THE HERESY OF CHEAP GRACE
by Ernest O'Neill

Do you know how, Romans and the Greek-speaking people of the first century were able to pick out the Christians, so easily in their society. It was because of the Christians’ behavior. That’s how -- the Christians behaved differently to everybody else. Friends, as I don’t if you realize it, but one of the great banes of life in the first century, was the Plague. Plagues and epidemics of all kinds ravage the major cities of the ancient world. And when the citizens of Rome or Corinth or Philippi, realized that the disease had got out of hand, they all acted the same way. They grabbed all the belongings they could and they fled the city as fast as possible, ‘less they catch the Plague. They left homes behind, they left belongings, livestock, they left their own relatives behind. They were so afraid of these epidemics and Plagues that got completely out of hand in those days.

But the contemporary historians, all testified to the one fact, everybody fled except the people called Christian. And even, if they had escaped the city already, if they knew there were victims back there in the city, their own relatives or others’ friends, they went back despite the threat to their own lives, and they rescued those people. And so they were most noticeable in the society of the first century, by the fact that they did not seem to fear death. And that they would do whatever was needed, to express the love and the kindness of their God to others.

The Christian faith changed the way they behaved. And it was the same in the 18th century in England. In the 18th century in England, all the vices and the inequities, that were plaguing French society were present in English society. There was an upper class that was indifferent to the needs of anybody else, but itself. There was a middle class that wanted power and the ability to rule. There was a working class that saw no reason for living at all that was so poor.

And yet the evangelical revival of Christian faith under Wesley, so changed people’s attitudes to one another, that all historians say the same as Lackey. "The evangelical revival of Christian faith saved England from a French Revolution." And that’s true loved ones, again the Christian faith changed the behavior of the society, so that the classes began to show real humanity and concern and care for one another. And so, they avoided the catastrophic revolution that almost destroyed French Society.

Again, the Christian faith changed the way people behaved. All just -- I think it was thirty years ago, just a little over thirty years ago. The same authentic kind of revival of Christian faith changed life in an area that I think most of you know about, but few of us have ever been to the Northern Hebridean Islands of Scotland. I don’t know, if you know Scottish people but I suppose, I’d be Scotts-Irish and apart from the Irish side, we are a door locked, we really are. And loved ones in the Hebridean Islands of Scotland, are our door silent locked. They can endure and bear a lot but they don’t show much excitement or much interest in anything. And The Hebridean Islands of Scotland were like that, until about 30 or 35 years ago, they experienced a Christian revival of religion.

Really a dramatic movement of God’s spirit in the society, that meant that many came to know God because of their attitude to Jesus. And I think I have shared with you before. It so affected the lives of the community, with people giving back things that they have stolen, apologizing to others for things that they have done. It so affected the lives of the people in community that, the judges and the magistrates wore white gloves in the courtrooms for the first time in living memory, because they had no criminal cases to try. So, again the Christian faith changed the way people behaved.

So, today in America, everybody knows the phrase ‘Born again’. Evangelical Christian faith is more popular in America today, than almost at any other time in our history. Our president is born again, members of the opposite party, that are ousted have been born again, since the tragedy of Watergate. There are TV stars who have been born again, there are singers who have been born again, there are football players who have been born again. There is more money spent on Christian Television and Christian book publishing, than at any other time in our history. There are more people attending church today, than virtually at any other time in our history. And yet, crime on the streets of our cities has increased steadily and relentlessly. That’s true.

We have an anomaly in America at this present time, we have something that calls itself the Christian faith, but does not seem to radically affect the behavior of our society. Here, we have a break from the authentic classic Christianity that has been expressed through out the world, down through the centuries. Here, we have a Christian faith that does not seem to change the way people behave. It has not at all affected the incredible increase and crying that goes on from year to year in our society, both petty and violent crime. This is a kind of Christian faith that seems to be different from the way God’s Spirit has ever operated in the past. It is not producing a change in people’s behavior.

Now why? Why do we face this anomaly? Why are we facing a great rise in Christian activity and you must admit, it’s everywhere, it’s almost sickening at so everywhere -- but why are we rise -- experiencing this tremendous increase in evangelical Christianity, and yet no real change in the morals of our society. We have a society here, that professes Christianity loudly, individuals that profess it loudly, and yet in individual and in social life, the evidence all the moral and the psychological and the social break dance of the Pagan World, and they do you must admit, they do.

Many of us here, no loved ones have had all kinds of moral, social, psychological break dance, and yet they say, yes but we are Christian. Now why loved ones, do we face this? What is wrong with the Gospel that we are preaching in these days; that is preached on radio, on television, that is shared by us in our books and with each other? What is wrong with this Gospel? Because, it isn’t producing the same results as it has produced in the past, in other societies. Two words describe it; two words express the problem with our present Gospel, ‘cheap grace’. That’s it, loved ones, honestly, cheap grace. We are preaching and living a Gospel of cheap grace, not costly grace, but cheap grace and the verse that we’d like to look at it, that we’re studying today, is one of the verses that is used repeatedly to reinforce this idea of cheap grace, and it’s Romans’ 11:6.

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace and that’s a great and a true statement but we misuse it and we misinterpret it. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. Now, we are not the first loved ones, to follow this heresy of cheap grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that German Theologian, who you remember was executed in connection with the plan to assassinate Hitler; wrote in his books repeatedly of the resurgence of cheap grace in our generation. George McDonald, the old Scottish preacher, whose writings lead C.S Lewis into real Christian faith; pointed out that, cheap grace is the idea that Jesus’ death covers our sins, so that God can’t see them even though they are there.

Instead of the true grace, that believes that Jesus’ death is there to destroy sin in us. And that’s what drew C.S Lewis to the Gospel. When he saw that Jesus’ death is not there to cover up our sins, so that God can’t see them, but Jesus’ death is there to destroy sin in us, so that we can be like God. And old Paul you remember, was so stratified in that letter that we read, the part of the letter to the Romans; said what shall we say then, are we to continue and sin that grace may have abound, by no means. How can we all die to sins, to live in it? Don’t you know, that those that were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him, by baptism and the death, so then as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of a father, we too might walk in newness of life. We know our own self was crucified with Christ, so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin.

But, that isn’t the Gospel that is preached loved ones on the whole among us, it isn’t and if you would forgive me just saying, to those loved ones that, my colleagues, who are pastors on television and they are watching, we may think, we preached that but that isn’t what the majority of us are getting. It isn’t that Gospel. Loved ones, I really know this, because I’ve to taught to so many of you and I’ve listen to you and the majority of this, the majority of us get this Gospel. God once decided that only those, who obeyed the Ten Commandments, would get into heaven. But he saw, that we couldn’t obey them, because we all acted everyday an act. We all sinned everyday an act, thought and word. So, he changed the condition, he punished his own son instead of us, for our sins.

So, that any of us, who believe that he did that would get into heaven, whether we obeyed or not. Now, loved ones, you may sit there and say, no that’s not what I’ve got but that’s what the majority of our society belief. They believe that the Gospel is this that God once required obedience to the Ten Commandments from us, but he saw that we can’t obey, because we sin and act thought and word everyday. So, he changed the condition and he punished his own son instead of us and then he said, any of you would give mental assent to this idea, that I have done this, will get into heaven.

