Paul Washer: Regeneration Versus Decisionism

In this sermon Paul talks about the misuse of Scripture in the understanding of salvation.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1021081230111
Regeneration vs Decisionism – DEEPER Conference 2008 Breakout Session (Living Waters & Way of the Master)

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A Faith Healing Testimony

This won’t be very dramatic, but even the “small” incidents are useful to remember as evidence of God’s love, work and power!

On Friday, I had a very long meeting (hours!) that was somewhat important to my future. During this meeting, I became quite ill with symptoms including a splitting headache, nausea and fatigue, so much that I could not partake of the complimentary meal provided by my hosts. Needless to say, I was making quite a negative impression, and was strongly considering giving up on the whole deal, asking to be excused from the second half of the meeting (which still had hours to go) while I was still well enough to drive home (and my leaving would have been, well, rather bad).

While I was pondering  the various ways to minimize the ill-mannered gracelessness of my exit, I began talking to another guest. It so happened that this guest was a pastor, of the Baptist persuasion, and a very sincere leader of a successful ministry. Seeing my distress – and not wanting to call attention to it to the larger group – this pastor did what pastors are wont to do, which is engage me in a conversation of spiritual things … things concerning God, the Bible and the church.

Initially, merely conversing with him was difficult. But I loved hearing him talk about his faith in and relationship with God, his experiences with his ministry, and how the former was very helpful to some very challenging, trying times with the latter. By and by, my symptoms disappeared. Headache? Gone. Fatigue? A memory. Nausea? Left (though I thought it best that I not provoke things by attempting to make a final pass at my meal; it was just as well as everyone else was through eating anyway).

It wasn’t dramatic, nothing that you see depicted on Christian television or anything like that. But it was obvious that this pastor was praying for me as we spoke – a time which I did not even have the mindset to pray for myself! – and his prayers as well as the Godly conversation that he engaged me in procured the grace and mercy of God that resulted in the miracle. And the miracle resulted in my being well enough to finish this meeting, which turned out rather well for me and my future prospects. It was even enough for me to make it home despite my getting lost and stuck in a dark, driving rainstorm for over an hour! (Absent this miracle, with my headache, nausea and fatigue, I would have had no choice but to check myself into a hotel until morning. No, I am not being overly dramatic or otherwise exaggerating.)

Of course, this miracle was done by God. It was God’s will that I be healed. And to God goes all the glory. Yet, one cannot ignore that God used a humble local pastor, one without a fancy car, big house, fancy jewels, a prominent name, or a famous TV ministry, in my healing. And this pastor did not engage in the showmanship theatrics commonly associated with faith healing … the flamboyant flailing words and actions that make the preacher the star, the center of attention, the object of glory, instead of God.

No, this pastor simply spoke of God and His acts made manifest through his pastoral ministry to me – and not in a loud bragging fashion as he and I were the only ones privy to our conversation – and prayed for me in a manner so discreet that I did not even realize that he was doing it! It happened in a way that was precisely the opposite of how one conditioned by the “signs and wonders” movement (as I myself am, because this is the movement that I myself was in until a few short years ago)! Yet, the humble, understated nature of the miracle and its process resulted in God receiving all the more glory!

So, what is the lesson, the application of this miracle? It is that God is real. It is that God has power. It is that God uses His power when His called and anointed servants pray to Him in the Name of His Son to accomplish His will. It is that God alone is due the glory when these things happen. In other words, it is the same lesson, or application, of all God’s miracles, which is the vindication of God and His Word. Soli Deo Gloria!

I shared this miracle in the hopes that it would encourage and strengthen those of you that are already in the faith, and also that God would use it to bring those not in faith to faith in Him. God is real, and God is willing and mighty to work miracles, including the great miracle of salvation that is made possible through the death and resurrection of His Son for sins. If you are already saved, be still more encouraged by this truth. If you are not saved, then make this truth effective in your life. Do it by:

Following The Three Step Salvation Plan!

1 Peter 3:15 Refers To Testimonies Not Apologetics!

There are three Bible texts that are commonly, widely and purposefully misapplied to suit doctrinal and various other agendas.

Revelation 3:20, which reads “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” is often applied to evangelism because it is convenient to contemporary Arminian/Wesleyan/free will salvation doctrines and practices. The truth is that this text is meant to be applied to a Christian that has backslidden or fallen into severe sin or error restoring a proper relationship or communion with Jesus Christ, and not the Lord and Creator of the universe begging and pleading an unregenerate sinner to accept Him. Even one who adheres to the free will soteriological system must acknowledge that Jesus Christ’s work was accomplished on the cross, and thus it is the Holy Spirit who draws, convicts and saves the sinner.

