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| Fishing Report and Comments week ending Oct 1st I thank God for the fact that He alone gets the Glory for everything! This week our schedules were hectic, however Tony and Jared were able to not only go and witness to the PETA protestors and others down at the Circus, but they were able to help scout the new Halloween fishing spot. We needed something with public right of way that was within earshot of the lines. These haunted houses are pretty popular and we believe the Lord has led us to this opportunity to preach the Gospel. In addition, we were blessed this week to help host a table for the Pregnancy Resource Center! What a blessed ministry to witness to women in need and plead with them for the lives of their children.
The PETA protestor that Tony witnessed to came under conviction as he took her through the law and explained grace. Her contrite expression we hope is one that revealed her heart and that she could turn her passion from saving animals to saving men and women. I am floored by some of the amazing passions that these groups have to share their personal convictions. I am encouraged as a Christian to express an abundance of passion for our Lord and Savior and harbor conviction about The Good News that we are joyously commanded to preach. A close friend of ours who plays for REAL soccer team here in Salt Lake is going to get up this week in front of a stadium full of people and share his testimony………talk about conviction, praise God! Is my passion strong enough to stand up in front of my company and my customers and do the same thing if given the opportunity? I pray that it would be a resounding yes! As a Christian I need to be reminded we run the race to win, we count the cost, we persevere, we continue to train, we are obedient to the call, and we love our neighbors, friends, family, coworkers and strangers enough to tell them about their eternal fate if they do not repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ. What a good gospel we have, that a wretch like me would be saved by this amazing God. I pray that I cannot keep it to myself that God would give me the desire, the words, the wisdom, the courage and the Holy Spirit so that I might open my mouth and let His words spill out onto the ears and the hearts of the lost. Fishing Report My last bit of travel for this year is over and it’s sure good to be home! I had to go to Phoenix last week on business and my wife came along with me since we both have an affinity for Phoenix ~ especially the food. It was an overall enjoyable time. On the plane ride there though, I had one of the most unique witnessing encounters I have experienced. There were two people across the aisle from my wife and I, and they were reading a little magazine called “The Watchtower” and had what looked like a Bible. I had been reading my Bible and thought it was a great way to strike up a conversation. We ended up starting to chat and turns out they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have not had as much experience sharing the Gospel with JW’s, however I am familiar with some of their theology. So I asked the man if he was one of the 144,000 that was going to go to Heaven and he replied with a big smile and to my surprise - NO. After further discussion, he explained that he believes that everyone will be resurrected back on earth again good, bad or whatnot. We spoke about the differences between our faith, and I told him about the law and why grace is so amazing and the DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. He explained that he did not agree with that and many other points, especially the trinity. He explained that one of the main reasons he opts not to be a Christian is because of how hypocritical they are and that he sees a difference in the moral lifestyle of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It broke my heart to hear him say that. It is so sad that so many people who falsely claim to be a part of Christianity taint the understanding of nonbelievers. We as Christians SHOUL D NOT LOOK LIKE THOSE OF THE WORLD! It is why understanding repentance is SO important and distinguishes between true and false converts. I recited 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9 to him so he had a clear picture of what would happen to him if he did not have the right Jesus. While all this was going on there were many onlookers as we discussed these things respectfully across the aisle. Many people moved in their seats to watch us dialogue. Well, I compassionately ended the conversation with the “tiebreaker” : If JW’s are right and the Bible is wrong then we will be resurrected again…. No big deal. But… if the Bible is right and the Watchtower is wrong then they are in danger of hell for eternity. As difficult as it may seem to discuss spiritual things with those who clearly have very unbiblical theology, that cannot intercede from the truth that MUST be told. Remember who commands us – the God of the universe, who wants none to perish. I left him with a Gospel tract and as I got our bags down, another gentlemen sitting behind him asked for one as well.
