Thank You, Come Again!

Last night the crew met up at the Kwik-E- Mart. This was a 7/11 in Burbank that has been redesigned for the promotion of the Simpson's movie opening. They are selling Buzz Cola, Squishees and Krusty-O's Cereal. Basically, they rebranded all the regular merchandise, added some signs and turned a regular 7/11 into a theme attraction with a half hour wait outside the door.

We showed up and started giving away dollars for Simpson's trivia questions, and led into an open air session of good ol' Law and Grace. Except for the security getting a little nervous as to what we were up to, we had a great time. It was a little slower than we were used to on a Saturday night, so after not too long, the group moved up to our regular spot in Downtown Burbank.

But, this is a great example of finding new and innovative ways to get off the couch and get out there and tell more people the truth of God's coming judgment and His immeasurable grace to all of us sinners.

End Times at Ridgemont High

Last night we happened upon a new fishing spot, the Sherman Oaks Galleria, hangout of the kids in the 1980's movie Fast Times. It has since been completely rebuilt, but it was more packed with kids than ever. Joey, Jeff, and I had at least a dozen conversations with kids. Jeff talked with a Sikh, and I met a group of four kids, one Orthodox, one Christian, one Jewish, and one Moslem. All four friends were happy to talk with me about Jesus, and even shook my hand and told me they would see me next week.

I also met a group of about 8 catholic girls who almost got my $20 by naming nine of the Ten Commandments. I didn't sense much conviction in their voices and one girl even said that she would be fine with going to Purgatory for a thousand years. After all was said and done, they still were happy to have had the conversation and everybody got a "Good Person" tract before the night was over.

Tonight, though, I am going on my farthest fishing expedition to date. I am going with my company to Jamaica for a week, and my backpack is loaded up with tracts and I have my voice recorder. Pray for me (and my family while I am gone) that I don't get arrested in a foreign country preaching the gospel, and that I reach some open hearts with the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection. I'll be back next Friday, hopefully with some recordings of conversations with Rastafarians.

Back to Burbank

Last night, the usual suspects were out. We also had several new people come out who are going through the Basic Training Course. Sherri and Moreland, both from Shepherd of the Hills got their first taste of some open air preaching, Tony Miano style, and some one to one witness encounters.

We partnered up and each new person got to be involved in witnessing with at least three experienced people. The ones that I was involved in started out pretty rough, and one young lady told me that her father was a pastor and what I was telling her about God being mad at sin was absolutely false. She got so mad she asked me to leave. The next group I talked to had Omar as their leader and in good spirits he told me that he had no reason to believe what I was saying. I was feeling pretty roughed up so I paused for a moment to talk with Joey, and as I was doing so, Omar came over to apoligize and I told him he had no reason to. We agreed that I would pray for the Holy Spirit to break his pride that was holding him back from submitting to God. Please pray for Omar as well with me.

After that, we had some great conversations, almost too many to remember. With Tony preaching and the signs up in between speaking, we had a constant flow of people willing to take the good test and many people heard the gospel last night. I pray that some of the seeds we sewed find good soil. The best part was this morning after talking with the students who came out in obedience and stepped out of their comfort zone and finding out they were just as excited as I was to make sharing their faith a regular part of their life.

Street Preaching in Vegas

Getting frustrated at talking to the air and having nobody stop while we were preaching in front of the Bellagio, I ventured to the corner stoplight and saw 50-100 people standing still for 3 minutes waiting for the light. It took me ten times to get it just right, but I got it to where I could get a complete Law/Grace presentation out before the light turned green. I recorded three of them.

Just as many will try to cross the street and enter heaven saying, "Lord, Lord", God will say, "Don't walk, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness." Here is the springboard to the best of my memory. Just as the light turns red, jump in front of the curb and speak to the people starting to gather...