2 Corinthians 6:14, which reads “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?“, does not apply to marriage, but instead to Christian fellowship. The idea that this verse applies to marriage sets it at odds 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, which states that by being married to an unbeliever, the unbeliever and the children are sanctified (if only in an external sense after the “3a” definition of Strong’s concordance of hagiazō) and that God may use a believing spouse to save an unbelieving one. But how convenient is it to modern Christianity that we instead A) use the unbelief of a spouse as an excuse to obtain an un-Biblical divorce and B) that we choose to maintain fellowship with heretics, apostates etc. first in a local church setting by refusing to remove them from our church rolls, and then on a larger scale by allowing false teachers and churches to remain in our denominations and conventions, and on a larger scale still to various ecumenical and interfaith efforts (i.e. the Manhattan Declaration and many other efforts with Roman Catholics, Jews and increasingly Mormons). The popular meaning of this text is preferred precisely because the true meaning makes this saying “too hard” for so many in contemporary Christianity.

The third text is 1 Peter 3:15, which reads “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear“, which is often used to support the field of Christian apologetics. Now my purpose is not to attack the legitimacy of apologetics itself, although I will say that beyond such things as debunking myths and lies about  the Bible and its doctrines – i.e. attacks on the Jonah and the whale story based on pseudoscience as well as misconceptions held by other religions such as the Muslim belief that Christians worship three gods – I am increasingly skeptical of the utility and the motivations of many devoted to this field. Allow me to propose that were the main modern aim of apologetics, which is increasingly merely to show that a belief in some god (often a false one of deism or pluralism!) is rational and that Christians should be allowed to retain our privileged and influential place in western society based on it, be restricted to the presupposationalist method of Cornelius Van Til, which actually has the gall to take Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 seriously when they say “the fool has said in his heart ‘There is no Elohim!‘” then the number of “apologists” would decrease dramatically, for it would require bearing witness of the truth to the very powerful and privileged unbelievers that they are petitioning for tolerance and inclusion. Say what you want about the Creation Museum types, they know that the world – including a number of evangelicals who professed to be embarrassed by their spectacle – mocks and despises them, and they don’t care.

Still, the main issue is that if apologetics indeed is a legitimate Christian endeavor, its legitimacy should be established by using texts other than 1 Peter 3:15! Now the defender of apologetics would rejoin me by pointing out that the context in which 1 Peter 3:15 appears is dealing with Christian persecution, and that it was part of the attempts to lessen persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire that the church developed apologetics in the second century. While that is true, this field in its original form merely meant publicly answering lies that were being spread about Christian belief and practice, such as a common one of the time that during communion, Christians cooked and ate a newborn baby and then had an orgy. This activity quickly morphed into making Christianity appear more palatable to the ruling elites themselves so that Christians would be granted social and economic mobility in the Roman Empire, and such was a motivation of the infamous heretic Origen, who with his blasphemies earned much praise for his supposed intellectual prowess from the philosophers and intellectuals of his day.

Instead, to find the actual intent of this text, let us view the context.

And who [is] he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy [are ye]: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For [it is] better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

So this context has little to support using rationalist philosophic devices of the sort that the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul denounced in Colossians 2:8 designed to make belief in God every bit as rational – and therefore just acceptable in mainstream society and elite institutions – as is atheism, feminism, Marxism, humanism but instead being able to stand in the day of extreme persecution even unto death by adhering to and giving your testimony. So, 1 Peter 3:15 is less C.S. Lewis (who incidentally was a religious pluralist just as is Rob Bell, and it is amazing and appalling by the great many who love and cherish the former while hypocritically excoriating the latter) and more Stephen of Acts!

When faced with persecution – whether facing certain death/torture/imprisonment or merely the mocking comments of acquaintances and coworkers – Christians must put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). (Yes, I remain a supporter of the Bibleman children’s video series even if my interpretation and application of that text has narrowed somewhat.) This is not “if you see a watch lying on a beach, you will not conclude that the watch made itself, but that that this watch had a creator!” type dissembling. Instead, the Christian is to give his testimony in such cases. This testimony consists of two parts.

