At the End of Slavery – Extended Trailer

My church will be showing the documentary At the End of Slavery on Tuesday, December 8th at 7:30pm at Cine Barcafe in Downtown Athens. If you live anywhere near the Athens area and want to see a film about a social crisis flying way too far under the radar, I invite you to come. In the mean time, you can watch the International Justice Mission trailer for the film below. We hope to see you there!

Summer/Fall Update, Part Two

We left off Part One after street preaching for the first. I will next try to cover the period of time from late August until, well, now.

September thru November could probably best be described by these verses:

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

I write these posts praying that someone will read them and God would give them a spirit of power, love, and sound mind. Pray to God to be made more like Jesus. You will not be perfect. There will be trials. Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Be wise where you spend your time. I spent a few weeks in September blogging with staunch Catholics (a fragment of which you can see in the “Sola Scriptura” post) and, as you can imagine, there was not much movement on either side of the authority of the Word of God discussion. Not having the extensive knowledge Church History that they did, plus not seeing the Holy Spirit apply the true, saving gospel to their hard hearts, I ended my participation. It was not easy, because I want to contend for the faith (Jude 3), however around this time I felt the pull of street ministry and began to read articles about public evangelism and watch other (good) street preachers.

Handing out tracts for the first time was a bit strange. Yes, the gospel is on the tract. Yes, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Yet it was out of my comfort zone. Thank God for the encouragement of Bobby, Alex, Peter, Mike, and Scott who helped me to see that a man is just that – a man, and that I should not fear him. Since preaching that first night, I’ve been out a few times. I feel at home on the street corner. Yes, people shout mean things at me. Yes, many walk by without responding. No worries. Most of the time that I’ve gone out has been after Georgia football games.

Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Without these verses, I don’t think I could preach in public. These verses, along with Isaiah 58:1, Luke 14:23, and Romans 1:16-17 are the catalysts for what I hope is a permanent calling of God to this wonderful ministry. And not just public preaching, but also one-on-ones with family and friends.

A quick story – after the Georgia/Auburn game on Nov 14th, I read Romans 3 downtown. My voice was strained from yelling at the game and an earlier mini-sermon, but I preached nonetheless. Someone was standing in front of me for most of the reading. When I was done, it turned out this guy was one of my residents when I was an RA in the summer of 2003. I was in my heyday drinking down iniquity like water (it’s in the Bible, see Job 15:15-16) and it surely blew this man’s mind to see his partying RA reading the word of God on a street corner. Bless God that he saw me! His life may be changed forever.

Here I must note that I do not believe the Bible only allows for street evangelism only. I have been taught that the Great Commission is an “as you are going” commission and it would unwise, I think, to only make the gospel known once a week when there is the internet, phones, etc. There is definitely a place for relational evangelism. A word of caution is that relational evangelism without the gospel is not evangelism. Befriending lost people, hanging out with them, while not introducing them to Christ is not evangelism. I have a friend who is not a believer who I see twice a year (he lives five hours away). I have to take advantages of those times to preach Christ to him. If we just hang out and he doesn’t hear that God is angry with him, he is dead in his sins and cannot save himself, yet Christ died accursed of God and become sin though he did not sin in order to set free cursed sinners like him…then what have I done with that time spent with my lost friend who I have known for over six years?

The point – keep the gospel in the middle of relationships that God is forming with unbelievers. And by the gospel, I mean contrasting the holiness of God with the utter depravity and wickedness of man, using the law to convict of sin and the gospel of peace to shed light into darkness. They may reject the gospel and therefore reject you. Many of them will profess to be Christians. Don’t worry. You are just obeying your Master. The evangelist don’t save souls, God does. It will be a constant battle between your flesh and the Spirit dwelling within you to not take credit for any soul that may be awakened or any sermon that is powerful. Pray. Read Scripture. Flee from the distractions of the world.

Please know I’m not perfect at evangelism. Obey the Holy Spirit. It is not possible to stop and talk to everyone you see in the course of a day about the true gospel. Pray. Take tracts with you wherever you go. God has only been my Father and counted me righteous through Christ for a little over two years. I’m still reckless and unrefined in a lot of ways. I’m still spontaneous and make somewhat odd decisions. Please pray that God would be gracious with me and keep killing my flesh.

Other good news: God has sent me people to have great one-on-one conversations with. Many of them are close friends and many back and forth facebook conversations, phone calls, and face-to-face visits have taken place. Surely there will be more to come to the future. Please pray for inroads with my family and co-workers, as well as God-worked repentance and true faith in Christ in my adopted hometown of Athens, GA.

Summer/Fall Update, Part One

I must take some time to write about some wonderful things God has shown, done, and taught me since my last “life update” post on 9 August.

