SLO Earth Day Outreach 2011

It was a joy to preach the gospel to the attendees of the 2011 SLO Earth Day event that took place at San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden (El Chorro Regional Park). Below is much of the video footage that I captured during the outreach. The first four videos document some of the bus stop preaching and the last video contains random clips from within the Earth Day event. Although the message we proclaimed wasn’t well received, we were very encouraged that many heard the Law and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As the blog entry and video I posted earlier this we indicated, the folks there were kind of snarky with us. But Christian, when the world resists you because of Who you represent, don’t be discouraged. When they don’t want to hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, don’t be surprised. The world hated our Lord, do you think you’ll be treated any different?

[Jesus Christ] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name… John 1:10-13 (also read Matthew 10:16-30)

Share your faith today and don’t quit!

What Happened at SLO Earth Day 2011?

Last year I attended the 2010 San Luis Obispo Earth Day event to pass out tracts and evangelize 1-2-1. Only to find out that speaking of Jesus Christ wasn’t appreciated by some. If you remember, I was pretty much booted from a booth that I was invited into by Jarrod, a Jewish rabbi. The booth was there to promote “religious tolerance.” But when Jarrod began to disagree with the Jesus of the Bible I was presenting, a reverend lady got upset with my being there and ran me off.

My Brother in Christ Jeff Harrison and I attended the 2011 SLO Earth Day event last Saturday. Our intention was to go into the event and pass out as many gospel tracts as we could. Then just before leaving the event, we where going to read aloud, open-air style, from Matthew 26-28, participating in the Project Ezra: Mission Good Friday outreach.

But when we arrived in the parking lot, we found 20-25 people standing on the sidewalk waiting for a shuttle to take them into the Earth Day event. Our plans changed quickly and we decided to remain by the shuttle pick up point and preach open air to the groups of people that would form every 10-15 minutes. We did this for quite some time. We had the privilege of sharing the Law and Gospel to maybe a hundred people. Praise be to GOD! This video gives some indication as to how well we were received by them.

At some point we decided to go ahead up into the festival. It was interesting and sad. The blatant idolatry expressed there was appalling. It grieved me to see it - not to mention the witchcraft.

The summation of the outreach is this. These people desperately need Jesus Christ – just as I still do today. Thirteen years back, I would have been at this festival partaking in all manner of sin. Apart from the grace that I received through faith in Jesus Christ, I too would resist the Gospel and GOD’s people’s pleadings.

I’m always blown away just how irrational a sinner can be though. Lost folk might promote religious tolerance, or even say, “make love not war” or “give peace a chance,” while at the same time, gnash their teeth at you in hatred of the Light that you’re trying to share with them in hopes they’ll be saved. Wow some of these folks are snarky and intolerant of us sharing our faith.

By GOD’s grace, we persevered in the face of their resistance and we pray GOD was glorified and that these people were convicted of sin, or righteousness, and judgment and that they'll see their need for Christ Jesus.

Lord willing, later this week I’ll be uploading the videos from this evangelism effort.

Mission Good Friday 2011

Brother Jeff Harrison and I participated in the Project Ezra: Mission Good Friday outreach. What is Mission Good Friday you ask?

On Good Friday through Easter, Christians from all over the world went into the public-square, stood atop their “soap-box,” opened up their Bibles, and read aloud from Matthew 26-28. Brother Jeff and I had the privilege of reading and preaching to those gathered at Pismo Beach Pier on Good Friday.

This video includes segments of the reading. Please forgive my poor video editing. I think I was too tired when I edited this so some of the transitions are weak. Please also forgive the poor audio quality. It was windy at the coast - that always makes it tough to capture clean open air audio.

Christian, I hope you’re encouraged by this! You may not be an “evangelist.” But you can do this. You don’t have to be “gifted” to read aloud from the Bible. Just pray, grab your Bible, find public place where people gather, stand atop a planter, bench, or bring your own box, open up your mouth and read aloud from the Word of God. That’s it – simple. Like the rest of us who engage in the public reading of Scripture, you’ll be surprised how our LORD will use you to reach out to lost people. It’s a true joy!

In addition to reading aloud from the Bible, Jeff and I both preached (I’ll try to upload some of that footage later this week). At one point when I was atop the box, a young man named Jason approached me (at approximately 8:46) and we engaged in a 1-2-1 open air encounter. Many people, on and off camera, listened to our simple exchange. Because Jason’s family/friends began calling for him at the end, the encounter was a bit rushed. However, I’m positive this young man and others who stood listening, heard exactly what our Lord wanted them to hear at that time. I’m praying that GOD will convict this young man of sin, righteousness, and judgment – that Jason would see the beauty of the crucified and risen Christ, and be born again.

What is Easter?

I’m sure it’s not an original idea – using the holiday Easter as a springboard to talking with people about the things of eternity. In fact, I’ve heard Todd Friel, from Wretched Radio, do it many times. If you’re not a regular listener of Wretched Radio, here is a link to a free segment of the show where Todd uses Easter as a springboard into talking to people about the things of GOD.

This video is a collection of clips of recent encounters where I was asking people about Easter. This is an easy way to move from the natural to the spiritual. I thank GOD that most of these individuals heard the Law and Gospel using the holiday Easter. Christian, you can do this too. Don’t let Easter week go by without asking unsaved family members, friends, or strangers, “What is Easter?” And then share the Law and Gospel with them. Preach Christ crucified!

I hope this video encourages you to go for it.

Austin Believes in Science NOT Creator GOD

I met a very nice young man named Austin in Pismo Beach the other day. It was a beautiful day – in the High 80’s. There were people all over Pismo and Austin was out to show off his “Parkour” skills.