The first part is the evangelion, the kerygma, the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins and raised from the dead for the purposes of granting eternal life to those who believe. Christians must know the gospel. Christians must understand the gospel. Christians must be willing and able to explain the full, true gospel to anyone under any circumstances, whether it is your friends and neighbors mocking and distorting your Christian beliefs and lifestyle during a social outing at the beach, a Harvard University dean grilling you about your commitment to multiculturalism and tolerance during your interview for a tenure-track faculty position, or a Muslim jihadist holding a scimitar to your neck threatening to rape you, pour gasoline over your body and set you afire, and then – to make absolutely sure that you are dead – chop your head off unless you convert to Islam.

The second part is what the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ has done in your life. How has becoming a Christian changed your life? In what ways has it transformed your character? What mighty works have you witnessed? What mighty works have you performed in Christ’s Name? What is the evidence of the power, the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit, working in your life, and who other than you can bear witness of this evidence?

Make no mistake, it is by the power of our testimony in Jesus Christ that is personal, rooted in and given authority to by the Bible, and therefore shared by the universal church, that we overcome. We do not overcome by in philosophical exercises and games that due to their often flawed and limited nature (as they are the work of human speculation and not of God) are in many instances (more than the apologists will admit!) are not consistent, trustworthy or sound and also give a flawed, distorted or even inaccurate picture of the Person that is the Object and Author of the testimony.

2 Timothy 1:8 affirms this in telling us not to be ashamed of our testimony of Jesus Christ, and calls the power of the gospel the power of God. The apostle John stated that his reason for writing his gospel was to record and spread his testimony and to bear witness of its truth in verse 21:24. Further, Acts 14 describes how Paul and Barnabas withstood and overcame the persecutions and counter-missionary efforts of the Jews by “speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”

In the opening of the first epistle to the Corinthian church, the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul states that if the testimony of Jesus Christ is confirmed in the Christian, then this same Jesus Christ will on the last day confirm the Christian, and the Christian will be counted as blameless in judgment! A chief use of our testimony is in evangelism to win converts, as Paul told the Thessalonian church in verse 1:10 of his second epistle. It is only after the completion of testimony of the two witnesses of the apocalypse that the beast will be suffered to martyr them (Revelation 11:7). Revelation 12:11 says that in addition to the Blood of Jesus Christ, it is our testimony of Jesus Christ that overcomes Satan! Revelation also reveals that there is a tabernacle of testimony in heaven, and calls the testimony of Jesus Christ prophecy!

But principally, and this recalls Ephesians 6:11, it is made clear in Revelation 12:17 that Satan’s war is with those who keep the commandments of Jesus Christ and have His testimony! Having a testimony in the absence of obedience is not sufficient, for Jesus Christ told us in His parables that such makes you a goat that will be cast into outer darkness and not a sheep. Meanwhile, keeping the commandments of Jesus Christ in the absence of a testimony is not sufficient, for we are justified by faith in the One whom we are supposed to testify of, and not by works.

So, our testimony is a primary, chief spiritual warfare weapon! The famous “armor of God” passage of Ephesians 6 calls the word of God “the sword of the spirit” in verse 17, and many exegetes have noted that it is the only offensive weapon. Well, a legitimate testimony generated by the Holy Spirit and given utterance by one in whom the Holy Spirit indwells bears witness to the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ! In John 16, where Jesus Christ speaks of the persecution that His apostles and His church will endure for His sake, Jesus Christ states that the Holy Spirit will not speak of Himself, but instead will speak of what He hears? Well, Who does the Holy Spirit hear? Jesus Christ! Your testimony may not be the sword itself, but how can it be any less than either the handle that the cutting, two-edged blade is attached to, or the hand of the Christian that takes hold of the sword and wields it!

If this is the case, then why on earth would one adhere to an interpretation of 1 Peter 3:15 that causes us to take our only offensive weapon and hide it in its sheath? There can be only two reasons. The first is the lack of a testimony or an ability to articulate it. Such a person does not need to verse himself in suspect philosophical arguments. Instead, this is a person who is either unregenerate or immature in the faith and therefore urgently needs to attend to the former or the latter. That person doesn’t need to give some apology of Christianity but needs to hear and believe a testimony of a Christian so that he too can begin giving his own testimony!

The second reason why so many Christians are willing to abandon their offensive weapon is simply a desire to avoid giving offense, especially to the people whose approval we crave. Being lovers of this present world like Demas, we forsake the testimony of Jesus Christ with all its power, and instead resort to the arguments of men that have a form of godliness but denies the power thereof! We are supposed to turn away from these tactics and the thinking that motivates it!

