Hello brothers and sisters. This week’s reading is Acts 9:1-22. It’s not a complete chapter, but is the full account of the conversion of the apostle Paul. I think it will be a blessing to your and to those who hear you share the gospel this weekend.
The apostle Paul, known at the beginning of this week’s passage as Saul, would have been considered by the people of his day as one of the most Godly people they knew. In a culture where religious public image was of utmost importance (as it often is in our day), Saul had it all. He had the right breeding, the right education, the right friends and acquaintances (he was able to get letters of permission to arrest Christians after all), along with a zeal and commitment to his faith second to none. In the eyes of the public he had it all, the most spiritual of the spiritual. But he didn’t know God.
God decided to use Saul to spread the gospel, and had to knock him flat on his back to get his attention. Saul had the very rare experience of being brought to faith in Christ by Christ himself! The change was instant and powerful, and immediately after Saul, now Paul, was healed of his blindness, he headed out to share his new faith. More than that, he was immediately confounding the Jews, proving that Jesus was the Christ.
I think this demonstrates a couple of important points, which have direct application in evangelism. First, you can’t have a true encounter with God and come away without being changed to your core. Whether you have a burning bush type experience like Moses or Paul, or whether God deals with you more gradually, there will be a change, and it will be unmistakable. There are many men and women church-goers who live just like the world because they have never been born again. They don’t realize that attending church every Sunday, or saying a pre-packaged prayer and walking an aisle can’t save them. Their hearts aren’t changed and they are not bearing true spiritual fruit, the evidence of conversion. They aren’t carnal Christians. They are lost souls in need of a savior, and until they see themselves as lost, they will never be found.
I believe this passage also indicates that Paul’s persecution of the Church was not based entirely on ignorance. It seems that immediately after his conversion, he was not only willing to share the truth of Christ, but capable of sharing it convincingly, proving it from the scriptures. Paul was a man of learning, and certainly had the knowledge to see the identity of the messiah prior to his conversion if he had truly been looking for it. He certainly had no trouble using that knowledge to good effect after seeing the Christ. Like most others who deny Christ, his disbelief was a matter not of ignorance, but of the will.
So try to convict your listeners in these areas this week. A suggested outline is below. I pray that it is an encouragement.
READ ACTS 9:1-22
In this passage the apostle Paul had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ.
What you may not know is that every person who is truly a Christian, truly born again, has also had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ.
Being born again is not just a cute metaphor for living differently. It’s very literal.
We need to be born again, because we are all dead. We are dead in our sins, (Ephesians 2:1-3), spiritually dead. And some day, also because of our sin, we will be physically dead and in eternal conscious punishment in hell.
Sin is willful rebellion against God, moral crimes for which we deserve that punishment.
OPEN UP TH E LAW (THE COMMANDMENTS) AND SHOW THEM SIN SO THEY FEEL ITS CONVICTION
God hates sin and is angry with evildoers, and no amount of goodness on our part will make us right with Him. It is fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, who is just and righteous and will punish all sin perfectly. His word says He will bring every deed into judgment (Ecc 12:14)
But God does not enjoy punishing sin. The bible says He takes not pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they turn and live. (Eze 33:11)
Maybe you would say you are already right with God. That is possible, and I hope it’s true. But maybe you, like Paul, are playing at being religious without being changed by God. Maybe you prefer appearances to true change.
After his conversion Paul immediately started preaching in the temple, proving to those listening that Jesus was the Christ. He was a very well educated man, who could have see the truth if he had been looking for it. This demonstrates his denial of Christianity was more about willful rebellion than ignorance. Jesus identity was clear to him, as it should be clear to you. Why can’t you see Him?
Perhaps you can’t find God for the same reason a criminal can’t find a police officer.
Or perhaps you would say, “I’ve tried God, or I’ve tried Christianity, and it didn’t work for me.
If you “Tried God,” and He “Didn’t work for you,” you never truly knew Him.
Or maybe you would call yourself a Christian, or spiritual, but you know in your heart that there has been no real change. It could be you are working to look like a Christian without every truly putting your trust in Jesus Christ. Remember this:
You don’t get right with God by repeating a prayer or walking an aisle
You don’t get right with God by attending church or synagogue
You don’t get right with God just by believing in Him or being “spiritual”.
You need what the bible says in Acts 20:21. You need repentance toward God, repentance from your sins, and trust in Christ, and in Christ alone. And you will be supernaturally changed by God, made a new creature. He will take out your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
If you are not sure this is true, find out for yourself. Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. See if you are bearing the fruit of repentance. And if not, repent and trust in Christ.