Folks, welcome to Vegas. Please be careful here, as this is a dangerous intersection. We have some safety measures set up here for you. The red hand across the street actually means "Don't walk". What we are waiting for is the little white man to appear before we go. The reason I am telling you this is that in my experience, as I speak to you for the next two minutes, you might get so offended that you will be tempted to rush into oncoming traffic so you don't have to listen to me. But, please, don't kill yourself before you hear what I have to say. Speaking of death, whether a car hits you today, or you live to be a hundred, one day, the truth is that we will all be part of the ultimate statistic. Ten out of ten of us will die. And on that day, the Bible says we will be judged. If you were to be compared to me, you would probably be OK, but in reality, both of us will be judged by God's standard of perfection, the Ten Commandments. If you've ever lied, God sees you as a liar, if you've ever stolen, God sees you as a thief. If you look at all the pornographic images in Vegas and lust over them, sir, the reason your wife doesn't like you doing that is that she knows it is adultery of your heart. She is angry when you do that, and so is God. If you are angry at me right now for conronting you with this stuff, then God sees that anger as murder in your heart. You see God judges our thoughts, and not just our actions. God is so good, he is not going to let murderers in heaven. But, you see, he is so good that he will not even let liars into the kingdom. The bible says that one lie is enough to send you to a lake of fire. The good news is, folks, that you do not have to pay the penalty for your sin. Jesus Christ has already done that. If you will repent and turn from your sin, Jesus is willing to forgive you. You must place your faith in Jesus alone, and not your own efforts, and God says on that day you will be born again, passing from death to life. Folks, please consider my motives today, I'm not asking for your money. I'm merely asking you to consider repenting of your sin and putting your faith in Jesus Christ. (Keep going till the light changes) and please don't die before you repent!

Phew, it is tough to get it all out in two minutes, but it can be done. And if God blesses you with a double light cycle, you can really pour out the passion pleading with people to forsake their sin.

And, if you do it right, you can tag team with a partner and keep it up all night long. I was so blessed by this, and I pray for the hundreds of people that had that gospel seed scattered to their hearts. I pray that some of them will be planted deep and grow.

Apathy from Armenia

Tonight was another great night witnessing in Burbank. As usual, there were plenty of Armenian teenagers out at the mall. Tonight we met a new group of kids from Hollywood who came to check out the scene in Burbank. It was nice to talk to kids we haven't met before.

While very polite, tonight the theme seemed to be apathy. I would hear kids say, "Sure, that makes a lot of sense that I'm going to Hell. Oh, by the way, did you see that movie with that guy in it?" or "Yes, I totally agree that God will judge the world, but hey, should I get a tattoo?"

I got two recordings tonight. The first one was with a new guy Jeff and I witnessing to a group of teenagers. As I explained and pleaded with them to consider their eternal destination, Jeff jumped in and tried as well to shake them out of their spiritual slumber. It is crazy how I can explain it and have them understand and repeat it back to me, then in two minutes completely forget everything we have just talked about. It is like the gospel seed that falls by the wayside and doesn't find any soil to plant itself. These kids were more interested in telling me that the cross on their neck was from the first church in Armenia than actually understanding the significance of the cross itself.

Second, Joey found a group of kids to speak with. As usual with a group of kids, there were plenty that jumped in and out of the conversation, but a couple of them that stayed and participated through the whole discussion. I pray that the Lord had the ones He wanted to hear the gospel there long enough for His Spirit to minister to their hearts.

After I left, Joey spoke with a group of kids who were scientologists. He started to ask them about Xenu. They had no idea of what he was talking about. When he said that at OT3, they will be taught about Xenu, they begged him to stop. They hadn't reached that level yet and their religion forbade them from learning things out of order. They seemed genuinely scared of hearing anything that their teachers didn't allow them to hear. Joey also said that they hadn't ever heard of the Ten Commandments, or the gospel at all. A few years ago in this country that would have been unheard of. But, the day is coming when our nation's kids will be so secularized that they won't ever have heard of the Ten Commandments, let alone understand their purpose, or how they can be reconciled to a God who will use that as the standard of perfection against which we will all be judged.

Please pray for the kids we spoke to tonight. And, please consider going out yourself and making sure the people you know have had an accurate gospel presentation and have been given a chance to accept or reject the gospel of our just and merciful God.

DWP Light Festival

Tonight we stumbled upon a great event for witnessing. Each year I drive my family in the minivan through the DWP Light Festival. This year, I noticed a distinct lack of Christmas. I mean, it was always gone, but this year I really noticed it. Sure, there were elves and snowmen, and trees and snowflakes and maybe even a Santa. But, I didn't see anything relating to the true meaning of Christmas: Christ Himself.