These people know fully well that the gospel, the testimony, the message of the cross is foolishness to the world, an offense to those who do not believe. So, instead of using 1 Peter 3:15 to strengthen themselves in order to stand against the world and suffer abuse, shame and persecution because of this testimony, that text is twisted to avoid giving just such a testimony! 1 Peter 3:15 is misappropriated to justify giving the world something that it can accept because it is of the world – that being a human argument – in the place of bearing witness to something that the world hates and rejects because it is of the Holy Spirit that convicts the world of evil, which is a legitimate testimony! You can either give an apology and be embraced by pagans as a genius and hero like Origen, or give a testimony and be slain with rocks as was Stephen and also Antipas. If you love this present world, then you are an adulterer or adulteress who is an enemy with God (James 4:4) so as a result of your inner condition, perhaps an intellectual exercise will suit your aims of being loved by this present world. But if you love the world to come, then you will pick up the sword of the spirit and give your testimony!

Also: come let us reason together, Isaiah 1:18, does not refer to apologetics either. Instead, that text – and its context – is an exhortation to the children of Israel to return to their obedience of the Sinai covenant and its blessings, or else they will reap the covenant curses. It is a prophetic call to repentance by reminding Israel to “think about what you are doing and its consequences … you know of God and His ways and how He is both holy and merciful, so if you continue in your sins He will punish you because He is holy, and if you repent and fear YHWH then He will be merciful,withhold punishment and instead bless you!” Of course, while Israel is to use, rather than deny and suppress, their rational logic, the object of this logic is an appeal to what they already know about God based on God’s self-revelation to His covenant people. So rather than attempting to prove that God exists, this text is based on a presupposition of God’s existence, and is establishing the folly of knowingly disobeying the commands of the YHWH whose existence and attributes they already fully know of and do not deny!

Again, this is not a missive against apologetics itself. Instead, we should stop using texts that apply to testimonies and obedience and knowingly, willingly abusing those texts by using them in a way that they ought not to be. Yes, some examples of doing that do seem to appear in the Bible (most notably Jesus Christ’s creative appropriation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34) but lacking the inspiration and license of the Holy Spirit to write authoritative scripture, we should restrain ourselves from such things.

And it is particularly harmful if the motivation for this misapplication of Bible texts is a desire to avoid incurring the offense of the world with our testimonies by substituting something more acceptable to the world in its place. Jesus Christ said that if we are ashamed to testify concerning Him in this life, He will not speak on our behalf on judgment day (Mark 8:38)! If you have a testimony within you, the Bible is clear: you must share it, and share it boldly, meekly, fearlessly, humbly and often. But if you do not have a testimony within you, then that is a much greater problem. Address that deficiency immediately by:

Following The Three Step Salvation Plan!

Gospel Artist Darwin Hobbs Speaks Of Being Child Molestation Victim

From GCMWatch.

US church helps ex-porn star come back to Christ

Original link here. A former porn star has left the sex industry to start a new life as a college student and church secretary, a group ministering to sex workers announced Tuesday.

Sophia Lynn, 24, is now an office staff at Celebrate Community Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in the US, where she will work while attending college. The South Dakota church offered Lynn a place to live, a college scholarship, and a job at the church office when they heard she wanted to leave the sex business.

“This is like a dream,” Lynn reflected from her new home in South Dakota nearly a week after her move. “I hope I don’t have to wake up from this. I feel like my life has been saved.”

Lynn came from a self-described devout Christian family and entered the porn industry only to make money to support herself and her young child after a divorce.

“When you have bill collectors calling you every five minutes, you start to feel hopeless,” she said to ABC News last year.

She began with modelling but then was encouraged to try the porn business at the age of 18.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But then I reminded [myself that] my car payment was due.”

Lynn was re-introduced to Jesus Christ and eventually delivered from the sex industry with the help of Heather Veitch, an ex-stripper turned Christian evangelist. Veitch, who founded the ministry JC (Jesus Christ)’s Girls, and has been counselling Lynn for more than a year.

Veitch said many girls want to leave the business, but find it difficult to start a new life.

“It takes the kind of commitment we’re seeing from Celebrate Community Church,” the ex-stripper explained. “This is the story of the little church that could.”

Celebrate Community Church claims to have 550 members and about 2,200 attendees on the weekends.

The South Dakota church first heard about Lynn when she appeared on an ABC news report last March and expressed her intention to leave the industry. The church reached out and invited Lynn to visit, but without success.

