Friday, January 11, 2008

A plea for Christians to wake up!

1. If you are a Mormon, how can you in good conscience, ignore all of the evidence that is presented about Joseph Smith being a false prophet of God?
Since a mormon did not bother to respond, I will respond for them...
A.) we don't concentrate on the past. Let's talk about what "we" believe today!

2. If you are a pastor, do you have a problem with preaching against sin and teaching about hell? if so, why?
I got some good responses on this one but again, it seems that the pastor's who are guilty of not preaching against sin, did not respond, so, I will respond for them...
A.) Our sin is in the past, let's talk about the new Jesus and how much He loves us!

3. If you attend church, is it more important for you to feel like you are in a "family" church or a church that teaches biblical truths?
It was good to hear people stress the biblical truths as being most important. I wonder what the other answer could have been...
A.) Family, because, well, you know, God loves us like a family should love each other and if we truly love each other then we will have the love of God within us and we will show that love to everyone we see so then it must be evident that we are being biblical if we love our neighbor as ourself and we display that love to the world so they can see what a happy and joy-filled family of love that we have in our church that is practicing to be biblical in all we do!

4. If you claim to be a Christian, are you still living in sin? You don't have to mention what the sin is, but do you have a sin that you just can't seem to get rid of?
Thank you all for your responses, let's try this response...
A.) I am not living in sin, I am living in Galesburg, IL home of the Great Lincoln-Douglass Debates back in 1860 (roughly). I have this sense of humor that I just can't seem to get rid of.

5. If you are an atheist, where do you think you will go when you die? What if you are wrong, what are your thoughts then?
good responses again...
A.) no time for joking here, they are headed for HELL!

6. If you are an adult, do you feel as though you have grown in your knowledge of the Bible in the past year?
I think all true Christians will try to gain in knowledge, but I have a feeling that most people will say...
A.) I think I know what I need to know and that's all I have to say about that!

7. How many people have you personally witnessed to since the beginning of 2008?
Most people seem to acknowledge that they have fallen short on this one...
A.) since the beginning of 2008 is two (the ending of 2008 is eight!), I am going to make it my goal to reach one person per month who is unchurched (an actual goal of a pastor in Galesburg, IL).