I know this is put on by a public facility and leans toward the secular. But, I saw an opportunity for our team to spread the gospel. In addition to the normal Burbank Town Center open air preaching, we took about six of us to Griffith Park Zoo early and headed down the walking path passing out Santa bucks to passers by. We watched hundreds of cars driving at two miles per hour right past us. Eventually we got bold and stood in the oncoming traffic handing out tracts to each car. This lasted for a few minutes till the security told us we couldn't cross the barrier to the street. So, we walked a bit further down the path to the entrance where there wasn't a barrier. The guards at the front told us we could not pass out fliers. I told him that this was actually a public street and if he could show me a rule that I was breaking, I would be happy to comply. He didn't have one but called the Park Ranger to discuss it with us.

We decided to move a bit further up the line so that we wouldn't be anywhere near anyone with any aspirations of authority. The road was definitely one-way and was packed with cars, so there was no way a Park Ranger was going to just drive up to us. In fact, we saw his truck circling the area trying to figure out how to get down to us. In the meantime, we had found the perfect spot. The traffic was so slow, we could stand at the side and every single car pulled up to grab thier tract. I passed out a hundred to one hundred cars in about ten minutes.

By this time, the Ranger had figured out he was going to have to walk up to us, and did. He spoke with Chris and I and asked what we were doing. When he found out we were passing out gospel tracts, he said, "I guess I can't stop you." He said he was worried about two things. First, our safety. He made up promise not to stand in the middle of the street. We were fine on the side. Second, he was worried about slowing up traffic. I said, it couldn't go much slower than two miles per hour. But, he mainly wanted to make sure that we wouldn't get into indepth converstaions with people as they drove. We assured him we wouldn't, placed a Tony Miano tract in his hand and wished him a Merry Christmas. What a great country we live in where the police allow us to share the gospel and are concerned for our safety.

Now, with our new found freedom, we boldly passed out another 4-500 tracts each as the cars just marched by. It was great. As we ran out of tracts, we headed back up to our car and made sure to thank all the security we met for being so safety conscious and handed them all tracts as well.

This night was incredible. Every time I said, "Merry Christmas" to someone, their face lit up, as if to say, that's right, we don't have to just say Happy Holidays to people. With so much restriction in the stores, people sometimes forget that we can still freely wish people a Merry Christmas this time of year. Anyone who asked what I was giving them, I told them it was a gospel tract. They inevitably said, "Thank you!" or "God Bless You". I hope I encouraged at least a few to do something similar themselves.

The regular Burbank preaching went on as well, but tonight should serve as an example that we should always be on the lookout for new and creative ways to share our faith. Let's pray that God uses our efforts to bring some people across to a saving relationship with the 'reason for the season' himself, Jesus Christ.

Borat: Spiritual Learnings of Gospel for Make Benefit Glorious Kingdom of Heaven

Tonight, Tony did some more open air preaching. The person he is speaking to in this picture was named Borat. Borat was from India and sounded like he had at least some Hindu education. He did say that he went to church and believed in God and Jesus. Of course, the Devil and his demons "believe" in Jesus. That doesn't save anyone. Upon further questioning, Borat said that in addition to Jesus, he has made his own personal god. That is probably a sign that you are not a Christian. Tonight the gospel was preached to Borat and the crowd that gathered to listen. High Five!



As I walked around with some of the new people and found situations for some one to one witnessing, I noticed a trend. Tonight was the night of the Jehovah's witnesses. I had some teenagers who didn't want my million dollar bill, as though they knew what it was. As I pressed, they told me that they were Jehovah's witnesses. They were very nice boys, but headstrong in their convictions that to be saved, you need to walk in Jesus' footsteps, knocking on doors. I asked them how to get to Heaven, or Paradise on Earth as they refer to it, and they told me I needed to get into a yearlong Bible study. I said that if I didn't have time for that, was there any hope for me. They said, God knows your heart, and he will be able to see if you are worthy of Heaven. I agreed with him. God DOES know your heart. That is the scary thing. I showed him that we are all wicked on the inside, and we need the blood of Jesus to wash us clean before we can approach a holy, pure, perfect God. I don't think I ever got through to him, but I plead with him to read the whole Bible, and not just the parts written in the Watchtower publication. He said that the Watchtower was part of the Bible.

Another boy of thirteen came up to me after I witnessed to a group of kids who were mostly joking around. He came up afterwards and asked me to go over the gospel again. He told me that he was also a Jehovah's witness. I don't know how much effect a guy on the street in ten minutes can have over a kid being raised by JW parents, but I told him to try to remember one thing. Don't trust me. Don't trust your parents. Don't trust your priest. Trust in God's Word. Trust the Bible. I told him to compare anything he is told to what God says in the Bible. And, even if an angel comes with a different gospel, don't believe him.

