This Week’s Reading: Psalm 19
Hello Project Ezra, and Happy (almost) New Year! This week we will be reading Psalm 19. It is likely that at least a few verses of this chapter are familiar to most of you, as they are to me. But, as with so many other passages we have used for our weekly readings, the more you read the passage the more truth God reveals.
The first six verses tell us that God’s glory is evident to anyone who looks at His creation. This runs contrary to the idea that agnostics and atheists don’t accept the idea of God based on either the lack of or insufficiency of evidence for the God of the bible. His existence is clear, as clear as the sun in the sky. Those who deny Him are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).
If you keep this in mind, it will completely change the way your witness. I love apologetics, and thoroughly enjoy a good debate. However, you can’t argue someone into the kingdom of heaven. God certainly can, and does, use good arguments in the process of drawing people to Himself, but salvation is ultimately a supernatural act. It is God who takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh, and no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws them. So answer sincere questions, and try to be persuasive in your speech, but be sure to keep your focus on Christ and His gospel first and foremost. It is the gospel that is the power of God for salvation.
The rest of the chapter talks about God’s law, and looks at the law in a way that is totally contrary to the way most people (and probably many of us) tend to look at it. The law is presented not as a burden, but as a joy. It is a gift, given by God to help keep us from sin. It revives the soul, enlightens the eyes, and is pure and sweet. It is true and righteous, a treasure, more to be desired than gold. How different from our normal view of law!
This view of the law is a perfect gateway into the truth of the gospel. Although God gives us the law so that we may be made right with Him, it is not through obedience to the law that we are made right. The law was given to us to lead us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. It is the mirror that allows us to see ourselves in truth, so that we might see our need for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.
As you read the passage and share the gospel, remind people that, whether they want to admit it or not, God’s existence is obvious to each and every one of them. And, since it is likely many are suppressing that truth in order to avoid the weight of God’s law, show its kindness. A good parent gives correction and disciplines his child, to bring them back into obedience. God’s law should lead us to repentance, not anger, or rebellion or despair. Encourage them to see their need, and to put their trust in Christ alone, so His sacrifice on the cross will cleanse their sin and save them from the punishment they so rightly deserve.
There is still time to sign up for the Ambassador’s Academy. I know I have mentioned this several times already, but it is such a life-changing experience, that I hope many of you will consider attending. Please apply today if you can. You can register here:
http://www.ambassadorsalliance.com/
and you can watch the promotional video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w
Feel free to contact me directly if you had any questions or needed any further information. Have a fantastic New Year, and I pray you will join us again for Project Ezra in 2011.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Project Ezra and the True Gift of Christmas
Hello brothers and sisters! We will be starting our True Gift of Christmas reading in just a couple days, and I pray that you all will consider joining us!
For those of you already finalizing your teams and getting ready to head out, thank you for your faithfulness! I would encourage you to decide who on your team will read which passage now, so they can go over it early. I know from experience that being familiar with the passage, and having thought about the setting of the passage and mentally placed yourself there, can make a huge difference in the quality and expression of the reading. We don't want any portion of the bible to sound dry or forced when it is read. Every bit of scripture is packed with meaning and nuance, and we should take the time give it the respect it deserves.
For those of you having trouble putting a team together, we will be praying for you, and don't quit! Even if you end up with only a couple of people, you can still do either the full reading, or even an abbreviated reading (although I recommend the full message if at all possible), perhaps of chapter 1 and chapters 18-21. It may seem strange that we are reading from a book that does not include the nativity story. But, while the story of Christ's birth is relatively well known, the connection to Christ's deity, as expressed in John 1, and His death and resurrection, recorded in chapters 18-21, tend to be neglected. They are just as much a part of the story, and people need to hear the whole gospel, the whole message of God's love, at Christmas. So if you need to trim your reading, those are the most essential points.
Finally, for those still on the fence, please join us. But even if you can't do the reading, please make sure to share the truth of the gospel during this season, and encourage others to do the same. Every day people are dying and walking off into eternity without Christ. We may have the unspeakable privilege of sharing the message of God's grace with someone and seeing them come to Christ. What better gift could there possibly be to give, or to receive, this year!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
For those of you already finalizing your teams and getting ready to head out, thank you for your faithfulness! I would encourage you to decide who on your team will read which passage now, so they can go over it early. I know from experience that being familiar with the passage, and having thought about the setting of the passage and mentally placed yourself there, can make a huge difference in the quality and expression of the reading. We don't want any portion of the bible to sound dry or forced when it is read. Every bit of scripture is packed with meaning and nuance, and we should take the time give it the respect it deserves.
For those of you having trouble putting a team together, we will be praying for you, and don't quit! Even if you end up with only a couple of people, you can still do either the full reading, or even an abbreviated reading (although I recommend the full message if at all possible), perhaps of chapter 1 and chapters 18-21. It may seem strange that we are reading from a book that does not include the nativity story. But, while the story of Christ's birth is relatively well known, the connection to Christ's deity, as expressed in John 1, and His death and resurrection, recorded in chapters 18-21, tend to be neglected. They are just as much a part of the story, and people need to hear the whole gospel, the whole message of God's love, at Christmas. So if you need to trim your reading, those are the most essential points.
Finally, for those still on the fence, please join us. But even if you can't do the reading, please make sure to share the truth of the gospel during this season, and encourage others to do the same. Every day people are dying and walking off into eternity without Christ. We may have the unspeakable privilege of sharing the message of God's grace with someone and seeing them come to Christ. What better gift could there possibly be to give, or to receive, this year!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, December 17, 2010
Project Ezra at UC Berkeley
This is from a recent evangelism trip to UC Berkeley as part of the Living Waters CAUSE project. I hope this is an encouragement!
For more information about evangelistic outreaches in the Silicon Valley area of California, check out www.norcalseedsowers.com.
For more information about evangelistic outreaches in the Silicon Valley area of California, check out www.norcalseedsowers.com.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
This Week’s Project Ezra Reading - Job 38 and 39
This Week’s Reading: Job 38 and 39
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Job 38 and 39. The message in these chapters is simple; God is God, we are not, and we would be wise not to question His will. When I was in junior college, I took a comparative religion class, and the teacher (clearly NOT a believer), talked about these chapters, and how God essentially “pulled rank” on Job. God didn’t answer Job’s questions, but reminded Job who had created him, and everything else, and who had the power and authority. At the time this bothered me a bit, and I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. But, in retrospect, pulling rank was exactly what God did, and it was absolutely appropriate for Him to do so.
One trait that I have often seen in people I talk to who claim the name of Christ, but seem to have no understanding of God or His word, is this one. They acknowledge God, but they want Him to have just enough power to fix their problems, but not enough authority to run their lives. In reality, God created us, He owns us, and He can and does tell us exactly how He expects us to behave. Thankfully were serve a loving, gracious and merciful God, but too often we stop examining His attributes there. He is also holy and just, and will not leave the guilty unpunished. He is also sovereign, and is free to do as He pleases with His creation, whether we understand it at the time or not. Isaiah 29:16 says:
You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker,
"He did not make me";
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
"He has no understanding"?
And in Romans 9:20-21 it says:
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its
molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay,
to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for
dishonorable use?
Not always an easy truth to swallow, but God’s truth none the less.
So this week try keeping it simple:
God created and rules over everything that exists, whether we like it or now.
God gave us His law, and made it very clear, and every one of us has broken it
Go through the Ten Commandments, and show them they are guilty of breaking His law
God is a just judge who must punish sin, and His word states that punishment
will be eternity in hell
God is not only a just judge who must punish sin, but a loving father.
God demonstrated His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If we do as the bible says, repenting of our sins and putting our trust in
Christ, He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
FROM OUR LOCAL TRUE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS, LAST YEAR
We are now just a week away from the True Gift of Christmas reading, and our numbers are pretty low. Please prayerfully consider participating, and sharing the event information with your friends. Check the last blog post for more details on exactly how the reading works, and be sure to let us know you are attending on the Facebook event, as well as letting us know your location. Some of our event reports from last year are linked below, in case you missed them. They will give you some idea about how others have participated.
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/project-ezra-and-true-gift-of-christmas.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/white-christmas-for-project-ezra-in.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/gospel-of-john-in-burbank-ca.html
Also, don’t forget to check out this video on the Living Waters Ambassador’s Academy. You can register for this life changing three day evangelism boot camp here:
http://www.ambassadorsalliance.com/
and you can watch the promotional video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w
Feel free to contact me directly if you had any questions or needed any further information.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Job 38 and 39. The message in these chapters is simple; God is God, we are not, and we would be wise not to question His will. When I was in junior college, I took a comparative religion class, and the teacher (clearly NOT a believer), talked about these chapters, and how God essentially “pulled rank” on Job. God didn’t answer Job’s questions, but reminded Job who had created him, and everything else, and who had the power and authority. At the time this bothered me a bit, and I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. But, in retrospect, pulling rank was exactly what God did, and it was absolutely appropriate for Him to do so.
One trait that I have often seen in people I talk to who claim the name of Christ, but seem to have no understanding of God or His word, is this one. They acknowledge God, but they want Him to have just enough power to fix their problems, but not enough authority to run their lives. In reality, God created us, He owns us, and He can and does tell us exactly how He expects us to behave. Thankfully were serve a loving, gracious and merciful God, but too often we stop examining His attributes there. He is also holy and just, and will not leave the guilty unpunished. He is also sovereign, and is free to do as He pleases with His creation, whether we understand it at the time or not. Isaiah 29:16 says:
You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker,
"He did not make me";
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
"He has no understanding"?
And in Romans 9:20-21 it says:
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its
molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay,
to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for
dishonorable use?
Not always an easy truth to swallow, but God’s truth none the less.
So this week try keeping it simple:
God created and rules over everything that exists, whether we like it or now.
God gave us His law, and made it very clear, and every one of us has broken it
Go through the Ten Commandments, and show them they are guilty of breaking His law
God is a just judge who must punish sin, and His word states that punishment
will be eternity in hell
God is not only a just judge who must punish sin, but a loving father.
God demonstrated His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If we do as the bible says, repenting of our sins and putting our trust in
Christ, He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
FROM OUR LOCAL TRUE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS, LAST YEAR
We are now just a week away from the True Gift of Christmas reading, and our numbers are pretty low. Please prayerfully consider participating, and sharing the event information with your friends. Check the last blog post for more details on exactly how the reading works, and be sure to let us know you are attending on the Facebook event, as well as letting us know your location. Some of our event reports from last year are linked below, in case you missed them. They will give you some idea about how others have participated.
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/project-ezra-and-true-gift-of-christmas.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/white-christmas-for-project-ezra-in.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/gospel-of-john-in-burbank-ca.html
Also, don’t forget to check out this video on the Living Waters Ambassador’s Academy. You can register for this life changing three day evangelism boot camp here:
http://www.ambassadorsalliance.com/
and you can watch the promotional video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w
Feel free to contact me directly if you had any questions or needed any further information.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Project Ezra and The True Gift of Christmas event
Project Ezra
The True Gift of Christmas event
Project Ezra is dedicated to encouraging, equipping, and mobilizing born again followers of Christ, from around the world, to read the Word of God in public, and what better time to do so than Christmas! Although many, if not most, cities and towns in our country have some kind of community Christmas (or “Holiday”) gathering or fair, these celebrations that have all the trappings of the Christmas season have often nearly or completely lost the essence of what the season should be; a celebration of the birth of Christ. Some cities have banned religious (Christian) displays such as Nativity scenes on public property, and those who have not have often pushed them to the periphery, or buried them behind piles of tinsel, pretty lights, and plastic Santas. Those of us whom God has called to public ministry need to be looking for creative ways bring the focus of the Christmas season back to where it belongs.
In an effort to do so, Project Ezra will, once again, be having a very special reading event for this, and we hope many more, Christmases to come. We are encouraging Project Ezra members to gather a team to read the entire Gospel of John in public in the weeks before Christmas.
First, choose a public area in your town or city at or near one of your popular Christmas events. This could be a fair, a parade, outside your local mall on weekends, or any other place that will draw groups of people. You know your area, so pick a place you would want to visit with your friends and family.
Get together a group of like-minded believers to participate with you. This is the ideal time to get additional people involved, since the reading will be long and can be easily divided up. Call Christian friends and family, and see about announcing it in church on Sunday.
Bring a small ladder or box to stand on, and consider making a sign stating the name of our group and what you will be reading for listeners who arrive mid-reading. You may or may not use amplification, depending on personal preference and local laws.
Be sure to spend time in prayer as a group before you start!
Read of the entire Gospel of John, front to back. Consider picking one translation that everyone will read from so the reading flows more smoothly. You also might want to consider printing the book in larger type and putting in into a binder that can be handed from one participant to another. If you will be out in the evening, consider the lighting level too.
If you have a more experienced open-air preacher in your group (or even if you don’t) consider following the reading with a simple gospel presentation
Make sure you have plenty of tracts and bibles to hand out!
The event is up on our Facebook page, and although we have a few dozen people signed up, we are praying for many more. Please let us know your thoughts and ideas for improving this outreach, and be sure to RSVP the event. We look forward to lots of pictures, video, and stories!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
The True Gift of Christmas event
Project Ezra is dedicated to encouraging, equipping, and mobilizing born again followers of Christ, from around the world, to read the Word of God in public, and what better time to do so than Christmas! Although many, if not most, cities and towns in our country have some kind of community Christmas (or “Holiday”) gathering or fair, these celebrations that have all the trappings of the Christmas season have often nearly or completely lost the essence of what the season should be; a celebration of the birth of Christ. Some cities have banned religious (Christian) displays such as Nativity scenes on public property, and those who have not have often pushed them to the periphery, or buried them behind piles of tinsel, pretty lights, and plastic Santas. Those of us whom God has called to public ministry need to be looking for creative ways bring the focus of the Christmas season back to where it belongs.
In an effort to do so, Project Ezra will, once again, be having a very special reading event for this, and we hope many more, Christmases to come. We are encouraging Project Ezra members to gather a team to read the entire Gospel of John in public in the weeks before Christmas.
First, choose a public area in your town or city at or near one of your popular Christmas events. This could be a fair, a parade, outside your local mall on weekends, or any other place that will draw groups of people. You know your area, so pick a place you would want to visit with your friends and family.
Get together a group of like-minded believers to participate with you. This is the ideal time to get additional people involved, since the reading will be long and can be easily divided up. Call Christian friends and family, and see about announcing it in church on Sunday.
