Sinner, Lost Sinner, Jesus Died For You

When last did we hear preaching quite like this? Times may have changed and we may talk differently, yet it is the earnestness of Spurgeon's plea that we need back in the church today.

"Have I got a lost man here, Lost man! Lost woman! Where are you? Do you feel yourself to be lost? I am so glad of it; for there is remission by the blood-shedding. O sinner, are there tears in your eyes! Look through them. Do you see that Man in the garden? That Man sweats drops of blood for you. Do you see that Man on the cross? That Man was nailed there for you. Oh! if I could be nailed on a cross this morning for you all, I know what you would do: you would fall down and kiss my feet, and weep that I should have to die for you. But sinner, lost sinner, Jesus died for you — for you; and if He died for you, you cannot be lost. Christ died in vain for no one. Are you, then, a sinner? Are you convinced of sin because you believe not in Christ? I have authority to preach to you. Believe in his name and you cannot be lost. Do you say you are no sinner? Then I do not know that Christ died for you. Do you say that you have no sins to repent of? Then I have no Christ to preach to you. He did not come to save the righteous; He came to save the wicked. Are you wicked? Do you feel it? Are you lost? Do you know? Are you sinful? Will you confess it?"

- C.H. Spurgeon

Elizabeth

On Saturday my good friend Phil and I travelled to Tooting Broadway tube station to preach the gospel open-air. Unfortunately the elements were against us so we focused on doing some one-to-one instead. Not far from the tube station is Tooting Market. It is a market bustling with people; men, women and children from the vast array of cultures that is London today. People enter the market predominately to shop and look around, and this opens up the opportunity to approach them to talk with them about spiritual things.

Armed with as many tracts as I could carry I began zeroing in on those about me. I was right in the pathway of the people, both young and old coming at me from both directions, so I could not have been standing in a better location. One of the first I managed to approach was a woman named Elizabeth. After a friendly hello and some laughs resulting from the Million Pound Note tract we started to talk seriously about the things of eternity. It wasn't long before I could tell that she'd had some Christian background. She knew that she needed to be born-again and even said that it was something she needed to "get done." "I'll concentrate on it in the new year," she said. I responded in the only way I knew I could: "You do realise that if you died today and you were not right with God you would go to hell?" She nodded and although she was now beginning to feel the heat she still gave me her attention. I urged her to not delay since playing Russian Roulette with our soul is a very dangerous and foolish thing. Before I left her I asked, "Elizabeth, I may never see you again and I want to make sure that you know exactly what you must do in order to be born-again." As it turned out she didn't have a complete understanding so I took the time to explain the gospel more adequately to her. As I was bringing things to a conclusion she quickly asked, "Hey, do you have a card or something?" Braking in to a broad smile I reached into my bag and took out one of my Department Of Eternal Affairs business cards. This of course made her really smile. "If you ever want to give me a call just pick up the phone. Also, you can visit my church's website, it's on the bottom of the card. God bless you Elizabeth and have a great Christmas." "Same to you," she said, as she expressed her thanks and said goodbye.

Sarah wasn't the only person I got to speak with that day. There was also Mark, Sarah, Nick and quite a few others. Mark in particular was very open to the gospel and we had a great time chatting. I'll tell you more about it soon. In the meantime, find yourself a sinner and start sharing the good news. Nothing is more important.

You Must Be Born Again

When sharing the gospel there are some essential things that ought to be said. That a person must be born again is certainly one of them.

Whether I am preaching open-air or talking with someone one-to-one, I am careful to incorporate into my message the importance of being born again. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) That is a definitive statement, there is certainly no getting around it. So why exactly must a man be born again? To answer this question let us first consider the following.

In transgressing God's law (1 John 3:4) man finds himself guilty before a holy and righteous God. He is deserving of punishment for the sins he has committed. The Bible presents hell as that punishment. We often hear in the church today that God is love. That He most certainly is. But He is also just, severely and inflexibly just. As Charles Spurgeon once so rightly said, "He were not God, if He were not just; He could not be merciful if He were not just, for punishment of the wicked is demanded by the highest mercy to the rest of mankind." Since God is just He must punish sin. Yet it is in His grace that we see His love. Two thousand years ago God did something so that sinners do not have to go to hell. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross to pay the punishment for the sins that we have committed.

Consider the following analogy. Jack is standing before a judge in a human courtroom. There is a £50,000 fine bearing down on him. "Can you pay the fine?" says the judge. "No, I cannot, for I have no money," replies Jack. The judge turns to the guards. "Take him away!" he commands. As they take Jack away a man enters the courtroom. Jack has never met him before. "Your honour," says the man, "I care about Jack and I love Jack, I wish to pay the fine for him." The man pays the fine and Jack is free to go. The judge is satisfied since the fine has been payed. Jack has been shown grace, undeserved favour.