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Friends,
I have many good friends who are Mormons. It scares me to see them following a false prophet and a false Jesus. They are headed for hell. I count them as very dear friends. I have planted seeds and am leaving the rest up to God. Please keep them in your prayers. Cole, Kim, Van, Josh, Chris, Sandra, David, Mike, Brian, Kim (different one), Josh (another different one), Kendall, Marissa, Bob and any others that you might want to add, (just let me know and I will include their names here for people to pray for them). While people have been "playing" church, there are people, like my mormon friends, who are in need of true Christians to reach out to them in love. I would never point my finger at my friends and tell them they are no good and going to hell. I will tell them that unless they repent and put their faith and trust in the Jesus of the Bible (and not the Mormon Jesus), they will have to face God and judgment will come down on them. The problem is that no one else seems to be out there reaching the lost. Everyone seems to have an excuse as to "why" they can't do it. And my friends are one day closer to dying and seeing God face to face. Another day has gone by and my bet is that you (the reader) did not even attempt to reach a lost person today (I hope and pray that I am wrong on this one, but I have a feeling that for the most part, I am correct on this). How many hours did you the reader spend in front of the computer today? And there was no time to talk to just "one" person today at the store or at the gas station? My friends go to the store every day and they can always be found at a gas station. They might be in your town! But no, we go around and read every blog we can find. We agree with what is written or we get into debates and the real reason we are here is for God's good pleasure and to glorify Him, and we are doing nothing to fulfill the Great Commission in keeping with His will for us. And people are dying today and tomorrow -- will it be my friends? will it be me? will it be you? The last thing I want to be doing when my time is up on this earth is to be sitting in front of a computer while people just outside of my house are dying and going to hell. It is about loving our neighbors. But first and foremost, it is about loving God Jesus died on the cross for you. Did you forget that? He did it for you. We spend so much time saying that he died for the whole world, I have to be perfectly honest with you here, I don't care that He died for the whole world, the fact He died for me is all I need to know just how much He loves me. How can I do anything else "but" serve Him? Here is a newsflash for you...
are you ready for it??????
it has to do with Commandment number ONE...
YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GOD'S BEFORE ME...
Now, what is this thing you are looking at right now? (it is called a computer monitor)
YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GOD'S BEFORE ME!
How many God's are there? Listen carefully Mormons...
ONE! And you will not be a god like you think you will.
Hey Christian...
HOW MANY GOD'S ARE THERE?
ONE! So, put away your computer for a while and get outside where the people are and start reaching the lost the way Jesus did.
Give people the "good person" test.
Are you a good person (most everyone will proclaim their own goodness, even though the Bible says there is none that is good)
Have you ever told a lie? (yes) what does that make you? (a liar)
Have you ever stolen anything regardless of the value? (yes) what does that make you? (a thief)
You have heard it said of old, you shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said, any man who looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already in his heart. Have you ever looked with lust? (yes),
So, by your own admission, you are a lying thief and an adulterer at heart and you will have to face God one day. If God judged you based on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? (be ready because the person is going to try and justify himself. Don't let him do this) He would have to admit he is guilty of breaking God's Law. Would he go to heaven or hell? (again, he will try to justify himself and say heaven), Get him to admit he is headed for hell. Ask him if it concerns him. It should! Ask him if he knows what God did for him so he wouldn't have to go to hell. This is the point where you bring in the wonderful grace of God!
I listened to a sermon today from a large church in my hometown of Galesburg, IL. The pastor was talking about "evangelism." After talking for several minutes we realized that he was going to "go around" the issue. This is the same pastor that had a goal of wanting to reach one person per month for Christ (is that what loving our neighbor is all about??? One person! This man sees hundreds, maybe thousands of people each month and he only wants to talk to ONE person per month. Here is a man who should be so concerned for the lost that he can't help but reach everyone he can, but no, he doesn't have the "gift" of evangelism.
So while he as a pastor only wants to reach one person a month, that means only 12 people will be talked to about Jesus in one years time from a pastor. How many people do you suppose die each year in a town of 33,000 people? Are you willing to let people go to hell because "you" don't have the gift of evangelism?
Maybe you have some Mormon friends, or maybe you just have friends who figured they had plenty of time to make a "decision" for Christ, or maybe it is you that is lost. Isn't it time to be obedient to God's Word? Bill Bright says that 2% of evangelical Christians actually witness to people. I think it is time to re-evaluate that number because I am beginning to think that the number is even lower than that. Are you part of the 2% or part of the 98%? My friends are headed for hell. Please help me raise the 2% up by at least 1% more! Do it today! If you are reading this tonight, I hope and pray that it will convict you of your need to be obedient. Listen to God's calling.The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

3 comments:

stella said...

Hey! I preached to 5 guys at a pub tonight. We had a staff dinner and then the staff went to this pub just for the garden...I was like um, I don't want to just sit here. I saw some young guys sitting in a room...I asked if I could come and talk to them...they had no idea what they were in for! :)
I put a picture of the guys on my blog. Please pray for them.

Anonymous said...

The Apostle Peter says that Believers should be ready to answer those who ask for a reason for oneself's hope. It should be fair to ask Mormons to do likewise.

Sources of Mormonism's extraordinary assertions:
 "My" site (abandoned by CSU, Northridge) has assertions gleaned from books -- which were written by David A. Reed + John R. Farkas, by J. Edward Decker and Walter R. Martin -- that were obtained at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley/ L.A., CA (J.F. MacArthur, et al., www.GraceChurch.org) -- http://dailysundial.proboards30.com
My article is located at
http://dailysundial.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1177894117&page=1#1177894117

 A Mormon site lists critics against Mormonism. Mormons' retorts there might help oneself to refine one's presentation. http://www.shields-research.org = "Scholarly & Historical Information Exchange for Latter-Day Saints."

pastorbrianculver said...

thanks for the link dbug! good stuff!

have you been out lately Stella with more witnessing encounters?