoever believes on him shall not perish. They shall have everlasting life,” whoever believes on him.

And you are saying, “Oh, no, it is just too good to be true.”

Or suppose Barabbas—and maybe I coming a little bit nearer the bone to some of you—suppose Barabbas had said, “Well, I will just stay here in prison until a more suitable time, until a time that is more suitable to me.”

Absurd. You may have been challenged by the gospel from this pulpit again and again and you go out of those doors another day, another time. It is the most ridiculous thing to do. Now is the acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation.

Or maybe Barabbas could have said, “Well, what you say is wonderful. It is good news, but really in order to receive this, I have really got to prove myself to show that I really do deserve my freedom. So let me do a few more years in prison. I will clean up the prison cell and I will show my gratitude that way and then after a couple of years I will receive the pardon that you are giving to me.”

If Barabbas had said that, those messengers would have said to him, “Do you think that you are being released on the basis of what you have done or can do or will do? You are not being released on anything that you are. You are not being released on anything that you can do. You are being released because of what someone else has done.”

Could your tears forever flow,
Could your zeal no respite know,
All for sin could not atone.
Christ must save and Christ alone.

Probably what did happen was this, that Barabbas got out of those chains as quickly as he could and got out of his prison clothes as quickly as he could and went back to his wife and to his family.

And is it fanciful for me to imagine that Barabbas made his way to a place called Calvary? Is it fanciful for me to imagine that Barabbas was in the crowd when he heard him cry, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do”? Is it fanciful for me to imagine that Barabbas is saying, “In my place condemned he stood. He sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior”?

And many of us have been in that place. And we have seen Christ as our Savior standing in our place. He loved me. He gave himself for me, even the Son of man who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. You know him. You belong to him. Come to him. This may be the last opportunity that you will have. This may be the last sermon I will preach. I urge you to come to Christ.

31 John 3:18
32 Matthew 27:17
33 Isaiah 53:6.
34 Romans 8:32
35 Mark 10:45

"HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

   for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
    How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
    How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
    However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?"
   So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ."

~ Romans 10:13-17

Jesus Paid it All

Jesus Not Your Lord? Jesus Not Your Savior.

..."We live in a time when many people have only experienced a shallow, emaciated form of Christianity. But in the New Testament, whenever a person encounters Jesus Christ, they’re converted and this is always a life-changing experience. When people are converted to Christ—repentance, faith, service, hope, sacrifice and love are all born together at the cross.


The upgradable Gospel
In our time, the Gospel has been widely redefined and repackaged as a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. This, we are told, involves saying a prayer, and that if you believe certain things about Jesus, your sins will be forgiven and you will go to heaven.

Thousands of people have bought into the idea that you can have faith without repentance, justification without sanctification, heaven with Christ in the next world without obedience to Christ in this world, Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord.

If pastors preach a Gospel in which you can receive Jesus as Savior but not as Lord, then we should not be surprised if we hear people saying, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior, but my life didn’t really change. Then years later something happened and I bowed my knee to Him.”

Sixty years ago, writing in Chicago, A. W. Tozer lamented the loss of a gospel that really changes people’s lives:

“The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be ‘received’ without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is ‘saved’ but he is not hungry or thirsty after God.” [1]

When my niece was here over Christmas, I got into playing “Rush Hour” with her. It’s a puzzle in which you move little cars around to get them out of an exit. It’s like an overcrowded parking lot.

The kids told me “Dad, you can get that as an ‘app’ on your iPhone.” So, I downloaded it: “Rush Hour”—the free version. It has seventy different puzzles for me to play with, when I have nothing else to do.

Included with this free version is an advert that invites me to buy the full version with 2,500 puzzles that will take me to ever higher levels of difficulty. I won’t be buying the full version. The free one gives me everything I want.

That is precisely how many people have come to think of Christianity. There’s salvation—in which you get your sins forgiven and entrance to heaven—and that comes free. There’s discipleship—in which you are called to repentance, holiness, and sacrifice—and that’s costly. So, why not go with the free version? It gives you all you need.

Of course, you would expect to hear the pastor say, “If you like the free version of Christianity, you really should upgrade to the full version,” but many people never get round to that.

Here’s the problem: We’ve lost the Gospel that is centered on the person of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not a program. It is a person. The good news of God is regarding His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The gift of God to us is not an upgradeable product, but the unchangeable person of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

New Testament believers celebrate the Lordship of Christ
Christ offers Himself to you. He is Savior and Lord. You cannot divide him into pieces. In our time there is great interest in Christ the Savior, and a strange reluctance over Christ the Lord. But in the New Testament, you find believers celebrating the Lordship of Christ:

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:21

Peter is explaining to the people on the day of Pentecost—the risen Christ is Savior and Lord. He is Lord over sin, death and hell. That’s why He is able to save people from them.

“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

This early Christian hymn celebrates the Lordship of Christ.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

This describes how the lives of these believers were transformed by Jesus Christ, who is their Lord.

There is nothing here in the New Testament even close to the idea that you get saved and then sometime later think about consecrating your life to Christ. These believers “received Christ as Lord,” and the rest of their Christian life is a continuing of what started at their conversion.

Paul says, “This is what you were taught.” The Gospel he preached was “the Gospel of God… regarding His Son… Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Why you discover the Lord before you discover the Savior


The story of Paul’s own conversion shows that his first discovery was not that Jesus is Savior, but that Jesus is Lord. Saul was on the road to Damascus, filled with anger, resisting Christ, and persecuting the church:

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6

Far from receiving Christ as Savior and then somehow moving on to crown Him as Lord, the first discovery Saul makes is that there is a Lord in heaven. He is the Christ, and Saul needs to be reconciled to Him.

On Pentecost, Peter proclaims the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Peter proclaims, “Jesus is Lord. And since you’re in rebellion against Him, you have a problem.”

They believe Peter, so they ask, “What shall we do?” Peter says “Repent.” There’s forgiveness, there’s grace, there’s mercy, there’s the gift of the Holy Spirit. But it comes from Jesus Christ the Lord.

The Savior who is ready to forgive us is the Lord who lays claim to our lives. Since Christ is Savior and Lord, and never Savior without Lord, He calls us to faith and repentance, and never faith without repentance.

Becoming a Christian can never amount to adding a belief to an unchanged life. True faith is shot through with repentance because it is faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

When the Gospel is properly preached, it becomes clear that there is a Lord in heaven to whom we must give account, and with whom we need to be reconciled, there are sins against His law from which we must turn, and there is rebellion against His Son that we need to end.

Trusting Christ as your Savior involves turning from the sin from which you are asking Him to save you. You cannot ask Him to save you from your sins and then not turn from them. Trusting Christ as your Savior also involves placing your whole life under His authority.

Christ lays claim to your obedience, your energy, your gifting, your time, your dream, your family, and your retirement. You may ask, “How can that possibly be my highest good?”

Here’s why. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Then He gives the reason, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

Your greatest good is to be wholly owned by the Son of God, because in keeping your life from Christ you will eventually lose it, but in losing your life to Christ you will find it, keep it, and gain it forever.

Excerpted from "Jesus Christ our Lord"
a sermon by Pastor Colin S. Smith
The Orchard Evangelical Free Church
Arlington Heights, IL
Unlocking the Bible.org