Instead, Veitch flew to South Dakota and spent a weekend educating the church on the size and extensiveness of America’s sex industry. The former stripper told the congregation that the first step towards helping girls like Sophia Lynn is to pray for them, which the church did, according to a report by the ministry.

“Three weeks later, my phone rang and it was Sophia,” Veitch recalled. “She told me she was ready to make a real life change and wanted some real help. I called Pastor Loy [of Celebrate Community Church] and told him God held up his end, so now what are we going to do?”

The following morning at 6 am Pastor Keith Loy called Veitch and said, “We’re ready to take this on.”

Sophia Lynn, who was living in New Jersey at the time, was on a plane to a new life in South Dakota six hours later.

“We’re not going to play church anymore,” Loy said. “We’re going to be a church.”

The JC’s Girls founder urges churches to follow Celebrate Community Church and help a sex worker leave the industry and start a new life.

“I’m calling it ‘One Church For One Girl Program’,” said Veitch.

Last month, a new documentary – “The PussyCat Preacher” – was released chronicling Veitch’s journey as she formed the ministry JC’s Girls. The film records her initial struggle with gaining acceptance from women at her former church in California to winning them over and actually bringing them to strip clubs to minister to dancers.

Veitch now resides in Las Vegas where her ministry is supported by Central Christian Church.

Bible League: Jesus Christ Changing Lives In India, Kenya, Colombia, Middle East

They could ALL receive Bibles
India–Like many preachers in India, Nikhil had no formal training—he simply felt called to lead a congregation. But once he realized there was so much to learn, he turned to a Bible League-trained Christian who was offering Bible studies. Read more

Taking a stand for the Gospel
Middle East–Aaqib refused to give up when he encountered difficulties in establishing a church. Because of his faith, more Christians are now sharing the Gospel in an area where Islam dominates. This church and others like it are beacons for Christ amid strife and violence. Read more

Breadth of mercy
Colombia–Envigado, Colombia is home to more than 175,000 people. Surrounded by lush green hills and winding roads, walks on dirt paths and through the mountains are inevitably routes taken daily. One Colombian man shares his story of a winding path that led him into the arms of a loving Savior. Read more

God’s Word continues to go forth in Kenya
Despite deadly riots and widespread violence in Nairobi, as well as in Kenya’s eastern and western provinces, Bible League staff members are continuing ministry. While three ministry areas have been completely shut down, Bible League staff members are pressing their
way through the tense spiritual environment. Read more.

Gospel For Asia: Demons Cast Out Of Jharkhand India Man!

From http://gfa.org

A Last-Resort Effort Saved His Life
A Last-Resort Effort Saved His Life Gospel for Asia For Immediate Release

JHARKHAND, INDIA (ANS) — Nogen acted like a madman. He ran wildly from one place to another in his village in Jharkhand, India. He was incoherent and could no longer speak clearly. Of course, Nogen’s family was concerned and tried all they knew to get help for him. What they did not understand was that Nogen was being controlled by a demonic spirit.
Demons often torment their victims as Christians pray them out.

When a loved one is in physical or mental distress, Asian families will employ a variety of methods to help them. In addition to medical treatment, they will turn to the rituals of their traditional religions or ask a witch doctor to perform an incantation over the sick person. They also turn to Gospel for Asia missionaries for help.

Many in India, like this woman who was tormented by demons for many years, have been released from the bondage of Satan through the prayers of Gospel for Asia missionaries.

Nogen’s family asked GFA missionary Kamat Ramtake to pray for Nogen.

Kamat prayed for him, and slowly Nogen began to regain his senses. But the family decided it would be good to also take him to a local witch doctor, who said a mantra over him. Much to their surprise, Nogen got worse after the witch doctor’s incantations.

After this setback, the family took Nogen to a hospital, where he was admitted and stayed for three days. But his condition remained the same. When doctors discharged him, he was in no better shape than when he entered the hospital.

As a last resort, the family again approached Kamat, asking him to again pray for Nogen. Kamat spent time praying over Nogen, and as a result, the Lord healed him completely, freeing him from the evil spirit that was tormenting him.

Just as his erratic behavior pointed to demon possession, Nogen’s dramatic healing was a testimony to the power of Christ. After seeing the change that Christ brought into his life, many people in Nogen’s village chose to put their trust in Jesus, too.

Kamat requests prayer that Nogen and his family will live for Jesus, and that through them, many more would come to know the Lord.
Jharkhand, India is home to many tribal groups. Read about this interesting state.
Read an article about the ways in which God uses difficult circumstances to help missionaries share the Good News.