“What is Parkour,” you ask? Wikipeia says,

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) is a utilitarian discipline based upon the successful, swift and energy-efficient traversing of one's surrounding environment via the practical application of techniques, based around the concept of self-preservation and the ability to help others. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. Skills such as jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are employed. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles are preferable and it is most commonly practiced in urban areas.

In this interview I used the dangerous nature of the tricks I saw Austin perform to springboard into talking about the surety of death and the afterlife.

As you watch this interview, notice how Austin takes a position that he doesn’t believe in Creator GOD but instead “science” (at the beginning of the interview). But after opening up the Ten Commandments to him, we found a place of agreement in his conscience. He acknowledged his guilt before GOD and Austin’s eternal destiny if he died in his sins.


Christian, don’t forsake the use of what GOD has given us to speak the truth in love to lost people. Use the Law to bring about the knowledge of sin. Speak of the character and nature of GOD. Speak of the torments of Hell. Do your best to make Hell reasonable to them so that you can preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. More often than not, like Austin, a person will move from denying the existence of GOD to acknowledging their sin, guilt and the existence of GOD.


But ultimately, all of this is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a sinner. It is He who must save. So trust Him to use you and share your faith today.

The Lord of the Harvest

Now that we are at the end of summer, by God’s grace, we look forward to another season – autumn. Harvest time is just ahead! I love this time of year. The upcoming autumn harvest reminded me of a memorable encounter I captured during Ambassadors’ Academy 16, back in June 2010.

We were at Santa Monica Ca, 3rd Street Promenade. In the video you’ll see Steve Sanchez from stonethepreacher.com deliver the Law and the Gospel to a group of teenagers. As you watch this video keep in mind that I edited out approximately eight minutes of the footage. Steve had to do a considerable amount of wrangling, reasoning, repeating and recapping, in order to help these teens understand their eternal destiny without Christ. It was a rather difficult encounter. I hope you’ll be encouraged by watching this faithful laborer of Christ push through in spite of how difficult the encounter was. If you’ve been at it for any length of time, that is, being a witness for Christ, you’ll know that it can be hard work at times.

Christian Soldier – Don’t Quit! Faithfully proclaim the Law and Gospel. Tell sinners about the Person of Christ. Call them to repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Plead with them! Be motivated by the infinitely perfect labor of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who secured for us our eternal salvation – “to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4:24-25

There is another thing that came to mind as I watched the video and thought about the many texts in the Bible where God likens us to laborers, workers, slaves, etc (see Luke 10:2-12; 1 Cor 3:6-9; Matt 20:1-16 and look at Paul’s labor in Acts 18:4-11). I must free acknowledge and confess the truth that being an Ambassador for Christ laborious – joyous for sure but laborious nevertheless.

With that being said, I must also confess my weakness and total dependence of GOD to be my strength in laboring for His glory. He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

SDG!

Preaching to the Choir

As evangelists we often times think in terms of heralding the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to lost souls, with the goal of loving GOD and loving lost people. AMEN! But I’ve seen it happen too that our preaching also has it’s affects on the people of GOD.

It was Independence Day 2010 when I met Anthony. He is a very nice young man who, as I began to take him through the good person test, revealed that he was a professing Christian. I was thankful that Anthony sensed that he had stepped into a position that wasn’t only about him but also about those who were listening. He graciously allowed me to bounce the “good person” questions off of him without argument.

I had a short conversation with Anthony after the crowd dispersed and he expressed that he was very encouraged by the preaching, specifically the way the gospel was presented. I had just met Anthony so I can’t tell you if he is a Christian or not, but he professed to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I give him the benefit of the doubt.

As you know, Christians do stop and listen to our preaching. I also understand that all too often professing Christians are some of the most difficult people to deal with when preaching. Nevertheless, by the power of the Holy Spirit, our preaching also reaches out to the Christian and/or church attendees that are being saved.

Remember,

“Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”” Matthew 9:35-38

Let’s expect GOD to answer our prayers for more laborers. I used to think in terms of GOD answering my prayer for laborer(s) that He might send some to labor with me(selfish). But I’m not the “Lord of the harvest,” GOD is. He raises them up. It is not my harvest it is, “his harvest.” Let Him send them where He desires.

One of the affects of our,“preaching to the choir” is that GOD may use it as a means to raise up laborers to send out into the harvest. I believe Anthony lives in the Central Valley. I pray that this encounter was the means GOD used to stir this young man up to obedience to preach the Gospel in his home town.

There are other times when we preach that church attendees are listening. This is the case with the last two videos. You’ll hear the father of this family make a profession of faith in the third video. Again, I don’t know him other than from what I know of him from our short encounter. I give this gentleman the benefit of the doubt when he says he’s a Christian.

In the video you’ll hear the father name the church they attend. I can only pray that this church preaches the law, gospel, repentance and faith. But as you know, many evangelical “churches” these days fail in bringing the full council of GOD, but instead entertain lost people to keep them coming back.

Again, from time to time our preaching is for professing Christians that GOD is saving in spite of the bad churches they attend. In the video, you’ll also hear the rest of this dear family profess that they are not sure if their saved.

With all that being said dear Christian, I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know but, don’t quit. Just because a person makes a profession of faith, trust in our Sovereign Lord of the Harvest that He has, by His providence, designed this encounter – every encounter. Rest assured, in and through it all He’s working.

GOD doesn’t need you (He need’s nothing from anyone) but you might be the means He uses to save some, draw some, harden some, send some – HE IS THE LORD OF THE HARVEST.

So preach the law, gospel, repentance, faith and exalt the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Preach to an Audience of One. Preach to the lost. Preach to the professing Christian. But also never underestimate what GOD may be doing when you “Preach to the Choir.”

SDG!