So, the majority of people, who are here the Gospel’s day, have the idea that they are now at last relived from the fear of future retribution of any kind for their sins and so, they don’t even have fear, which the normal agnostic has to keep him from sinning or to kind of limit his selfishness. They have the idea, well, it doesn’t matter what I do, it doesn’t matter about sin or obedience or anything now. Obviously, God isn’t concerned about those things. All he wants me to do is to believe, that his son has died for me and he'll let me into heaven, whatever I do and so, what relieved from the normal constraint that even an easiest task to avoid selfishness, Christians tend to feel, well lets face them getting into heaven anyway, because I believed Jesus died for me. I’ve to do my best, I certainly have.

I’ve to do the best I can, to obey what is convenient for me to obey, but any falling short in my part, will be covered by Jesus death anyway. So, really it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, whether I obey that much or that much as long as, I make good shot at it, I am going to get into heaven anyway. And loved ones, the majority of Christians feel, that God has changed his mind, that he once required obedience to his laws, but now he simply requires mental assent to the idea that Jesus death will get them into heaven and so, they have adopted that. And they have adopted that mental assent attitude and they’ve believed that’s all that’s required and so, of course we have a monstrosity now in our society, called ‘the "Sinning Christian".

The Christian, feels that, you have to avoid sin if you can, but if you can’t, it won’t hurt him and God will forgive him and that’s all that’s needed. And so, he does his best but he has the feeling all the time, that it doesn’t matter even, if he does as well as a non Christian and that’s the incredible thing. Have you ever thought that? Sometimes, I’ve looked at loved ones, who are not Christians at all and have you not felt at times, that they all seem to have a greater sense of responsibility they love other people and be kind to other people and to be honest and aboveboard in their business, than many Christians do. Because sometimes the Christians feel, we have a free ticket into heaven anyway, so there is no great constraint to particularly avoid immorality or be moral. Whereas the poor old nonchristian, who hasn’t that kind of cushion, he feels, well I better be as good as I can, in case there is a man up there and he is going to meet me at the end.

But loved ones, is it not true that the majority of us feel that, that’s the Gospel. That God once required us to obey his commandments, but he saw we can’t possibly do it so, he invented this new idea of punishing Jesus instead of us, so that, if we give mental assent to that we’d get into heaven. Of course, it’s meaningless to the intelligent agnostic. Do you know that? It is meaningless. The ordinary intelligent agnostic can see nothing but injustice in a God beating up their own guy, for somebody else’s sin.

The ordinary agnostic thinks its madness. How can you claim that a God is just, if he kills the wrong person, for somebody else’s sin and of course the ordinary agnostic doesn’t want to be in heaven, because he thinks, if its going to filled with all these weak willed ideologists, who aren’t at all like Jesus, I don’t want to be there. So, the normal agnostic thinks, this is foolishness but what many Christians do is, they so lovely say, Oh! Brother but that’s the foolishness of the Gospel. Well loved ones, it’s not the Gospel at all, it isn’t.

What is the true Gospel? The true Gospel is pointed out clearly in that verse that we have often quoted in Matthew, where you remember the Angel said to Joseph and Mary, "You shall call His name Jesus for He will save his people from their sins", not in their sins but from their sins.

God does not change; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has always wanted us to be like Him, He has always wanted us to live in accordance with His will. He did not create an Old Testament of law and obedience, and then replace it with a New Testament of indulging disobedience. God has always wanted us to be like Him, but He looked down and saw that we had used our free wills to get from the world the love that He wanted us to get from Him. Moreover He saw that by that activity over a centuries, we had perverted our own personalities, so that they were so utterly dependent and addicted to things and people for love that we could no longer obey His will for us.

So, He saw that, but loved once He did not then back off and say, "All right, I am contempt to have a group of satanic demons with me forever, who are not like me." He did not say that. Immediately he made a plan to bring us into a state where we would be able to obey as well, and so, He took our perverted little personalities that cannot too good, you are right. "The good that we would we cannot do, the evil we hate is the very thing we do." He took those perverted little personalities, and He destroyed and remade them in the cosmic depth in His Son Jesus, in this super special world of eternity. Heart of which cosmic death, He expressed through Jesus in 29 AD on Calvary.

Now that general death and resurrection that destroys the urgings to anger and then the unjealousy in each one of us, that general death and resurrection can be experienced by you and me day by day. As we submit to the working of the Holy Spirit, who realizes that death and that realization in us as we live each day, and that’s we submit to God’s will with Jesus whatever the cost or the inconvenience, and by that means do you see that miraculous destruction of sin in each one of us, that took place in Jesus eternal death can be made real enough day by day. So, that we move from glory to glory, so that instead of Jesus death being a historical static event, which we give mental assent to, as a reason for our free ticket into heaven, Jesus death becomes a dynamic present operating principle within us, and the power that begins to deliver us from self, and from self-centeredness, and from sin. But loved ones, it is costly, it is costly grace.

Grace means two things, first of all unmerited and undeserved favor, and that was costly to God, God showed unmerited and undeserved favor towards all of us in this room, because even though He could have left us in our perverted tangle personalities, He generously of His own free grace took us and put us in Jesus, and allowed His Son to bear the unbearable agony of having our all contorted personalities with their addiction to people’s opinion onto selfishness, onto pleasure, destroyed in Jesus. Out of His own unmerited and undeserved grace and favory did that. That’s one meaning of grace and it cost, cost to the very point where Jesus felt, He was loosing touch with even His father and cried, "My God, my God why has thou forsaken Me?" that’s one meaning of grace and it was infinitely costly to Jesus.

The other meaning of grace is that as we submit ourselves to this death to ourselves with Jesus day by day, His death and resurrection is actualized in us, but only through our paying the price and it is a price loved ones, it is a costly price. The Holy Spirit will come to you when you’re demanding satisfaction from your loved one, or when you’re demanding respect and acknowledgement from a colleague at work, or when your anger is rising as somebody doesn’t give you what you feel you ought to have, the Holy Spirit will come and will say to you, "You were crucified with Jesus." As he died to the unjustified treatment, the Roman soldiers were meeting out to him, so you died with Him. Now do you want to stay with Him or do you want to get off this Cross, and at that point you’ll have price to pay.

You’ll have to say if you want to continue to experience the power of Jesus life in you, you’ll have to say, "Lord I will", I’ll die to what they think of me, I’ll die to my right to reply an anger here, I’ll die to my right to get what I want, Lord Jesus I’d rather be with you with nothing, then on my own with everything." And at that point the grace is costly loved ones. That’s why all Thomason Ecampus (ph) talks about The Royal Lord of the Holy Cross, because it is a daily experience of self denial, and of dying to what the Holy Spirit is exposing to us of our all self, that was crucified with Christ, but that we aren’t yet willing to let go. That’s what real grace is, and that’s what the real Gospel is. And of course you can see its exiting in one sense, and yet it’s hard and painful and another, and yet loved ones as you begin to go through scripture, you begin to see that, that Gospel makes sense of all the verses of scripture, it just. Just think -- and of that verse in II Corinthians 4. He made him to be sin who knew no sin.