First, we need to travel back in time all the way back to July 4th, 2009. I didn’t blog about it then, but clearly that day was a divine appointment. John, Candice and I were at Bishop Park to check out the fireworks when John mentioned he had been reading 1 John lately. We began to look at some of the verses. During this time, God was also stirring in me an interest in street evangelism. About 30 minutes before the fireworks began, I remarked to Fountain that it wouldn’t surprise me if someone got up and started preaching.

Maybe 5 minutes later, a couple of men sitting behind us walked down to the field and began to preach. God led me to listen to all the preaching. This encounter is how I met Alex and Bobby. I told Alex of the burden I was asking God to give me for the lost in Athens and how street evangelism and preaching may be a part of that. We exchanged contact information, as Alex told me he and Bobby read did some street evangelism in Athens.

At the end of July, I came under the conviction that there was a huge segment of my Christian life that was all talk and no action (the dramatic decrease in blog posts since that time is fruit of that, bless Christ!). I kept praying. A few of us stepped out in faith and witnessed on August 8th. That’s when I met Ray Ann (see post about her), the homeless woman who accurately quoted Isaiah 2:22 and 43:1 about not fearing man – which was at that point the obstacle to street evangelism.

Six days later, I sold my 2006 Scion xB to CarMax to absolve myself of car payments and expensive car insurance in favor of Chet’s 1997 Nissan Altima GXE (nicknamed Allichon, pronounced A-leah-ch’on). That night, actually early Saturday morning of 15 August 2009, I read Matthew 7 in the open-air at the corner of Jackson and Clayton Streets, right where I spent my days as a lost sheep and rebellious sinner. I felt nervous through the first 12 verses, then I read verses 13 and 14:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

At that moment many were gathered at the corner, hearing the Word of God preached because the cross walk would not permit them to advance. At that moment there was the realization that my audience was in the wide, broad way to destruction, many of them persons near my age, and that God had sent me to proclaim His Word to them that they may not perish on that road, but have life in Christ. At that moment I knew I was not up there to prove a point or be more spiritual than others people, but rather to point to the risen Christ, and nothing else.

After that, I knew there was no turning back. It wasn’t like I did it that day and then said, “well, it’s not for me.” No. I am just getting started, but I pray God would use this jar of clay to glorify His name and that the Holy Spirit would bring many to the foot of the Cross through the preaching of the gospel. More to come in Part Two!

Joy from Christ, not your Performance – Paul Washer – MUST LISTEN

Right at the three minute mark brother Paul says something that he suggests might set you free. God used that segment to deepen His work of repentance over performance that began back in July. About ten minutes after I listened to this last Friday, I was rejoicing in the Lord saying, “It is the power of God that keeps me! The power of God! Nothing can ever separate me from His love for me, His power upon my life!”

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NASB)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Father, help your saints to understand this truth! For you have said in Your Word:

Psalm 46:10 (NASB)
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NASB)
“This is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful,
For he cannot deny Himself.“

Thank you Father for Your Word!

“All murders were committed by Turkish men in their twenties.”

A sentence like the one above in this article about persection in Turkey, coupled with Scripture (Luke 14:23, Romans 15:20-21) are why I want to be a foreign missionary (It would, at this time, be helpful to read the article). The first time I read it, I teared up. Why? For one, my early twenties were spent outside of knowing Christ and I was enslaved to the same anger, aggression, and hatred of authority that these Turkish men are. I can so identify with them, not that I have committed murder, but in my willing participation in the sins that cause these people to do all sorts of evil. They are a lost generation, but bless God for the gospel and those willing to take it to such a dark place. These young men are putting their faith in what they view is a defense of their country. Oh that you would give them understanding, O God, open their hearts to their sin! Reveal to them that the very people who they are attacking carry the only message that can deliver them out of their darkness!!

Another reason for the tears is the conviction I receive from God about how little I pray for the enemies of the gospel and the persecuted church. Not just Turkey, but Pakistan, Eritrea, Somalia, etc. I used to pray for these nations regularly. What happened? I watched over six hours of college football on Saturday. Is this an idol? Could not that have been interrupted for even half an hour for some intercession to my Savior on behalf of  the persecuted church? Lord, I’m sorry. This can’t be how you want me to live my life. Create in me a clean heart, O God. I need a fresh start in this area of my life.

Sola Scriptura

Scripture is sufficient because it alone reveals God’s grace in His plan of redemption for the pardon of the greatest sinners, from Genesis to Revelation. The purpose of the Scriptures is to point man opportunity to be reconciled to God, and the Bible alone is all a believer needs to communicate this message to someone who is lost. I can preach from my Bible, and the gospel found in that Bible, and the Holy Spirit will work through that preached Word to save.