This week the team went out to the Haunted Houses and then to the Bars. We had an amazing time and were able to film and upcoming episode of Heart For the Lost. We all wanted to preach yet we got into so many conversations and it seemed people were not only eager but wanting to talk to us as well. I am amazed still at some of the responses we get from the young folk who are out there in not only a dangerous neighborhood but at a place of evil. Many people we talked to said that Haunted Houses were not evil (Rev 21:8) however many of them did not believe that their god would go through it. We spoke with many folks and handed out hundreds of tracts. Our prayer is that the folks that heard will repent and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Greetings Friends in Christ, Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 10/22/06 http://UT.thegreatnews.com/saltlakecity Previous Newsletters are at www.xanga.com/heartforthelost Photos are Here http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartforthelost/
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Tues, Thurs 10433 S.Redwood Road at 7:40 am. Please pray for us in this, we would also love for you to come out and pray Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the homeless every other weekend. They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com Halloween Outreach TWO FINAL DAYS! This is now in full force we will be going out Friday and Saturday Night at 9:30 pm we are going to be going to the Nightmare on 13th. Meeting at 1300 S and 300 W on the Corner. Please let me know if you plan on attending. The Day after Thanksgiving BLACK FRIDAY There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this! University of Utah Round Table on Hell will be Wednesday Night from 4-6pm at the Alumni House. The “Evangelical” that is representing Evangelicals was quoted with some Non-Evangelical statements. Way of the Master Training Class Classes in the Adult Sunday School at Calvary Chapel 10am on Sunday in the Youth Room please come join us One Day Crash Course This will be held at The Adventure Church on November 11th from 1pm-5pm please register by emailing me your name, email and phone Fantastic Fellowship, Food and Evangelism Training We will begin meeting every other Monday evenings in our home at 7 pm beginning on Nov 6th. Please remind me if you were interested in this so that I can put you on the new list
Fishing Report I praise God for the many that came out this week. Tony, Jared, Linda, Justin, Jason, Scott, Becky, Lu, Diana, Jeff, and Aaron. These faithful seedsowers came out to share the Hope that lies within with those who are perishing. I know that before we go out that I go out dragging my feet, but I always come back clicking my heels. We had some incredible conversations this week, I am always amazed at how God brings the people he wants to hear the Gospel, Speaks through His people with His message, and does the converting of the Soul. So when a dozen folks come out I believe God has a lot of folks to work through! Couple of highlights this week was the fact that on Saturday we got a group of three Ladies that went to Westminster who were all backsliding Mormons. Pastor Jason Epps shared Law and Grace with them and asked them about their faith. They had a unique blend of Evolution, New Age and Mormonism all rolled into one. In fact it seemed like all those beliefs merged well when they spoke about them. Jason and I explained to them about how their logic of the Creation being the Creator is flawed, you cannot have a Creator from a Creation something had to have started it. This made them seriously think and they were very respectful of what we were discussing. In addition Jared, and Aaron spent quite a bit of time preaching to the lines of people waiting to get scared in the Haunted House. We feel really blessed because the owner of Nightmare on 13th has asked us to actually come on the property rather than the sidewalk to preach and has been very respectful of our rights. Tony did his usual entertaining to draw crowds and then preached to them, he used his Chemical Cross, and if you haven’t seen it, it is a well demonstrated Gospel presentation. Lu, Diana and Becky were rent a crowd, which is by the way one of the most vital jobs in drawing a crowd, as well as tract machines. Jeff is however the tract master; he pumps out hundreds of tracts every night and does not like a single person to go by without one. Praise the Lord! Scotty was our prayer warrior, support and cameraman, so glad that everyone came out! Closing Comments What do you do when a car dies right in front of your house? Well that is what happened to us on Sunday Night. In our new neighborhood we are only one of two people on our end of the street who live there. The rest of the homes are not finished or are non-existent. So imagine my surprise when I went out to get a movie and there is a car there with a very frustrated young lady who cannot get her car to start. I really believed that this was someone sent from God to witness to. Julie came out and I jumped started her car and gave her and her brother a Gospel tract. So this got me thinking, even though this was so blatantly obvious, are there other more subtle times when I need to look around and let the Holy Spirit led me to a witnessing encounter. Are there “stallers” in other places of my life? I absolutely believe it to be so and I want to be more sensitive to the leading of the Spirit to have more of those encounters. | | |