Job 14:1-2 says Man, who is born of a woman, is few of days and full of trouble.
He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.
Life is short my friends. Think on eternal things now, while God has graciously given you time.
Here is video that might help you answer those who use the “I tried that” argument.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Evangelism Resources:
Living Waters – The core ministry messages
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
True and False Conversion
Way of the Master
The Ambassador’s Fellowship
The Ambassador’s Academy
The School of Biblical Evangelism
Gospel Tracts
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
100th Post and Isaiah 6 – The Glory of the Lord
Hello Project Ezra. This post is our 100th Project Ezra post! It still amazes me that God has chosen to use this weekly blog to encourage others. The process of writing it has certainly encouraged me. Thanks to Tony Miano, who started this group, for giving me the privilege of taking the reigns over a year ago, and all glory to God for the things He has accomplished through it. I hope many of you will continue to follow Project Ezra and, if you find the material Godly and encouraging, please share it with others who may also be encouraged.
Appropriately, the chapter we will be reading this week is very focused on the glory of God, as I pray this group is and will be. The beginning of the chapter recounts Isaiah’s vision of standing in God’s presence, in His throne room. Above Him Isaiah saw the seraphim, angelic beings of unimaginable power. The chapter says that the mere sound of their voice shook the foundations of the temple, as they called out to each other, praising the Lord. Yet even the seraphim, powerful and glorious beyond our comprehension, covered their faces and their feet in the presence of God. They were still created beings, like us, and standing in God’s presence, had a much better grasp of who they are and who He is, and how to appropriately express that. They knew they were unworthy.
This is the world’s biggest problem with understanding God, and I think ours as well much of the time. We don’t really think about or understand who God is. We don’t think about His majesty, His glory, or His holiness. Think of Isaiah’s reaction. Isaiah, likely the holiest man of his day, was overwhelmed almost to the point of despair at being in the presence of God. How often do we think about God in that light? I know I don’t enough. It is very true that God is our father and our friend, as the bible also expresses, but He is also holy. And for the unbeliever, this misunderstanding or ignorance of who God is makes the gospel absurd, and the idea of eternal punishment unreasonable.
But think of this analogy. Look for a moment at just one aspect of God’s law, bearing false witness (lying). If you were to lie to a small child, it would be wrong, but the child couldn’t punish you. If you were to lie to your husband or wife you might end up sleeping on the couch. If you lie to your boss at work, you could lose your job. If you lie to a judge in court you could end up in prison. The offense is the same in all cases, put the punishment is not. The punishment increases based on the position and status of the person against who the sin is committed. As David said, all sin is ultimately against God (see Psalm 51), and any sin is infinitely sinful before an infinitely holy God. As Isaiah said, we are all men of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.
Because of this fact, we should not only have love for God, but have holy reverence and awe of Him as well. And it is this kind of response we are hoping Isaiah 6 will spark in those we read it to this week. The second half of the chapter speaks to this as well, talking about God’s just punishment of the rebellious nation of Israel, and only reinforces the fact of God holiness, shown here in His justice and righteousness. And His reaction is completely justified in light of His character.
So, this chapter, although it does not proclaim the good news of the gospel directly, makes that bad news of our sin and the judgment more reasonable in light of God’s glory and holy character. But we still have a wonderful transition, because just as God’s justice and righteous are extensions of His character, of who He is, so are His love and mercy. So I would encourage you, in your personal witnessing, as well as in your open-air reading, to tell people about God’s holiness, and how that holiness is reflected in God’s mercy and justice. If the Holy Spirit moves in their hearts and they begin to grasp the enormity of that, they will despair as Isaiah did. Then it will be that much sweeter to them when they hear about how God’s justice and mercy were both satisfied, at the cross of Christ.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Appropriately, the chapter we will be reading this week is very focused on the glory of God, as I pray this group is and will be. The beginning of the chapter recounts Isaiah’s vision of standing in God’s presence, in His throne room. Above Him Isaiah saw the seraphim, angelic beings of unimaginable power. The chapter says that the mere sound of their voice shook the foundations of the temple, as they called out to each other, praising the Lord. Yet even the seraphim, powerful and glorious beyond our comprehension, covered their faces and their feet in the presence of God. They were still created beings, like us, and standing in God’s presence, had a much better grasp of who they are and who He is, and how to appropriately express that. They knew they were unworthy.