Spiritual Warfare And Deliverance On The Subway Part 4

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#4) « The Word on the Streets

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#4)All of this four part testimony took place in one day. It just goes to show you what God wants to do through all those who avail themselves and want to be used of God for His glory and His Kingdom.

After Dan stood up, we all hugged on him and such joy was in our hearts. Now here was a man who just a short time before, was totally intoxicated from drinking wine. Now he was sober and in his right mind. Praise God!

I have tried to do my best with God’s help to describe what took place, but words do have a limit.

He then asked if he could sing another song, we all said “by all means, let her go”. It was awesome to hear him sing every verse with passion and clarity. By the time he finished, we all knew something was about to break loose.

He yelled out, “DO YOU MIND IF I PREACH?” We smiled and said, “GO FOR IT”. First he started out with his testimony about how God had just delivered him from alcohol. Then he went into The Gospel. It was right on, every word. He shared also about seeking God while He can be found. He told the crowd how that God had said to him, “will you just seek me, I am here if you will seek me” It was awesome!

About that time a lady starts shouting and she walks over and tries to stop the flow of what God is doing. (this is almost standard procedure, the devil does not want things like this to take place so he fights hard.) This other brother goes over to her and finally gets her to go somewhere else.

Out of nowhere, walks up this lady and she says, “can I buy you guys some coffee?” She had been watching all that took place. She takes out her tablet and takes our order. Off she went, and returns with four large coffee’s. What a blessing she had been to all of us. She smiled and hugged us all, and off she went. God bless her richly!

Dan(the brother that just received Christ) continues to preach several times. Many were listening as they waited for the train. About that time another brother walks up and recognizes Dan. He said that he was with the local rescue mission. We then proceeded to tell him all that happened. His eyes began to water. He was very thankful. He said to Dan, “Are we now going to see you in church on Sunday?” Dan said, “You Bet”. Thank you God!

It was time for me to leave and catch the last bus out for the night. All six of us gathered in a circle and lifted up prayer and thanksgiving to God for what He had done that evening.
As another brother was finishing prayer, I heard the sound of Satan again. I looked over across the way, and sure enough his messengers had come to try one last time.

There stood three of them all dressed in black with their long coats, yelling out loud about Satan and saying all their usual junk. They had known what just took place, and they were there to stop it. TOO LATE. THE WORK OF CHRIST HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE. PRAISE HIM!

I pleaded THE BLOOD OF JESUS and we finished prayer and went on our way.

I trust this testimony was a blessing to you. This is just a drop in the bucket of all that God wants to do in these days. If you are not yet a part of what He is doing in the earth today, you need to be. Pray and ask Him, he will show you. He is about people. People are the apex of His creation. He loved them all so much that He gave His Son to redeem them back to himself.
May you be blessed also as you go out and do your part for Him and His Kingdom.
Amen.

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Spiritual Warfare And Deliverance On The Subway Part 3

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#3) « The Word on the Streets

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#3)In the last post, I had forgotten to mention that on my way to the city in the train, I needed to stop off and use the bathroom at a local store. After that, the Lord wanted me to go to a bus stop close by that I had been to several times before.

After praying, I jumped in and started to preach The Good News on one corner. One young kid didn’t like it, so he sounded off. (I spoke with this kid later, he is one step closer to Christ now) Then a young black guy came over to talk. He listened real well as The Holy Spirit moved upon his heart. It took probably close to an hour before he made the move to receive Jesus. But he did! Praise God! He went off changed by the power of God!

I called him that night on the way home. He said that he was at home resting. Now this was Friday night close to 8:00pm. He was saved from drugs and may have been either in a gang, or had came out of one. But glory to God he is changed! He said to me as we parted on the phone, “pray for me, I just want to live”. That tells it all.

Back to where I left off in “Part#2″.
It was 4:00pm at the train stop and it’s Friday night and there are people in need of hearing The Gospel everywhere as they wait for the train to go home from work. I started in and before long James showed up. We took turns preaching and God’s Spirit was moving as several came up to either take a tract or talk.

Then the distractions came once again. This young guy who had a plastic cup full of wine, starts to scream and yell and gets in our faces. James calms him down as I finish. I went over to him and tried to talk with him. He seemed surprised that I would have come over to talk with him after all his yelling and carrying on.

As we talked, God through His Spirit began to speak to him, a little at a time. He said he had to go use the bathroom, and asked if I would be there when he came back. I assured him I would. I miss out from time to time, but I knew there was hope for this guy. He came back with more wine and seemed to be even more intoxicated. What I really liked about this encounter was that the fact that he was still drinking, but God was still coming after him. I could see transformation taking place.