Please join with me in prayer for all of these people we witnessed to tonight. As much as we are all responsible for our own choices, all three of these groups are starting off with a huge handicap by being raised in a faith that actively contradicts God's true gospel. I know that on our own, we are slaves to sin, and have no ability to pull ourselves out of the wickedness. But, the Holy Spirit can change their hearts and bring them to a saving relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ. I pray that the seeds we planted tonight will find good soil.

Children Have No Fear

Tonight was a little light, as many on the team had other commitments. But, it was still a great night. The city of Burbank had a Christmas parade, and there were hundreds of people out on the street. It was the opening of the Nativity movie and we had some gospel tracts with that theme at the ready. Also, we got to spend some good time with a regular at Burbank, a guy who sells friendship bracelets for a living. It is great that we are building relationships with people we see every week.

Tonight, I had to take the lead, as my co leaders were not there. And, I must admit, I was scared. I felt like anyone I would walk up to and start talking with would get angry with me. I was imagining them as monsters. As a coincidence, my wife brought the kids out tonight. I met up with them, and my daughter asked if she could pass out some gospel tracts to people. As I watched this seven year old boldly go up and hand strangers million dollar bills telling them that they should read the back to find out about Jesus, I suddenly got my courage back. We walked all around and passed out about one hundred tracts and had some great conversations.

Another important step is to make sure you 'pray up' before you start. When I feel fear, and stress from the week, I have to remember to stop what I am doing and pray. I need to clear my conscience by confessing my own sin and allowing me to decrease while He increases. I want people to hear His words, and not mine. When I take my ego out of sharing the gospel, then it is not my success or my failure. It is all His divine plan. Remember, we are all called to plant seeds. God will make sure they are watered and will ultimately bring them to fruition, if it is His will.

I missed Friday Night

Sometimes getting up the energy to get out there and share my faith is difficult. Especially, because with three kids and a long work week, there are plenty of excuses to do other things. I was tired on Friday, and we had a birthday party the next morning that I needed to help my wife cook and clean the house. I just read a post from Tony's blog about what happened at the mall that night. Here is one paragraph that says it all.

Still sobbing, Shirley said, “I’ve been wrong all these years! I’ve been doing it wrong all these years! I’ve never shared the gospel so straightforward, the way I just saw you share it with that boy. I’ve told people about Jesus and God’s love, jumping from place to place in the conversation, but never really getting to the point. I understand, now. I understand why I have to warn people about God’s judgment.”

Lord, forgive me for my selfishness. How can I sit around when there are others out there who are perishing. And, more important than that, there are people who are eager to get help sharing their faith and need to be shown the biblical way of doing just that. I pray that I never get so wrapped up in the world that I forget the eternal perspective. If you have a minute, go read the entire story at Tony's blog.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Here is an incredible story taken from the blog of one our team's leaders, Tony Miano...

Ithamar's Miracle of the Dead Sea

My friend, Chris Yarzab, and I have begun a discipleship and mutual accountability relationship. We meet once a week, spending the first hour discussing life and the great truths of Scripture, and the second hour engaging in one-to-one evangelism. Last night Chris and I spent our time at the Valencia Town Center—a mall that is part of the Westfield Corporation, where the gospel is anything but welcome.

Chris has been a follower of Jesus Christ for only four months. Yet he has already shared the Law (the Ten Commandments) and the gospel with more people than most professing Christians will in a lifetime. Although new to the faith, Chris is mature enough to realize that he has much to learn (as every Christian does) about biblically and tactically sharing his faith with others. So, our plan of attack was this. When we identified someone we wanted to talk to, I would make the initial contact, start the conversation, and swing the conversation from the natural to the spiritual. Once I made the transition, Chris would jump in and take the person through the “Good Test,” with the hope of sharing the Law and the gospel with them.

As Chris and I walked through the mall, we came across a kiosk selling a line of skin products called “Miracle of the Dead Sea.” Allegedly, the product line uses minerals and other properties from the Dead Sea in its skin care products. There was a young man working the kiosk—a young man who looked very bored. I pointed to the sign attached to the top of the kiosk and said, “Miracle of the Dead Sea?”