That we might become the righteousness of God in Him, or think of that one in Roman 6, we knew that our old self was crucified with Him, so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be in slave to sin, for he was died he is freed from sin, or think of that one in Roman 8, God did what the law could not do. Sending His own Son in the lightness of sinful flesh and forcing, He condemns in the flesh, that the law might be fulfilled in us. A new sense that Jesus died instead of us in every sins that we died with Jesus, and above all else what is this Gospel do, or what changes us from saints into sinners. It changes us from children of darkness and the children of light, it changes our lives. So, that the world stops and stares, and begins to wonder by what power have you done this.

There’s a contagious disease in the world, and our dear maker is saying, "I have an antidote for it." Submit yourself to these series of injections that I want to give you as you live your life day by day, and I will forgive, and it means partly I will give before you ought to receive it, I will give before, I will forgive you the life that you would have, if you’d never had this disease, but you must submit to this series of injections of my Son’s life, that will involve the taking away of some of your own life that you treasure, and that’s the moment the evangelical world is standing back and saying, "We believe that, that is true, so we’re free from the disease." And you see, you cannot be free from the disease unless you submit yourself to the treatment, but the evangelical world stands back and says, "We believe that, we believe that if we submitted ourselves to the treatment, we would be healed and we would be clenched. Therefore we are healed and clenched. And that’s why loved ones the spirit speaks to one of the seven churches in the last days and says, "You think you are rich and whole and healthy, but you’re poor, blind and deceased." And I think that, that’s the state of much of our evangelicalism, because we’re believing a truncated Gospel that is no Gospel, because it is simply a mental assent. It is mind game, it is not a submission of the will to our dear savior’s experience for us on Calvary.

Now I would pray that you would not listen to this and go back to a pure mental assent, to an idea. I would pray that we might be among those who would begin to be changed, and to express scriptural holiness throughout the length and breadth of this land, because that’s what it needs more than anything else. A lot less of the talk, a lot less of even the TV shows, and a lot more Christ like men and women who are honest and kind and don’t lose their temper and make the same impression on this world as our forefathers made…

I though this article may be a blessing and help to many brothers and sisters on this forum and a good topic from discussion.

Patrick Ersig

A CENSORIOUS (CRITICAL/SEVERE) SPIRIT
By: G. D. Watson

Censoriousness is composed of self-conceit and severity; a self-conceit that we are superior to others, and are entitled to some sort of lordship over them; and then a severity of judging others by the outward letter of righteousness instead of by the Spirit. There are other people besides Christians who are censorious, but it does not look so conspicuous in their lives, for it is the very nature of religion to make a streak of badness look more ugly. Censoriousness has a special facility of fastening itself on a religious person, and on persons professing a great deal of religion, and its very intensity is in proportion to the intensity of religious zeal, and seems to find its greenest pastures in those who profess the perfection of love. It is a parasite which, like the mistletoe, fastens itself on the tree of religion, and seeks to spread itself until it claims to be the tree and, in fact, if not killed off, will succeed in killing the tree which, indeed, it often does. There seem to be certain weaknesses, and ugly, disagreeable infirmities, latent in the soul that nothing ever develops till it becomes religious, and sometimes the more intense the religion the more glaring are these infirmities.

Censoriousness is not grace, but it assumes the profession of grace, and oftentimes of great sanctity, and it seems to develop in some characters only when they are really under the operations of grace, as an iceberg throws off a heavy fog when it comes near the Gulf Stream. One thing is certain, that many professors of very high grace are very censorious, and they never were very censorious until some time after their declaration of entire yielding to God. Perhaps we can never understand the metaphysics of it, but we know it is a delusion of Satan to get religious people to mistake censoriousness for sanctity. One of the remedies against it is a clear understanding of what it is.

1. A censorious person sets himself up as a standard of religious experience, or practice, by which to judge all others. He has almost a boundless confidence in the superiority of his own character. He never admits that he has been backslidden in heart or life; he stoutly defends some ugly things in his disposition or conduct with the plea that they proceeded from the highest righteousness. His anger is clothed with the pretty title of righteous indignation. His stinginess is softened into holy economy. His harsh words are under the sweet cognomen of being true to other people's souls. He lives under the one supreme thought that he came into the world for no other purpose than to set people right. If he was not always reproving somebody, or pitching into something, he would think himself false to his calling.

His opinion concerning any church, or any association of Christian workers, or any preacher, or evangelist, or writer, or book, is already made up in advance, and labeled like so many bottles of poison on the shelves of his judgment, and he is not going to change his opinion concerning any of these things, and does not want any further light, but knows enough already to settle him in his views. How many thousands of times have we denounced, or severely judged others, not so much because they were displeasing God, but because they were displeasing to us; not because they were in reality breaking the Word of God, but because they were breaking our notions and offending our artificial taste. Oh, it is a miserable view of life, to turn ourselves into wooden yardsticks, and metallic scales, by which to weigh and measure our fellow Christians, and then to do this under the profession of holiness.

2. A censorious person persuades himself that he has a special religious calling to correct others, and especially to correct them with severe methods, and that this is the greatest proof of his righteousness. If it were not for the religion that is in the censorious soul, and that it has a special vocation from God, it would lose all its seriousness and be a comical joke; but the censorious man thinks his salvation depends on the vinegar in his nature.

There are two sides to religious self-conceit; one is where the soul mostly contemplates its own superiority; this produces the peacock professor; and the other side is where the soul mostly contemplates the defects of others; this produces the bull dog professor. The censorious man belongs to the latter class, for while spiritual vanity is a part of his make-up, yet spiritual inquisition and severity with others constitutes the major part of his life.

There are many who think that mere power to detect evil is a proof of holiness, and that growth in grace shows itself by an increasing aptness to ferret out the weaknesses and shortcomings of others. Now, it is a fact that the practice of detecting the defects of others will soon reach a point of almost scientific accuracy.

The world is full of evil, and Christians have many defects, though they be not actually committing sin; and even fully sanctified Christians have weaknesses of manner, and taste, and conversation, and ways of doing things that look to a critical eye as if something bad were behind it, and the well-practiced eye of a censorious spirit will, in most cases, diagnose a subject with great skill. When he finds he has hit his game so accurately, it is only another proof to him of his superior holiness. And so he lives on hunting his game, and resembles a hunting dog that is so passionately fond of the chase that he fails to take time to eat, and keeps himself a living skeleton because all his strength is spent in the pursuit of game. Who ever knew a censorious person to be genial in company, or a lover of little children, or sweet and amiable in his private life!

It is said that fortune tellers start out with a knack of reading natural character, and by some practice they soon find that a few general principles- such as a love affair, or some money, or a dark suspicion, or a dream of ambition- apply to most lives, and so they often tell things with amazing accuracy until, in some cases, the devil actually gets them to believe that they are prophets sure enough. So the censorious person practices his gift of ferreting out the evils of others until he loses all his love, mistakes a sharp eye to be a pure heart and, with the help of one of Satan's messengers, comes to think he is an ordained prophet of God, only instead of telling good fortunes he is always telling bad misfortunes. Hence these censorious people, with great calmness of decision, will consign their fellow Christians to hell for any trifling thing that does not agree with them.