Bring a small ladder or box to stand on, and consider making a sign stating the name of our group and what you will be reading for listeners who arrive mid-reading. You may or may not use amplification, depending on personal preference and local laws.
Be sure to spend time in prayer as a group before you start!
Read of the entire Gospel of John, front to back. Consider picking one translation that everyone will read from so the reading flows more smoothly. You also might want to consider printing the book in larger type and putting in into a binder that can be handed from one participant to another. If you will be out in the evening, consider the lighting level too.
If you have a more experienced open-air preacher in your group (or even if you don’t) consider following the reading with a simple gospel presentation
Make sure you have plenty of tracts and bibles to hand out!
The event is up on our Facebook page, and although we have a few dozen people signed up, we are praying for many more. Please let us know your thoughts and ideas for improving this outreach, and be sure to RSVP the event. We look forward to lots of pictures, video, and stories!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, December 10, 2010
Christmas Reading, the Academy, and Revelation 3
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Revelation chapter 3, which compares several of the end times churches. It discusses their reputations and outward appearances with those true, Godly perseverance and faith. It is a lesson that applies directly to many modern churches and church members, so I pray it will be a blessing to those who hear it.
Several of the statements at the beginning are based on ideas I frequently use when sharing my faith. I’m sure you’ve all met people who are disgusted by what they perceive as hypocrites in the church, and some who think all Christians are hypocrites (which is true to a point, since we all sin). However, no belief system should be measured by it’s abuse, but by the truth or falsehood of it’s basic claims. We want people who hear us to realize that either the word of God is true, or it’s not, regardless of any bad experiences in that person’s past, and regardless of whether they like your method of sharing the Gospel. The Gospel should always be about the message, never about the messenger.
We are getting closer to our True Gift of Christmas reading. Once again, for those of you who did not participate last year, the goal for this reading is to gather a team, head out to a public area in your city or town, preferably where Christmas or other holiday events are taking place, and read the gospel of John, front to back. It may seem a bit daunting to read such a large chunk of scripture, and you can certainly read a shorter portion if you are out solo, but I would encourage you to put together a group to do the entire reading if at all possible. It will not only be a blessing to those who hear, but an encouragement to you and the others that participate as well. The links below are reports from some of the teams from last year. Please take a chance to look through them if you can.
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/project-ezra-and-true-gift-of-christmas.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/white-christmas-for-project-ezra-in.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/gospel-of-john-in-burbank-ca.html
If you are already committed to participating in the True Gift of Christmas, thank you for being part of this special event! If you are on Facebook, please go to the event page here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#!/group.php?gid=103701805742
and let us know you will be part of the event, and post your location so we can put a map together.
Finally, I would encourage you all to consider attending the Ambassador’s Academy in 2011. This 3 day evangelism boot camp, which takes place in the Los Angeles area and is taught Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and the rest of the Way of the Master/Living Waters team, was an absolutely life-changing experience for me and many others. Whether you are an experienced street evangelist or someone who may be trying public evangelism, perhaps through Project Ezra, for the first time, you will come away from the Academy equipped and encouraged to share your faith like never before. You can take a look at the promotional video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w
and feel free to contact me directly if you had any questions or needed any further information.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Read Revelation 3
This message is not about me, so edit me out of this picture
This is not about my opinion, your opinion, or the opinion of anyone else you have spoken with.
I’m praying you will put these secondary things aside, and take a moment to look reality in the face, and see who you really are.
When you die, your reputation won’t matter. The mask you have shown to others and have hidden behind won’t matter. Only the truth will be left.
So listen to this revelation, received by John, regarding the end of the world, and see if you fit into one these churches.
God said to the church of Sardis, that they had the reputation of being alive, but were dead.
The people in Sardis had heard God’s word, but He indicates they had not repented. They knew the truth, but had not acted upon it in true, life-changing repentance.
Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life, or are you play-acting?
If you know the truth, act on it!
God said to the church in Laodicea that since they were neither hot nor cold, He would spit (or vomit) them out of His mouth.
The Laodiceans were going through the motions. They looked OK, and professed to believe and to be good, but their lives were not real. Be real!
The true Christian life is one of zeal! If you are a believer, live like you believe it! Talk like you believe it! Walk like you believe it!
If you don’t really believe it, own up to the fact and live your life in honesty.
Professions on faith or empty actions will not save you. We are not saved by our works, but by repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)
What is repentance? It means to turn to change your direction, and in this case to turn from sin.
Sins moral crimes against a holy God, a God who is just and must punish sin
GO THROUGH THE LAW TO BRING CONVICTION OF SIN
We are guilty before God, but He demonstrated His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
EXPLAIN THE CROSS AND SUSTITUTIONARY ATTONEMENT OF CHRIST
If you have repented and trusted Christ alone, it doesn’t mean every problem in your life will be fixed. But it does mean that, like the church of Philadelphia, you will have your name written in heaven, and through God’s power you will be able to patiently endure. God is faithful, and by His grace He will carry you through this life, and bring you into a right relationship with Him in the next life.
150,000 people die every day, most unexpectedly. Don’t presume on God’s patience. Please repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
Several of the statements at the beginning are based on ideas I frequently use when sharing my faith. I’m sure you’ve all met people who are disgusted by what they perceive as hypocrites in the church, and some who think all Christians are hypocrites (which is true to a point, since we all sin). However, no belief system should be measured by it’s abuse, but by the truth or falsehood of it’s basic claims. We want people who hear us to realize that either the word of God is true, or it’s not, regardless of any bad experiences in that person’s past, and regardless of whether they like your method of sharing the Gospel. The Gospel should always be about the message, never about the messenger.
We are getting closer to our True Gift of Christmas reading. Once again, for those of you who did not participate last year, the goal for this reading is to gather a team, head out to a public area in your city or town, preferably where Christmas or other holiday events are taking place, and read the gospel of John, front to back. It may seem a bit daunting to read such a large chunk of scripture, and you can certainly read a shorter portion if you are out solo, but I would encourage you to put together a group to do the entire reading if at all possible. It will not only be a blessing to those who hear, but an encouragement to you and the others that participate as well. The links below are reports from some of the teams from last year. Please take a chance to look through them if you can.
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/project-ezra-and-true-gift-of-christmas.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/white-christmas-for-project-ezra-in.html
http://projectezra.blogspot.com/2009/12/gospel-of-john-in-burbank-ca.html
If you are already committed to participating in the True Gift of Christmas, thank you for being part of this special event! If you are on Facebook, please go to the event page here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#!/group.php?gid=103701805742
and let us know you will be part of the event, and post your location so we can put a map together.
Finally, I would encourage you all to consider attending the Ambassador’s Academy in 2011. This 3 day evangelism boot camp, which takes place in the Los Angeles area and is taught Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and the rest of the Way of the Master/Living Waters team, was an absolutely life-changing experience for me and many others. Whether you are an experienced street evangelist or someone who may be trying public evangelism, perhaps through Project Ezra, for the first time, you will come away from the Academy equipped and encouraged to share your faith like never before. You can take a look at the promotional video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w
and feel free to contact me directly if you had any questions or needed any further information.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Read Revelation 3
This message is not about me, so edit me out of this picture
This is not about my opinion, your opinion, or the opinion of anyone else you have spoken with.
I’m praying you will put these secondary things aside, and take a moment to look reality in the face, and see who you really are.
When you die, your reputation won’t matter. The mask you have shown to others and have hidden behind won’t matter. Only the truth will be left.
So listen to this revelation, received by John, regarding the end of the world, and see if you fit into one these churches.
God said to the church of Sardis, that they had the reputation of being alive, but were dead.
The people in Sardis had heard God’s word, but He indicates they had not repented. They knew the truth, but had not acted upon it in true, life-changing repentance.
Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life, or are you play-acting?
If you know the truth, act on it!
God said to the church in Laodicea that since they were neither hot nor cold, He would spit (or vomit) them out of His mouth.
The Laodiceans were going through the motions. They looked OK, and professed to believe and to be good, but their lives were not real. Be real!
The true Christian life is one of zeal! If you are a believer, live like you believe it! Talk like you believe it! Walk like you believe it!
If you don’t really believe it, own up to the fact and live your life in honesty.
Professions on faith or empty actions will not save you. We are not saved by our works, but by repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)
What is repentance? It means to turn to change your direction, and in this case to turn from sin.
Sins moral crimes against a holy God, a God who is just and must punish sin
GO THROUGH THE LAW TO BRING CONVICTION OF SIN
We are guilty before God, but He demonstrated His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
EXPLAIN THE CROSS AND SUSTITUTIONARY ATTONEMENT OF CHRIST
If you have repented and trusted Christ alone, it doesn’t mean every problem in your life will be fixed. But it does mean that, like the church of Philadelphia, you will have your name written in heaven, and through God’s power you will be able to patiently endure. God is faithful, and by His grace He will carry you through this life, and bring you into a right relationship with Him in the next life.
150,000 people die every day, most unexpectedly. Don’t presume on God’s patience. Please repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
This Week's Reading - Ephesians 2
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Ephesians chapter 2. I’m actually shocked I didn’t pick this passage sooner. Some of the best known verses on salvation by grace through faith are in the chapter, and I think it’s going to make a great open-air reading. It also makes a very clear contrast between the old, worldly life, and the new life in Christ. I think we should attempt to highlight that contrast in our preaching. The passage also highlights God’s love and mercy very strongly, and shows God’s plan to glorify Himself through demonstrating His grace in saving us.
Ephesians also talks about God’s wrath, and although at first glance the ideas of wrath and grace may appear to be contrary, they are most assuredly not. Most people think lightly of God’s grace, because they don’t have a clear picture of what they are being saved from, and how powerful God’s anger and wrath actually is. When we realize how far we have fallen, and what we have been saved from, grace becomes that much more glorious.
Our reading outline is below. I have also posted the Facebook event for The True Gift of Christmas. I’ll be posting more information soon, but for newer participants this is a reading of the entire Gospel of John during the week before Christmas. Naturally that’s a bit tough to do along, so start gathering a team now, and be sure to post your location on the event page so I can put together a participation map.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Read Ephesians 2
Highlight comparison between new life and old life of Ephesians
All mankind are BY NATURE children of wrath
Men are dead in their trespasses and sins outside of God’s grace
Are you:
Following the course of this world?
Living in the passions of our flesh?
Carrying out the desires of our bodies and minds?
These are what the bible calls sin, moral crimes against a holy God.
We are under wrath because we have broken God’s law
Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Go through God’s law, reminding people that the purpose of the law is not to condemn (they are condemned already, John 3:18) but to give them the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:30) that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
But those same hands were nailed to a cross so our sin could be paid for.
Christ has reconciled us to God in one body, through the cross, abolishing the law of the commandments
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ
We are saved by grace, unmerited favor, and not by works
Through Christ we are brought near to God. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.
Jesus is our peace, and came and preached peace to those near and far.
Make sure you have made your peace with God. Turn from your sin and throw yourself on God’s mercy, and you will be forgiven.
Other Useful Verses
Romans 2:12 - For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
Jeremiah 10:10 - But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 - and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Revelation 6:15-17 - Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
Ephesians also talks about God’s wrath, and although at first glance the ideas of wrath and grace may appear to be contrary, they are most assuredly not. Most people think lightly of God’s grace, because they don’t have a clear picture of what they are being saved from, and how powerful God’s anger and wrath actually is. When we realize how far we have fallen, and what we have been saved from, grace becomes that much more glorious.
Our reading outline is below. I have also posted the Facebook event for The True Gift of Christmas. I’ll be posting more information soon, but for newer participants this is a reading of the entire Gospel of John during the week before Christmas. Naturally that’s a bit tough to do along, so start gathering a team now, and be sure to post your location on the event page so I can put together a participation map.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Read Ephesians 2
Highlight comparison between new life and old life of Ephesians
All mankind are BY NATURE children of wrath
Men are dead in their trespasses and sins outside of God’s grace
Are you:
Following the course of this world?
Living in the passions of our flesh?
Carrying out the desires of our bodies and minds?
These are what the bible calls sin, moral crimes against a holy God.
We are under wrath because we have broken God’s law
Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Go through God’s law, reminding people that the purpose of the law is not to condemn (they are condemned already, John 3:18) but to give them the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:30) that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
But those same hands were nailed to a cross so our sin could be paid for.
Christ has reconciled us to God in one body, through the cross, abolishing the law of the commandments
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ
We are saved by grace, unmerited favor, and not by works
Through Christ we are brought near to God. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.
Jesus is our peace, and came and preached peace to those near and far.
Make sure you have made your peace with God. Turn from your sin and throw yourself on God’s mercy, and you will be forgiven.
Other Useful Verses
Romans 2:12 - For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
Jeremiah 10:10 - But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 - and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Revelation 6:15-17 - Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
Friday, November 26, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Project Ezra! Regrettably, due to being quite sick and having to work a very long shift on Black Friday, I was not able to post a reading for this week. However, I know a number of you have already been out this morning preaching to the Black Friday crowds. For those of you who haven't, what are you waiting for? This is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, at least here in the States, and every shopping district and shopping center is likely to be packed. So pick a chapter and head out to share the gospel. If you are not sure what chapter to pick, I would recommend Isaiah 53. It very clearly speaks of Christ and His atoning sacrifice even though it was written hundreds of years before His birth. I have used it to lead into open-air presentations many times.
I will be putting up the event announcement for the True Gift of Christmas by the end of the weekend. For those newer to Project Ezra, for that event, which will be taking place in several weeks, participants will be gathering local teams and heading to a busy Christmas shopping or event area to read the Gospel of John. The whole thing, front to back. I will also try to do some re-posts of reports from last year's True Gift readings. I pray many of you will participate. It is absolutely the most perfect time of year to share the gospel. Not that there is ever a bad time. :-)
Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and take the time to share the gospel with someone, for God's glory.
Dan
I will be putting up the event announcement for the True Gift of Christmas by the end of the weekend. For those newer to Project Ezra, for that event, which will be taking place in several weeks, participants will be gathering local teams and heading to a busy Christmas shopping or event area to read the Gospel of John. The whole thing, front to back. I will also try to do some re-posts of reports from last year's True Gift readings. I pray many of you will participate. It is absolutely the most perfect time of year to share the gospel. Not that there is ever a bad time. :-)
Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and take the time to share the gospel with someone, for God's glory.