Now James comes up to talk to him, and gets real straight with him. The guy blows a gasket big time, screams and yells. The crowd turns and begins to listen in as to try and figure out what is going on. The guy storms off. I thought we had lost him then. James begins to preach again.

Minutes later he returns in a huff. I with the help of God, calm him down, and once again we(the Spirit and I) start to share Christ with him. He shares a lot of his problems and fears. Now, it was pretty obvious that this guy was a outcast by others, by the things he shared with me. But God was loving on him big time. I could see His love being poured out on our soon to be brother.

He takes off to smoke a cigarette across the street. I shared with James what was taking place. When he returned glass in hand, James apologizes for some of the things that he had said earlier. They hugged and forgave each other. It was powerful to behold.

James starts in again, sharing God’s love and power to change lives to crowd. The guy who I will call Dan, comes over to me again. This time I am noticing that he is listening more and getting closer to The Kingdom as we spoke. All of a sudden, HE TAKES THE CUP OF WINE AND THROWS IT 30 FEET DOWN THE BRICK WALKWAY. Wow! I was taken back! HE THEN BEGINS TO SING THE SONG, “CREATE A PURE HEART IN ME, O GOD, AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME” He sings every word of the song. I noticed that he was sobering up as he was singing. God was moving!

He finishes the song and immediately DROPS TO HIS KNEES AND STARTS TO REPENT BEFORE GOD AND CONFESS. It was really powerful to hear him repent before God and ask Jesus for forgiveness and to be his Saviour and then his Lord. I knelt down with him and prayed for complete deliverance through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. (now remember, this is all taking place in a public square with lots of people standing around watching and listening) Praise God!
We finally stood up together and gave praise to God! He is Born of The SPIRIT OF GOD!

I will continue with “part#4. Wait and see what happens next. It’s a real testimony, glory to God!

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Spiritual Warfare And Deliverance On The Subway Part 2

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#2) « The Word on the Streets

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!(Part#2)After I had finished praying with the man that was blind, I continued to share The Gospel and pass out tracts.

After a while a “transit security” guy came by and said, “you can’t do that here”. I have heard that one before, so I asked him some questions. He said that the property that I was on is being leased from the city and that the transit company does not allow people to preach out loud. I asked him where I could get the information in writing, and he told me where.

So I continued to pass out tracts for a while. I don’t believe in making a big seen and challenging the law when you don’t know for sure if what is being told to you is true or not. I have had a security guard come under conviction before and tried to tell me that I couldn’t preach where I was at. Come to find out he was wrong. Later he told me about how he was away from God etc.

Soon the Spirit was leading me to move to another city. After leaving on the bus, I went to the train that goes into the city. Waiting for the train, I struck up a conversation with a lady sitting on a bench. Come to find out she was a believer. Praise God! We got on the train and she shared with me how God had delivered her from drugs that she had been on for years. Awesome testimony! To God be the glory!

I went to the usual square in the center of the city where we minister from time to time. I did the usual prayer walk for a while. I spotted my brother James from a distance, ministering the Gospel and passing out tracts. I stopped and had prayer for him.

Soon, I walked around the square to where he was. As I approached him, I noticed two brothers standing off to the side praying as James was ministering. I had never seen these two before, so as James finished we all came together and introduced each other. Now this was another divine appointment set by God. Praise Him!

These two brothers, one of which is just getting his feet wet in street ministry are called of God. We shared and had prayer, exchanged telephone numbers. They had to take off to get their car which was on the meter, but both James and I know we will see them soon back out on the streets, the Lord willing.

James and I continued to share with those who would put the brakes on and come over and talk with us. Soon another brother who I haven’t seen in a year downtown, came by and we prayed and ministered together for a while.

I looked at the clock and it said 4:00pm. I had remembered that the Lord had shared with me that morning how he did want me to share in the later afternoon at a particular train stop at the square. So I told James to come over if God so leads him after our other brother had finished preaching.

Well, the post is long enough again. I will stop for now, but do go to “part#3″ when it comes. It’s awesome to hear how God delivered an alcoholic and he sobered him up to preach The Gospel. Powerful! Praise Him! To God be the glory, great things He has done (because it was yesterday) and great things he is doing today.
Also, I left out a soul that God had saved that day.(God help me)

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Spiritual Warfare And Deliverance On The Subway Part 1

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing! « The Word on the Streets

To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!I woke up early this morning giving God praise and glory for what He did yesterday. God is showing forth His power on the streets, big time. He is changing lives. Restoration is taking place right before our eyes. To God be the glory! I pray that you will be inspired to get out and use what gifts and callings that God has blessed you with. You are unique and because of that, you can reach people that I can’t, and vice verse. Isn’t that so like God? He is unique and He made you unique to reach unique people.