| Greetings Friends in Christ, Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 9/17/06 http://UT.thegreatnews.com/saltlakecity Previous Newsletters are at www.xanga.com/heartforthelost
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Wed, Fri 10433 S.Redwood Road at 7:40 am. Please pray for us in this, we would also love for you to come out and pray Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the homeless every other weekend. We are going out on 10/1 They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com Farmers Market Recurring Sat 10am Pioneer Park meet at the bathrooms on South Side. This will probably be the last week Halloween Ministry We will be preaching the Gospel at the haunted houses throughout the valley starting in Oct. Ever wonder why Halloween is such a big deal in Utah? The Day after Thanksgiving BLACK FRIDAY There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this! Way of the Master Training Class Classes begin Sept 24th in the Adult Sunday School at Calvary Chapel 10am Fantastic Fellowship, Food and Evangelism Training. We will be practicing witnessing scenarios by role playing and equipping participants with tips on how to share the Gospel Biblically and effectively. More info to come
Fishing Report week ending Sept 17th The GNN Utah team was able to go out on Saturday night to the bars downtown Salt Lake and throughout the week to the Utah State Fair. Besides the Open-Air preaching and the many Gospel tracts that were handed out, the owner of Port O Call was witnessed to by the team for over 30 minutes. They also hit a coffee shop downtown and did some great One 2 Ones there. EBC-14 was incredible! God used all things there for His Glory. Once again, I was so blessed to be able to preach and witness on Hollywood Blvd., Venice Beach, and Huntington Beach alongside Ray Comfort and 71 other God-fearing Evangelists with compassionate hearts for the lost. How wonderful that God allows us (per His command) to share His Almighty Word with others. The precious words of the Gospel that once heard, understood and acted upon, can influence eternity. Please consider, if you haven't already~ the opportunity that awaits you if you participate in an Evangelism Boot Camp. Please be open to challenging yourself and stretching your spiritual experience by stepping out of your comfort zone and preaching hope into the lives of those who could face eternity without God. Seeds were sown, watered and we praise God for His mercy and faithfulness and give Him all the praise and glory.
Free Resource of the Week Stephen Baldwin talks about his new book and takes aim at Bono from U2! I am really not sure what to think of this yet? http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=A1ED672F-F667-43FC-A8F6-ABFCD9F7C61B&t=c500&f=06/64&p=hotvideo_celebrity>1=8506 Free Wallpaper http://www.livingwaters.com/freebies/
Notes of Interest
Closing Comments You know I barely remember living life as an unbeliever, much like I can't remember life without my wife and kids. It is so significant that point of finally getting it~ of truly understanding what salvation is all about; of humbly grasping the magnitude of God's wrath and mercy, His love and forgiveness and the sobering realization of the intense sacrifice of Christ, as our sinfulness nailed Him to a cross. I distinctly remember in my days as an unregenerate, self-centered, unbeliever that all things were relative to my point of view; that each person could believe whatever they wanted and God was fine with that. I made the God of the universe conform to what I thought and felt. Since I have become saved, I now earnestly search and seek out truth. Like the Bereans, I believe many Christians are like-minded and truth becomes the search, the goal, and the importance of why and who we live for. Christ becomes our way, our truth and our life once we repent and put our faith and trust in Him. Ask yourself...Do I continue to seek out truth? Do I take all things in my life and hold them up to the Word of God? I contest that it is all in His Word, and nothing apart from the infallible Word of God is acceptable. When we are speaking to folks on the street I must remind myself that they too are searching for the truth and that, I must be honest with them and tell them the truth of the Gospel, the truth of judgment, the truth of sin and the TRUTH of the most amazing sacrifice that man will ever know: Christ's redemptive work on the Cross of Calvary. I am reminded that God is a missionary and He alone wants the hearts and souls of all people that we come across, meet and have relationships with. We are so blessed by the command to go out and preach and be able to see the Holy Spirit working among us. All praise and glory to our Lord!