With an accent I could not immediately identify, the young man said, “It’s alive.”

“The Dead Sea is alive?” I asked.

“Yes.” He answered.

“But there are no fish in the Dead Sea.” I said.

“Yes, but there are bacteria and minerals.” He answered.

“Oh, I get it. You’re talking about micro-organisms.” I said. I pointed again at the sign and asked, “Do you believe in miracles?”

The young man quickly answered, with a subtle shake of his head and a smile. “No.”

Chris took this as his cue to ask the young man his name and if he had a Christian background. He said that he had no religious background, but he had read portions of the New Testament.

He said, “My name is difficult to pronounce in English. My name is Ithamar. I’m named after one of the sons of Aaron.”

Aaron, Moses’ brother, had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. God killed Nadab and Abihu for sinning against God by offering profane fire in the Lord’s Holy Place (Leviticus 10:1-7). Eleazar became High Priest and it was through him that the unique line for future high priests was designated (Numbers 25:10-13). Ithamar, the youngest and least known of the four brothers, was responsible for overseeing the assembly, dismantling, and maintenance of the Tent of Meeting (Numbers 4:21-33).

Chris effectively took Ithamar through the “Good Test,” helping Ithamar to see his true state before a holy and righteous God. Ithamar said that the thought of being found guilty of breaking God’s Law and sentenced to eternity in hell concerned him. It’s always so beautiful to see a person humbled by the Law of God.

Chris carefully, lovingly, and biblically shared the gospel with Ithamar. He listened intently, like a dry sponge absorbing fresh water. During the conversation, it appeared that Ithamar was confused about the place of good works, in salvation. At the next pregnant pause in the conversation, I asked Chris if I could join the conversation.

When witnessing with a partner, it is always best to allow one person to do the talking, while the other person listens, watches, and prays. This tactic is helpful in avoiding making the person to whom you are witnessing feel as though you are ganging-up on them. It helps to maintain a steady, forward-moving flow in the conversation and it helps to keep the person who is doing the witnessing from losing their train of thought.

I explained to Ithamar, that for the Christian, good works are acts of obedience to God that are performed as a result of one’s salvation, not acts that lead to salvation. I shared Isaiah 64:6 with Ithamar. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind take us away.”

I shared the “parachute” analogy with Ithamar. When I got to the part where I asked him if simply looking at the parachute under his seat, and believing that the parachute was there, would save him when the plane crashed. No.” He said. “I have to put it on.”

I could tell by the look on his face that Ithamar understood the truth behind the analogy.

Ithamar asked, “Do you believe the Old Testament?”

I explained to Ithamar that together the Old and New Testaments make up the entirety of God’s Word, and that the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. I explained that the Law of God shows mankind that God’s standard is perfection and that because every person is sinful, it is impossible for anyone to perfectly obey God’s Law. I briefly explained the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, the requirement of a blood sacrifice of a spotless lamb for the remission of sin, and how Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of that system—the Lamb of God who shed his blood to atone for man’s sin and to take upon Himself God’s wrath and our place of punishment.

“Ithamar,” I said, “The wages of sin is death. The just punishment for your sins against God is either going to be your blood or the blood of Jesus Christ, which He shed on the cross. But not only did Jesus die on the cross. He rose again and He is alive today.”

Ithamar’s eyes opened wide. The look on his face was that of a man who just heard something amazing, for the first time. Then he asked, “You mean Jesus is alive? How can that be? He died.”

I was taken aback by Ithamar’s expressions and questions. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Here we were, in Southern California, in the United States of America, talking to a young man who had never heard about the resurrection of Jesus Christ! I thought back to Ithamar’s statement at the beginning of the conversation, in which he denied the existence of miracles.

I leaned forward and whispered, “It’s a miracle.”

I spent the next few moments explaining the resurrection of Christ. Eventually I came to a point where I shared John 14:6. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”

Now it was Ithamar leaning forward and whispering. “Say it again.” He said.

I repeated the verse, a bit slower this time. I was under the impression that Ithamar didn’t understand the verse. I was wrong. Because as I recited the verse again, this time breaking up the verse into phrases, Ithamar repeated each phrase after me. He was trying to memorize the verse! When we finished saying the verse together, Ithamar tried to recite it on his own. When I saw that he was struggling to remember the entirety of the verse, I reached into my pack and removed a copy of “How To Live Forever Without Being Religious,” which contains the Gospel of John.