This is a picture of what Christ has done by dying on the cross for sinners. We have broken God's law but Christ has died to pay our fine. If a man repents of his sin and puts his trust in what Christ has done on the cross he will be saved. The Bible makes it clear that God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). In repenting of his sin and putting his trust in Christ man demonstrates that he is indeed born again - truly it can be said of him that he will indeed see the kingdom of God. Why must a man be born again? Well, simply put, he was not born right the first time. He was born into sin. No one taught him how to lie, no one taught him how to steal. He is a sinner not because he sins, rather he sins because he is a sinner. The choices he makes are consistent with his nature. Since man's separation from God is a result of him being born into sin, to be reconciled to God he must be born again. The first time man is born he is born into sin. To be free from sin he must be born a second time. He must be born into righteousness. When the man entered the courtroom to pay the fine for Jack, Jack was brought back into a right standing with the court. Similarly, man must be born again so that he is brought back into a right standing with God. Only through Jesus Christ is this possible, for...

"God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Preach The Word: Be Ready In Season And Out Of Season

On my way over to Tooting Broadway this morning to preach open-air I decided to use "Christmas" as my platform to launch into spiritual things. It has been suggested that people are more open to spiritual things over Christmas time, however I am not fully convinced of this. Still, it is sensible to refer to Christmas at this time of the year when preaching the gospel. People may not be seeking to know the true meaning of Christmas but that does not mean we cannot tell them. The reason we preach is to cause people to stop to consider that which is of eternal value.

As I preached I explained that Christmas is about God sending His Son Jesus Christ into the world as the greatest gift man has ever known. We give and receive gifts at Christmas time, but the greatest gift ever given to you and I is Jesus Christ Himself. I then proceeded to show them why they needed this gift by taking them through the law of God, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

I did not get a crowd to form but there were people who I could see did stop to listen. There is a resistance that has built up within the hearts of the people living in this country and I firmly believe that if we want to see that resistance broken we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness. This means we must preach sin, righteousness and judgment. The bad news must precede the good news for the good news to make any sense at all.

When I was setting up an African chap (London is immensely multi-cultural) stopped to look at the chart I had with me that showed the Ten Commandments. I took the opportunity to talk with him one-to-one. As we were talking he said something rather interesting. He told me that it was okay for me to preach since it is now the season of Christmas. Fortunately we do not take our instructions from man, we take them from God. We are told to preach the Word, in season and out of season. Christmas time does present us with a great opportunity. But it is just one of many opportunities God has given us. Let us take a hold of these opportunities with all we are worth.

Central London Outreach

The city, in which Wesley, Whitefield, and Spurgeon all preached in, is now a city that has nearly lost the light of the Gospel. A thick cloud of darkness has descended down upon this once great and mighty city. However, there is the glorious hope of the Saviour.

In January 2008, Operation 513 – Europe, will be organising “The Central London Outreach”, this evangelistic outreach will be focusing on the proclamation of the Gospel through the means of “Open Air Preaching”, “Personal Witnessing” and “Gospel Tracts”.

If you are passionate about proclaiming the gospel to a city that is dead in sin, then this is the outreach for you, come and surround yourself with like minded people, who’s one desire is to see God glorified through evangelism.

Start the new year off with an all out evangelism assault into Central London.

Accommodation will be communal (TBA) and food costs shared. Tube travel card and tracts are to be supplied by each member at their own cost. Our aim is to make this outreach as affordable as possible. It is strictly not for profit.

Expressions of interest currently being taken, RSVP 3rd December 2007.

For more information contact:
David Gee (Operation513 Europe)
davidgee@operation513.com
www.operation513.com

Evolution Could Not Do This - The Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler weighs only three-quarters of an ounce, yet twice each year it flies 2400 miles [3862 km] non-stop for 4 days and nights. These little birds spend the summer in Alaska and then, in the fall, on one day they all know to begin flying eastward. Landing in eastern Canada or Northern New England, they eat as much as they can and wait some more. Then, suddenly, wherever they might be—though scattered from one another—they again take flight. In the air, they quickly become separated as they climb higher and higher in the sky. Although they want to go to South America, they begin by heading toward Africa. Climbing to 20,000 feet [6096 m] in the sky, they head off. How can each bird keep warm at such a high altitude? There is very little oxygen for it to breath, and it is so much harder to fly when its tiny wings must beat against that thin atmosphere. Yet on it goes, with nothing to guide it but trackless ocean below and sun, stars, and frequently overcast sky overhead. At a certain point, the little bird encounters a wind which does not blow at a lower altitude. It is blowing toward South America. Immediately, the little bird turns and goes in that direction. It had no maps, and no one ever instructed it as to the direction it should take. Well, you say, it may have taken the trip before. No, this might be one of this year’s crop of birds which hatched only a few months before in Alaska. And its parents never told it what it was to do. Now, alone, separated from all the other birds, it keeps flying. It cannot stop to rest, eat, or drink. It dare not land on the water, for it will drown. Next spring, it will once again fly to Alaska. Many other examples could be cited. One is a bronze bird in New Zealand which abandons its young and flies off. In March, when strong enough to fly, they follow after, taking the same route: first 1250 miles over open sea to northern Australia; then to Papua, New Guinea; then the gruelling distance to the Bismarck Archipelago—a migration of 4000 miles from New Zealand where they hatched not long before.

- Taken from The Evolution Cruncher, Pg.66

8 Common Excuses We Make For Not Sharing Our Faith