Dan
Friday, November 19, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Genesis 22
Greetings Project Ezra! It is a blessing to be able to write this blog every week, and I hope it is a blessing to you as well. Every week I have to dig a little deeper, and every week I learn something new. I was talking to a brother in Christ recently about his desire to get more practice at open-air preaching. I encouraged him to try practicing Project Ezra style. I don’t mean just reading this blog, although I hope you do. I meant finding his own reading occasionally, and I would encourage you to do the same. I would recommend following the lists in Horner’s bible reading program, for the simple reason that it will caused you to explore sections of the bible you have likely merely skimmed over in the past, and give you a much fuller view of God’s word. Find a chapter with a good springboard into the gospel, and spend some time with it. Read it and reread it, look it up in commentaries, spend time and study and prayer over it, and then bring it to the streets. I guarantee it will encourage you and help you grow!
This week’s suggested reading is Genesis 22. I think one message in this passage is clear: God is trustworthy, a truth that many, if not most, in our day doubt. People doubt His word because they want to conform God’s will to their wants, rather than the other way around. But God IS trustworthy!
Think for a moment on the position Abraham was in. God had graciously given he and Sarah a child in their old age. God had also promised that from Isaac He would create a great nation, and that Isaac would be the father of twelve princes. And now God was telling Abraham to take that child of promise, bring him to the top of a mountain in the land of Moriah, build an alter, and kill him. I can’t even begin to think what must have gone through Abraham’s mind! I love my own children more then I can express, as I’m sure Abraham did, and have trouble imagining life without them, much less sacrificing them. But regardless, Abraham choose to obey, and trust, in God, because he knew God to be trustworthy. He had seen Him work, and must have known He had something planned.
Abraham’s response did not surprise God. Though God was testing Abraham, He knew what the outcome would be. As Abraham told Isaac, when Isaac asked about the lamb for the sacrifice, God did provide. God never planned to let Abraham kill his son, but to strengthen his faith, and Isaac’s faith, and ultimately our faith, through the reading of the story. When Abraham demonstrated his faith, God stopped his hand, and miraculously provided a ram for the offering instead. And because of Abraham’s obedience and trust, God promised to bless him.
But the story doesn’t end there. Isaac was still under a death sentence, as we all are. We all have sinned, fallen short of God’s glory, and deserve a violent death, and worse, an eternity in hell, as punishment for our moral crimes against a perfect, holy God. But 2000 years ago, when God placed His own Son on the alter, Christ Jesus, who had come to the alter willingly, He did not stop His hand. He slaughtered His own Son, as payment for our sin debt. As Abraham said, God provided the lamb for the offering, the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Because on He paid the price we owed, only through Him can we be made right with God, and thus be seen as righteous on the day of judgement.
So encourage people to examine the scriptures, letting them know that they will find them to be trustworthy. They encourage them to examine themselves, and see their motives for not trusting in Christ. Some people may have legitimate questions about the bible, or who God is, or of claimed contradictions in the word, and we should attempt to answer those. But ultimately disbelief is an issue of the heart, not the mind. So aim for their conscience, and bring them face to face with God’s law, so they feel it’s conviction and see their need for a savior. Then introduce them to the lamb of God.
We are just over a week away from Black Friday. If you are able to get up early enough, I would encourage you to grab a team of people and head out to a local store like Target or Walmart at opening, or to your local mall. Thousands will be out looking for good deals, and many will be waiting in line for hours. I have seen people at one of our local Best Buy stores start to line up for the doorbuster sales at noon on Thanksgiving, and by Friday morning when the store opens, the line is thousands of people long. It’s a perfect time to pass our tracts and talk to people, or even open-air if the situation allows it. I’ll be putting up the Black Friday reading and the event sign-up on the Facebook page soon.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
This week’s suggested reading is Genesis 22. I think one message in this passage is clear: God is trustworthy, a truth that many, if not most, in our day doubt. People doubt His word because they want to conform God’s will to their wants, rather than the other way around. But God IS trustworthy!
Think for a moment on the position Abraham was in. God had graciously given he and Sarah a child in their old age. God had also promised that from Isaac He would create a great nation, and that Isaac would be the father of twelve princes. And now God was telling Abraham to take that child of promise, bring him to the top of a mountain in the land of Moriah, build an alter, and kill him. I can’t even begin to think what must have gone through Abraham’s mind! I love my own children more then I can express, as I’m sure Abraham did, and have trouble imagining life without them, much less sacrificing them. But regardless, Abraham choose to obey, and trust, in God, because he knew God to be trustworthy. He had seen Him work, and must have known He had something planned.
Abraham’s response did not surprise God. Though God was testing Abraham, He knew what the outcome would be. As Abraham told Isaac, when Isaac asked about the lamb for the sacrifice, God did provide. God never planned to let Abraham kill his son, but to strengthen his faith, and Isaac’s faith, and ultimately our faith, through the reading of the story. When Abraham demonstrated his faith, God stopped his hand, and miraculously provided a ram for the offering instead. And because of Abraham’s obedience and trust, God promised to bless him.
But the story doesn’t end there. Isaac was still under a death sentence, as we all are. We all have sinned, fallen short of God’s glory, and deserve a violent death, and worse, an eternity in hell, as punishment for our moral crimes against a perfect, holy God. But 2000 years ago, when God placed His own Son on the alter, Christ Jesus, who had come to the alter willingly, He did not stop His hand. He slaughtered His own Son, as payment for our sin debt. As Abraham said, God provided the lamb for the offering, the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Because on He paid the price we owed, only through Him can we be made right with God, and thus be seen as righteous on the day of judgement.
So encourage people to examine the scriptures, letting them know that they will find them to be trustworthy. They encourage them to examine themselves, and see their motives for not trusting in Christ. Some people may have legitimate questions about the bible, or who God is, or of claimed contradictions in the word, and we should attempt to answer those. But ultimately disbelief is an issue of the heart, not the mind. So aim for their conscience, and bring them face to face with God’s law, so they feel it’s conviction and see their need for a savior. Then introduce them to the lamb of God.
We are just over a week away from Black Friday. If you are able to get up early enough, I would encourage you to grab a team of people and head out to a local store like Target or Walmart at opening, or to your local mall. Thousands will be out looking for good deals, and many will be waiting in line for hours. I have seen people at one of our local Best Buy stores start to line up for the doorbuster sales at noon on Thanksgiving, and by Friday morning when the store opens, the line is thousands of people long. It’s a perfect time to pass our tracts and talk to people, or even open-air if the situation allows it. I’ll be putting up the Black Friday reading and the event sign-up on the Facebook page soon.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, November 12, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Matthew 23
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week our suggested reading is Matthew 23. Like the Pharisees and scribes, many people you talk to will be convinced of their own goodness and worthiness before God, based on outward appearances and acts. This chapter, the woes pronounced against the religious leaders of the day, will hopefully be an encouragement to people to examine both themselves, and those they choose to follow, to see the truth of their spiritual condition. I pray the outline below will be helpful.
Read Matthew 23
Do not be deceived!
These woes were directed to the scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of the Jewish nation in Jesus day. We may not be the Jewish nation, but you know these people. You may be these people.
Jesus warned of hypocrisy, and I want to warn you of the same. I can’t point out who the hypocrites here are. I don’t know you and it’s not my place,
But I plead with you to examine yourselves, and make sure you are what you think you are. And examine those you follow, to make sure they are what they claim to be.
Your soul matters! It matters to God, and by His grace and His conviction, it matters to us. That’s why we are here. We don’t want your money, and we don’t just want you to join our church. We want you to repent, turn from your sins, and trust in Christ alone. We want you to be in a right relationship with your creator.
Examine yourself, and examine the truth of the bible. Please don’t fall into the traps of the religious hypocrites. Come to know the real God, the true creator, and savior, of the universe.
Don’t be fooled by pious appearance, and religious trappings, like the Pharisees were. Because someone has a nice suit, a fancy church and a big bible doesn’t make them trustworthy. Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, pretty on the outside but filled with filth. Listen to what you are taught, and know your bible so you sift the true from the false.
Don’t believe your own appearance of piety. An hour or two on Sunday morning, a cross around your neck, a few “spiritual” T-shirts in your closet and a check to the church won’t save you. There’s nothing wrong with them, but don’t deceive yourself and buy into your own lie, like the scribes and Pharisees did.
Know yourself in truth! Know that you are guilty before a holy God, but that God has provided a way for your sins to be washed clean, by the blood of the perfect, sinless lamb of God.
Don’t neglect the weightier matters of the law, such as justice and mercy and faithfulness. Be faithful to God, and to His word, which tells us that He is a God both of mercy, and of justice.
Don’t be like the Pharisees and scribes, who wanted to call themselves true men of faith, and then killed those sent to convict them of their sin. Before you attack someone, possibly sent from God, who “judges” you, stop for a moment to see if they are right! If they are, turn to God, confess your sin, and put your trust in Christ.
GO THROUGH THE LAW, SO THERE IS CONVICTION OF SIN
Don’t believe the lie that if you try your best you will be fine. God is righteous, and holy, and perfect, and all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags before him. There is no one righteous, not one. All have turned aside and have together become worthless. Look at God’s law, and you will see this to be true. The law was given to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
God is good, and will cleanse you of sin if you will humble yourself and submit to Him. Turn from your self righteousness to His goodness!
We are here because we care about you! We care about your souls. We are not looking to abuse or brow beat you, but to warn you. Heaven is real, but hell is just as real. God is loving, but God is also just and must punish sin.
Every one of us will be the recipient either of God’s justice, or His mercy.
The only way to receive His mercy is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who paid the price for sin and satisfied justice so we could be seen as righteous before God.
Look, examine yourself. You know the truth. Listen to your conscience.
Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I pray that this will be an encouragement to you in your outreach. I would also love to get more feedback on our weekly posts. Feel free to post either on the event page or in the blog comments area. We also have not had many Halloween outreach posts or pictures, so please let us know how things went. I have posted a YouTube video from our local group, which was filmed on the 30th, but I would love to add more. I will also be posting the Black Friday and Christmas reading events soon, so be talking to people and gathering a team. Both of these are also amazing opportunities for sharing the gospel.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Read Matthew 23
Do not be deceived!
These woes were directed to the scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of the Jewish nation in Jesus day. We may not be the Jewish nation, but you know these people. You may be these people.
Jesus warned of hypocrisy, and I want to warn you of the same. I can’t point out who the hypocrites here are. I don’t know you and it’s not my place,
But I plead with you to examine yourselves, and make sure you are what you think you are. And examine those you follow, to make sure they are what they claim to be.
Your soul matters! It matters to God, and by His grace and His conviction, it matters to us. That’s why we are here. We don’t want your money, and we don’t just want you to join our church. We want you to repent, turn from your sins, and trust in Christ alone. We want you to be in a right relationship with your creator.
Examine yourself, and examine the truth of the bible. Please don’t fall into the traps of the religious hypocrites. Come to know the real God, the true creator, and savior, of the universe.
Don’t be fooled by pious appearance, and religious trappings, like the Pharisees were. Because someone has a nice suit, a fancy church and a big bible doesn’t make them trustworthy. Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, pretty on the outside but filled with filth. Listen to what you are taught, and know your bible so you sift the true from the false.
Don’t believe your own appearance of piety. An hour or two on Sunday morning, a cross around your neck, a few “spiritual” T-shirts in your closet and a check to the church won’t save you. There’s nothing wrong with them, but don’t deceive yourself and buy into your own lie, like the scribes and Pharisees did.
Know yourself in truth! Know that you are guilty before a holy God, but that God has provided a way for your sins to be washed clean, by the blood of the perfect, sinless lamb of God.
Don’t neglect the weightier matters of the law, such as justice and mercy and faithfulness. Be faithful to God, and to His word, which tells us that He is a God both of mercy, and of justice.
Don’t be like the Pharisees and scribes, who wanted to call themselves true men of faith, and then killed those sent to convict them of their sin. Before you attack someone, possibly sent from God, who “judges” you, stop for a moment to see if they are right! If they are, turn to God, confess your sin, and put your trust in Christ.
GO THROUGH THE LAW, SO THERE IS CONVICTION OF SIN
Don’t believe the lie that if you try your best you will be fine. God is righteous, and holy, and perfect, and all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags before him. There is no one righteous, not one. All have turned aside and have together become worthless. Look at God’s law, and you will see this to be true. The law was given to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
God is good, and will cleanse you of sin if you will humble yourself and submit to Him. Turn from your self righteousness to His goodness!
We are here because we care about you! We care about your souls. We are not looking to abuse or brow beat you, but to warn you. Heaven is real, but hell is just as real. God is loving, but God is also just and must punish sin.
Every one of us will be the recipient either of God’s justice, or His mercy.
The only way to receive His mercy is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who paid the price for sin and satisfied justice so we could be seen as righteous before God.
Look, examine yourself. You know the truth. Listen to your conscience.
Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I pray that this will be an encouragement to you in your outreach. I would also love to get more feedback on our weekly posts. Feel free to post either on the event page or in the blog comments area. We also have not had many Halloween outreach posts or pictures, so please let us know how things went. I have posted a YouTube video from our local group, which was filmed on the 30th, but I would love to add more. I will also be posting the Black Friday and Christmas reading events soon, so be talking to people and gathering a team. Both of these are also amazing opportunities for sharing the gospel.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Norcal Seedsowers Halloween Outreach
On the night before Halloween the Norcal Seedsowers, out local evangelism team, headed out to the streets of Downtown San Jose to share the gospel. For those of you not familiar, San Jose is about 45 minutes south of San Francisco in Northern California. San Jose, a city of about 1 million people, is the heart of the Silicon Valley. Many of the world's top technology companies, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Cisco, Intel, and Ebay are located in San Jose or one of it's suburbs. Although there are not many large public gathering places, the downtown area, particularly on weekend nights like this one, can be very busy. We were able to share the gospel with many people via open air preaching and one on one conversations. I hope this video is an encouragement to you.
Thanks to Jared Duba of Depraved Wretch Design (also know as Jesus Disciple when he sings and writes Christian Hip-hop) for putting this video together. Be sure to check out his site when you get a chance.
www.norcalseedsowers.com
http://www.youtube.com/depravedwretchfilms
Thanks to Jared Duba of Depraved Wretch Design (also know as Jesus Disciple when he sings and writes Christian Hip-hop) for putting this video together. Be sure to check out his site when you get a chance.
www.norcalseedsowers.com
http://www.youtube.com/depravedwretchfilms
Friday, November 5, 2010
This Week's Reading - Acts 22
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week our suggested reading is Acts 22, in which the Apostle Paul gives an account of his conversion and early Christian life. I have used the life of Paul as an evidence for the truth of Christianity many times. Paul is the perfect example of someone who had nothing to gain and everything to lose by becoming a Christian. He already had social status, the best education, power, political influence, everything you could want from a worldly perspective. Why would Paul throw all that away? Because he had an encounter with the risen Christ, and it changed him forever. A similar argument could be made for the other disciples. What took them from cowering in a upstairs room for fear of the Jews to standing in the Temple preaching fearlessly just after breaking out of prison? They had seen Jesus raised from the dead, knew Him to be God in the flesh, and thus had no fear of man or earthly government. Consider adding these facts to your apologetic arsenal. They make very quick, concise arguments that can quickly be brought back to the gospel, and I have found them to be very effective if the listener is open-minded at all.