3. A censorious spirit is never fruitful in saving or perfecting souls in grace, and fortunately if it grows on a person it becomes so offensive as not to reproduce its own self, and so often hinders others from becoming censorious. Persons who are gifted with the discerning of spirits are very seldom useful; in fact, never so, except in those cases where they have been crucified so thoroughly as to be utterly humble and loving, as was the case with Bramwell.

I have met several persons who had an extraordinary gift of discerning people, whose lives were almost utterly fruitless; and I have met a few who, like Bramwell, while having deep discernment, were deeply ballasted with meekness and charity. But discernment by itself is like a razor in the hands of a lunatic. The sharper the instruments, the greater need of brain in the surgeon that handles them; and power to detect sin needs fathomless humility and boundless love to render it useful. A censorious man is one who lives in his head instead of his heart. We can never keep our hearts warm except by living in them. A creature that should be nothing but an enormous eye, without a breast or heart, would be a monster; and a censorious person lives in his eye and lets his heart out to freeze. Truth of itself can never bear fruit.

It is only when truth is heated with love that it has the power of reproduction.

Censorious people think they bear fruit because they make such a stir, and if they can cause others distress, or vexation, or bring on a quarrel, or a sharp debate, or brow-beat some timid soul till he weeps, they think that is fruit.

Fecundity, that is the fountain of fruit bearing, lies in the heart and is destroyed by censoriousness. As a rule, a censorious person has some glaring and serious inconsistency in his own life, and while he represents the path of holiness as very hard to others, he makes it exceedingly easy for himself.

There is nothing more cheap than a rigorous theology, and nothing more costly than to let our love crucify our judgments, and always run out beyond our discernment. A censorious spirit is a mule in the moral species, an adept at kicking, but having no fecundity.

4. A censorious person is always uneasy at the large-hearted mercy or grace of a holy soul. He seems distressed lest some people should slip through the gates into Heaven that he thinks ought to go to Hell. Whenever he mentions having mercy or grace for others, he generally prefaces it with, "I believe in charity, but not in sentimentalism, or letting people off too easy." Nothing so shocks a censorious spirit as coming in contact with a great ocean-hearted love that makes allowances for people, and looks on the hopeful side. There is a sort of mania for religious severity, which is developed by the practice of censoriousness. It is said that butchers, after a while, grow nervous, and morose, and develop a tendency to suicide, from the habitual slaughter of cattle and the sight of so much blood. The case is similar with a censorious person; if he is not tempted to commit literal suicide, he does kill himself spiritually.

Severity, even though accompanied with many gifts and some charitable grace, will soon wear its welcome out, make enemies where there is no need to, cripples weak believers by binding on them artificial burdens, disgusts quiet, sensible people, keeps itself in constant hot water, and then imagines itself a heroic martyr.

In many cases censorious people at last get broken down and mellowed into a little love just before they die. It is not a rare occurrence that people prophesy the death of some professing Christians by this symptom of mellowness and love that at last breaks through the crust of their harsh lives, and proves that divine grace was strong enough to live hidden in their souls through years of frostiness of disposition. Oh, what a loss, to wake up at last and find that years have been thrown away in censorious, self-righteous fretting over the defects of others, instead of pouring the soul out in a constant stream of humble kindness and fruitful love for others! Even sulphuric acid cannot hurt pure gold, but a censorious spirit will terribly eat away the crown of rewards that is being prepared for many a brow.

A censorious preacher, in presenting Christ on the cross, will magnify the iron nails far more than the blessed person of Jesus. Some people talk as if there were nothing about crucifixion except the nails, whereas it is the living, loving heart that consents to be nailed, which is the only thing worth our attention. Severe people talk much of crucifixion, but the deepest crucifixion possible on earth is to agree persistently to have our whole nature turned into love. To make a censorious person forever relinquish all his severity toward all people, and at all times, and in all ways, would be the deepest crucifixion and would involve the most painful death to self possible in this life. So, after all, nothing kills us to sin and self but divine love.

Migrant Worker Outreach – Little Mexico!

This past weekend we went to a migrant worker camp on the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation in Coachella Valley. Because the camp is on Indian land it is not subject to Sate and Federal housing codes or standards. The conditions in the mobile home park, although not quite as bad, was much like what we saw in Mexico – definitely third world condition and right here in America. The mobile homes are old dilapidated tin shacks, many held together with old plywood and there was a terrible stench of raw sewage and unsafe drinking water in many parts of the camp. The trailers were larger then the dwellings we saw in Mexico although not in much better repair. Although the trailers were larger, in many case they are filled with multiple families and 10 to 20 people, making them just as packed as the houses we saw in Mexico.

We had an outstanding outreach serving about 150 hotdogs and 30-40 pounds of potato salad. Brother Oracio was able to preach a powerful message in Spanish and many people stood around to listen intently and seemed effected by what he said. We were also able to do some worship songs in Spanish as well as in English. We are seeking the Lord as to if he would have us outreach there as well as on Skid Row and how often we should go. Please pray that the Lord would guide us in this matter and for the residence of the park that the Lord would open there ears, eyes and hearts and reveal Himself to them.

Please check out some of the recent pictures from the “Little Mexico” Coachella Valley outreach as well as the past couple of weeks down on Skid Row.

Pictures
http://www.obeyjesus.net/outreach/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=28
 
Also please checkout a recent video from last weekend on Skid Row. Often we have people who are drunk or obnoxious try to grab the mic or want to perform or sing, but last weekend we had some Christians who wanted to sing and worship the Lord. This is a touching video of a few of the Skid Row residence singing and worshipping God from the heart.

Live From Skid Row
http://www.obeyjesus.net/outreach/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=29

God bless,

Patrick Ersig

Check out this video we just posted!!!

An Open Invitation - Street Ministry Conferences 2008!

This video is a description of what we are doing on the streets of Skid Row and what we would like to do in upcoming street ministry conferences. This is an open invitation for churches, home fellowships, youth groups and Bible study groups to get involved in street ministry. www.streetrevival.org Please Watch this video - we would love to come to your church!

God Bless,

Patrick Ersig


http://www.obeyjesus.net/content/view/318/41/

Just added this new open air preaching video - check it out!!!!

THE SLAVE GIRL AND YOU!!!

This is an open air preaching video from the streets of Skid Row Los Angeles by preacher Patrick Ersig. Patrick tells a powerful story from the 1800's about a slave girl and relates it to salvation. Please listen to this though provoking and heart touching open air sermon about the love of Jesus.

http://www.obeyjesus.net/content/view/316/37/

Hey everyone,

Please check out this VERY powerful video of my friend and brother in the Lord Pastor Justine Cox preaching to his congregation in downtown Los Angeles. It's a compilation about 8min long and think it will be a great blessing and encouragement to those who watch it - VERY POWERFUL - my brother really lays down the truth in this video - check it out!!!!

The Spiritual Famine In America
http://www.obeyjesus.net/content/view/311/41/


God bless,

Patrick

Hey Brain,

This is a great site with great resources - I will be going through and adding many to the Revival Army site - is this your site brother???