My God, not my God and “tradition”, is mighty to save. Isaiah 63:1 – “Who is this who comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Jesus, He is mighty to save. The Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, affirmed the OT over and over again in his life, and the NT was written to glorify Him as the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption.

I need nothing else to communicate God’s plan of redemption but the Bible. “The glass withers, and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8. The core of why I am so passionate about this issue is because I grew up in the Catholic Church and went through three sacraments (baptism, penance, eucharist) because I was in a Catholic school. I was not regenerated through baptism because I regularly practiced these sins – blasphemy, lying, fornication, drunkenness, loving money more than God, worship of myself as a god. Oh, I tried to atone for my past mistakes, and sought many ways to do that, but I was a miserable wretch. The local Catholic Church told me that I had to go classes to be a part of the church and be “confirmed.” Praise God that He steered me away from such foolishness. Friends, like everyone else born, I was dead in my trespasses and sins, and headed for Hell had not the Holy Spirit regenerated my heart and opened it to receive by faith Christ crucified and raised for my justification and redemption, I am a new creature in Christ, that was never the case before. Now I am dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ, because the Spirit of God used the Word of God in personal revelation and through teaching to transfer me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

Dave, what you say to a man who asked the question in Acts 16:30, “What must I do to be saved?” This very thing happens all over the world today. Would your answer be Paul’s in verse 31? Or the three-legged stool?

Alex

Plant, Water, Grow

The Word of God, 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.

5 “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

In this passage, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, which has a lot of new believers and as a result there are divisions in the church. From this section of Chapter 3, we can see that adoration is drifting towards following the men who delivered the gospel rather than Jesus who makes the gospel possible. This Scripture came to mind earlier this week when my friend Mary thanked me for a conversation she and I had about the sufficiency of Jesus alone to forgive, to heal, and to change people.

My reason for writing this is tri-fold: 1) That you, Christian reader, would give God all glory and praise for any work that he sees fit to do through you and 2) trust that the Holy Spirit will accomplish in hearts the specific work necessary for the person that you are building a relationship with or have had some spiritual conversations with.

I am grateful for Scriptures like these. They keep me in check. Servants. God gave the growth. Only God who gives the growth. We play a part in the story of redemption, but we are not the means of redemption. God is. Mary is evidence of God’s total authority and ability to grow a heart and mind to deeper fellowship with Him. God has grabbed hold of her and accelerated her growth in the Lord over the last year. Certainly dozens if not hundreds of people have been praying for her over the last two years. Thank God, I had a part to play. But so did many others! Jesus will not relent in pursuing His bride. Even as I write that last sentence, do I believe that in my heart? I want to.

My reason for writing this is tri-fold: 1) That you, Christian reader, would give God all glory and praise for any work that he sees fit to do through you and 2) trust that the Holy Spirit will accomplish in hearts the specific work necessary for the person that you are building a relationship with or have had some spiritual conversations with.

Here is a song that Mary wrote called, “A Love Song for Jesus.”

He allures me with His kindness…
and in His grace grants me revelation after revelation of the deep and intimate knowledge of His heart…and this is only the beginning!

Awaken, oh you sleeper!
Taste for yourself!
See for yourself that the Lord is so good! So good…so good.
His mercy endures forever.

Awaken, oh you sleepers!
Yes, rejoice in your salvation, but do not stop there!
Pick up your cross and follow Jesus!
He has so much He LONGS to show you!
He loves you passionately, fiercely, more than you can ever imagine!
He will not relent….
follow the peace.

Ray Ann

Early this morning, God introduced Derek and I to Ray Ann. She was happening to walk down Clayton Street and Derek started chatting with her. Come to find out, she just got discharged from a hospital in town after having some surgery. Through asking her questions, we found at her residence is a tent (but not in Tent City) and that she came downtown looking for food. Her source of money for the night was a $1 scratch-off lottery ticket which she could redeem for money to buy food, but the gas station attendant could not redeem the ticket after 11pm. When we met her, it was probably 12:30am.

Now, even though Derek, myself, and others were downtown seeking to start conversations about God, Jesus, and the gospel, it is at this point that my mind went into thinking that this was another homeless person panhandling and looking for money to buy drugs, booze, cigarettes, etc. I write this because I still contend with the sin of judging someone’s spiritual state by how they appear. Though Christ has delivered me from slavery to sin, and there is much that I ask the Holy Spirit to change about me. The next half hour was part of that instruction.

Continuing: Derek asked Ray Ann if she was a believer based on the cross she was wearing. She replied that God sent His Son to die on the cross for her sins and some more after that was pretty spot on. After this, she seemed to open up more. We continued to talk to her and proceeded to buy her a meal because she was pretty hungry.