INTRO
I’m here to tell you the truth.
I’m here to share a chapter from the bible, which is the truth of God, and the truth of history.
Please understand that I am not sharing things that are just true for me, that make me feel better, or give me comfort when times are tough. They are either actually true or actually false.
If what I am reading is not the truth of God, and is not the truth of history, it is useless
If it only makes us feel good, but has no eternal benefit, it is a horrific, dangerous lie.
1 Corinthians 15:17-19 - if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Don’t make the mistake of dismissing the bible and Jesus Christ as something interesting that helps some people. They are true, or they are false.
I believe one of the best evidences for the truth of Jesus Christ is the life of the Apostle Paul. Listen to this recount of his conversion and early life as a Christian.
READ ACTS 22
What is special about this? Paul had no motive to become a Christian unless Christianity was true
Paul had status is society. Among the Jews, he has a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee of Pharisees, one of the religious elite with all the right pedigrees. Among the Romans, he was a Roman citizen, a title which was highly prized.
He had the best education, having studied at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish teachers and intellects of the time.
He power, and political influence. He was trusted enough that he was given letters by the Jewish ruling council that allowed him to go from city to city and round up Christians and have them thrown into prison.
He had zeal. When Stephen, the first Christian martyr was stoned to death, he was there holding the cloaks of those who stoned him.
What would make a man like this change his mind? He had an encounter with the risen Christ
God in human form came to him and confronted him on his rebellion.
Are you in willful rebellion again God, as Paul was?
Do you know God’s word to be true? Listen to your conscience. You know you have broken God’s law, as I have.
GO THROUGH THE LAW
If you have sinned against the living God, you are in serious danger, and deserving of eternity in Hell. But God, in his mercy, has provided a way for you to be cleansed of your sins.
Repent of your sins, and put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you. If you do, Christ’s righteousness will be credited to your account, and you will be able to stand before God on the day of judgment.
Don’t take my word for it. Look into God’s word to see if these things are true. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, and are bearing spiritual fruit that shows that God has changed you.
Don’t put this off, and presume on God’s patience. Repent and trust in Him while He has given you time.
Remember that none of this outline material is set in stone. The purpose of the suggested chapters and outlines in not to force you into a mold so you preach the same as me. After all, I’m no expert, and certainly no great theologian. It is simply to provide encouragement and ideas for those of you wishing to grow and mature in your ability to share the gospel, both through open-air preaching and in one-to-one conversations. One member of Project Ezra recently mentioned keeping a notebook of open-air preaching ideas. This is an excellent idea, and one that I would suggest for all of you. I have kept my own notebook of ideas for a while now. Also, while you should spend some time with the chapter before you read, don’t get too tied to your outline when you go out to preach. Sometimes you will get through your gospel presentation front to back with no interruption, but sometimes you may be interrupted early in the presentation, or may end up in a conversation that keeps you from doing the reading at all. That’s OK! The goal of this endeavor is that God may be glorified through our obedience to proclaim His word, and how He chooses to do that will be a little different every time. So relax, give your time completely to Him in prayer, and hang on to see what He does!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
INTRO
I’m here to tell you the truth.
I’m here to share a chapter from the bible, which is the truth of God, and the truth of history.
Please understand that I am not sharing things that are just true for me, that make me feel better, or give me comfort when times are tough. They are either actually true or actually false.
If what I am reading is not the truth of God, and is not the truth of history, it is useless
If it only makes us feel good, but has no eternal benefit, it is a horrific, dangerous lie.
1 Corinthians 15:17-19 - if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Don’t make the mistake of dismissing the bible and Jesus Christ as something interesting that helps some people. They are true, or they are false.
I believe one of the best evidences for the truth of Jesus Christ is the life of the Apostle Paul. Listen to this recount of his conversion and early life as a Christian.
READ ACTS 22
What is special about this? Paul had no motive to become a Christian unless Christianity was true
Paul had status is society. Among the Jews, he has a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee of Pharisees, one of the religious elite with all the right pedigrees. Among the Romans, he was a Roman citizen, a title which was highly prized.
He had the best education, having studied at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish teachers and intellects of the time.
He power, and political influence. He was trusted enough that he was given letters by the Jewish ruling council that allowed him to go from city to city and round up Christians and have them thrown into prison.
He had zeal. When Stephen, the first Christian martyr was stoned to death, he was there holding the cloaks of those who stoned him.
What would make a man like this change his mind? He had an encounter with the risen Christ
God in human form came to him and confronted him on his rebellion.
Are you in willful rebellion again God, as Paul was?
Do you know God’s word to be true? Listen to your conscience. You know you have broken God’s law, as I have.
GO THROUGH THE LAW
If you have sinned against the living God, you are in serious danger, and deserving of eternity in Hell. But God, in his mercy, has provided a way for you to be cleansed of your sins.
Repent of your sins, and put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you. If you do, Christ’s righteousness will be credited to your account, and you will be able to stand before God on the day of judgment.
Don’t take my word for it. Look into God’s word to see if these things are true. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, and are bearing spiritual fruit that shows that God has changed you.
Don’t put this off, and presume on God’s patience. Repent and trust in Him while He has given you time.
Remember that none of this outline material is set in stone. The purpose of the suggested chapters and outlines in not to force you into a mold so you preach the same as me. After all, I’m no expert, and certainly no great theologian. It is simply to provide encouragement and ideas for those of you wishing to grow and mature in your ability to share the gospel, both through open-air preaching and in one-to-one conversations. One member of Project Ezra recently mentioned keeping a notebook of open-air preaching ideas. This is an excellent idea, and one that I would suggest for all of you. I have kept my own notebook of ideas for a while now. Also, while you should spend some time with the chapter before you read, don’t get too tied to your outline when you go out to preach. Sometimes you will get through your gospel presentation front to back with no interruption, but sometimes you may be interrupted early in the presentation, or may end up in a conversation that keeps you from doing the reading at all. That’s OK! The goal of this endeavor is that God may be glorified through our obedience to proclaim His word, and how He chooses to do that will be a little different every time. So relax, give your time completely to Him in prayer, and hang on to see what He does!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, October 29, 2010
Halloween Ezra Reading - Revelation 20-22
Greetings Project Ezra. It’s almost time for our Halloween reading, and I’m excited! I pray many of you will participate, and that God will be greatly glorified through the preaching of His word.
I will attempt to keep the preaching notes short this week, and would encourage you to spend time reading and re-reading the passage, and praying for the souls that will hear God’s word this weekend. I was listening to an online sermon by Paul Washer today, and he brought up a point I think we should all remember. He said (I am paraphrasing) that the real work is not done when the message is presented, but on our knees long before we start preaching. We need to give every effort, every word that comes out of our mouths, to God, and trust Him for the results. So if you are reading or preaching, give it to God in prayer first. And if you are not participating this weekend, I hope that you will also go to prayer for your brothers and sisters on the front lines. Please pray for wisdom, humility, divine appointments, and safety during what can be a very ugly weekend.
I would suggest focusing on the following points:
----------
Introduction and reading of Revelation 20-22
The great white throne judgment and the Lamb’s book of life
All of us will be judged by God’s perfect holy standard
Revelation 20:13 - All of us will stand before the great white throne and be
judged according to what they have done.
Revelation 21:8 – Have you committed any of these sins?
What God says about the occult:
Deuteronomy 18:10-11- There shall not be found among you anyone who
burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices
divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a
charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,
Are you celebrating Halloween by making entertainment of things God hates?
Philippians 4:8 – Set your minds on the good things of God
The terrors of hell, and the lake of fire
You will not be in hell enjoying the pleasures of sin with Satan and your buddies.
Satan does not rule hell. It is a punishment for him as it is for us.
Revelation 20:10 – The Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet tormented
forever.
Revelation 20:14-15 – Death and Hades (those not in the Lamb’s book of
life) thrown into the lake of fire
Luke 16 - The rich man begging for one drop of water to soothe his tongue
The lamb’s book of life – Who’s name will be in it? Will your name be in it?
John 1:29 - The lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world
Revelation 5:6 – Jesus described as a lamb, standing as though slain
In the temple, a perfect lamb was sacrificed to cover sin, but only for a time
Hebrews 7: 23-25 - The former priests were many in number, because
they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds
his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he
is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Jesus can take all your sins, permanently. How?
The cross – Jesus sacrificed for the sin of the world
God’s wrath poured out on His own son, so it didn’t have to be poured out on us.
Isaiah 53 - It was the will of the LORD to crush him. He was crushed for our
transgressions.
Repent, and put your faith in the Lamb of God! (Acts 20:21)
The wonders of heaven, and the New Jerusalem
Gold, which many of us would live and die for, is so common and mundane that it is used to pave the streets!
Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall
be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things have passed away.”
Jesus is coming soon, and bringing His recompense with Him. (Revelation 22:12) Are you ready?
----------
I hope this is helpful, and I will be praying for you, that the Lord will use you mightily this weekend for His glory and the saving of many souls. Please post your testimonies and pictures when you can.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
I will attempt to keep the preaching notes short this week, and would encourage you to spend time reading and re-reading the passage, and praying for the souls that will hear God’s word this weekend. I was listening to an online sermon by Paul Washer today, and he brought up a point I think we should all remember. He said (I am paraphrasing) that the real work is not done when the message is presented, but on our knees long before we start preaching. We need to give every effort, every word that comes out of our mouths, to God, and trust Him for the results. So if you are reading or preaching, give it to God in prayer first. And if you are not participating this weekend, I hope that you will also go to prayer for your brothers and sisters on the front lines. Please pray for wisdom, humility, divine appointments, and safety during what can be a very ugly weekend.
I would suggest focusing on the following points:
----------
Introduction and reading of Revelation 20-22
The great white throne judgment and the Lamb’s book of life
All of us will be judged by God’s perfect holy standard
Revelation 20:13 - All of us will stand before the great white throne and be
judged according to what they have done.
Revelation 21:8 – Have you committed any of these sins?
What God says about the occult:
Deuteronomy 18:10-11- There shall not be found among you anyone who
burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices
divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a
charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,
Are you celebrating Halloween by making entertainment of things God hates?
Philippians 4:8 – Set your minds on the good things of God
The terrors of hell, and the lake of fire
You will not be in hell enjoying the pleasures of sin with Satan and your buddies.
Satan does not rule hell. It is a punishment for him as it is for us.
Revelation 20:10 – The Devil, the Beast, the False Prophet tormented
forever.
Revelation 20:14-15 – Death and Hades (those not in the Lamb’s book of
life) thrown into the lake of fire
Luke 16 - The rich man begging for one drop of water to soothe his tongue
The lamb’s book of life – Who’s name will be in it? Will your name be in it?
John 1:29 - The lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world
Revelation 5:6 – Jesus described as a lamb, standing as though slain
In the temple, a perfect lamb was sacrificed to cover sin, but only for a time
Hebrews 7: 23-25 - The former priests were many in number, because
they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds
his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he
is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Jesus can take all your sins, permanently. How?
The cross – Jesus sacrificed for the sin of the world
God’s wrath poured out on His own son, so it didn’t have to be poured out on us.
Isaiah 53 - It was the will of the LORD to crush him. He was crushed for our
transgressions.
Repent, and put your faith in the Lamb of God! (Acts 20:21)
The wonders of heaven, and the New Jerusalem
Gold, which many of us would live and die for, is so common and mundane that it is used to pave the streets!
Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall
be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things have passed away.”
Jesus is coming soon, and bringing His recompense with Him. (Revelation 22:12) Are you ready?
----------
I hope this is helpful, and I will be praying for you, that the Lord will use you mightily this weekend for His glory and the saving of many souls. Please post your testimonies and pictures when you can.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
Friday, October 22, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Jeremiah 23
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week our suggested reading is Jeremiah 23. I am sorry for the late posting. Unfortunately I have been dealing with a company emergency, so I have been away from home and unable to finish and post until now. I pray that this will still be a blessing. Below are some suggested preaching points.
Intro and read Jeremiah 23
Be carful who you believe. Many of you who think you are right with God and bound for heaven may be following false teachers, or false beliefs. The bible mentions false teachers and false prophets many times. I’m not here to give you a list of who is true and who is false, but I’m here to encourage you, to plead with you, to examine what you believe and why you believe it. Eternity is imminent. You may live for another 80 years, but you are not even promised tomorrow, so find the truth and get right with God while he has given you time. And the truth is this: We are all sinners, moral criminals in God’s court, who are worthy of death and hell. But God, because of his love, mercy, and grace, provided a way for our sins to be atoned for and for us to be right before Him, through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
Have you been taught something different? Don’t take my word for it. Check out God’s word. In this passage Jeremiah talks about some of the false ideas and beliefs of false teachers and prophets.
Do they have no fear of the holiness of God? The greatest men in scripture trembled before God’s holiness. Yes, God is loving, and is a father to His children, but just a glimpse of His holiness was enough to make the most righteous men in the bible fall on their faces before him and cry for mercy. Moses, Isaiah, and here Jeremiah are just a few examples.
Are they ungodly? The man, prophet or otherwise, who claims to follow God and lives an abominable and wicked life before Him, is a liar. We all make mistakes, and we all sin, even the most committed follow. But the person who claims belief and lives in unrepentant sin, is a liar. (See 1 John)
Do they fill you with vain hopes and say all will be well with you? If you despise the Lord and hate His will, and they give you confidence that everything will be fine, they are lying. They say that it will be well for you, and though you stubbornly follow your own heart, no disaster will fall. God is good, and does provide for His children, but the only way you will receive your best life now is if you are going to hell. Do as God’s word says, and store up your rewards in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Do they encourage behaviors that God hates? God hates sin, and will punish iniquity. If a teacher does not deal with sin, he is not a true teacher of God. This chapter states that if they had stood in God’s council, they would have proclaimed God’s word to the people, and turned them from their evil ways and evil deeds.
Go through God’s law and show them their sinful state before a holy God
Preach the cross and the resurrection.