God bless,

Patrick

Great videos brother! Thanks for the post!

God bless,

Patrick

This rescource was submitted by Brian Johnson - thanks brother!

Patrick

DANGERS OF A “MAN CENTERED” GOSPEL
by Brian Johnson
www.whatisthegospel.org.uk

During the 20th Century a man-centred gospel began to emerge in evangelistic presentations of the Gospel. Evidence suggests that the man-centered gospel had its origins in the USA.

The gospel message is sometimes altered in a way that gives man prominence in the gospel message given to people. For example, it often begins with: “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” (note than man gets two mentions here, while God only gets one and Jesus is not even mentioned at all!). Neither Peter nor Paul ever preached such a message, nor does any book of the Bible - since it is not the Gospel. While it is true that God draws the sinner out of love for His creation, and that Christ died to make it possible for him to be saved, it is not true that God has a wonderful plan for every lost sinner. His plan for lost sinners who reject Jesus Christ is that they will be thrown into Hell. There is nothing wonderful about that!

Some concentrate on a way of preaching that sets out to address the "felt needs" of the people. This, again, puts man in front as the major player. According to John the Baptist, Jesus and the Apostles Peter and Paul, it is God's - not man's - priority that constitutes the true Gospel: "God commands all people everywhere to repent". (Acts 17 verse 30)
 
In his article "A God Centred Gospel", Brian L Watts says: "God is the author of creation itself, and everything that happens in the created order must also start with Him. Anything that does not start with God is idolatrous and false. Christ, the image of the invisible God, is before all things; in him all things hold together (Col 1:15-17). Anything which cannot measure up to this acid test is a "different gospel."

Does God Appreciate Me?

Martin Luther once said: "God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us."

John Piper in his online book “God Is The Gospel ”says: "The acid test of biblical God-centeredness—and faithfulness to the gospel — is this: Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, at the cost of his Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever? Does your happiness hang on seeing the cross of Christ as a witness to your worth, or as a way to enjoy God’s worth forever?" He later adds: "The sad thing is that a radically man-centered view of love permeates our culture and our churches." He concludes: "We are willing to be God-centered, it seems, as long as God is man-centered."

A man-centered Gospel always elevates man by making light of his "sin nature" and of the law which convicts him of sin. The true Gospel always lifts up God and his righteousness, and points to the law which reveals to a man his own sinfulness before a holy God.

The Gospel that appeals to man offers the prospect of making his present life better and easier, with the added improvement of more successful relationships and a happier lifestyle overall. Thus the requirements of a holy God are not seen as paramount, unlike scripture.

Appealing to man's view of himself and his needs as a Gospel basis suggests that the preacher is embarrassed by both Jesus' and the Biblical Gospel's "insufficiency" and so needs the preacher's help to get people into the Kingdom! Paul's words are appropriate here: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." and "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" Preaching according to man's "foolish" wisdom will only reap "man's results". Will these stand at the Judgement?

Hey everyone - I just added 19 new Christ our life songs!!! If you have already heard these guys you already know they are extremely anointed musicians with outstanding lyrics. If haven't heard Christ Our Life then please do yourself a favor and check out some of these songs. Christ our Life is the most anointed worship music I have ever heard - check them and download some of there songs for free - some are live recorded and other are studio - but they are all good!!!!

God bless,

Patrick
www.revivalarmy.com

In One Hour, Everything is Going to Change
By David Wilkerson


September 3, 2007



The prophet Isaiah warns us that in the last days God is
going to "turn the world upside down." He declares,
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it
waste, and turneth it upside down" (Isaiah 24:1).

According to this prophecy, sudden judgment is coming upon
the earth, and it will change everything in a single hour.
Within that short span, the whole world will witness
fast-falling destruction upon a city and a nation, and the
world will never be the same.

If you are attached to material things - if you love this
world and the things of it - you won't want to hear what
Isaiah has prophesied. In fact, even to the most righteous
of God's people, what Isaiah says might seem unthinkable.
Many would surely ask, "How can an entire world be stricken
in one hour?"

If we didn't believe the Bible is God's pure Word, few of
us would take Isaiah's prophecy seriously. But Scripture
makes it clear: in a single hour, the world is going to
change. The church is going to change. And every individual
on earth is going to change.

The apostle John gives a similar warning in Revelation. He
speaks of destructive judgment coming upon a city and
nation: "In one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and
she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the
Lord God who judgeth her.... For in one hour so great riches
is come to nought" (Revelation 18:8, 17).

In Isaiah's prophecy, the city under judgment is cast into
confusion. Every house is shut up, with no one coming or
going. "The city of confusion is broken down: every house
is shut up, that no man may come in" (Isaiah 24:10). The
entire city is left desolate: "In the city is left
desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction"
(24:12). All entrances and exits to the city are gone. The
passage indicates that a fire has come, a blast that has
shaken the very foundations of the earth (see 24:6).

We who live in New York City know something about this kind
of scene. When the Twin Towers were attacked, the ominous
fires and smoke could be seen ascending to heaven for
miles. Recently, New Yorkers panicked as a mass of steam
erupted from below a city street. People ran in all
directions screaming, "Is this it? Is this the end-all
attack?"

Today, multitudes of secular prophets are saying a nuclear
attack is inevitable. The target they mention most often
is New York, but it could happen in any major city: London,
Paris, Tel Aviv, Washington. Neither Isaiah nor John names
the city upon which destructive judgment falls.

I don't intend this message to frighten anyone.

Let me make clear at this point: I don't intend this
message to frighten anyone. Paul tells us that as disciples
of Jesus Christ, we have already passed from death into
life. We who call on Jesus as Lord should be confident that
no matter what happens in this world, his shed blood saves
and redeems us.

Therefore, we are not to fear any newscast, but rather to
be attentive to what the Lord is doing in the world. Like
many people, I hear grievous reports that make me want to
tune everything out. But the truth is, God moves in the
midst of such times, and through them he speaks warnings to
all who would hear his voice.

Isaiah's prophecy points clearly to our generation.

I believe, along with many eminent Bible scholars, that
Isaiah's prophecy points to the last days. By that, I mean
our present time. In short, sudden judgment is coming, and
Scripture strongly indicates it is now at the door.

At this point you may be wondering: "How can we be sure
we're the generation this prophecy points to?" We can know
by two reasons that such judgments are imminent:

1. A growing number of prophets warn of an apocalyptic
disaster at the door. When I use the word "prophets," I
speak not just of those in the church. I'm talking also
about "secular prophets."

There are several precedents for secular prophets in
Scripture. God used Assyria as his rod of correction with
Israel. And he appointed King Cyrus as his servant to
assist Israel: "(The Lord) saith of Cyrus, He is my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure" (Isaiah
44:28).

Likewise today, God uses secular prophets to send warnings.
These become "his prophets" for a season. And their
prophecies can be harder than those delivered by believers.
The message I'm writing here is mild compared to the
prophecies being delivered by all manner of secular voices.
Just check your newspaper or radio reports.