The book was one of several brand new, never opened copies I had in my pack. I opened the book to John 14:6. (Since my conversation with Ithamar, I’ve tried several times to open other copies of the book directly to John 14:6. I haven’t been able to do it.) Ithamar and I reacted the same way, simultaneously. “Whoa!” We said.

“You opened the book right to the verse!” Ithamar said.

“I know.” I replied. “It amazes me, too.”

Ithamar followed along as I read the verse aloud. He took a step back, nodding his head. When I tried to give Ithamar the book, he lifted his hand in front of him and said, “Oh, no. I can’t take it. It is your book.”

“It’s okay.” I explained. “I have many copies. And I brought it with me so I could give it to people I talk to—people like you, Ithamar. Please take it. It is my gift to you.”

Ithamar took the book from my hand. Handling the little book ever so gently, he placed the book in his shirt pocket. What he did next was beautiful. He slowly placed his hand over the book and his heart. “Thank you.” He said.

I told Ithamar that I might not ever see him again. I told him that Chris and I cared about him and that we cared about where he would spend eternity. Without a hint of sarcasm, Ithamar asked, “Why? Why do the two of you care so much?”

“If I know that God has saved me from the just punishment for my sins against Him,” I said, “and I know that so great a salvation is only received by those who repent of their sin and, by faith, put their trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, then how can I not tell people? If I don’t warn people about what will happen to them if they stand as guilty sinners before God, on the Day of Judgment, and if I don’t share with them the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, then I don’t really care about them.”

Ithamar nodded his head in agreement. “May I ask you something?” He asked.

“Absolutely.” I answered.

“Christianity is the largest religion in the world.” He began. “With so many Christians in the world, why aren’t there more people like the two of you doing this? Why aren’t there more people saying the things you are saying to me?”

I found it difficult to hold back the tears. There were no excuses I could make. There were no excuses I wanted to make. So I told Ithamar the truth. “Sadly, many of the people who claim to be Christians are not Christians. They might be religious, but they do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There’s a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him as Lord.

“In fact, if you read the gospels, you will find that more often than not, when Jesus talked about religion and religious people, He referred to them in a negative way. Many times He referred to them as hypocrites. In fact, Jesus said this, ‘Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

I asked Ithamar if he understood everything I had shared with him. He said that he did. I asked him if he believed what I was sharing with him was true. He again answered in the affirmative.

“Ithamar, do you understand if you died in your sins, God will judge you and find you guilty of breaking His Law?” I asked.

“Yes.” He answered.

“Do you understand that if He finds you guilty He will sentence you to eternity in hell?” I asked.

“Yes.” He answered.

“I assume you don’t want to spend eternity in hell.” I said.

Ithamar shook his head.

“Ithamar, is there any reason why you wouldn’t repent of your sin and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation?” I asked.

“No.” He answered.

“Is that something you would like to do?” I asked.

“Yes.” He answered.

“Then cry out to God.” I said. “Ask Him to forgive your sins and tell Him that you want to turn away from your sins. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Believe, by faith, that He can and will save you from His wrath to come. Commit your whole life to Him. Serve Him and follow Him all the days of your life.”

Ithamar smiled. Although I could not read his mind or his heart, I believe what I saw in his eyes and in his smile was the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit, drawing a sinner to repentance and faith. “May I ask you one more question?” He asked.

“Sure.” I said.

“What does it mean to be a fisher of men?” He asked.

What a remarkable question from a young man who, only minutes earlier, was amazed at hearing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the first time. “Among Jesus’ disciples were several fishermen—men who worked hard to catch fish, to make a living and feed their families.” I said. “Jesus taught them that more important than meeting their own physical needs was devoting their lives, in obedience to God, to the work of reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what it means to be a fisher of men. And that’s why Chris and I are here tonight.”

Ithamar shook our hands and thanked us for talking to him. We said our good-byes. Chris and I made our way toward the exit, but we had to sit down on a bench and take a moment to catch our breath and debrief. Before heading home, we spent some time in prayer praising God for what He allowed us to do, and for allowing us to watch Him work. We also prayed that Ithamar would not pass a restful night until he did, in fact, repent before God and put his faith in Jesus Christ alone.