If you want to have a right relationship with your creator, do what His word says. Repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The book of 2 Timothy says that the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. Don’t make this foolish mistake. Find the truth, and get right with your creator through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
Thanks for being part of Project Ezra. It’s just a week until Halloween now. We have more people joining again, and I pray you will be one of them. If not, please be in prayer for your brothers and sisters on the street.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Intro and read Jeremiah 23
Be carful who you believe. Many of you who think you are right with God and bound for heaven may be following false teachers, or false beliefs. The bible mentions false teachers and false prophets many times. I’m not here to give you a list of who is true and who is false, but I’m here to encourage you, to plead with you, to examine what you believe and why you believe it. Eternity is imminent. You may live for another 80 years, but you are not even promised tomorrow, so find the truth and get right with God while he has given you time. And the truth is this: We are all sinners, moral criminals in God’s court, who are worthy of death and hell. But God, because of his love, mercy, and grace, provided a way for our sins to be atoned for and for us to be right before Him, through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
Have you been taught something different? Don’t take my word for it. Check out God’s word. In this passage Jeremiah talks about some of the false ideas and beliefs of false teachers and prophets.
Do they have no fear of the holiness of God? The greatest men in scripture trembled before God’s holiness. Yes, God is loving, and is a father to His children, but just a glimpse of His holiness was enough to make the most righteous men in the bible fall on their faces before him and cry for mercy. Moses, Isaiah, and here Jeremiah are just a few examples.
Are they ungodly? The man, prophet or otherwise, who claims to follow God and lives an abominable and wicked life before Him, is a liar. We all make mistakes, and we all sin, even the most committed follow. But the person who claims belief and lives in unrepentant sin, is a liar. (See 1 John)
Do they fill you with vain hopes and say all will be well with you? If you despise the Lord and hate His will, and they give you confidence that everything will be fine, they are lying. They say that it will be well for you, and though you stubbornly follow your own heart, no disaster will fall. God is good, and does provide for His children, but the only way you will receive your best life now is if you are going to hell. Do as God’s word says, and store up your rewards in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Do they encourage behaviors that God hates? God hates sin, and will punish iniquity. If a teacher does not deal with sin, he is not a true teacher of God. This chapter states that if they had stood in God’s council, they would have proclaimed God’s word to the people, and turned them from their evil ways and evil deeds.
Go through God’s law and show them their sinful state before a holy God
Preach the cross and the resurrection.
If you want to have a right relationship with your creator, do what His word says. Repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The book of 2 Timothy says that the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. Don’t make this foolish mistake. Find the truth, and get right with your creator through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
Thanks for being part of Project Ezra. It’s just a week until Halloween now. We have more people joining again, and I pray you will be one of them. If not, please be in prayer for your brothers and sisters on the street.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, October 15, 2010
This Week's Project Ezra Reading - 2 Kings 19:8-28
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week our suggested reading is 2 Kings 19:8-28, and could rightly be called a Tale of Two Kings. The kings are Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and Hezekiah, king of Judah. Assyria is attacking Judah, and Sennacherib sends a letter to Judah, mocking God, in order to cause Judah and Hezekiah to lose hope. But instead of losing hope, Hezekiah brings the letter and lays it before the Lord. He praises God for who He is, and asked that Judah would be delivered, that God may be glorified through the salvation of His people. God answered Hezekiah. That night the angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 of the Assyrians, and after Sennacherib returns home, he is assassinated by two of his own sons.
These two kings are an accurate parallel of the Christian and the world. The man or woman who rejects Christ depends on their health, their wealth, their power and influence, their own toughness and determination, or their own goodness to save them. Like Sennacherib, many boast of their own accomplishments and glory in their own strength. But the wise man takes his troubles and lays them before God, depending on His strength to carry him through. It is the wisdom in that decision that we need to show to those we read to.
Below in an outline to give you some ideas for your preaching:
Introduction and read the verses
Two kings who trusted in very different things
One trusted in his own strength and accomplishment, and one trusted in the mercy of God
What is your trust in? You may not be a conquering king, but you are probably trusting in your own accomplishments
Are you trusting in Intellectual prowess, either your own or someone else’s, to deny and scoff at God? Will science save you? Science is not bad in itself, but it can not save you, and by now Darwin himself knows the truth!
Romans 1:22 - Claiming to be wise they became fools
2 Peter 3:3-5 - knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,
Are you trusting in financial success or accomplishment to save you? Wealth is not bad in itself, but it is the root of all kind of evil, and envy and covetousness are sins against God. No amount of money will help you stand before God.
Proverbs 11:12 - Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Mat 19:24 - Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
Are you trusting in your own goodness to get right with God? Perhaps you have said “God knows my heart” – Yes, he does! That should not comfort you, but frighten you!
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
See verses 27 and 28. God knows all that we do, and knows our rebellion against Him. He knows every sin we commit, even those we have forgotten. He knows the wicked things we have done, and He knows the good things we have failed to do.
He knows our greed and envy, which is covetousness
He knows our anger and hatred, which he sees as murder
He knows our lustful, X-rated, pornographic thoughts, which are adultery
He knows the idols we have replaced Him with, idols of money, power, pleasure, and personal autonomy
Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, doing good deeds to get right with God? It won’t work.
Romans 3:10-12 - "None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one."
Isaiah 64:6 - We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Enjoying pleasure and not worrying about it? Wake up now while you have time!
1 Corinthians 15:32 - If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
Luke 12:19-21 - And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
James 4:13-14 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
As Hezekiah was, you are in deadly peril. But as Hezekiah was delivered through his trust in God, you too can be delivered! God, who is rich in mercy, sent Jesus Christ to earth, that we might be delivered from the wrath to come. (1 Thes 1:10)
So repent today towards God, and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 20:21), and through Jesus sacrifice, your sins can be atoned for, paid in full by His blood (Romans 3:23-26). Repent and trust Christ today, while God has given you time.
Thanks for being part of Project Ezra. Have a great weekend, and a great time of outreach. Remember, we have just a couple weeks until out Halloween reading, and still have less that 60 confirmed participants. If you haven’t responded yet, please do. If you are on the Maybe list, change that maybe to a yes, grab some brothers and sisters in Christ, and get out there and tell someone about He who is worthy to be praised!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
These two kings are an accurate parallel of the Christian and the world. The man or woman who rejects Christ depends on their health, their wealth, their power and influence, their own toughness and determination, or their own goodness to save them. Like Sennacherib, many boast of their own accomplishments and glory in their own strength. But the wise man takes his troubles and lays them before God, depending on His strength to carry him through. It is the wisdom in that decision that we need to show to those we read to.
Below in an outline to give you some ideas for your preaching:
Introduction and read the verses
Two kings who trusted in very different things
One trusted in his own strength and accomplishment, and one trusted in the mercy of God
What is your trust in? You may not be a conquering king, but you are probably trusting in your own accomplishments
Are you trusting in Intellectual prowess, either your own or someone else’s, to deny and scoff at God? Will science save you? Science is not bad in itself, but it can not save you, and by now Darwin himself knows the truth!
Romans 1:22 - Claiming to be wise they became fools
2 Peter 3:3-5 - knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,
Are you trusting in financial success or accomplishment to save you? Wealth is not bad in itself, but it is the root of all kind of evil, and envy and covetousness are sins against God. No amount of money will help you stand before God.
Proverbs 11:12 - Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Mat 19:24 - Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
Are you trusting in your own goodness to get right with God? Perhaps you have said “God knows my heart” – Yes, he does! That should not comfort you, but frighten you!
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
See verses 27 and 28. God knows all that we do, and knows our rebellion against Him. He knows every sin we commit, even those we have forgotten. He knows the wicked things we have done, and He knows the good things we have failed to do.
He knows our greed and envy, which is covetousness
He knows our anger and hatred, which he sees as murder
He knows our lustful, X-rated, pornographic thoughts, which are adultery
He knows the idols we have replaced Him with, idols of money, power, pleasure, and personal autonomy
Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, doing good deeds to get right with God? It won’t work.
Romans 3:10-12 - "None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one."
Isaiah 64:6 - We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Enjoying pleasure and not worrying about it? Wake up now while you have time!
1 Corinthians 15:32 - If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
Luke 12:19-21 - And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
James 4:13-14 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
As Hezekiah was, you are in deadly peril. But as Hezekiah was delivered through his trust in God, you too can be delivered! God, who is rich in mercy, sent Jesus Christ to earth, that we might be delivered from the wrath to come. (1 Thes 1:10)
So repent today towards God, and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 20:21), and through Jesus sacrifice, your sins can be atoned for, paid in full by His blood (Romans 3:23-26). Repent and trust Christ today, while God has given you time.
Thanks for being part of Project Ezra. Have a great weekend, and a great time of outreach. Remember, we have just a couple weeks until out Halloween reading, and still have less that 60 confirmed participants. If you haven’t responded yet, please do. If you are on the Maybe list, change that maybe to a yes, grab some brothers and sisters in Christ, and get out there and tell someone about He who is worthy to be praised!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Thursday, October 7, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Isaiah 59
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week the suggested reading for Project Ezra is Isaiah 59. This is out of order form our normal book list, but since we missed this list one month a while back, and since Proverbs has a limited number of passages that stay on a single topic or line of thought for any length of time, I have decided to use this chapter instead. But we will not be using Isaiah 59 alone, but in concert with Isaiah 53. We have read Isaiah 53 before, but I think these two chapters together have a great impact.
Chapter 59 talks about separation from God for those may claim His name, but through willful sin have separated themselves from Him. This described all of us at one point. But chapter 53 talks about a redeemer, who will take our iniquity so we can be made right with God. Consider the points in the outline below:
Introduction and read Isaiah 59
Please consider this passage and look at yourselves in truth. We are not passing judgment, but pleading with you to judge yourselves by the truth of God’s word, the only true standard for judgment. You may have a religion, or a spirituality, which is devoid of power, because it is nothing but words.
Titus 1:16 - They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
God is not unable to save, but your sins have separated you from God so that He does not hear you. Your sins have defiled you.
Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Isaiah talks of those who are swift to shed innocent blood. Their feet run to evil, and they do not know peace or justice. Are you swift to run to evil? Do you find pleasure in the things God hates?
You may one who stumbles even in the daylight. You may have grown up around church and may have an idea who God is and some of what the bible say. But, if you are living for sin you are blind to the truths of God.
2 Cor 4:4 – The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers
1 John 2:11 – The darkness has blinded his eyes
Are you willfully blind to the truths of God, including his hatred of sin?
Our sins testify against us. We are transgressing and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God.
Go through God’s law, and be specific about sin. People need to feel the weight of their sin personally.
At the end of the chapter God is described as a warrior preparing for battle, putting on His armor, and His garments of vengeance. God will repay the wicked according to their deeds, and there will be wrath for His adversaries.
You shall fear the name of the lord
Matt 10:28 - And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
You deserve God’s justice and wrath. But this chapter says a redeemer will come to Zion, to those who turn from transgression.
Isaiah 53 tells us of that redeemer! This chapter very clearly refers to Jesus Christ, although it was written 700 years before His birth.
Read Isaiah 53
The transgressions and iniquities which separate us from God in Isaiah 59 are borne by Jesus in Isaiah 53. Listen to the contrast between these passages:
Isa 59:8 - The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
Isa 59:12 - For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:
Isa 59:13 - transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Isa 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Every one of us will receive either God’s justice and wrath, or God’s grace and mercy. Claiming the name of God is not enough, if our actions show that our claim is a lie. But through repentance and trust in Jesus Christ, who bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors, we can be made right with God. Don’t presume on God’s patience. Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I pray that this will be helpful and encouraging to you.
We have just over 50 people signed up for our Halloween Reading so far. The chapters for this reading will be Revelation 20-22. There’s still plenty of time to prepare, and I guarantee there will be plenty of lost people out and about to talk to, so why wait? Start getting your team together and preparing now! This time of year is very spiritually dark, so the light of God’s truth will shine that much more brightly. So, as Matthew 5 says, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Chapter 59 talks about separation from God for those may claim His name, but through willful sin have separated themselves from Him. This described all of us at one point. But chapter 53 talks about a redeemer, who will take our iniquity so we can be made right with God. Consider the points in the outline below:
Introduction and read Isaiah 59
Please consider this passage and look at yourselves in truth. We are not passing judgment, but pleading with you to judge yourselves by the truth of God’s word, the only true standard for judgment. You may have a religion, or a spirituality, which is devoid of power, because it is nothing but words.
Titus 1:16 - They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
God is not unable to save, but your sins have separated you from God so that He does not hear you. Your sins have defiled you.
Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Isaiah talks of those who are swift to shed innocent blood. Their feet run to evil, and they do not know peace or justice. Are you swift to run to evil? Do you find pleasure in the things God hates?
You may one who stumbles even in the daylight. You may have grown up around church and may have an idea who God is and some of what the bible say. But, if you are living for sin you are blind to the truths of God.
2 Cor 4:4 – The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers
1 John 2:11 – The darkness has blinded his eyes
Are you willfully blind to the truths of God, including his hatred of sin?
Our sins testify against us. We are transgressing and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God.
Go through God’s law, and be specific about sin. People need to feel the weight of their sin personally.
At the end of the chapter God is described as a warrior preparing for battle, putting on His armor, and His garments of vengeance. God will repay the wicked according to their deeds, and there will be wrath for His adversaries.
You shall fear the name of the lord
Matt 10:28 - And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
You deserve God’s justice and wrath. But this chapter says a redeemer will come to Zion, to those who turn from transgression.
Isaiah 53 tells us of that redeemer! This chapter very clearly refers to Jesus Christ, although it was written 700 years before His birth.
Read Isaiah 53
The transgressions and iniquities which separate us from God in Isaiah 59 are borne by Jesus in Isaiah 53. Listen to the contrast between these passages:
Isa 59:8 - The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
Isa 59:12 - For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:
Isa 59:13 - transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Isa 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Every one of us will receive either God’s justice and wrath, or God’s grace and mercy. Claiming the name of God is not enough, if our actions show that our claim is a lie. But through repentance and trust in Jesus Christ, who bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors, we can be made right with God. Don’t presume on God’s patience. Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I pray that this will be helpful and encouraging to you.
We have just over 50 people signed up for our Halloween Reading so far. The chapters for this reading will be Revelation 20-22. There’s still plenty of time to prepare, and I guarantee there will be plenty of lost people out and about to talk to, so why wait? Start getting your team together and preparing now! This time of year is very spiritually dark, so the light of God’s truth will shine that much more brightly. So, as Matthew 5 says, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, October 1, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Psalm 8
Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. This week the suggested reading for Project Ezra is Psalm 8. It is one of the shorter passages we have read, but is amazingly rich in truth.