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

2. Sudden destruction comes when the cup of violence
overflows. Sensuality, perversion and greed are running
rampant throughout our society. Yet, when God sent the
Flood upon the earth, it was because of a worldwide
eruption of violence: "The earth also was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis
6:11).

Right now, there are numerous wars and bloody uprisings
taking place around the globe. Yet foremost in my mind is
the violence being waged against children worldwide:

* I think of the sexual violence of pedophiles. Children
all over the world are being raped, kidnapped and forced
into enslavement in the global sex trade. Recently, a
pedophile in the U.S. was discovered running a web site
that advises other pedophiles on the easiest places to pick
up children. There is no law in place to stop this man.

The world's largest church denomination has spent hundreds
of millions of dollars to settle the claims of those who
were molested in childhood by clergy. Tell me, how long
will God endure the pitiful cries of children who are
molested by those who would represent Christ?

* Thousands of children in Africa are being slaughtered in
tribal wars, hacked to death by machetes. Young boys - even
those under ten years of age - are enlisted into tribal
militias and forced to murder men in initiation rites.

* Here in the U.S., the blood of millions of aborted babies
cries out from the ground.

* Reports of school murders no longer shock many of us but
continue to terrorize our children. We may grow hardened to
such reports, but God's heart is grieved by them.

I tell you, there is no worse violence than the brutalizing
of children. Heaven is crying out, "Woe, woe! Your
judgments have no cure."

1. In one hour, God is going to change the whole world.

A sudden cataclysmic event will strike, the first of the
final judgments of God. This great event will cause the
earth to reel. And Isaiah says that when it hits, there
will be no place to escape: "The lofty [proud] city, he
layeth it low...even to the ground; he bringeth it even to
the dust" (Isaiah 26:5). "The inhabitants of the earth are
burned" (24:6).

Once this happens, utter chaos will erupt. All civic
activities will stop, and society will descend into massive
disorder. Government agencies will be helpless to restore
any kind of sanity. No state troopers, no national guard,
no army will be able to bring order to the upheaval.

You well remember that when the Twin Towers were destroyed,
help poured into New York from all over the world. An army
of people came to assist in whatever way they could. But
the scene in Isaiah's prophecy is different: this calamity
is clearly beyond humankind's capacity to respond.

Once this judgment strikes, it will devastate the economy.
Rich merchants will stand by watching in torment, weeping
and mourning, as they face bankruptcy. In an instant, all
the wealth they amassed will be reduced to nothing. John
describes the scene: "The merchants of these things, which
were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of
her torment, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that
great city... For in one hour so great riches is come to
nought" (Revelation 18:15-17).

Overnight, all buying and selling will cease. Every
restaurant and bar will be shut down, and all drinking and
music making will end. Indeed, every trace of mirth and
delight, joy and gladness, will vanish: "All the
merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the
noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp
ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song.... The mirth
of the land is gone" (Isaiah 24:7-9, 11).

Yes, this is a picture of gloom and doom. But it is not my
prophecy. This word was given by the Holy Spirit of
Almighty God, to be delivered by his righteous prophet
Isaiah. Even the secular world is preparing for it to
happen. Billions are being spent on homeland security in
the U.S., England, Europe and Israel. Why? Military experts
warn that a world-impacting terrorist attack is sure to
come.

You may ask: "Why would the whole world change, if a
nuclear attack occurs in just one city?" It will happen
because of the fear of retaliation. If a rogue nation sends
such an attack, you can be sure that within hours that
nation will be wiped out. Consider the plan Israel has in
place, known as the Samson Option. The moment a nuclear
warhead is launched against them, within moments Israel
will unleash nuclear missiles to devastate the capital
cities of all enemy states.

The world has become a ticking bomb, and time is quickly
running out.

2. In one hour, God is going to change the church.

This hour of devastation will suddenly change churches,
whether they are alive or dead. Isaiah writes, "There shall
be the shaking as of an olive tree" (Isaiah 24:13). The
image is of God shaking an olive tree after it has been
picked of fruit. In short, he's going to shake everything
that can be shaken, sparing nothing. It will be a time of
cataclysmic destruction and overwhelming darkness.

So, you ask, "What about God's people in the midst of all
this? What will happen to the church?" Isaiah gives us an
incredible word about what will happen with believers.

In the midst of the terrible shaking, a song will be heard,
and its sound will grow steadily stronger. Suddenly, in
that darkest of hours, a worldwide chorus of voices will
sing praises to the majesty of God: "They shall lift up
their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord,
they shall cry aloud from the sea" (24:14).

Do you get the picture? There will be panic everywhere.
Men's hearts will fail them for fear, as fires belch smoke
seen for hundreds of miles. Disorder and chaos will reign
on all sides. Yet amid the devastating fires and calamity,
the world will hear a glorious song being sung: "Glorify ye
the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of
Israel... From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard
songs, even glory to the righteous [One]" (Isaiah
24:15-16).

A holy remnant is going to awaken, and a song will be born
in the fire. Instead of panicking, the people of God will
be praising his awesome majesty. Imagine it: in the darkest
hour of all time, a collective voice will rise by the
millions out of every nation, not in fear or agony, but in
joyful praise to the Lord.

How will this happen, you ask? In one hour, God is going to
regenerate and restore his church. Dry bones will shake and
rattle, and the righteous will be awakened, as the Holy
Spirit calls multitudes of lukewarm believers back to their
first love. In his mercy, he's going to rouse those who
have neglected him, ignoring his Word, avoiding prayer,
perhaps even contemplating divorce. Suddenly, their souls
will be flooded with pangs of remorse and godly sorrow. And
many will fall on their knees, crying out in repentance.

There will be a revival of glorifying God's majesty. And
the song of this revival will be heard from the uttermost
parts of the earth. East, west, north and south - from Arab
lands to China, Indonesia, Africa and all parts of the
earth - a glorious song will rise up from the midst of the
fires. In one day's time, those who survived the fires are
going to be singing a new song throughout the world.

Isaiah 25 tells us wonderful miracles will come in this
time, as "God makes all things new."

All around the world, the Lord's people are going to
"feast" on his Word: "In this mountain shall the Lord of
hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast
of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined" (Isaiah 25:6).

"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread
over all nations" (25:7). Right now, in this time of
prosperity, the world's masses seem to be covered with a
veil, unable to see the truth of Jesus Christ. But when God
rises up to shake the world through judgment, the shrouds
covering the minds of billions will be cast aside. The veil
of darkness will be removed, and many will see the Lord in
his glory. The Holy Spirit won't force Christ upon these
opened eyes and hearts; rather, a remnant is going to rise
up from among them.

I believe the darkest shroud-coverings today are over the
eyes and hearts of youth worldwide. This is especially
true of college-age students, whose faith has been
bombarded for up to four years. Over that time their minds
have been indoctrinated by godless professors in classrooms
where belief is attacked, mocked and scorned. Now these
young men's and women's faith has been shipwrecked. They
leave college convinced God is dead.

But in one hour of devastation - nuclear, economic and
social - all such hypocritical veils are going to fall
away. Those same professors who mocked them will realize,
as they face the possibility of death, a choice must be
made: "What about eternity? Is there life after death?"
They're going to look for someone to explain to them all
that's happening.

