Lamb Over Me

The following comes directly from Tony Miano's blog. This is amazing. What an amazing God we serve. We need to be out there sharing the great news that our righteousness comes from the Lamb of God alone through repentance and faith. Nate

http://thelawmanchronicles.blogspot.com/

Sunday, September 28, 2008
Lamb Over Me




This is my brother in Christ, Benjamin. He and his wife and children are missionaries in Tibet. They have been there for five years. Prior to that, Benjamin served as a missionary in South America, where he met his future bride. When in Tibet, Benjamin goes by the moniker Brother Eugene. In addition to English, Benjamin is fluent in both Spanish and Chinese.

One of the many things I love about leading the Ambassadors' Academy is getting to meet so many interesting and diverse brothers and sisters in Christ, from literally around the world. I love the creative and innovative ways they share the gospel. I have yet to lead an academy in which I haven't learned something from one or more of the participants. Ambassadors' Academy #6 was no exception.

One way Benjamin communicated the gospel this weekend was by positioning himself in a place where people would see him as they walked by. Using a dry erase board, Benjamin would sit and write out Bible verses in Chinese. The fascinating characters of the Chinese written language would catch the attention of people. When they stopped to inquire about what Benjamin was doing, he would first read the verse in Chinese and then translate it into English, thus providing him with a springboard into spiritual conversations.

In the above photo, Benjamin is displaying the Chinese characters for a very important word: "righteous." Even more fascinating than the characters themselves is what each character represents.

On the dry erase board in the picture, there are characters that represent two different words, which together comprise one word. The characters are separated by a horizontal line. Many of the words in Chinese are a combination of two or more words.

The top character in the picture represents the word "lamb." The bottom word represents the word "me." The compound word is pronounced "ee" (as in "me"). The Chinese word for "righteous" is "lamb over me." Amazing!

God is sovereign over His creation. In the early generations of mankind, the people tried to exert their independence from God and to engage in the idolatry of self by erecting the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). In response God confused the people by creating many different languages and by dispersing them. As a result, the sovereignty of God and His plan of redemption for members of the human race can now be seen in the intricacies of the Chinese language.

The Chinese word for "righteous" is packed with biblical theology. "Lamb over me." Do you hear it? Do you see it?

The Bible makes it clear that there is none who is righteous (Romans 3:10-12). Only God is good (Matt. 19:17). Even on our best day, all of our deeds are like filthy garments to the Holy One who created the universe (Isa. 64:6). All have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory (Rom. 3:23). And all sin is against God (Psalm 51:3-4).

If you are reading this and you are not sure what sin is, the Bible defines sin as transgression of God's Law (Rom. 4:15; James 2:10). And what is the Law of God? Here is a sampling. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't take God's name in vain. Don't commit adultery.

If you have ever lied, stolen, taken God's name in vain, or looked at another person and had a lustful thought then according to God's standard you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. When you die and stand before God to be judged (Heb. 9:27), He will find you guilty of breaking His Law, and you will one-day be eternally punished when He sentences you to hell (Rev. 20:11-15; 21:8).

God has provided but one way of escape from His just and holy wrath--the wrath every person deserves for breaking God's Law. The provision was and is a spotless, sinless Lamb (John 1:27; 1 Cor. 5:7; Rev. 5:12). Jesus Christ (fully God and fully man), the Lamb of God, suffered and died on the cross--taking upon Himself the punishment every person rightly deserves for breaking God's Law. He allowed His blood to be shed for those who would repent and believe the Gospel. Three days after shedding his innocent blood He rose from the dead, forever defeating death.

Before going to the cross, Jesus told a man named Nicodemus the following. "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). In order to receive the free gift of eternal life, in order to have the blood of the Lamb cover and wash away your sin, you must be born again. And the first fruits of that salvation, the first evidence that God has miraculously intervened on your behalf is that you will, by faith and by faith alone, repent (turn away from and forsake your sins) and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

"Lamb over me": the judicial act by which God declares a sinner righteous--not on the basis of anything the sinner has done to earn or deserve God's gracious pardon (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7), but because God causes the sinner to be born again (1 Peter 1:3) and thus covering and washing the sinner clean with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.

If God, by His sovereign and perfect will, causes you to be born again then when you stand before God, instead of receiving what you deserve for breaking God's Law (eternity in hell), you will receive what you do not deserve, which is grace and mercy and everlasting life. When you stand before God He will see you covered in the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, instead of seeing you clothed in your unrighteousness.

Your only hope for eternal life is to have the Lamb of God and His precious blood over you. Repent and believe the Gospel.

Posted by Tony Miano at 5:01 PM

Why We Do What We Do

This is copied from Trish Ramos' "Fish With Trish" BLOG. This is why we must be sharing our faith daily.



Monday, September 8, 2008
This is why we do what we do...
On Saturday's, a team of people from my church go out and evangelize. For the past few weeks a young man named "JB" (19 yrs old) has had the Gospel preached to him.

I personally shared with him, and so did Emilio. His face is etched in my memory.

The last time we spoke with JB, out at Southlake, was late last month and we urged him to repent and trust in the Savior. I can remember as if it was yesterday, pleading with him, "JB, tonight could be the night that you die...you're not too young to die...please consider what we're saying...you must repent (turn from your sins) and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!"

This past Saturday night, JB's friends came out to Southlake searching for our evangelism group to tell us the news...the unthinkable news...that JB crashed his red truck last Thursday night and died. I was shocked...my heart sunk when I heard the news.