It was one of those days where I did not receive orders from Him as to where to start exactly. I was impressed to just set out and see what happens. This is something that I did on a regular basis for about a year, and it was “oh so awesome”. Going out, but not knowing where. I pray that if God has yet to impress you by His Spirit to do this, that He would and that He would do it soon. Amen.

The first human encounter was a young guy at the traffic light on my way walking to the bank. I shared with him and he really listened. I believe it was another seed planting. He took a tract, and I pray that He will come when God again draws his heart to come to Him.

After the bank, (praise God there was money in the bank!) I went to the bus stop and talked (tried to) with a Hispanic man. I don’t know Spanish (but I should) so lately God has had me use a key from my pocket and tell them that the key to God is Jesus Christ. He smiled and nodded his head. I pointed to the heart also.

When I got on the bus, I immediately saw a young kid that I have talked to before. He is very quite. I sensed that there was pain and sorrow in his life, so I asked him, “has there been some painful things happen in your life?” He said yes. I said, “Have you lost a mother, or father? “A family member?” He said no, but that he did not want to talk about it. God knows and I can pray for him.

Soon I got to the first city and the local transit mall. The Lord had me do the usual prayer walk around the block. Then had me stand and start to pass out tracts and do some preaching. A young guy and his girl friend came up and wanted prayer. I first asked them if Jesus Christ was their Lord and Saviour. They said no. So I went through The Gospel with them and praise God they turned from the old life to the new! We prayed and they received Him as Lord and Saviour! The Angels where singing again! Hallelujah!

Well, of course about that time a messenger of Satan shows up (standard procedure) and we rebuked him in Jesus name and pleaded the blood of Jesus Christ. He flees, praise God!

Another brother which I just met a couple of weeks ago, stops by and we have an awesome time talking about God and His goodness. We share out loud what He has done. This is real powerful in a public setting. Whether on a corner, or in a building elevator, or on a bus or train, give God the glory out loud. You will be amazed at what takes place.

I moved across the street and there stood a young black man who was blind. My heart went out to him. I stood there praying for him quietly. Then God’s Spirit moved and I began to talk with him. I asked him if Jesus was his Lord and Saviour. He smiled and said “oh yes”. I asked him how long he had been blind, he said “since I was a year and a half old.” My heart swelled with compassion for the man.

I stood there and The Lord reminded me of my morning walk to the bank earlier. As I was walking along, God began to show me my five senses. I went through all of them one by one. I smelled, I saw, I heard etc. I ran my fingers along the concrete divider. I began to weep and appreciation came over me. Why me? as I thought of others that don’t have some of these senses. I certainly didn’t deserve it. God in His love and mercy has given them to me for His glory. May they be used for Him.

So as I stood there with this blind man, tears of compassion began to flow as I prayed to The Father for him. I looked up and saw the blue sky. The trees with their leaves turning. I pleated with God that he might see again. I asked him if I could pray with him for complete healing of his eyes. He said, “sure”.( before this I was a little reserved, because I have learned that you need to be very careful and sensitive with people who have disabilities). But I really sensed that God’s Spirit was working and He wanted to heal him.

Just as we started to pray, I looked up and there was a girl standing next to us that I have met out on the streets before. I had to refresh my memory and ask her if she was a believer or not. She said she was. I explained to her what was taking place and asked her if she believed that God could restore this man sight. She said, “yes” so we prayed together.

When we finished praying, I asked the man if he could see. He said. “not yet, but I believe I will”. Praise God he will! I believe!

He gave me his telephone number and I expect when I call him, that he will tell me he now sees. Praise to God! He is healing our brother! He will see this side of eternity! He will look up and see the blue sky, the trees! Oh praise God with me! For He is great and greatly to be praised!
“To God be the glory, for great things He is doing!”

I will stop here because I personally don’t like long posts. So if I don’t like them, I will not make them, right?
The above is only one quarter of what God did that day. With His help, I will try to write some more later.

I write these testimonies so that first God would be glorified in them, and second that you the reader would be encouraged to go out and use your gifts and callings for Him and His Kingdom. Amen

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A mocking joke turns to joy
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