Derek went to get cash and I kept Ray Ann company on the sidewalk. We sat down on the corner of College Ave and Clayton Street and started talking. We chatted about the depravity of downtown for a bit and then I mentioned that though I was out downtown witnessing, I still fear people and having conversations with them.

Here’s where it gets really, really good.

Ray Ann replied she struggles with this too. She then started telling me that man’s life is but a vapor (which in Scripture) and quoted the verse. She said it was Isaiah 2:22. Then for a few minutes she kept encouraging me. “A 2-minute conversation can change someone’s life,” she said, as well as: “You don’t always see the results of what you’re doing.” And another one: “God will lead you to what you are supposed to do. Just listen to Him. You have God’s spirit (the Holy Spirit) in you.” Then a tall guy walked by and mockingly propositioned her to come sleep with him. In the context of thinking about fear and what to say to people I said, “What do you do about that guy?” She said, “Love him.”

Shortly thereafter Derek returned. He prayed for her and then she in turn prayed for Derek and I. While eating she continued to talk about the book of Isaiah and how it was a prophetic book about the future, the coming of Jesus, as well as a narrative of events occurring in Israel at that time. She asked me if I ever read the book; I said no.

Ray Ann then told me: “Promise me that you will read the book of Isaiah. It’s like a mini-Bible. Go home and read it.” I told her I would. She did not have a Bible because she has given hers away, but she took a Gideon from me and a gospel of John from Derek. I so filled with love for this woman that I gave her hug. She taught me so much! I walked away from the conversation rejoicing in the Lord.

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

God is so good. Ray Ann has no place to live, no job, no theology books, no church-strategy books, and no university degree and at one point I remember her praying, “keep me away from trusting in man and in this world, for that is the road to Hell.” She knows what she is without Jesus’ blood shed on her behalf. That childlike faith Jesus talks about is what I saw in her.

I am still processing all of what God is wanting to teach me from the encounter with Ray Ann. If nothing else, pray for her health and continued steadfast love in the Lord. Pray also for Danielle and Johnny, two other folks who our group spoke to who God appears to be drawing to Himself.

A Facebook Ad Worth Clicking On

Here was the question posed on a Facebook ad:

“If Jesus dislikes His church being lukewarm, is it strange that His followers would feel the same way?”

The answer, at least in part, in a song.

We are not always hot for Jesus, and the verses that Mike Helms are referring to in the song are ones that we all should pay closer attention to, in light of God’s incredible love for us.

Revelation 3:15-17, 19-20 (ESV)

¹⁵“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

And yet there is still time to confess our idleness and laziness to the Lord of glory. He is so gracious. May we seek to decrease so that He may increase and be magnified in this day! Jesus said:

¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Monday Night Evangelism in Athens

“I (Jesus) am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Wow. Tonight, Matt, Greg, Derek, and I set out to share the gospel in downtown Athens. No one was preaching or had a platform, our “plan” was to strike up conversation with people as the Holy Spirit led. I will admit, going into this I was not sold on the methodology and my heart was cold to the idea.  That’s why I posted this verse, because in my flesh I’ll find excuse not to obey God in certain areas of my life. But in prayer, asking Him to lead us by Christ’s example and for the Holy Spirit to guide us, I (and the others as well) are graciously allowed to testify to the only begotten Son of God and lift Him up.

Five people we talked to heard the gospel. None of them repented and trusted the offer of salvation. Two folks that Derek and I talked to were teenagers who had been raised in the church (Derek actually knew the guitarist in the worship band at the church they went to). One was a self-proclaimed “atheist” and another a professing Christian who said he was saved when he was 6. In talking to them, I began to understand a statement Paul Washer makes that any believer who proclaims the gospel is on an impossible mission.  For me, it was very humbling to set forth the good news and see Joseph (the “atheist”) reject it and Aaron seem indifferent.  The humbling was to see first hand that salvation is of the Lord, and the calling of those who believe is done by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, which we are to preach:

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21)

We are on a foolish errand, to rescue men who are dead in sins that they need to repent and believe in Christ to be made alive. What rest there is in this verse for the Christian, to know that people will be saved because of the preaching of the gospel. We will press on in the harvest field of Athens, GA. Please pray for more workers in the harvest field of Athens. Pray that all believers in Christ in this city would grow in boldness and evangelize more often.

Some lessons learned:

1) More prayer before hand

2) Memorize key scriptures that deal with the sovereignty of God, the depravity of man, and excellency of Christ

3) Have a pocket Bible and not the full size – walking up to someone with a Bible seems like it would be an immediate turn off to someone who may otherwise have a conversation with you. I could be wrong.

4) Challenge people on their objections more – ask open ended questions.

5) Do not take people who say they are saved for their word. Run through some of the tests of salvation in 1 John.

6) The gospel call is repent and believe. Not just believe, but repent and believe.