Faces of Those Touched By Jesus In Philly 2009

Aaron was radically changed by the Gospel at Love Park. After hearing the Gospel he immediately began to minister the Gospel to his friends. When they wouldn't listen, he started going from park bench to park bench ministering to whoever would listen.

Bob is a Vietnam Vet who was a Republican judge during Philly's local elections. Lucy and I, as well as the local RAVEN Philly Team, spent 12 hours ministering at the polls. Bob realized for the first time that his Catholic background was not going to get him into heaven. We also prayed that Jesus would set him free from the nightmares that plagued him from his time in Vietnam.

When we met, William was confessing to be a "recovering addict." After our conversation he was confessing to be a born again believer healed and delivered by the stripes of Jesus.

Please pray for Sean. He has many things going on in his life right now. Lucy, Rick, Craig and I met Sean our first night out in Philly. Please pray for his deliverance and salvation.

Timothy has found himself on the streets after some unfortunate circumstances. He has a hard time turning everything over to Jesus because he is blinded by his circumstances. He did receive prayer and asked us to continue to pray for him.

Joe Weiss... one time professional hockey player, successful business man, and happily married man. Because of his drug and alcohol addiction he lost it all, and now lives in the "Devil's Belly," Kensington. We ministered to Joe many times over the four days we were on the streets. The last night however, Craig Schumann and I ministered to him and the Holy Spirit moved incredibly. Craig, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, finally got to the root of Joe's woes. Joe broke and began to cry. We prayed for Joe and he asked Craig and I not to forget him.

Lucy and I ministered to Gregory for quite a while. Gregory is a working addict. He works to supply his addiction. He was a very polite and gentle man. Lucy was really able to minister to him and hit home as she ministered the Truth of the Gospel. Gregory was supposed to come to church with us on Sunday and then go into a program, but was dragged down and swallowed up by the addiction he so badly wants to beat.

Graham is a young man who was listening in on a conversation Lucy and I were having with Joe above. The Gospel was hitting him and he was becoming convicted by what he was hearing, but at this time not enough to give it all up.

Donald is a deaf man we met our first night on the streets. He was not a drug addict, but he was consumed by his desire to drink alcohol in order to forget his problems. He works hard to provide for his family and he professes Jesus, but does not see anything wrong with drinking as long as he doesn't get drunk. After a short time, the Word pierced his heart and he began to weep. We prayed for Donald, and pray that he has decided to walk in righteousness for the One who gave His life for him.

Ponderosa Trailer Park

Today we went into "Ponderosa Trailer Park." It was an incredible time of ministry.

First, we met Michael, a Baptist Deacon who is homebound due to a recent surgery and his car being broke down. He spoke of many who he had helped when they were in need, including family, but now that he was in need, they weren't there ... all he had was Jesus. I told him that he had all that he needed then. Amen! Jesus is all we need. We went and got Michael some chicken because he had no meat in his house (not even his brother would bring him any). Pray for Michael that he will have a quick recovery from his surgery. Hopefully, once he has recovered (next week says Michael), he will be coming to Sunday Service with us.

Next, I had an opportunity to speak with Billy. Please pray for Billy - the devil is having a hayday in Billy's mind. Billy is thoroughly convinced he is the reason for the "Twin Towers & the Pentagon" being hit with airplanes. He also believes in his mind that he is the sole cause of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The devil has convinced him that he is the one who provoked the Muslim extremists to do what they did. He even believes the "authorities" are after him. I had an opportunity to pray with Billy for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to him, and he was much more peaceful after the prayer than he was before.

We met Kirk, who had given his life to the Lord years ago and wanted prayer that every day would be as beautiful as today was. We prayed for him and he thanked us for the prayer.

Then we met Eric, a young man that was very open to us speaking to him about the Lord. He told us he had given his life to the Lord years ago, but had drifted away and knew that he had to come back. I believe today was the beginning of his new journey with Jesus. He asked for prayer for a job. He lost his job when the real estate market bottomed out, so he is living with his parents right now. We also prayed for the Lord to continue to draw him back to the One who loves him the most.