This is the world’s biggest problem with understanding God, and I think ours as well much of the time. We don’t really think about or understand who God is. We don’t think about His majesty, His glory, or His holiness. Think of Isaiah’s reaction. Isaiah, likely the holiest man of his day, was overwhelmed almost to the point of despair at being in the presence of God. How often do we think about God in that light? I know I don’t enough. It is very true that God is our father and our friend, as the bible also expresses, but He is also holy. And for the unbeliever, this misunderstanding or ignorance of who God is makes the gospel absurd, and the idea of eternal punishment unreasonable.
But think of this analogy. Look for a moment at just one aspect of God’s law, bearing false witness (lying). If you were to lie to a small child, it would be wrong, but the child couldn’t punish you. If you were to lie to your husband or wife you might end up sleeping on the couch. If you lie to your boss at work, you could lose your job. If you lie to a judge in court you could end up in prison. The offense is the same in all cases, put the punishment is not. The punishment increases based on the position and status of the person against who the sin is committed. As David said, all sin is ultimately against God (see Psalm 51), and any sin is infinitely sinful before an infinitely holy God. As Isaiah said, we are all men of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.
Because of this fact, we should not only have love for God, but have holy reverence and awe of Him as well. And it is this kind of response we are hoping Isaiah 6 will spark in those we read it to this week. The second half of the chapter speaks to this as well, talking about God’s just punishment of the rebellious nation of Israel, and only reinforces the fact of God holiness, shown here in His justice and righteousness. And His reaction is completely justified in light of His character.
So, this chapter, although it does not proclaim the good news of the gospel directly, makes that bad news of our sin and the judgment more reasonable in light of God’s glory and holy character. But we still have a wonderful transition, because just as God’s justice and righteous are extensions of His character, of who He is, so are His love and mercy. So I would encourage you, in your personal witnessing, as well as in your open-air reading, to tell people about God’s holiness, and how that holiness is reflected in God’s mercy and justice. If the Holy Spirit moves in their hearts and they begin to grasp the enormity of that, they will despair as Isaiah did. Then it will be that much sweeter to them when they hear about how God’s justice and mercy were both satisfied, at the cross of Christ.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Friday, January 14, 2011
This Week’s Reading: 2 Kings 17 - A Reason to Fear and a Reason to Hope
This Week’s Reading: 2 Kings 17
A Reason to Fear and a Reason to Hope
Hello brothers and sisters. I pray you are doing well and that God is drawing you closer to Him daily. I also pray that Project Ezra will continue to be a blessing and an encouragement to you. If it is, please share it with others.
This week we will be reading 2 Kings chapter 17. The chapter chronicles the sins of the nation of Israel which lead to them being taken into exile by the king of Assyira. In the New Testament we are told that we are not of this world, and that we should not conform to the pattern, but be transformed through the renewing of our minds. But the nation of Israel is a pattern for much of what we see in the world around us, and frequently in the church as well. As with Israel, many professing Christians are very much of the world, and rather than focusing on the things of God and placing them at the center of their lives, the things of God become merely an accessory. God is not worshiped as the one true God, but given a place as one of many Gods, or one of many pursuits. We need a little morality, so we attend church on Sunday, but it’s OK if our friends don’t go to church, or if they attend a Mormon church, or a Buddhist temple, or a Muslim mosque. We know the bible claims to be the exclusive word of God, but we may involve ourselves with pagan practices, have images of false gods in our house, or simply live as if God never gave us a law to obey. So was Israel. Truly, as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
I think the best way to use this type of passage, of which there are many, to launch into a gospel presentation, is to draw the parallel between us and Israel. We have been very blessed by God in this country, but have chosen to try to push Him into the background, and have reveled in our sin. The sinful things that God hates have become so much a part of our daily life that we often don’t even see them as Christians, and certainly those outside the Church don’t So list some of those sins for which Israel was condemned, and contrast them to our modern day idolatry and willful disobedience. And show that, as Israel was, we are under condemnation for that disobedience.
As with all true gospel presentations, the message of God’s wrath and condemnation must be clear, unmistakable and uncompromised. It is not enough for a man to know and admit that he is a sinner. Almost everyone will admit that. There needs to be an understanding that sin is a fatal disease, and that apart from God we are all spiritually dead. Be sure to emphasize that no amount of good works or effort can save a man. If you have spent much time sharing your faith, you know that common responses to “how will you get right with God?” involve trying harder, doing better, going to church more, etc. But our righteousness is as filthy rags next to God, and no amount of works will save us.