Until the Nets are Full! Andy Greetings Friends in Christ, Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 9/10/06 http://UT.thegreatnews.com/saltlakecity Previous Newsletters are at www.xanga.com/heartforthelost
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Wed, Fri 10433 S.Redwood Road at 7:40 am. Please pray for us in this, we would also love for you to come out and pray Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the Homeless every other weekend. We are going out on 9/17 They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com Farmers Market Recurring Sat 10am Pioneer Park meet at the Bathrooms on South Side. This is a great opportunity to reach hundreds with the Gospel. This week we will be at the fair helping Jude 3 Missions and WILL NOT BE AT FARMERS MARKET. Salt Lake Fair We will be partnering with Jude 3 Gospel Mission to help them with a booth, and we need people to help us with this. Go to the Heritage Building and it is near the entrance on the West side. Explain that you are with The Great News Network Utah (only if you are or have contacted me) Halloween Ministry We will be preaching the Gospel at the Haunted Houses throughout the valley starting in Oct. Ever wonder why Halloween is such a big deal in Utah? The Day after Thanksgiving BLACK FRIDAY There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this! Way of the Master Training Class Classes begin Sept 24th in the Adult Sunday School at Calvary Chapel 10am Fantastic Fellowship, Food and Training by role playing More info to come
Fishing Report week ending Sept 10th This week was pretty consistent at the DMV and I just wanted to share a powerful story with you. Every week we go at least 3 times during the week and on Wed of this week as we were preaching a Gentlemen turned to me and said “Hey man do you even think anyone is listening to you?” Before I could even reply a meek gentle lady turned to him and said “I am” What astounded me was that God had provided us a blessing in this nice Thirty something Lady and in addition she stepped out in faith in a mighty way. I praise God for the way that the Holy Spirit used her. I was encouraged and as soon as she spoke, which she did with authority- the man completely shut down. We did the Utah State Ffair this week and we came along side another dedicated mission organization called Jude 3 Missions. In fact this is the oldest and longest running mission to the Mormon organization. Kurt, who heads Jude 3, was showing me some of the tracts they used in 1898 to Mormons! I was floored because they are so similar to the tracts we use today! They speak on issues like being Born Again and the False Prophecies of Joesph Smith. I thank God for them and their continual honest outreach to the Mormon people. This has been a great time of witnessing as they have seen Mormons, make a profession of faith right at their booth this year! How amazing. Unfortunately we do not have pictures from this weeks events but we do have some extras from last week.
Free Resource of the Week Answers In Genesis You can share the Gospel with the Genesis account and Ken Ham’s Ministry is doing a fine job fighting the good fight! www.answersingenesis.com In Addition you can go and make your own Testimony Tract http://www.livingwaters.com/downloads/tract.zip
Notes of Interest
Closing Comments Tony and I were talking this morning after a great time Open Air preaching at the DMV. The Gospel was shared I am such a fan of a quiet time and devotional and really try never to miss a day. Every effort is made to do this in the morning on a consistent basis, however 4 days a week we have been able to not only read our Bible and pray, but we also have been able to preach the WORD OF GOD! It in itself is another aspect of our morning devotional, and has been just a huge blessing. As I serve our Lord, I am praying that His desires will be my desires. Our Lord desires that none shall perish, I want to make that my every day desire. I know that I am a continual work in progress, I ask that you join me in prayer to pray that those who are lost will come to repentance and faith, I pray that you will look at the blessing that God has given you with your friends, family and coworkers and see where the Gospel might be shared this day, this week and this month. It is a challenge from our Lord, and one of his most powerful commands was “GO”! I thank God for you all may the Lord Bless you!