Last, we met Russell. A drunken ex-Navy Seal. He drinks to try to forget his tours in Viet Nam and other places around the world where he served his country. He drinks to forget the 327 confirmed kills. He drinks to forget all the atrocities committed in the name of war. He began crying several times during our conversation about Jesus. He doesn't think he is worth forgiving because of the things that he had to do as a Seal. We also talked about his wife Laura, who is involved in Wicca. He would not let us pray for him, but he did thank us for coming to talk to him, and apologized for his rude behavior when we first arrived (he asked if we wanted to get shot). He did, however, invite us back to speak with him again at another time.

Jimmy, another park resident and our initial contact in this community. We have continued to minister to him over the course of several months. Jimmy says he loves Jesus, but the reality is he isn't willing to do anything beyond his comfort zone.

Please pray for all of the men and women we met today. Amen!

PS

I Am A Dead Man!

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?

Rom 6:2 Let it not be! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Rom 6:3 Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5 For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection;

Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin.

Rom 6:7 For he who died has been justified from sin.

Rom 6:8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Rom 6:9 knowing that when Christ was raised from the dead, He dies no more; death no longer has dominion over Him.

Rom 6:10 For in that He died, He died to sin once; but in that He lives, He lives to God.

Rom 6:11 Likewise count yourselves also to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Rom 6:13 Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God, as one alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace.

Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under grace? Let it not be!

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to him whom you obey; whether it is of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness.

As a Christian I have come realize one thing so clearly in my walk with Christ. “I Am A Dead Man!” Each and every day as I read the Word, each and every day as I pray to the Lord, I realize my need to die to sin to die to worldly lusts, to die to self. The question is, how do I die to these things?

Everyday I have choices to make. When temptation comes, and sin lurks around the corner, I have to decide what I’m going to do. Am I going to give into the temptation, or am I going to resist, so the Devil will flee from me. The choice is not an easy one, for my flesh is weak and cries out to just give into the lustful desires. The flesh wants to take the easy road, make the easy choice.

So how do I overcome the flesh? Obedience! Obedience kills self will. Each time I am obedient to the Word of God, more of my self will dies with Christ. The more I am obedient to Christ the easier it is to be obedient the next time. Instead of being slaves to sin, we must become slaves to obedience. Obedience to the Word produces righteousness in our lives. That righteousness is what Jesus is looking for in the “church” He is returning for. Ephesians 5:26-27 says it this way, “ that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Obedience produces righteousness, and righteousness produces death, death to self. Only a dead man is empty of self, and therefore can be filled by the Holy Spirit for more acts of righteousness. Matthew 16:24 says, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow after Him. The only way to fully deny ourselves, is if we become dead men. As a result of my righteousness through obedience to God’s Word, “I Am A Dead Man!”

NO Compromise - Just Our Reasonable Service

Lately, the Lord has had me in the book of Daniel. He has shown me how Daniel was a man of impact. He impacted the nation of Babylon and the king Nebuchadnezzer. Daniel was a man of influence. He had a way of influencing everyone around him. Daniel was a man of intelligence. The Lord had given himn the wisdom (God's wisdom, not the world's wisdom), to interpret dreams. Daniel was a man of integrity. He refused to follow the crowd, just because everyone else was. He decided to do things God's way regardless of the consequences. The Lord showed me that Daniel was able to be all of these things...

A man of impact.
A man of influence.
A man of intelligence.
And a man of integrity...

Because, he was a man of NO compromise. Daniel did not compromise for anything or anybody. He stood strong in his faith even in the midst of adversity, even in the midst of his circumstance, even in the midst of the storm. As born again Christians, we are to be men and women of NO compromise.

So, how do we become men and women of NO compromise? We must go to the place of NO compromise... the CROSS! The CROSS is the place of NO compromise. My God, My Jesus did not compromise at the CROSS. He gave everything for us at the CROSS, and at the CROSS we must give everything as well.

As Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service."

To give everything for Jesus, to be men and women of NO compromise is just our "reasonable service."

Once we have made the choice to accept and follow Christ, we only have but one choice and that is to fulfill our "reasonable service."

Let's be living sacrifices together shall we. Blessings...

PS

Friday Night @ the Band Shell - 1/2/09

We spent several hours down at the boardwalk ministering to a lot of young people. This is an area for the younger crowd to come and hang out. They skate board, listen to music, and just hang out. Last night however, they got a little more then they bargained for.

When we first arrived Pastor Scott, Little Troy and I confronted a group of young men sitting on the wall at the band shell. I began to talk to a 16 year old, almost 17, about Jesus. When asked if he goes to church he responded, “when I’m in the joint I go to church.” So we asked him about now that he was out. He said, “I don’t have time for all of that.” Dillon has been in and out of Juvie for several years now. This young man knows what he needs to do, but has many excuses why he won’t. I spent about 30 minutes taking away excuse after excuse, but he always had another excuse ready and waiting. He listened to everything I said very intently, he was not rude, just lost. I asked him if he thought his friends, his girlfriend, or even those fleeting moments of sexual pleasure his girlfriend gives him was worth going to Hell over. He said, “No way, but it just wasn’t his time.” He thanked me for my time, and assured me that what I said, had not fallen on deaf ears. I gave him my card and told him to call me sometime. I also told him he better make it his time before his time runs out and I started talking to another young man Dillon 16, who had asked to see my Bible.

Young Dillon was trying to tell me that what I was saying was wrong. He explained that every church has their own beliefs, so why should he believe ours. I explained to Dillon that I wasn’t telling him what some organization believed, I was telling and showing him what the Bible says. At 16, Dillon believed that he knew everything, but yet he couldn’t quote me one scripture even though he goes to Youth Group on Sundays and Wednesday nights. He told me, I play in the Youth Group Band, he knows what the truth is and what I was telling him wasn’t it. I told him that I thought it was funny that at sixteen he knew more about the Bible, that he couldn’t even quote one scripture from, then someone who has been studying it since he was in diapers. He said his youth pastor said he was good, so he is. I told him that being a part of a youth group, nor having his pastor tell him was good, gave him an open door to heaven, he had to repent and be obedient to what the Word of God said. He then left.

I then turned my attention to a young man that Pastor Scott and Little Troy had been talking to. His name was Joshua and he was 18. The young man confessed being a Muslim. I asked him if he was a Muslim, just because his parents were Muslim and he said yes. So we talked for awhile. He was very open to what we were saying, and he asked many questions and was willing to listen to our answers. He wanted to know why he should listen to us who were strangers, over his own parents. We told him not to listen to us and take our word for it, or his parents word for it, but to check it out himself. He said he had a Bible, so we directed him to read some passages, and told him to let God speak to him the truth he is seeking. He thanked us and then he left with our information, so he can contact us with any questions.

A little later, Lucy and Holly called me over to talk with James, who was 21. Lucy and Holly had been ministering to James for quite a while. I shared with James about my life and little did I know it at the time, but I was telling him about himself and his own life while sharing my own. After sharing my life, I spent the next 30 minutes through he Holy Spirit, confirming what they had already spoken to him. Although James was very attentive and open to the Gospel, he was very indecisive. I told James that if Satan could keep him on the fence of indecision, he had him right where he wanted him. I told him that by not making a decision, he already made one, and it wasn’t the right one. Even though he was not happy with his life as it was, he was not unhappy enough to make a change at this point. James and I exchanged numbers and I will be calling him to see how he is doing. Hopefully, we will be able to get him to come to our fellowship sometime soon.

It was great night and the Word went forth. We may not know the effect that we had on those young people tonight this side of eternity. But, I am believing that some will receive the Word that was spoken, and we will see them on the other side praising God beside us. Amen!

PS