When the song is sung, it's going to be heard by young
people from every walk of life, from every nation under the
sun. Many will harden their hearts and curse God at the
sound of this song, but multitudes of others will join in
singing of his majesty.

3. In one hour, God is going to change us as individuals.

In a single hour, the focus of our lives will be changed.
We'll no longer obsess about our own adversities and
troubles. Suddenly, so many things that we held dear will
no longer be of any value to us. Why? In that hour,
everyone will be in the same boat:

"It shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as
with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so
with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker
of usury, so with the giver of usury to him" (Isaiah 24:2).

The sudden judgment that comes will not be a respecter of
anyone. Rather, it is going to touch all who are within the
realm of its fury. Presidents, kings, the world's richest
and most famous - all will tremble just like the poorest of
the earth. And this cataclysmic event will bring to naught
every idol, purging iniquity and tearing down all false
altars:

"By this [the calamity] therefore shall the iniquity of
Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his
sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as
chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and
images shall not stand up [be left standing]" (Isaiah
27:9).

The world's most prominent idol is money, and right now
America is facing a monstrous financial disaster. Investors
are scrambling to move their money out of high-risk funds,
and mortgage companies are going bankrupt. One recent
financial headline read, "Abandon Ship!" Everyone is
selling and nobody is buying. Many households are in a
panic, as overnight their lives are changing. I think of
the president of a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund, who
recently put up for sale his 142-foot yacht and his
sixteen-bedroom mansion in Aspen, Colorado. His fund had
dried up virtually overnight.

The day is coming when sports will be the last thing on
people's minds. I have nothing against sports, but soon
there will be no more 250-million-dollar deals for
athletes, when so much of the world is starving. All idols
will come crashing down, crushed to dust, and the playing
field will be leveled. The richest and the poorest alike
will face the same conditions.

It will all happen within a day. "When they shall say,
Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Why such apocalyptic warnings?

You may wonder: what good can come of these prophetic
messages? Why should anyone have to live under such
anxiety?

I remind you, Jesus warned Jerusalem of sudden devastation
to come upon that city. It was going to be burned to the
ground, with over a million people murdered. Christ
explained his warning: "I have told you before it come to
pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe"
(John 14:29). He was saying, in essence, "When it happens,
you'll know there is a God who loves you and forewarned
you."

Paul calls such warnings "light," insights that expel
darkness. He says, in short: "You are children of light,
because you know what's coming in the future. So, when
destruction comes, and there's panic all around, you will
have the calm of the Holy Spirit. Something will quicken
inside you, and you'll remember, ŒGod warned me.' This
prophecy isn't a message of wrath to God's people, but a
wakeup call to begin preparing."

"God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that,
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him"
(1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). Paul is speaking here of a time
of possible destruction. Therefore, he says, "Comfort
yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye
do" (5:11).

In this day of prosperity, nobody wants to hear a message
like Isaiah's. I certainly don't want to hear it. But we
cannot ignore it, because it is here at our door. In such
times, Paul says, when we have knowledge that sudden
destruction is coming, we are not to tremble or sorrow as
the world does. Instead, we are to comfort one another in
faith, knowing that God rules over every aspect of our
lives.

"Be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love;
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (5:. Paul
instructs, "Arm yourself with faith. Build up your belief
now, before the day comes. Learn your song, and you'll be
able to sing it in your fire." "Glorify ye the Lord in the
fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel" (Isaiah
24:15).

This is the hope of our most holy faith: our Lord causes a
song to come out of the darkest of times. Start now to
build up your holy faith in him, and learn to praise his
majesty quietly in your heart. When you sing your song, it
will strengthen and encourage your brothers and sisters.
And it will testify to the world: "Our Lord reigns over the
Flood!"




Patrick
www.revivalarmy.com

A whore's forehead

(Thomas Brooks, "The Privy Key of Heaven" 1665)

"You have a whore's forehead, you refuse to be
ashamed!" Jeremiah 3:3

"Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No,
they have no shame at all! They do not even know
how to blush!" Jeremiah 6:15

They had sinned away shame--instead of being ashamed of
sin. Continuance in sin had quite banished all sense of sin
and all shame for sin; so that they would not allow nature
to draw her veil of blushing before their great abominations.
How applicable these scriptures are to the present time, I
will leave the prudent reader to judge.

But what does the prophet do, now that they were as bold in
sin, and as shameless as so many harlots; now that they were
grown up to that height of sin and wickedness; now that they
were above all shame and blushing; now that they were grown
so proud, so hardened, so obstinate, so rebellious, so bent on
self-destruction--that no mercies could melt them or allure them,
nor any threatenings or judgments could in any way terrify them
or stop them? The prophet goes into a corner, he retires into the
most secret places, and there he weeps bitterly; there he weeps
as if he were resolved to drown himself in his own tears. "I will
weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears." Jeremiah 13:17

In the times wherein we live, hell seems to be broken loose, and
men turned into incarnate devils! Soul-damning wickednesses
walk up and down the streets with a whore's forehead, without
the least check or restraint.

Ah, England, England! what pride, luxury, lasciviousness,
licentiousness, wantonness, drunkenness, cruelties, injustice,
oppressions, fornications, adulteries, falsehoods, hypocrisies,
atheisms, horrid blasphemies, and hellish impieties--are now
to be found rampant in the midst of you! Ah, England!
England! how are the Scriptures rejected, God derided,
and wickedness tolerated!

And what is the voice of all these crying abominations--but
every Christian to his closet--every Christian to his closet--and
there weep, with weeping Jeremiah, bitterly--for all these great
abominations whereby God is dishonored openly. Oh weep in
secret for their sins--who openly glory in their sins, which should
be their greatest shame. Oh blush in secret for those who are
past all blushing for their sins; for who knows, but that the
whole land may fare the better for the sakes of a few, who
are mourners in secret?

Back from London!
Josef Urban
Oct 16, 2007

 

Greetings in the name of the One who came to seek and save that which is lost!

Well, dear saints and friends, we’re back from London. It was a successful mission to the glory of God.

It certainly was not what I expected -there were actually few radicals who were openly radical. There were no big crowds of these guys gathered in which to preach to outside as we see on a lot of the videos from London and news reports. But praise God, we still preached, and got to witness to a lot of the less violent ones, though they were still just as dogmatic in their beliefs.

On the very first day, we went to the London Central Mosque and preached outside. Sean preached open air through the speaker for a while, and then security shut us down. However, there were a few who came out that we got to preach the Gospel to, reasoning with them of sin, righteousness and judgment, and pointing them to the Lamb who washes away sin in His own blood. Both of us had really good witnesses and planted really good seeds. Then, we proceeded to hand out tracts that Sean had printed for Muslims. We were then discussing what to do next, and thought about trying to get inside to eat their evening feast with them and preaching to them while we’re in. Then, a leader came outside and challenged us to a debate, inviting us inside. After praying, we went in, figuring this is an open door from the Lord. We got through security because of the invite, and once we were in, we ended up sitting down with a number of different Muslims and preaching to them (and never even saw the guy who challenged us). There were hundreds upon hundreds of them in this mosque, and praise the Lord, we got to preach Christ right in the middle of this wicked devils den. It was an open reproach to many of them to have us “infidels” preach Christ in their own mosque, and some looked upon us with the most murderous threats, boiling with anger. We sat down with a couple of leaders and preached the Gospel. We would seek to steer around their debating questions, and preach straight to their heart about sin, righteousness and judgment and the Gospel. I ended up railing against a couple leaders inside, calling one an anti-Christ and telling another one that the Koran is inspired by demons after they kept openly rejecting the truth and speaking against the Lord‘s Christ. -And praise God, we’re still alive!