Until the Nets are Full! Andy Greetings Friends in Christ, Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 9/3/06
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Wed, Fri 10433 S.Redwood Road at 7:40 am. We always need help here to pass out tracts and start new teams. Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the Homeless every other weekend. We are going out on 9/17 They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com Farmers Market Recurring Sat 10am Pioneer Park meet at the Bathrooms on South Side. This is a great opportunity to reach hundreds with the Gospel. Jared 967-1450 is going to be running it this weekend so look for him! Salt Lake Fair We will be partnering with Jude 3 Gospel Mission to help them with a booth, and we need people to help us with this. YOU MUST FILL OUT AN APPLICATION to participate so please tell me ahead of time if you are interested. Halloween Ministry We will be preaching the Gospel at the Haunted Houses throughout the valley starting in Oct. Ever wonder why Halloween is such a big deal in Utah? The Day after Thanksgiving BLACK FRIDAY There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this! Way of the Master Training Class Classes begin Sept 24th in the Adult Sunday School at Calvary Chapel 10am Fantastic Fellowship, Food and Role Play Training More info to come
Fishing Report week ending Sept 3rd Wow what a week there are sooo many glory stories I feel like I could type all day! We seriously had an amazing week with sharing the Gospel The Farmers Market was more than amazing it was a blessed time. We had at least 7 groups of Christians come by where we were preaching and prayed, thanked and otherwise encouraged us! What a blessing! In addition we were able to do lots of Open Air Preaching and One 2 One witnessing….. again amazing.
In the evening we thought it might be good to head to Port O Call and do some preaching down there. We went down there around 10 pm at night. I must tell you that it is a whole different world dealing with Drunk, Unregenerate, God Haters, than the Daytime witnessing. We preached the Gospel using the Law and showing them why they need Grace many many times. After Tony got done preaching at one point a Gentlemen who was clearly convicted and (sober) started asking more questions and Tony was able to talk with him and pray for him. In addition I got into a great One 2 One with two guys that were very inebriated. One of them was troubled by the reality of the judgment to come. Praise God for this time of witnessing and fellowship. If you do not think the Church of Acts exists today come out and see the Spiritual War that goes on when witnessing! We always need prayer!
Free Resource of the Week Shocking Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmLhyPjHVes Careful with this one, and share it with those that are Lukewarm or Lost.
Notes of Interest
Closing Comments The famous Crocodile Hunter died the other day very suddenly. Steve Irwin was pierced in the heart by a Stingray. This man who had handled animals for most of his life, could not predict what this wild creature would or could do. I believe this is a valid conversation opener with your friends, family and colleagues. Talk about Steve and the fact that one day regardless of how careful we are we will all die. This will be a great icebreaker in the weeks to come as it is part of the talk today. Then gently and respectfully take them through the law and explain what our Savior has so graciously done for us on the CROSS!
I praise God and give Him the Glory! Until the Nets are Full! Andy | | |
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Greetings Friends in Christ,
Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 8/28/06
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Wed, Fri 10433 S.Redwood Road at 7:40 am. We always need help here to pass out tracts and start new teams.
Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the Homeless every other weekend. They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com
Farmers Market Recurring Sat 10am Pioneer Park meet at the Bathrooms on South Side. This is a great opportunity to reach hundreds with the Gospel. Jared 967-1450 is going to be running it this weekend so look for him!
Salt Lake Fair We will be partnering with Jude 3 Gospel Mission to help them with a booth, and we need people to help us with this. YOU MUST FILL OUT AN APPLICATION to participate so please tell me ahead of time if you are interested.
Halloween Ministry We will be preaching the Gospel at the Haunted Houses throughout the valley starting in Oct. Ever wonder why Halloween is such a big deal in Utah?
The Day after Thanksgiving There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this!
Way of the Master Training Class Classes begin Sept 24th in the Adult Sunday School at Calvary Chapel 10am
CRASH COURSE AND EVENT Next week we will be announcing an all day Saturday Crash Course here in Utah stay tuned or email if interested
Fantastic Fellowship, Food and Role Play Training Sunday Nights 7 PM please email me if interested.
Fishing Report week ending August 20th
Fishing Report here in Utah
Jared and Team were out this week at the Farmers Market sowing seeds. An amazing time and some great conversations took place. In addition this morning at the DMV we were astonished to have two guests a local Pastor and a local Evangelism Trainer from a great church in town. We thank God for you guys.