Although we must tell the lost clearly of God’s wrath and that they have reason to fear, we must be just as clear in proclaiming God’s mercy and a reason to hope. The cross of Christ, and ultimately the person of Jesus Christ Himself, MUST be at the center of the message. It is the intersection of God’s wrath and love. God showed His love most fully in satisfying His own divine justice through the death of His own Son. So place the weight of the law onto the lost, so they understand the condition, and then let the grace of God in Jesus Christ life that weight.
The outline below may give you some ideas for points to focus on. I will be using many of these myself on the street tomorrow night in our local bar and club district. Please take some time to head out this weekend and share the gospel with someone who needs to hear it.
Read 2 Kings 17
Israel provoked God to anger. Have you done the same?
They followed the customs of the nations around them, serving other gods. Have you? Have you mixed other religious practices and beliefs in? Have you claimed all religion the same, though God says different? Have you claimed there are many gods and many ways to heaven?
The passage said Israel secretly sinned against the Lord, doing things that were not right. What do you do in secret? Lie? Cheat on your taxes? Download music without paying? Cheat on your spouse? Look at pornography?
Idololotry is everywhere. Things that offend God and blaspheme His name are so commonplace, we don’t even notice them. Impure speech, sex, money, success, power, all are part of the fabric of our culture, and all are outside of the will of God.
We are not ignorant. You are not ignorant. We are stubborn and have refused to listen to God’s word. We despise God’s law because we want to be autonomous, to be our own gods. But there is only one God, and He has made His will clear.
Yes, we have provoked God to anger. And yes, He IS angry.
God is angry with the wicked every day. He hates all who do evil
God is not without warning. He has sent prophets and seers, teachers and pastors and faithful saints, for thousands of years. How many times have you been warned? How many church services have you sat through with a hard heart?
We are all guilty and deserving of God’s wrath, and of eternity in hell.
But God did not only send warning of sin, but sent payment for sin.
He sent his son, Jesus Christ, the perfect man, and God in the flesh, as the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world.
Proclaim the excellencies of Christ. He is the alpha and Omega, beginning and the end. The world was created through Him and for Him, and by Him everything is sustained. He is sinless and perfect. And this glorious God, the Son, when he was raised to life after three days, sat down at the right hand of the Father, as our advocate.
Jesus is Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
Repent (turn) from your sins and trust in Him alone. He is the only true and living God, and there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Please do not presume on God’s patience. The Lamb of God will one day return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and there will be no escape.
On that day the great men of the world will be calling out for the mountains for fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Revelations 6:15-17)
We take no pleasure in saying this, but this is a warning. Because we care, and want to see you in heaven, and because we want to see God glorified in the preaching of His word, we MUST tell you the truth.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Evangelism Resources:
Living Waters – The core ministry messages
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
True and False Conversion
Additional Resources
Way of the Master
The Ambassador’s Fellowship
The Ambassador’s Academy
The School of Biblical Evangelism
Gospel Tracts
A Reason to Fear and a Reason to Hope
Hello brothers and sisters. I pray you are doing well and that God is drawing you closer to Him daily. I also pray that Project Ezra will continue to be a blessing and an encouragement to you. If it is, please share it with others.
This week we will be reading 2 Kings chapter 17. The chapter chronicles the sins of the nation of Israel which lead to them being taken into exile by the king of Assyira. In the New Testament we are told that we are not of this world, and that we should not conform to the pattern, but be transformed through the renewing of our minds. But the nation of Israel is a pattern for much of what we see in the world around us, and frequently in the church as well. As with Israel, many professing Christians are very much of the world, and rather than focusing on the things of God and placing them at the center of their lives, the things of God become merely an accessory. God is not worshiped as the one true God, but given a place as one of many Gods, or one of many pursuits. We need a little morality, so we attend church on Sunday, but it’s OK if our friends don’t go to church, or if they attend a Mormon church, or a Buddhist temple, or a Muslim mosque. We know the bible claims to be the exclusive word of God, but we may involve ourselves with pagan practices, have images of false gods in our house, or simply live as if God never gave us a law to obey. So was Israel. Truly, as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
I think the best way to use this type of passage, of which there are many, to launch into a gospel presentation, is to draw the parallel between us and Israel. We have been very blessed by God in this country, but have chosen to try to push Him into the background, and have reveled in our sin. The sinful things that God hates have become so much a part of our daily life that we often don’t even see them as Christians, and certainly those outside the Church don’t So list some of those sins for which Israel was condemned, and contrast them to our modern day idolatry and willful disobedience. And show that, as Israel was, we are under condemnation for that disobedience.