We went to several other area mosques as well to stand up for Christ and preach. We also did quite a bit of preaching in an open market, in the Whitechapel area of London. Stepping out of the underground train into this market area was like entering a whole different country, it was like stepping right out into the Middle East. There were Muslims everywhere, crowds of them. So we preached Christ to these deceived throngs idolizing the false prophet Mohammed, seeking to point them to the only Way that leads to life everlasting.

One night, Sean and I got to witness to two brothers, both Muslims, at a bus stop area. We forgot their names, but God knows. We talked with them for a long time, and the truth of the Gospel really sunk deeply into their understanding. They were both very convicted and the Lord was working on them. The one brother actually said “I’m going to go find a New Testament and read it” when he left, so Sean gave him one since we had some in our bags. It was truly a divine encounter. Please pray for these two brothers that they would both find Christ. They were both in their mid-to-late-twenties I think. They grew up as Muslims, born that way, and are from the Middle East. They are conscious of present sin, realizing their crimes against God and His justice. We were able to reason with them from the Scriptures for a long time, pointing to Christ from both Moses and the Prophets. I mention these two because they are heavy on my heart and it seems like the Lord was really gripping them up. We pray earnestly that our preaching to them may yield forth fruit and abound unto life eternal.

During this trip, we faced a lot of rejection and a lot of seemingly dead conversations that seemed to go nowhere. It is not what I am used to among the homeless and poor, it was a lot different. There was no great harvesting going on, no souls dropping to their knees in repentance. But as Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase”. We did lots of planting, a little watering, and pray that God will continue to use the seeds we planted to water them and give the increase among those of which are found in the number of His elect, that His lost sheep may be found and plucked out of the hands of the wolves who seek to devour them.

I truly extend many thanks to those who have interceded for us in this mission. May God reward you for your labor in prayer on our behalf and give back the (spiritual and heavenly) blessings into your bosom good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, may the Lord reward you for your concern for the lost.

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” -Jude 1:20-25

I have more I would like to write later, if the Lord wills. God bless all, and may the name of JESUS CHRIST be exalted high above every other name.

MAY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING!!!

Sincerely, in Christ - Josef

IMPORTANT MINISTRY UPDATE! PLEASE READ!


Our Mission/Calling: As most of you already know, for the past couple of years the Lord has had Josef and I working with the homeless, gangs, prostitutes, drug addicts and drug dealers in some of the worst ghettos in America, including Detroit and Skid Row, Los Angeles. God has called us “to preach the gospel to the poor” He has sent us to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised - Luke 4:18 As we have taken the love of Jesus, the message of the Cross and Good News of the Gospel to the worst streets of America we have seen many precious souls come to repentance, devote their lives to Jesus, be freed from the bondage of drugs and addiction and be healed from all sorts of sicknesses and diseases through the power, mercy, grace, love and glory of GOD!

At this time God has called us and opened the doors for us to move to Tijuana Mexico. There we will work with local pastors to evangelize un-reached slum villages, to reach inner city gangs, prostitutes and drug addicts, to help with church planting, to train local slum village pastors and to start an orphanage. Here is a brief summery of what feel the Lord is calling us to do.

Un-Reached Slum Village Evangelism: There are over 8000 NEW people who come to Tijuana every month from southern Mexico. When these people (men, women, children, families) arrive, they have nothing – no home or money, and many times, just the clothes on their backs. There are continually new slum villages popping up all the time with houses made of old wood, garbage, tires or whatever they can find. The local pastors have agreed to help us and take us to these villages that have never been reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will be taking the message of the Cross, the love of Jesus and the Good News of the Gospel to these un-reached people.

Inner-City Gang, Prostitution & Drug Outreach: In the inner city of Tijuana, drugs, gangs and prostitution are rampant. With the help of some of the locals, we will be preaching the freedom of the Gospel and Jesus Christ in the areas of Tijuana that are most over run with drugs, gangs and prostitution; and where others are scared to go.

Church Planting: When people come to the Lord Jesus and give their lives to Him, most often there are no local churches. For these people to travel 5-20 miles to church on foot is nearly impossible. There are areas with over 20,000 people, and not one single church. We will be planting and helping lead churches in the villages we reach for Jesus.

Pastor Training: Most of the pastors in the slum villages aren’t even a year old in the Lord, having been recently converted themselves. But as they begin sharing God’s saving Grace, they find themselves thrust into a pastoral position and in desperate need of training. We will be offering and providing more advanced training for these pastors with weekly training meetings.

Orphanage Start-Up: Approximately 2 million Mexican children are orphaned or abandoned.  With such a need we feel that the Lord would have us to start the process of establishing a Christian Orphanage for these dear and precious little children and to raise them up strong in the faith and love of Jesus!!! We know this process will take some time, but we will start gathering funds and working on the requirements immediately.


Our Request / How You Can Help: Although it is very inexpensive to live in Mexico compared to the U.S., we are in need of funds to live and support this ministry the Lord has called us to. In a time of high pressure and guilt laden giving techniques, we do not want to follow that pattern. We are well aware that most who will receive this letter are already very generous with the money the Lord has entrusted to them and most likely already support such missions and ministries. But what we would like to respectfully ask is for you to pray and ask God if He would have you help us financially. We are in dire need of monthly support, so if God lays it on your heart to help us financially, we would be greatly appreciative. Of course prayer is the most important support you can give to us, so if you are unable to help financially, we ask that you would please keep us in your prayers that God would do a mighty work in Tijuana and draw many souls to Himself.

Thank you so much for any support or prayer that you are gracious enough to offer. Any financial support even as little as $10.00 or $20.00 a month would be a great help, and put to great use for the Kingdom of God!

There are two ways to make your monthly sponsorship gift. You can (1) have your donation automatically deducted from your checking account or credit card each month with PayPal, (2) send checks (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annually).

1.   For automatic deduction from checking account or credit card: Send an email to patricke123@hotmail.com stating the monthly amount the Lord has laid on your heart to give, and we will send you an email where you can confirm the amount and start automatic deductions with PayPal the most secure payment source on the web.
2.   Just let us know how much the Lord has laid on your heart to give and send us a check made out to S&L Ministries every month

In closing, thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for holding us before the Lord as we seek to share His love and grace with those who do not yet know Him

In Christ's love,

Patrick

Address:
S&L Ministries
16355 Via Ultimo
Moreno Valley, CA 92551

Phone: Number: 586-596-4937

I just added 11 new Paul Washer video compilation to the site - you can check them out here - under "general videos"

http://www.obeyjesus.net/content/category/1/27/41/

Patrick