First and foremost, God is glorified in this chapter. God’s glory is said to be greater than the heavens. In many places God’s word makes it clear that He can not be contained even by the vastness of the physical world. He does not live in temples built by hands, and is not served by hands, since he gives all me life, and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25). One commentary I read on this chapter noted that even the creation of the universe did not tax God’s power, but was merely the work of his fingers. As when the scriptures state that He created with a word, this again emphasizes that the creation of the universe in all it’s splendor was nearly effortless on God’s part. His power and majesty is beyond our comprehension. So preach on the glory of God, and the wonder of His creation, which proves His existence and power beyond doubt (Rom 1:20), and challenge those listening to consider the implications of these truths.
Out of the mouth of babes and infants He has ordained praise. This is both a prophecy fulfilled in the life of Christ (Matt 21:16), and a reminder that God uses the weak and the foolish to display his glory and confound the wisdom of this world (1 Cor 1:27, 2 Cor 12:9). The majority of the disciples were uneducated, common men (Acts 4:13), yet they stood fearless before the powers of that day to preach the truth of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the world has never been the same. In the same way, we need to preach the folly and the stumbling block of the gospel, praying for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and knowing that even when the world mocks us, the preaching of the cross is the means God chooses to use to draw people to Himself (1 Cor 1:21-23).
As we move on, we indeed have to wonder how God could be mindful of us, in comparison to the vastness and greatness of His creation. But we are told that we were made just a little lower than the heavenly being, and crowned with glory and honor. Humankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation, and has been given dominion over everything He has made (Gen 1:28). But this passage also refers to Jesus Christ, and the fact that the second Adam, through the cross and the resurrection, is given dominion over all creation, including us, and is given the glory and honor of God. Several places in the New Testament it speaks of everything being put under Jesus’ feet (1 Cor 15:24-25). So when you preach the death and resurrection of Christ, preach of His glory and majesty as God the Son as well. The wonder of the cross is not the death of a man for sin, but the creator and lord of all that exists humbling Himself and dying for sin, so make sure glorify Christ as God when you share the gospel.
At the end of the chapter, once again, the author gives glory to God. And we too should give glory to God from beginning to end in every gospel presentation. We should always try to present the gospel in a way that is clear and logical to the person or people listening, but we should also remember that it is God that saves, and it is the Holy Spirit that changes people, regardless of the quality of our presentation. The quality is not in us, the sowers, but in the seed of God’s word, and He will bring the increase. It is not our responsibility to convert anyone, but only to focus on trying to be faithful to God’s word, and making every witnessing encounter an act of worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
As I mentioned last week, the Facebook Halloween event is now up here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143522982357744
We have about 40 people signed up for the event so far, and another 50 considering participating, which is great! For those of you who are on the maybe list or have not responded yet, I would encourage you to participate. There are very few times of year where there will be as many people who are out and about and thinking about spiritual things. We will be reading Revelation 20-22 again, and Revelation is one of the books of the bible everyone seems to have read or is interested in. So get some brothers and sisters in Christ together, get yourself some Halloween tracts, and hit the streets.
I am still working on updating our Project Ezra YouTube video, and I would still like additional pictures and videos, if you have them available. The original video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
If you have any good pictures or video you have not posted, please send them my way.
Have a great weekend and please pray that hearts will be changed and souls will be saved by God working through you and other members of Project Ezra.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
First and foremost, God is glorified in this chapter. God’s glory is said to be greater than the heavens. In many places God’s word makes it clear that He can not be contained even by the vastness of the physical world. He does not live in temples built by hands, and is not served by hands, since he gives all me life, and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25). One commentary I read on this chapter noted that even the creation of the universe did not tax God’s power, but was merely the work of his fingers. As when the scriptures state that He created with a word, this again emphasizes that the creation of the universe in all it’s splendor was nearly effortless on God’s part. His power and majesty is beyond our comprehension. So preach on the glory of God, and the wonder of His creation, which proves His existence and power beyond doubt (Rom 1:20), and challenge those listening to consider the implications of these truths.
Out of the mouth of babes and infants He has ordained praise. This is both a prophecy fulfilled in the life of Christ (Matt 21:16), and a reminder that God uses the weak and the foolish to display his glory and confound the wisdom of this world (1 Cor 1:27, 2 Cor 12:9). The majority of the disciples were uneducated, common men (Acts 4:13), yet they stood fearless before the powers of that day to preach the truth of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the world has never been the same. In the same way, we need to preach the folly and the stumbling block of the gospel, praying for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and knowing that even when the world mocks us, the preaching of the cross is the means God chooses to use to draw people to Himself (1 Cor 1:21-23).
As we move on, we indeed have to wonder how God could be mindful of us, in comparison to the vastness and greatness of His creation. But we are told that we were made just a little lower than the heavenly being, and crowned with glory and honor. Humankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation, and has been given dominion over everything He has made (Gen 1:28). But this passage also refers to Jesus Christ, and the fact that the second Adam, through the cross and the resurrection, is given dominion over all creation, including us, and is given the glory and honor of God. Several places in the New Testament it speaks of everything being put under Jesus’ feet (1 Cor 15:24-25). So when you preach the death and resurrection of Christ, preach of His glory and majesty as God the Son as well. The wonder of the cross is not the death of a man for sin, but the creator and lord of all that exists humbling Himself and dying for sin, so make sure glorify Christ as God when you share the gospel.
At the end of the chapter, once again, the author gives glory to God. And we too should give glory to God from beginning to end in every gospel presentation. We should always try to present the gospel in a way that is clear and logical to the person or people listening, but we should also remember that it is God that saves, and it is the Holy Spirit that changes people, regardless of the quality of our presentation. The quality is not in us, the sowers, but in the seed of God’s word, and He will bring the increase. It is not our responsibility to convert anyone, but only to focus on trying to be faithful to God’s word, and making every witnessing encounter an act of worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
As I mentioned last week, the Facebook Halloween event is now up here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143522982357744
We have about 40 people signed up for the event so far, and another 50 considering participating, which is great! For those of you who are on the maybe list or have not responded yet, I would encourage you to participate. There are very few times of year where there will be as many people who are out and about and thinking about spiritual things. We will be reading Revelation 20-22 again, and Revelation is one of the books of the bible everyone seems to have read or is interested in. So get some brothers and sisters in Christ together, get yourself some Halloween tracts, and hit the streets.
I am still working on updating our Project Ezra YouTube video, and I would still like additional pictures and videos, if you have them available. The original video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
If you have any good pictures or video you have not posted, please send them my way.
Have a great weekend and please pray that hearts will be changed and souls will be saved by God working through you and other members of Project Ezra.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, September 24, 2010
This Week's Reading - Ecclesiastes 11 and 12
Greetings! Thank you for being part of Project Ezra, and for being faithful in sharing the message of God’s grace. After you read this week’s outline, please be sure to check out the information at the bottom of the page regarding upcoming events, such as our Halloween outreach, for more information on the new YouTube video we are putting together, and to check out a brief review of Go, Stand, Speak, a newly released documentary on biblical open-air preaching.
This week the suggested reading is Ecclesiastes chapters 11 and 12. Both chapters are relatively short, so you could choose to read them together, or you could invite someone new to participate and have them read as well. A good idea might be to read the first chapter yourself, then allow them to read the second chapter before you share the gospel.
These chapters remind us that life is short and tomorrow is not promised, and that we need to look to eternal things. Solomon speaks more to young men here, telling them they should enjoy their youth, but should also be mindful of God and His law. Many, if not most, people work very hard to deny or drown out the reality of their eternity. This is not only true today, but based on the fact that this is a recurring theme in the bible, it has always been true. But I find it interesting that the young, even though you would think they are less aware of and concerned with their own mortality, often seem more willing to listen to the gospel. As we get older our hearts can become harder, and our pride stronger, and we become more resistant to change. So specifically addressing the young, as Solomon does here, seems appropriate.
We are also reminded that we can and should take joy in our lives, and in God’s creation, but with a thought toward eternity. God intended us to take joy in His creation. But none of the good things of the world are eternal, and we need to remember our creator while he has given us time. The things of earth will all break and perish, and the soul will return to God who created it, so we need to remind people to be prepared.
Finally, we are reminded that it is our duty to obey God’s commands, and that every deed will be brought into judgment. Another recurring theme that people frequently choose to forget is the fact that God, in addition to being loving and merciful, is also holy and just, and will hold us accountable for our actions. We need to show people the truth of their own sin and the reality of judgment, and they tell them of the wonder of the cross of Christ. Perfect love and mercy displayed alongside perfect holy wrath and justice, all demonstrated in Christ’s willing suffering and death for our sins.
So consider these bullet points for your preaching:
11:5 - As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
We do not know the work of God, who is high, holy, and transcendent, and we do not know what tomorrow will bring
11:7-8 - Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Enjoy life, but remember that the days of darkness will be many. You will be dead longer than you will be alive, and you can’t take anything with you.
11:9 - Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Rejoice in your youth and enjoy your life, but remember that God will bring all these things into judgment. Youth does not last.
12:1-2 and following - Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened…… before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Remember the creator in your youth, before you grow old, before you die and your spirit returns to God who made it. Youth is vanity.
12:13-14 - Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
The Facebook Halloween event is now up here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143522982357744
If you are part of the Facebook group you should be getting an invite soon, if you haven’t already. I would encourage you to start gathering your team for Halloween now, and to start thinking about Black Friday and Christmas as well. The True Gift of Christmas in particular was a very successful event last year, with many people participating.
As I mentioned in our last post, I am also in the process of updating our Project Ezra YouTube video. The original video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
The new format will be similar, but since the existing video was made early on in the project’s history, I want to add as many pictures and videos of recent participants as possible. So if you have pictures or video of your Project Ezra participation which you have not posted, and if you are willing to share them, please send them my way. Of course, we can’t include every picture or video, but I will include all I can.
Finally, a new apologetic documentary on biblical open-air preaching by the name of Go, Stand, Speak was released a couple weeks ago. I highly recommend that anyone and everyone involved in or interested in public preaching get a copy. Also, consider getting one for your pastor, and any Christian brothers and sisters who you think could be encouraged toward public preaching. The DVD covers some of the history of public preaching, the biblical precedent for it, and interviews many faithful men of God who practice this gift and train others to do so. Tony Miano, the founder of this group, is among them.
I hope that through Project Ezra you will continue to be encouraged to share your faith in the public square, and that you will encourage others as well. Thanks for your participation, and may God be greatly glorified as you share His message of grace today.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
This week the suggested reading is Ecclesiastes chapters 11 and 12. Both chapters are relatively short, so you could choose to read them together, or you could invite someone new to participate and have them read as well. A good idea might be to read the first chapter yourself, then allow them to read the second chapter before you share the gospel.
These chapters remind us that life is short and tomorrow is not promised, and that we need to look to eternal things. Solomon speaks more to young men here, telling them they should enjoy their youth, but should also be mindful of God and His law. Many, if not most, people work very hard to deny or drown out the reality of their eternity. This is not only true today, but based on the fact that this is a recurring theme in the bible, it has always been true. But I find it interesting that the young, even though you would think they are less aware of and concerned with their own mortality, often seem more willing to listen to the gospel. As we get older our hearts can become harder, and our pride stronger, and we become more resistant to change. So specifically addressing the young, as Solomon does here, seems appropriate.
We are also reminded that we can and should take joy in our lives, and in God’s creation, but with a thought toward eternity. God intended us to take joy in His creation. But none of the good things of the world are eternal, and we need to remember our creator while he has given us time. The things of earth will all break and perish, and the soul will return to God who created it, so we need to remind people to be prepared.
Finally, we are reminded that it is our duty to obey God’s commands, and that every deed will be brought into judgment. Another recurring theme that people frequently choose to forget is the fact that God, in addition to being loving and merciful, is also holy and just, and will hold us accountable for our actions. We need to show people the truth of their own sin and the reality of judgment, and they tell them of the wonder of the cross of Christ. Perfect love and mercy displayed alongside perfect holy wrath and justice, all demonstrated in Christ’s willing suffering and death for our sins.
So consider these bullet points for your preaching:
11:5 - As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
We do not know the work of God, who is high, holy, and transcendent, and we do not know what tomorrow will bring
11:7-8 - Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Enjoy life, but remember that the days of darkness will be many. You will be dead longer than you will be alive, and you can’t take anything with you.
11:9 - Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Rejoice in your youth and enjoy your life, but remember that God will bring all these things into judgment. Youth does not last.
12:1-2 and following - Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened…… before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Remember the creator in your youth, before you grow old, before you die and your spirit returns to God who made it. Youth is vanity.
12:13-14 - Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
The Facebook Halloween event is now up here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143522982357744
If you are part of the Facebook group you should be getting an invite soon, if you haven’t already. I would encourage you to start gathering your team for Halloween now, and to start thinking about Black Friday and Christmas as well. The True Gift of Christmas in particular was a very successful event last year, with many people participating.
As I mentioned in our last post, I am also in the process of updating our Project Ezra YouTube video. The original video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
The new format will be similar, but since the existing video was made early on in the project’s history, I want to add as many pictures and videos of recent participants as possible. So if you have pictures or video of your Project Ezra participation which you have not posted, and if you are willing to share them, please send them my way. Of course, we can’t include every picture or video, but I will include all I can.
Finally, a new apologetic documentary on biblical open-air preaching by the name of Go, Stand, Speak was released a couple weeks ago. I highly recommend that anyone and everyone involved in or interested in public preaching get a copy. Also, consider getting one for your pastor, and any Christian brothers and sisters who you think could be encouraged toward public preaching. The DVD covers some of the history of public preaching, the biblical precedent for it, and interviews many faithful men of God who practice this gift and train others to do so. Tony Miano, the founder of this group, is among them.
I hope that through Project Ezra you will continue to be encouraged to share your faith in the public square, and that you will encourage others as well. Thanks for your participation, and may God be greatly glorified as you share His message of grace today.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, September 17, 2010
This Week's Reading - James 2 and 3
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading a combination of two chapters, starting from James 2:14 and continuing through James 3:12. These passages are a perfect illustration of what Solomon meant when he said there is nothing new under the sun. As in New Testament times, there are many people today who claim faith but have no fruit. True faith will make itself evident through the works that flow naturally from the new heart. Faith will also make itself evident through the taming of the tongue. The first and second chapters of 1 John address this as well. The one who says he believes but walks in darkness is a liar, but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. This is not a matter of working for your salvation, but of the true fruit of salvation.