Fishing Report from Texas
We had a wonderful time at the Local Leader Training stay tuned for some truly amazing events! God is using GNN and Way of the Master to affect the world for the Gospel.
Praise God for the opportunity to go out to Texas for a blessed time with the GNN staff. As always we put feet to our prayers and went out to share the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We split into three teams to take on Texas. My team got the privilege of going to Fort Worth to preach in the “Club” area there. It was amazing as we took the four corners of the street and preached the Gospel. As we look only to scripture to see what is Biblical, we adhere to the model that Jesus, Paul, Timothy and others used. God showed us amazing favor as we witnessed two gentlemen come to repentance and faith from the preaching out there as well as this couple who were very much convicted of their sin and need of a Savior.
All in all it was a glorious time of training and witnessing!
Free Resource of the Week
GNN MESSAGE BOARD
Sign up to be a seed sower!
Notes of Interest
Closing Comments name change in name
Our official name change has taken place and Heart For the Lost is now under the umbrella of The Great News Network as GNN UTAH. This name change will be an exciting way to connect nationally as we unify under God at GNN. Please also pray for the Christians who are preaching the word up at the University of Utah this week! In addition we have added some new members to the team. We praise God for you! We will be praying and needing help with City Invasion which is coming up. We are looking at more ways to come along side Churches and other Christian Organizations to continue training up the Army for God. We are in need of musicians, prayer warriors, drama folks, healors, counselors and pastors who want soundly saved sold out Christians running to win the race next to them. I pray that the Lord breaks my heart every day for the lost.
I praise God and give Him the Glory!
Until the Nets are Full!
Andy | | |
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Greetings Friends in Christ,
Praise Report and Newsletter week ending 8/20/06
Please note that we will be doing an Evangelism Lesson at Calvary Chapel Salt Lake, 10 am beginning Sept 24th!
We are also praying about a new abortion clinic prayer and counseling ministry please prayerfully consider joining us on this most important Gospel and life saving ministry.
DMV O/A Recurring Mon, Wed, Fri 10433 S.Redwood Road. We always need help here to pass out tracts and start new teams.
Church with NO Walls There is a group of folks who feed the Homeless every other weekend. They need help and need people to share the Gospel with the folks while they stand in line. If you would like to be involved please contact me Andy@heartforthelost.com
Farmers Market Recurring Sat 10am Pioneer Park meet at the Bathrooms on South Side. This is a great opportunity to reach hundreds with the Gospel. Jared 967-1450 is going to be running it this weekend so look for him!
Zig Zigglar Event This is a money making conference put on by Forbes, Schuller and Zigglar. There will be men and women being motivationally driven here. Terry Walters is going to go down and share the Gospel with them during their lunch hour and pass out tracts. If you would like to join Terry meet up at the NW Corner at the Delta Center at 11:30 am on Tuesday 8/29
Halloween Ministry We will be preaching the Gospel at the Haunted Houses throughout the valley starting in Oct. Ever wonder why Halloween is such a big deal in Utah?
The Day after Thanksgiving There is a huge need for people to come out and hand out tracts and preach on the day after Thanksgiving starting at 4am! This is truly one of the best times of the year to do this!
BOOT CAMP Sept 13-17 Have you been to Boot Camp? It is the most amazing time serving God you will have check it out! http://www.thegreatnews.com/ebcupcoming.html
Way of the Master Training Class Real Life Application Class 7pm and the Calvary Morning Series begins on Sept 24th. Please consider joining one of these classes. andy@heartforthelost.com
Fishing Report week ending August 20th
Fishing Report here in Utah
Tony and some new folks were out at the Farmers Market. Tony and team were doing some amazing seed planting. In fact at one point all 6 of them had on2one conversations going on. Praise God! They were also able to preach but many people know that we are there week after week and have been starting to seek us out. This week was no exception as people came up and were inquisitive about what we were doing and if we were going to be doing the “good test”. In addition they had the great privilege of speaking with a Local Pastor who was doing another ministry while he was there. Again we need prayer support so please pray for those seeds!