As with all true gospel presentations, the message of God’s wrath and condemnation must be clear, unmistakable and uncompromised. It is not enough for a man to know and admit that he is a sinner. Almost everyone will admit that. There needs to be an understanding that sin is a fatal disease, and that apart from God we are all spiritually dead. Be sure to emphasize that no amount of good works or effort can save a man. If you have spent much time sharing your faith, you know that common responses to “how will you get right with God?” involve trying harder, doing better, going to church more, etc. But our righteousness is as filthy rags next to God, and no amount of works will save us.
Although we must tell the lost clearly of God’s wrath and that they have reason to fear, we must be just as clear in proclaiming God’s mercy and a reason to hope. The cross of Christ, and ultimately the person of Jesus Christ Himself, MUST be at the center of the message. It is the intersection of God’s wrath and love. God showed His love most fully in satisfying His own divine justice through the death of His own Son. So place the weight of the law onto the lost, so they understand the condition, and then let the grace of God in Jesus Christ life that weight.
The outline below may give you some ideas for points to focus on. I will be using many of these myself on the street tomorrow night in our local bar and club district. Please take some time to head out this weekend and share the gospel with someone who needs to hear it.
Read 2 Kings 17
Israel provoked God to anger. Have you done the same?
They followed the customs of the nations around them, serving other gods. Have you? Have you mixed other religious practices and beliefs in? Have you claimed all religion the same, though God says different? Have you claimed there are many gods and many ways to heaven?
The passage said Israel secretly sinned against the Lord, doing things that were not right. What do you do in secret? Lie? Cheat on your taxes? Download music without paying? Cheat on your spouse? Look at pornography?
Idololotry is everywhere. Things that offend God and blaspheme His name are so commonplace, we don’t even notice them. Impure speech, sex, money, success, power, all are part of the fabric of our culture, and all are outside of the will of God.
We are not ignorant. You are not ignorant. We are stubborn and have refused to listen to God’s word. We despise God’s law because we want to be autonomous, to be our own gods. But there is only one God, and He has made His will clear.
Yes, we have provoked God to anger. And yes, He IS angry.
God is angry with the wicked every day. He hates all who do evil
God is not without warning. He has sent prophets and seers, teachers and pastors and faithful saints, for thousands of years. How many times have you been warned? How many church services have you sat through with a hard heart?
We are all guilty and deserving of God’s wrath, and of eternity in hell.
But God did not only send warning of sin, but sent payment for sin.
He sent his son, Jesus Christ, the perfect man, and God in the flesh, as the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world.
Proclaim the excellencies of Christ. He is the alpha and Omega, beginning and the end. The world was created through Him and for Him, and by Him everything is sustained. He is sinless and perfect. And this glorious God, the Son, when he was raised to life after three days, sat down at the right hand of the Father, as our advocate.
Jesus is Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
Repent (turn) from your sins and trust in Him alone. He is the only true and living God, and there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Please do not presume on God’s patience. The Lamb of God will one day return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and there will be no escape.
On that day the great men of the world will be calling out for the mountains for fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Revelations 6:15-17)
We take no pleasure in saying this, but this is a warning. Because we care, and want to see you in heaven, and because we want to see God glorified in the preaching of His word, we MUST tell you the truth.
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Evangelism Resources:
Living Waters – The core ministry messages
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
True and False Conversion
Additional Resources
Way of the Master
The Ambassador’s Fellowship
The Ambassador’s Academy
The School of Biblical Evangelism
Gospel Tracts
Friday, January 7, 2011
This Week’s Reading: Joel 2
This Week’s Reading: Joel 2
Happy New Year everyone! For those of you new to Project Ezra, welcome, and I hope the group will be a blessing and encouragement to you. For those of you who have been with Project Ezra for a while, we’re glad you are still here, and are praying you will tell other brothers and sisters in Christ about the group. Many people have been encouraged to share their faith publicly through the reading of God’s word, and I pray that many more will be as well.
This week we will be switching from our normal list (the book or Proverbs) and will be reading Joel chapter 2. The chapter may seem a bit obscure to some, and I know many Christians have likely never read it. However, the overall message is consistent with like the rest of God’s word, and that message reflects the gospel. In outline form it shows:
Mankind, and in this case Israel specifically, has been rebellious against God, and is thus deserving of judgment.
God is a just judge, and will punish sin.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and when the day of His wrath is revealed, even the mighty and powerful will tremble before Him.