Have you ever noticed that when a non-believer is around a committed Christian, their behavior frequently changes? They may choose not to bring up certain subjects, or change the subject of conversation when you arrive, or they may catch themselves using bad language and apologize to you for it. I believe much of this is as a result of the person’s conscience working on them. After all, we all know God’s law, and are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, not in ignorance. And it is that truth that makes the use of the law in evangelism so appropriate and effective. People can suppress the truth, but can never quite get rid of it, and it will jump out when the person least expects it. We need to preach in such as way as to capitalize on this fact, understanding, of course, that it is truly the Holy Spirit doing the work, and not us.
Strongly encourage people to examine themselves with a tender conscience. We have discussed this before, and I don’t believe it can be overemphasized. The law must be put in charge, or made the schoolmaster, to lead people to Christ. Nearly everybody believes they are a sinner in a general sense, but that sin needs to be made personal to them so they feel conviction for it and see their need for the Savior. As chapter 1 verse 23 says, the man who is a hearer of the word and not a doer is like the man who looks at himself in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like. We need to hold the mirror back up so he can’t help but see himself in truth. The following passages, both from the suggested reading and the chapters around it, will help him see his reflection better:
1:26 – If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is useless.
One of the fruits of the spirit is self control.
2:10 – For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
This is a good one to have ready for those who actually claim they are righteous. There are always a few. We may look good by man’s standards, but will never measure up to God’s.
2:14 – What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
The kind of faith that does not produce works in not true faith at all! True faith in Christ will always produce a change in the person’s behavior.
2:19 – You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!
Belief in isolation, or mere intellectual assent, is insufficient. Even the demons believe the truth of God’s existence, and they are certainly not saved.
3:5 – How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
3:9 – With is we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Look at these verses in combination with 1:26. The fruit of salvation will be control of the tongue.
I pray these ideas are helpful to you in sharing the gospel.
This weekend I will be putting up the event page for our Halloween reading, and possibly for our Black Friday reading as well. These major readings are among the best times to invite other brothers and sisters to participate in Project Ezra, and the longer lead time will give you more opportunity to form your team. The longer passages also make it easier to divide the reading up, and most people will be more likely to join in if they have someone with more experienced sharing the reading with them. It is truly amazing the difference it makes when even one or two other believers join you, and what an encouragement their prayer and moral support can be. Some events, like Halloween (particularly if you will be doing your reading in the evening, as our group will be) are also likely to bring out some, shall we say, more “colorful” characters, so a group adds an additional level of safety for all participants.
Also, the dates for the 2011 Ambassador’s Academy season have been announced, and you can find out more information here:
http://www.ambassadorsalliance.com/
And watch an informational video clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w&feature=player_embedded
Many members of Project Ezra have already attended the Academy, which is a 3 day evangelism boot camp in Southern California, and will testify that it is an absolutely life-changing experience. At the Academy you will receive training from Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Tony Miano, and a team of some of the best open-air preachers and evangelists in the country, if not the world. The Academy was my first introduction to open-air preaching, and gave me the skills to do so effectively and biblically. In addition, several regular Project Ezra participants (including me) will be serving as team leaders for the Academy in 2011.
If you have not attended, please prayerfully consider doing so. If you have already attended, encourage someone else to go. I have had the privilege of seeing several good friends of mine attend, at my encouragement, and have seen their lives change as my life was changed. I can’t describe what a blessing that is, and exciting it is to see more biblical evangelists come back and help re-energize our team. And if you were impacted by the Academy, please consider writing a short testimony detailing your experience. I would like to post those testimonies, and possibly pass some of those testimonies on to the Ambassador’s Alliance team, so others outside Project Ezra may be encouraged to come. Your testimony could be just the push someone needs to help them take that step of faith, and that step may lead to many people hearing the gospel and coming to faith in Christ. What could possibly be a greater blessing than that?
Finally, please keep posting your Project Ezra pictures and videos. I am still working on the new Project Ezra Youtube video, and want to include material from as many members of the group as possible. For an idea of what I am looking at doing, take a look at the first video, put together by Tony Miano here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to post this to your social networking sites!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Have you ever noticed that when a non-believer is around a committed Christian, their behavior frequently changes? They may choose not to bring up certain subjects, or change the subject of conversation when you arrive, or they may catch themselves using bad language and apologize to you for it. I believe much of this is as a result of the person’s conscience working on them. After all, we all know God’s law, and are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, not in ignorance. And it is that truth that makes the use of the law in evangelism so appropriate and effective. People can suppress the truth, but can never quite get rid of it, and it will jump out when the person least expects it. We need to preach in such as way as to capitalize on this fact, understanding, of course, that it is truly the Holy Spirit doing the work, and not us.
Strongly encourage people to examine themselves with a tender conscience. We have discussed this before, and I don’t believe it can be overemphasized. The law must be put in charge, or made the schoolmaster, to lead people to Christ. Nearly everybody believes they are a sinner in a general sense, but that sin needs to be made personal to them so they feel conviction for it and see their need for the Savior. As chapter 1 verse 23 says, the man who is a hearer of the word and not a doer is like the man who looks at himself in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like. We need to hold the mirror back up so he can’t help but see himself in truth. The following passages, both from the suggested reading and the chapters around it, will help him see his reflection better:
1:26 – If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is useless.
One of the fruits of the spirit is self control.
2:10 – For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
This is a good one to have ready for those who actually claim they are righteous. There are always a few. We may look good by man’s standards, but will never measure up to God’s.
2:14 – What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
The kind of faith that does not produce works in not true faith at all! True faith in Christ will always produce a change in the person’s behavior.
2:19 – You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!
Belief in isolation, or mere intellectual assent, is insufficient. Even the demons believe the truth of God’s existence, and they are certainly not saved.
3:5 – How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
3:9 – With is we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Look at these verses in combination with 1:26. The fruit of salvation will be control of the tongue.
I pray these ideas are helpful to you in sharing the gospel.
This weekend I will be putting up the event page for our Halloween reading, and possibly for our Black Friday reading as well. These major readings are among the best times to invite other brothers and sisters to participate in Project Ezra, and the longer lead time will give you more opportunity to form your team. The longer passages also make it easier to divide the reading up, and most people will be more likely to join in if they have someone with more experienced sharing the reading with them. It is truly amazing the difference it makes when even one or two other believers join you, and what an encouragement their prayer and moral support can be. Some events, like Halloween (particularly if you will be doing your reading in the evening, as our group will be) are also likely to bring out some, shall we say, more “colorful” characters, so a group adds an additional level of safety for all participants.
Also, the dates for the 2011 Ambassador’s Academy season have been announced, and you can find out more information here:
http://www.ambassadorsalliance.com/
And watch an informational video clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBTcE_529w&feature=player_embedded
Many members of Project Ezra have already attended the Academy, which is a 3 day evangelism boot camp in Southern California, and will testify that it is an absolutely life-changing experience. At the Academy you will receive training from Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Tony Miano, and a team of some of the best open-air preachers and evangelists in the country, if not the world. The Academy was my first introduction to open-air preaching, and gave me the skills to do so effectively and biblically. In addition, several regular Project Ezra participants (including me) will be serving as team leaders for the Academy in 2011.
If you have not attended, please prayerfully consider doing so. If you have already attended, encourage someone else to go. I have had the privilege of seeing several good friends of mine attend, at my encouragement, and have seen their lives change as my life was changed. I can’t describe what a blessing that is, and exciting it is to see more biblical evangelists come back and help re-energize our team. And if you were impacted by the Academy, please consider writing a short testimony detailing your experience. I would like to post those testimonies, and possibly pass some of those testimonies on to the Ambassador’s Alliance team, so others outside Project Ezra may be encouraged to come. Your testimony could be just the push someone needs to help them take that step of faith, and that step may lead to many people hearing the gospel and coming to faith in Christ. What could possibly be a greater blessing than that?
Finally, please keep posting your Project Ezra pictures and videos. I am still working on the new Project Ezra Youtube video, and want to include material from as many members of the group as possible. For an idea of what I am looking at doing, take a look at the first video, put together by Tony Miano here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS3jigtVnU
Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to post this to your social networking sites!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, September 10, 2010
This Week's Reading - 2 Corinthians 5
Greetings Project Ezra! This week the suggested reading is 2 Corinthians 5. This is a passage that should not only be for this week’s reading, but should be remembered every time we share the gospel. This description of our ministry of reconciliation, for indeed it is ours as it was Paul’s, if we are truly born again and are preaching the biblical gospel, is the pattern we need to be holding fast to. Listen to some of the things it says:
Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
The ministry of reconciliation was given to us by God.
The love of Christ controls us.
We are ambassador’s for Christ, God making His appeal through us.
What a privilege to be entrusted with such a message! We may be the tool that God uses in bringing someone to faith in Him. This should bring us amazing joy, but also must make us consider soberly what we are doing. We must not take God’s word lightly. We must not take the fate of the lost lightly. If we love God, we will study to show ourselves approved, learning and memorizing His word. We will also go to fervent prayer, to make sure our hearts are right before Him, so that we are speaking with wisdom and humility as we persuade others. We must be controlled by God’s love in our actions and words. And If we really love the lost, knowing the fear of God, we will plead with them to be reconciled with God.
Please take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video. It was put together by Tony Miano, who founded this group, and I watch it from time to time to help remind me of where my heart needs to be when I go out to evangelize or preach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL1bbtqaak0
There is another group of open-air preachers in my area who seem to preach in a very different style that this. They preach many things regarding the gospel which are true, but they seem to focus primarily on obedience to the law, and condemnation for those who do not obey. Several times recently I have had random members of the groups I have been preaching to come up to me and thank me for not being angry and hateful like “those guys”. I don’t say this so that you will think more of me, or to denigrate this other group. But please know that when you are reading the word and sharing the gospel publicly, even if it doesn’t seem like anyone is listening, they often are, and if you are putting your heart into the message, they notice the difference! If you care, they can tell. And we should care. We need to remember every time we face a crowd of lost souls as we step up onto our box or ladder, or as we pick up our microphone, that before we were saved, that was us.
So, I would encourage you, as you start your message this weekend, to share with those listening exactly why you do what you do. They will likely expect arrogance and condescension, and no doubt they have heard that before from professing Christians. So show them what a true heart for Christ looks like. And plead with them to be reconciled with Christ.
I would like to ask for your help in getting the word out about Project Ezra. I am in the process of putting together a new Project Ezra YouTube video, and would like to include more pictures and video. We have a lot of pictures on the event page, but I know there are more out there, and I know there are a number that were posted on former event pages that I am having trouble retrieving. So if you have any good Project Ezra outreach pictures, please send them over or post them. If you have any good video you would be willing to let us use, email me the footage. I’ll be putting most of the video together using Microsoft Movie Maker, so most general movie formats will be fine.
Finally, I will be posting the event sign-ups for several of our larger events a bit earlier. Particularly for The True Gift of Christmas and our Halloween readings. Both of these have tremendous outreach potential, so I would recommend starting to collect a team to participate sooner rather than later. And, of course, please ask them to join our Facebook group or follow the blog.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
The ministry of reconciliation was given to us by God.
The love of Christ controls us.
We are ambassador’s for Christ, God making His appeal through us.
What a privilege to be entrusted with such a message! We may be the tool that God uses in bringing someone to faith in Him. This should bring us amazing joy, but also must make us consider soberly what we are doing. We must not take God’s word lightly. We must not take the fate of the lost lightly. If we love God, we will study to show ourselves approved, learning and memorizing His word. We will also go to fervent prayer, to make sure our hearts are right before Him, so that we are speaking with wisdom and humility as we persuade others. We must be controlled by God’s love in our actions and words. And If we really love the lost, knowing the fear of God, we will plead with them to be reconciled with God.
Please take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video. It was put together by Tony Miano, who founded this group, and I watch it from time to time to help remind me of where my heart needs to be when I go out to evangelize or preach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL1bbtqaak0
There is another group of open-air preachers in my area who seem to preach in a very different style that this. They preach many things regarding the gospel which are true, but they seem to focus primarily on obedience to the law, and condemnation for those who do not obey. Several times recently I have had random members of the groups I have been preaching to come up to me and thank me for not being angry and hateful like “those guys”. I don’t say this so that you will think more of me, or to denigrate this other group. But please know that when you are reading the word and sharing the gospel publicly, even if it doesn’t seem like anyone is listening, they often are, and if you are putting your heart into the message, they notice the difference! If you care, they can tell. And we should care. We need to remember every time we face a crowd of lost souls as we step up onto our box or ladder, or as we pick up our microphone, that before we were saved, that was us.
So, I would encourage you, as you start your message this weekend, to share with those listening exactly why you do what you do. They will likely expect arrogance and condescension, and no doubt they have heard that before from professing Christians. So show them what a true heart for Christ looks like. And plead with them to be reconciled with Christ.
I would like to ask for your help in getting the word out about Project Ezra. I am in the process of putting together a new Project Ezra YouTube video, and would like to include more pictures and video. We have a lot of pictures on the event page, but I know there are more out there, and I know there are a number that were posted on former event pages that I am having trouble retrieving. So if you have any good Project Ezra outreach pictures, please send them over or post them. If you have any good video you would be willing to let us use, email me the footage. I’ll be putting most of the video together using Microsoft Movie Maker, so most general movie formats will be fine.
Finally, I will be posting the event sign-ups for several of our larger events a bit earlier. Particularly for The True Gift of Christmas and our Halloween readings. Both of these have tremendous outreach potential, so I would recommend starting to collect a team to participate sooner rather than later. And, of course, please ask them to join our Facebook group or follow the blog.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, September 3, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Deuteronomy 4:15-40
Greetings Project Ezra! This week the suggested reading is only a partial chapter. We will be reading from Deuteronomy chapter 4, and specifically verses 15 through 40, which deal with the sin of idolatry. I got a chance to preach this passage early this week, last night at a local street fair. The response, when I started to speak of the God of the bible as the one true God, and pointing out that likely many of those listening were believing in false gods, was immediate and intense. These truths strike a nerve, since men know in their hearts that they are without excuse and are choosing to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. So be prepared for some strong responses.
In verse 15 Moses points out something interesting. God chose to reveal Himself and speak to the Israelites through a pillar of fire, and at least part of the reason appears to be to specifically stifle the people’s natural tendency toward idolatry. God spoke from the fire, and Moses said that since the Israelites saw no form, thus they should not create idols in the form of anything in creation, and thus act corruptly. Mankind will always try to pull God down toward our level, to try to reshape God to make Him something we can control and manipulate. If God seems to get smaller, man seems to get bigger and more powerful. This is the sin that we should focus on, not only because it is a horrendous sin in it’s own right, but because it gives birth to many other sins. A false god will allow us to do what we want.