Fishing Report from Florida
We decided this year that our family vacation was going to be mission oriented and this was the week we spent in Orlando, Florida sharing the gospel with some of my wife’s family members. Witnessing to family members can be one of the most challenging and emotionally wrenching experiences, but it should burden our hearts to want to preach the Gospel of Christ to everyone, especially to those we love and care about.
The week began with some reconnecting time – since some of the family members we hadn’t seen in over a year. We had planned on taking some relatives out to dinner, to a quiet restaurant to discuss salvation with them, but the Holy Spirit opened up the conversation earlier than expected at Disneyworld, while in line for Splash Mountain.
It began with my brother-in-law when he asked me what I was up to these days. I explained to him how I have shared the Gospel using WOTM. I went thru law & grace and asked him if he disagreed with anything I explained and not only did he agree completely, I came to find out he used to Street Preach himself! He expressed disdain for the Catholic Church and affirmed that salvation was by Grace alone and the authority of the Bible. It appears they have not found a better church to go to and their “Catholic” church is not very “Roman Catholic” at all. Praise God! In addition many people in line heard me share the Gospel with him! In fact some folks from Gospel for Asia overheard and they were extremely supportive. We all fellowshipped and talked about witnessing and lifestyle missionaries. I must tell you the line went by way too quickly!
The next opportunity came up at the dinner we had planned. We were talking about travel and I mentioned how I have been traveling for the ministry lately. My wife’s youngest sister immediately asked about it and it was a perfect opportunity for me to share the entire Gospel with her. She has attended a Unitarian Universalist church recently and believes that all paths lead to heaven and that hell does not exist. We reasoned, pleaded and witnessed to her for over 2 hours. In the end, she knows that without Christ, according to the Bible, she is going to Hell. She asked Julie, “I volunteer and have awards for community service do you really believe that if I don’t accept Christ that I will end up in hell? To which Julie solemnly answered, “Yes”. At this time, it appears she will not come to repentance. She is twenty years old and our hearts break for her. I believe she does not want to give up the sin in her life. We explained the power of the Holy Spirit and that God would give her new desires. We planted a seed, left her with the truth and will pray that God will make it grow.
My in-laws have been deceived by the Emergent Church philosophy that God is love and only love. They attend a church every week in Chicago, that is focused on getting bigger and having a great music ministry. I asked my mother-in-law how we knew how much God loved us, and she did not have an answer. I explained that we know how much He loves us by how much wrath he has. He poured out wrath on His own Son because of our sin and everyone who does not believe will have God’s wrath abide on them. She seemed to understand, I then asked her what happens to people if they die without the sacrificed blood of Christ on them, and she barely could say the word “Hell”. It is in some ways a lot more challenging to witness to people who think they are Christian, yet do not believe the truth about salvation or the reality of hell. Pray for their eyes to be opened and for them to seek out the truth in the Bible.
Another unique happening, was that the place where we stayed in Florida was about a mile away from an abortion clinic. Julie & I went one morning and were heartbroken over how busy it was – not only was the parking lot full, but people were parking on side streets and walking over, which allowed us the opportunity to plead with them as they made their way to the clinic. I had a conversation with a man who tried to explain that he was just a friend helping someone out. I explained that a friend would not participate in any way in the murdering of a child and that blood was on his hands and God would hold him accountable. There were also three other Christians with us counseling and witnessing, who come out faithfully every day. The four clinics in the Orlando area perform late-term abortions and some are open 7 days a week. Julie held our eight month old daughter, Ashton in her arms as she spoke with the women entering and it was clearly a powerful witnessing experience. Some people walked back out to their cars and were clearly struggling with their conscience. For us, the sad reality of how many babies are killed every day really sunk in.
God be praised for allowing us the opportunity to share the Good News. On a more upbeat note the team has still been hard at work preaching the Gospel here in Utah while I was in Orlando. Tony was at the Farmers Market and they have been going faithfully to the DMV. We are getting new people coming out each week! Praise God!