Even though God is angry with the wicked, He still calls them to return to Him.
God will be gracious to restore His people.
Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
It still amazes me that the message of God restoring and redeeming His disobedient, rebellious people appears in nearly every book of the bible. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, and the final work of redemption that was foreshadowed in His dealings with the nation of Israel was brought to completion in the person of Jesus Christ.
So for this chapter, I would encourage you, following your reading, to draw parallels between this passage and the gospel. Remind the people listening (and people will be listen, whether they do it obviously or not), that as Israel was disobedient and rebellious, so are we. Use the law of God, and be specific, to show them that they sinners worthy of nothing but God’s wrath. And tell them the good news that as God called and restored His people then, He calls us and will restore us, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection.
As always, please spend some time with the passage, and in prayer, prior to going out to do your reading. It is so important that we understand God’s word and handle it rightly, and that we are putting our trust in God, and not depending on ourselves. We should pray for discernment, wisdom, the filling of the Spirit, and protection. Evangelism of any kind is also spiritual warfare, and though you may not have encountered direct opposition, it will come, and we need to be prepared when it does.
Many of you probably know that Project Ezra is an outreach of The Way of the Master’s Ambassador’s Alliance. For those of you who might not be familiar with The Way of the Master and Living Waters, its parent ministry, I would encourage you to check out the links below. They have many resources to help you grow in your faith and to equip you to be bold in sharing your faith. Be sure to check out the Ambassador’s Academy information. The Academy is still in the process of taking applications for this year. As always, if you have any questions about these resources, or questions or comments about this week’s reading and post, I would love to hear them. God bless!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Evangelism Resources:
Living Waters – The core ministry messages
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
True and False Conversion
Way of the Master
The Ambassador’s Fellowship
The Ambassador’s Academy
The School of Biblical Evangelism
Gospel Tracts
Happy New Year everyone! For those of you new to Project Ezra, welcome, and I hope the group will be a blessing and encouragement to you. For those of you who have been with Project Ezra for a while, we’re glad you are still here, and are praying you will tell other brothers and sisters in Christ about the group. Many people have been encouraged to share their faith publicly through the reading of God’s word, and I pray that many more will be as well.
This week we will be switching from our normal list (the book or Proverbs) and will be reading Joel chapter 2. The chapter may seem a bit obscure to some, and I know many Christians have likely never read it. However, the overall message is consistent with like the rest of God’s word, and that message reflects the gospel. In outline form it shows:
Mankind, and in this case Israel specifically, has been rebellious against God, and is thus deserving of judgment.
God is a just judge, and will punish sin.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and when the day of His wrath is revealed, even the mighty and powerful will tremble before Him.
Even though God is angry with the wicked, He still calls them to return to Him.
God will be gracious to restore His people.
Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
It still amazes me that the message of God restoring and redeeming His disobedient, rebellious people appears in nearly every book of the bible. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, and the final work of redemption that was foreshadowed in His dealings with the nation of Israel was brought to completion in the person of Jesus Christ.
So for this chapter, I would encourage you, following your reading, to draw parallels between this passage and the gospel. Remind the people listening (and people will be listen, whether they do it obviously or not), that as Israel was disobedient and rebellious, so are we. Use the law of God, and be specific, to show them that they sinners worthy of nothing but God’s wrath. And tell them the good news that as God called and restored His people then, He calls us and will restore us, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection.
As always, please spend some time with the passage, and in prayer, prior to going out to do your reading. It is so important that we understand God’s word and handle it rightly, and that we are putting our trust in God, and not depending on ourselves. We should pray for discernment, wisdom, the filling of the Spirit, and protection. Evangelism of any kind is also spiritual warfare, and though you may not have encountered direct opposition, it will come, and we need to be prepared when it does.
Many of you probably know that Project Ezra is an outreach of The Way of the Master’s Ambassador’s Alliance. For those of you who might not be familiar with The Way of the Master and Living Waters, its parent ministry, I would encourage you to check out the links below. They have many resources to help you grow in your faith and to equip you to be bold in sharing your faith. Be sure to check out the Ambassador’s Academy information. The Academy is still in the process of taking applications for this year. As always, if you have any questions about these resources, or questions or comments about this week’s reading and post, I would love to hear them. God bless!
For the praise of His glory,
Dan
Evangelism Resources:
Living Waters – The core ministry messages
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
True and False Conversion
Way of the Master
The Ambassador’s Fellowship
The Ambassador’s Academy
The School of Biblical Evangelism
Gospel Tracts
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