So here is a suggested outline:
Introduction
We are here to share the knowledge of the one true God
Not simply a God created in our minds to make us feel better, but God as He represents Himself
The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end
Are you trusting in the one true God? Be careful what you are believing, because Isaiah 42:8 says He will not give His praise to another.
Read Deuteronomy 4:15 – 40
God appeared to Moses and Israel with no form, so do not form any image to worship
You may not have worshipped an image of wood or stone or precious metal, but the idols made by hands started as idols created in the human heart, and many of you are worshipping false gods you have created in your hearts
If you worship a god who ignores your sin and loves whatever you do, you are worshipping an idol
If you worship a god who is all love and grace and no holiness and justice, you are worshipping an idol.
Why are you worshipping an idol? Examine yourself in light of God’s law. A god of your own making will allow you to sin, or convince you that you can meet his standards by your own efforts, and reach heaven based on your own goodness. The truth is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Go through the law
God is a jealous God, and will not be controlled by men. But he is also loving and gracious, and provided a way for our sin to be atoned for.
Preach grace and the cross
Preach repentance and faith
So examine yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 3:15)
Are you showing the fruit of repentance that demonstrates that you are in the faith?
Make your peace with the true God of creation. Psalm 2:12 says kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way. God is gracious, but there will be consequence for those who deny Him.
All roads do lead to God, for the word says in Romans 14:11 every knee will bow, and every tongue confess to God. On that day each one of us will stand in judgment and give an account of himself to God, so insure that when you do your account is paid in full. Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I hope this is helpful. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord, and I pray that God will be glorified in you through the preaching of His word and through hearts being drawn to repentance and faith.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan Beaudoin
In verse 15 Moses points out something interesting. God chose to reveal Himself and speak to the Israelites through a pillar of fire, and at least part of the reason appears to be to specifically stifle the people’s natural tendency toward idolatry. God spoke from the fire, and Moses said that since the Israelites saw no form, thus they should not create idols in the form of anything in creation, and thus act corruptly. Mankind will always try to pull God down toward our level, to try to reshape God to make Him something we can control and manipulate. If God seems to get smaller, man seems to get bigger and more powerful. This is the sin that we should focus on, not only because it is a horrendous sin in it’s own right, but because it gives birth to many other sins. A false god will allow us to do what we want.
So here is a suggested outline:
Introduction
We are here to share the knowledge of the one true God
Not simply a God created in our minds to make us feel better, but God as He represents Himself
The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end
Are you trusting in the one true God? Be careful what you are believing, because Isaiah 42:8 says He will not give His praise to another.
Read Deuteronomy 4:15 – 40
God appeared to Moses and Israel with no form, so do not form any image to worship
You may not have worshipped an image of wood or stone or precious metal, but the idols made by hands started as idols created in the human heart, and many of you are worshipping false gods you have created in your hearts
If you worship a god who ignores your sin and loves whatever you do, you are worshipping an idol
If you worship a god who is all love and grace and no holiness and justice, you are worshipping an idol.
Why are you worshipping an idol? Examine yourself in light of God’s law. A god of your own making will allow you to sin, or convince you that you can meet his standards by your own efforts, and reach heaven based on your own goodness. The truth is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Go through the law
God is a jealous God, and will not be controlled by men. But he is also loving and gracious, and provided a way for our sin to be atoned for.
Preach grace and the cross
Preach repentance and faith
So examine yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 3:15)
Are you showing the fruit of repentance that demonstrates that you are in the faith?
Make your peace with the true God of creation. Psalm 2:12 says kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way. God is gracious, but there will be consequence for those who deny Him.
All roads do lead to God, for the word says in Romans 14:11 every knee will bow, and every tongue confess to God. On that day each one of us will stand in judgment and give an account of himself to God, so insure that when you do your account is paid in full. Repent and trust in Christ while He has given you time.
I hope this is helpful. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord, and I pray that God will be glorified in you through the preaching of His word and through hearts being drawn to repentance and faith.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan Beaudoin
Friday, August 27, 2010
This Week's Project Ezra Reading - Mark 4
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Mark Chapter 4, which includes the parable of the sower, along with several other shorter parables, and the story of Jesus asleep at sea while the storm raged around him. I will be focusing on those two passages in my own preaching, but reversing the order, bringing up the storm and Christ’s reaction to it first and then following with the details of the parable of the sower.
I think a very powerful message delivered in the story of the boat in the storm is that of God’s trustworthiness. The Disciples had been with Jesus, had seen his miraculous works, and likely were starting to grasp the fact that He was more than just a prophet of God. If they had considered the situation in light of those facts, they should not have experienced the fear that they did. Jesus had not only proven Himself to be powerful, but had shown Himself to be caring and trustworthy. But, like us, the Disciples let their doubts and fears get in the way. The bottom line is, the problem was not God’s ability or willingness to deal with the storm. The problem was the disciples’ doubt. In a similar way, people today know God exists, but either doubt his ability and willingness to deal with their issues, or more often are unwilling to accept his sovereignty and manner of dealing with their issues, preferring to go their own way instead.
In the parable of the sower, we see three examples of why people reject Christ. I believe these are very common responses to the gospel:
The seeds sown along the path - Satan uses people’s love of sin as a tool to keep them away from Christ.
The seeds sown in rocky soil - People appear to come to Christ, but with the wrong motives and shallow faith, and fall away when the trials and persecution the Bible promises come about. These are false converts.
The seeds sown among thorns - People may appear to or claim to be Christian or “spiritual”, but are distracted by money and pleasure so there is no fruit evident. These too are likely false converts.
I don’t think these ideas should be used merely to fit everyone who appears to be an unrepentant sinner neatly into their own category. I think many people could fit into two or even all three of these categories. But they provide an excellent opportunity to challenge people to examine themselves in the light of God’s word to see where they really stand, and why they are standing there.
So I would suggest framing your reading this way:
Read the passage.
Use the passage regarding the storm to expound on God’s faithfulness and power, and the fact that we should be dependant on him.
Challenge the hearers that in truth, they know that God exists, and if they are doubting His trustworthiness, there is likely a hidden motive.
The seed cast along the path – Are you letting sin keep you from God? You know that if you turn to God, you will need to change your attitude toward many earthly pleasures that you are enjoying now. But is there any sin you love so much you are willing to go to hell for it?
The seed on rocky soil – If you are a church-goer, why are you there? Are you there for the social aspects? Or for the boost to your self esteem? Are you looking just to solve personal problems, or maybe looking to grab your best life now? Make sure you are not there for some reason other than God. God doesn’t call people to the good life, he calls people to salvation by grace through faith, and to serve and glorify Him, and if you are there with the wrong motives, you’ll fall away when times get tough.
The seed among the thorns – Have you put up an idol to keep you from God? Success, money, power, or even religious service, can become idols. If they choke your desire for or distract you from God’s truth, you need to repent of your idolatry and put your trust wholly in Jesus Christ.
The word says if we will confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is our greatest need, and the greatest gift God can give to us. Look at yourself with a tender conscience and you will realize your on sinfulness. Then look to the cross, the greatest gift ever given, and repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
I pray that this will be helpful in your evangelistic efforts this weekend, and look forward to hearing your testimonies.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
I think a very powerful message delivered in the story of the boat in the storm is that of God’s trustworthiness. The Disciples had been with Jesus, had seen his miraculous works, and likely were starting to grasp the fact that He was more than just a prophet of God. If they had considered the situation in light of those facts, they should not have experienced the fear that they did. Jesus had not only proven Himself to be powerful, but had shown Himself to be caring and trustworthy. But, like us, the Disciples let their doubts and fears get in the way. The bottom line is, the problem was not God’s ability or willingness to deal with the storm. The problem was the disciples’ doubt. In a similar way, people today know God exists, but either doubt his ability and willingness to deal with their issues, or more often are unwilling to accept his sovereignty and manner of dealing with their issues, preferring to go their own way instead.
In the parable of the sower, we see three examples of why people reject Christ. I believe these are very common responses to the gospel:
The seeds sown along the path - Satan uses people’s love of sin as a tool to keep them away from Christ.
The seeds sown in rocky soil - People appear to come to Christ, but with the wrong motives and shallow faith, and fall away when the trials and persecution the Bible promises come about. These are false converts.
The seeds sown among thorns - People may appear to or claim to be Christian or “spiritual”, but are distracted by money and pleasure so there is no fruit evident. These too are likely false converts.
I don’t think these ideas should be used merely to fit everyone who appears to be an unrepentant sinner neatly into their own category. I think many people could fit into two or even all three of these categories. But they provide an excellent opportunity to challenge people to examine themselves in the light of God’s word to see where they really stand, and why they are standing there.
So I would suggest framing your reading this way:
Read the passage.
Use the passage regarding the storm to expound on God’s faithfulness and power, and the fact that we should be dependant on him.
Challenge the hearers that in truth, they know that God exists, and if they are doubting His trustworthiness, there is likely a hidden motive.
The seed cast along the path – Are you letting sin keep you from God? You know that if you turn to God, you will need to change your attitude toward many earthly pleasures that you are enjoying now. But is there any sin you love so much you are willing to go to hell for it?
The seed on rocky soil – If you are a church-goer, why are you there? Are you there for the social aspects? Or for the boost to your self esteem? Are you looking just to solve personal problems, or maybe looking to grab your best life now? Make sure you are not there for some reason other than God. God doesn’t call people to the good life, he calls people to salvation by grace through faith, and to serve and glorify Him, and if you are there with the wrong motives, you’ll fall away when times get tough.
The seed among the thorns – Have you put up an idol to keep you from God? Success, money, power, or even religious service, can become idols. If they choke your desire for or distract you from God’s truth, you need to repent of your idolatry and put your trust wholly in Jesus Christ.
The word says if we will confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is our greatest need, and the greatest gift God can give to us. Look at yourself with a tender conscience and you will realize your on sinfulness. Then look to the cross, the greatest gift ever given, and repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
I pray that this will be helpful in your evangelistic efforts this weekend, and look forward to hearing your testimonies.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
Friday, August 20, 2010
This Week's Suggested Reading - Acts 3
Greetings Project Ezra! This week we will be reading Acts 3, which includes what could probably be considered an open-air preaching session by the Apostle Peter. There are a number of such incidents in the book of Acts by several different Apostles, including Stephen, Peter and Paul, and I am hoping to make a study of them in the near future. What better place to draw inspiration for sharing the Gospel publically? But in this particular instance, there seem to be three major points of focus:
The Jesus they denied, God glorified.
The Jews chose sin and rebellion over God, despite the evidence
It was time for the Jews to turn from their sin and turn to the Savior
The healing of a man lame from birth is an amazing miracle, but in reality the miracle is almost a side note in this chapter. Peter immediately shifts the focus away from the miracle and uses it as an opportunity to bring glory to God and to draw people to the savior. Whenever we speak to people about what we believe, whether on a one-to-one basis or preaching in the open air, we need to make sure our focus is the same. Don’t aim for personal attention, even when you open-air. You should try to preach well, since we should always try to bring glory to God by doing our best, and you should spend time preparing through study and prayer. But don’t try to impress people with your eloquence or Biblical knowledge. The most important point of any gospel presentation is it’s faithfulness to God’s word, along with an evangelist who is compassionate, respectful and real, all of which bring glory to God.
Peter calls Jesus holy and righteous, which of course He is. But I think he also emphasized the point to remind the Jews just what they had done, and to whom, and where that left them. Those we witness to are comparable to the Jews in their behavior. They too deny the truth of who Christ is, and they too prefer sin over God’s will, despite ample proof of His existence and power. The Word says in Romans 1:20 that God’s existence is clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse. Point this fact out to people, and challenge them on the source of their disbelief or idolatry. It will generally be self serving, just a matter of making excuses for their own love of sin. You will find that most arguments are really just smokescreens.
So God’s foreordained plan had come to completion through the acts of the Jews and the Romans. The Christ had suffered, died, and been raised from the dead and glorified. Now the Jews were called to repent of their sin and put their trust in the savior, just like we all must. God wants to bless us by turning us from our wickedness and giving us times of refreshing, as He said. But it is a command, not a request, and He says that every soul that does not listen will be destroyed from the people. So show your listeners their love of sin and their rebellion against God. Challenge them, even if they won’t answer you honestly, to examine themselves. Show them the horrendous consequence of denying God. And show them the wonder and glory of a God who sent his Son to die, despite their sin and rebellion.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
The Jesus they denied, God glorified.
The Jews chose sin and rebellion over God, despite the evidence
It was time for the Jews to turn from their sin and turn to the Savior
The healing of a man lame from birth is an amazing miracle, but in reality the miracle is almost a side note in this chapter. Peter immediately shifts the focus away from the miracle and uses it as an opportunity to bring glory to God and to draw people to the savior. Whenever we speak to people about what we believe, whether on a one-to-one basis or preaching in the open air, we need to make sure our focus is the same. Don’t aim for personal attention, even when you open-air. You should try to preach well, since we should always try to bring glory to God by doing our best, and you should spend time preparing through study and prayer. But don’t try to impress people with your eloquence or Biblical knowledge. The most important point of any gospel presentation is it’s faithfulness to God’s word, along with an evangelist who is compassionate, respectful and real, all of which bring glory to God.
Peter calls Jesus holy and righteous, which of course He is. But I think he also emphasized the point to remind the Jews just what they had done, and to whom, and where that left them. Those we witness to are comparable to the Jews in their behavior. They too deny the truth of who Christ is, and they too prefer sin over God’s will, despite ample proof of His existence and power. The Word says in Romans 1:20 that God’s existence is clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse. Point this fact out to people, and challenge them on the source of their disbelief or idolatry. It will generally be self serving, just a matter of making excuses for their own love of sin. You will find that most arguments are really just smokescreens.
So God’s foreordained plan had come to completion through the acts of the Jews and the Romans. The Christ had suffered, died, and been raised from the dead and glorified. Now the Jews were called to repent of their sin and put their trust in the savior, just like we all must. God wants to bless us by turning us from our wickedness and giving us times of refreshing, as He said. But it is a command, not a request, and He says that every soul that does not listen will be destroyed from the people. So show your listeners their love of sin and their rebellion against God. Challenge them, even if they won’t answer you honestly, to examine themselves. Show them the horrendous consequence of denying God. And show them the wonder and glory of a God who sent his Son to die, despite their sin and rebellion.
For the praise of His glory!
Dan
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