JB was with out excuse. He heard Gospel numerous times. Only God knows if he repented. But this is why we do what we do. This is why we share the Gospel and why we're compelled with urgency to do so. One day, you will die. One day, I will die. The ultimate statistic is that 51 out of 51 people die. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. You might not have tomorrow...you might not have tonight. We aren't guaranteed our next breath.

If you're not a Christian...if you've never looked at yourself according to the God's Holy Law The 10 Commandments, don't put it off another minute. Here's what to do evaluate yourself by the 10 Commandments to see how you measure up to God's standards.

Have you ever lied (even once--fibs, white lies, etc.)? Have you ever stolen (the value is irrelevant)? Jesus said, "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery already with her in his heart." Have you ever looked with lust? If you have said "Yes" to these three questions (by your own admission), you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart; and we've only looked at three of the Ten Commandments.

Have you put God first in your life, or have you created a false god to suit yourself; a god you feel comfortable with? If God judges you by that standard will you be innocent or guilty on the Day of Judgment? You know that you will be guilty, and therefore end up in Hell. But WAIT! LISTEN. There's Good News! God Himself made a way for sinners to be forgiven. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to satisfy the Moral Law — You broke the Law, Jesus paid the fine!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Then He rose from the dead, defeating death. That means that God can forgive you and grant you the gift of everlasting life. Today, here's what to do, confess your sins to God, repent (turn) from your sins, put your trust in Jesus to save you from eternal damnation, and you will pass from death to life.
Posted by Fish with Trish at 2:53 PM 0 comments

A Pebble in Their Shoe

So what are the results of the long weekend at Field Days? God is the One that ultimately knows. We were faithful in spreading and watering seeds. Eternity will show how the Lord used the words we shared and tracts distributed to reach into the hearts of those that heard. The following comes from a posting by Steve Sanchez, Evangelism Pastor at Hope Chapel Christian Church in Hermosa Beach, CA. It is titled, "A Pebble in His Shoe" and followed by a response from a "Thankful Dad". I just got to thinking about the hundreds of crazy and wild looking teens we spoke with over the weekend. How many of those kids have parents that have been praying for them to come to repentance and faith in the LORD. The post on Steve's blog just encouraged me all the more to be remembering and praying for those we met. We may be the answer to the prayers of parents that have faithfully been praying for their children.



A Pebble in His Shoe

Does our style of evangelism work? Does using the 10 Commandments, warning of Judgment Day and Hell… then presenting the Gospel make a difference?

I met a very nice young man the other night while witnessing on the Redondo Beach Pier where I take a team out every Friday evening for the Hour of Power. Read this email he sent about two hours after our conversation:



Hey Steve,

I just wanted to thank you for the conversation we had outside the Fun Factory today at the Redondo Pier. I’m sure you remember me; I was with my Aunt and my cousin. I just wanted to apologize if it seemed I was being rude or contemptuous at all. I was just trying to emphasize that I understood everything you were saying and that I really, really do think about these things every day. I also want to make it clear that I don’t challenge your “what if you died today” question and that I am full aware that if the Bible happens to be the Word of God, then I’m going to hell.



Our style of evangelism “works” in that we plant seed, and water seed, trusting that God will make it grow. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:7)

Everyone’s goal should be to put a pebble in the shoe of a sinner. Tell them the truth, then let God deal with them, regardless of whether they respond positively or not.

Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they have life.” (John 6:63b)

2000 years ago God came down in the form of man, Jesus Christ. Now He comes down in the form of words, the words we speak about Him.



Response to “A Pebble in His Shoe”

TS Says:

September 1st, 2008 at 6:48 pm

The young man Pastor Steve spoke with in this story is my son (CS). The seed has been planted, watered, fed, emphasized and re-emphasized, but so far the seed has not taken root.

I believe that God’s word never returns empty. I also believe in the power of prayer. I ask all of you to pray that the Lord will soften my son’s heart and that he will accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Praise God! Thank you, Steve and the team, for spreading the word.

Monday Field Day Pictures

Sunday Field Days Pictures

Sunday Field Days - My First Attempt at Open Air Preaching

Sunday was a hot and sunny day which meant there were alot of people at Field Days. It was a day marked by alot of "First Time" witnessing adventures. It was my first time to witness to a couple that called themselves "Brooklyn Roman Catholics". I'm still not sure what distinction Brooklyn makes. :-) It was my first time to witness in depth to a Muslim man. We had a very friendly conversation and parted shaking hands with the understanding of how Christians view and know Jesus to be. It was a first time, at least that I know of, witnessing to a Jewish man. He kept that a secret until the very end of the conversation, shook my hand, but refused to take a tract. And... finally by the Grace of God, it was a first time for me to jump up on chair, trivia questions and stuffed animals in hand, to draw a crowd to share the law and the gospel in the open air. I just praise God for where he has grown me of the past couple years. It is nothing short of Him working in me. I would never have thought I would be out in the public sharing my faith as I have. You reading this may say, "I could never do that." But God can change you, He can give you the courage and boldness to step out and be faithful in even the small ways so that Gospel seeds could be sown and watered. I still tremble every time I go to pass a tract. But it drives me to my "knees" as I then take it to the LORD in prayer. He supplies the boldness and courage. Always remember that it is a winning situation every time you share your faith. The person could accept the message. That's a WIN. A seed could be planted for another person to water. That's a WIN. Or the person could reject it. That's a WIN too. Why? Because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. We are to rejoice and leap for joy for great is our reward in heaven. I thank God for Mark Cahill pointing this out with the following scriptures. It really does allow you to conquer your fear when sharing your faith.

Luke 6:22,23 says, Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

And

1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.


Pictures will be added soon.