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The Gift of Evangelism is different from my gift of gab or my gift of telling others about sports, jobs and anything else in my life. God did not gift me with the ability to tell others about my hope of salvation. I am exempt from going into the world and preaching the gospel because God short changed me! Witnessing makes me feel uncomfortable so it’s clearly not my thing. I thank God for not gifting me to step out and share my faith.
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Notes of Interest
Closing Comments how to witness to Family Members by Julie Bird
Is God’s word a priority in your life? Many would say yes – that they read the Bible daily during their “quiet time”. This is no doubt very important, but consider that absorbing God’s word thru your eyes is only the half of it. If you are not converting His word into everyday practical application in your life, then it has become divinely inspired truth that is obviously void of meaning to you. This past week God convicted me over and over again that if I am doing the bookwork but not the legwork of fulfilling the Great Commission commanded to every one of us who claim to be a “Christian”, then we in our lack of obedience, disrespect the word of God. We take his instruction and selfishly talk ourselves out of obeying. It is not enough to read the Bible and merely do the parts that come easy to us, to do what is comfortable, or to rationalize that we don’t have the “gift” to preach the concise message of salvation to those perishing. Some days I would like to be able to justify that by merely being a busy wife and mother, that I am exempt from going out and evangelizing, but all excuses aside, I know it is clear that I am the one called to go out and expose the divine word of God and its truths.
Often times it takes a direct experience to remind us of the importance of something and get us motivated enough to react or respond. Here’s an example, I know for years I had considered doing the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. Every time I saw the commercial or a flyer for it, I knew in my mind that it was a worthy cause, knew in my heart how devastating it must be to get the news that cancer had invaded your body, but I never made the effort to wake up early, drive downtown and support it. I figured they would have a good turnout and not having me there wouldn’t make a difference. It wasn’t until I knew someone who had gotten that news and had gone thru the experience of having both breasts removed and the constant wonder of when and if it would return, to get me out there. The same is true of evangelism. Is everyone you know already soundly saved? Is there one person directly connected to your life that is one heartbeat away from the eternal lake of fire, a place of constant suffering? Take the time to remind yourself what the Bible says that hell is like and then realize that God only commands you to plant the seed. In obedience, we do not save anyone, we do however, have to plant the seed of salvation that God grows.
This past week Andy & I flew to Florida and explained to my family members in a compassionate, yet uncompromising way what salvation entails. Hearing their reaction to the true gospel message was painfully disheartening and has been a somber reminder of how many who claim the title of “Christian” have watered down the gospel, compromised clear-cut truths of the Bible, and falsely represented God as being without wrath. The Emergent church movement, have effectively contaminated the church like a deadly poison; their victims inoculated against truth, reason and Biblical discernment. Even though Emergents might look like Christians, use the language of Christians, and offer a much happier and well received man-made message, they have perpetuated a line up for false converts to stand arrogantly in front of that wide gate. Be aware of their presence and be bold enough to deny their authenticity.
Overcoming your fear and hesitation because the stranger or loved one you approach needs to know the truth before the day they die. The earlier the better – I know I put off having discussions with my family because I knew it would not be well-received, that I would be uncomfortable and it could change the dynamics of our relationship. Don’t fall prey to excuses – just do it. The conscience must be awakened, pricked and prodded until the worldly anesthetic wears off. My unsaved sister told me after Andy had preached the gospel to her how offended she was that a few weeks back someone from the D. L. Moody Bible Institute came up and “bothered” her by also trying to tell her about Jesus. The fact that she is bothered lets me know her conscience has been disturbed. Praise God! I thank God every day for that person thousands of miles away who obediently sowed the seed and endured the intolerance of a hardened heart. It might be years from now or perhaps not at all that a tiny seed comes to bear fruit, but God’s word was preached and the opportunity to accept or decline the amazing gift of salvation was presented. The rest is in God’s hands. His word will not return void. I trust not because of what I read in my time of quiet reflection, but because of what I actively do when I put God’s will above my own - regardless of the cost. Equip yourself today with the biblical gospel and come out preaching.
~Julie
I praise God and give Him the Glory!
Until the Nets are Full!
Andy | | |
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