What started out as a conversation with a young man who didn’t believe in miracles, ended with what appeared to be a miracle in the making. It wasn’t the miracle of the Dead Sea. But maybe it was the miracle of a sinner being drawn to repentance and faith. I pray that it was.

Burbank Fishing

Tonight, Tony took the night off so we had no open air preaching. We paired up and went back to our roots of just finding people to talk to and engaging them in spiritual conversations. With the luxury of a crowd gathering to talk gone, we had to actually work again. But, the Lord was faithful and gave us many people to talk to .

I found another group of Armenian teenagers willing to talk. This time, the girls were very willing to tell me about how they were such good people because they went to church and gave money to the poor. After a few questions about lying, and explaining that taking music from the Internet that you didn't pay for is stealing, and asking about blasphemy we didn't have to go much further. The few in the group that were actually paying attention to me were stopped by the Law. They realized that just growing up in a Christian household did not make them right with God. They wanted to find out about how to get forgiven.

I asked them what happened two thousand years ago... What did God do so they don't have to go to hell? They said, "He built a church for us to go to?" Well, He built His church upon His Son, Jesus. It's scary how many times I talk to people who are being raised in a church who have no idea why Christ died on the cross. After explaining it, they really understood and wanted me to make sure to tell their friends. I spoke with another two of their friends who they were sure wouldn't sit still for an explanation of God's Law and grace. I was surprised, but they sat through the whole thing and had many questions for me. God is good. I know it is tough to sit still and listen to some guy talking about spiritual things when you are at the mall with your friends. But, I pray that the seeds I planted tonight are watered and ultimately bring forth fruit for His glory.

Please pray for these kids and for everyone that we witnessed to tonight. I might never meet them again in this life. But, I would love to meet them in Heaven and hear of the great things they did for the Lord while they were here on Earth.

Preaching to the Choir

Tonight we went out to our normal spot in Burbank Town Center to do some open air preaching and witness one to one to as many people as we can. We are having about ten to twenty conversations each in one night, and if we have about ten or twenty regulars we are getting the gospel individually to almost four hundred people in just under three hours. I pray that the Holy Spirit is able to send people to water the seed and ultimately see the fruit of salvation to His glory. We are just trying to be faithful and plant the seeds.

I had the whole family with me tonight, so I couldn't stay as long as I usually do, nor could I make an audio recording of a witness encounter. But, I did end up speaking with a few people that stuck out to me. There are many kids we speak to in Burbank that are from an Armenian background and attend a church of that culture. Similar to Catholic and Orthodox (and most other religions, actually) I see many people who are basically a "cultural" Christian. They consider themselves part of the religion because their family is a part of it. But, they have no idea what the beliefs are, nor do they attempt to practice them. I see many of them wearing big crosses around their neck, but don't have any idea why Jesus died on that cross.

But, tonight, I met a couple of young ladies who were genuinely interested in what we were doing. She thought it was great because she was already a Christian, from the Armenian Church, and wanted to find out about sharing her faith with people. I thought that was great and I asked her what she would share with me if I wanted to find out how to become a Christian. What would I need to do to be saved. She told me that she would have me say "the prayer". Intrigued, I asked what "the prayer" was. She told me that she forgot. I asked if all I had to do was repeat something and that would be good enough. She said, basically I needed to be reconciled with God for my sin. My what? Um, your sin, you know, what you inherited from Adam and Eve. Unless I get reconciled, God is going to punish me for what two people I never met did thousands of years ago??? That doesn't sound fair. And, it didn't.

I said, "Here is a better way to convey our need for reconciliation." I asked her if she had ever told a lie. Yes. Ever stolen? Yes. Blasphemed? Lusted? Called her brother an idiot? Yes, Yes, Yes. OK, then I asked her if she had a conscience. I mean, does she know right from wrong. Yes. Ok, so every time you commit these wrongs, you do it with full knowledge and do it anyway. Wow, yes. So, you are responsible for your own sin, and you should be the one to pay the penalty. Yes.

Ok, now the fact that Jesus took that penalty, death, upon Himself to show God's mercy makes it a little more personal. It makes more sense. She was stunned and said that she wished I could come speak at her church. I told her that she would be more than capable of telling everyone the Good News. I gave her some stuff to read, some stuff to listen to and encouraged her to ask questions. Get that scripture in your heart and God can use you to tell everyone in all places at all times the reason for the hope within you.

It encourages me so much to see people who are saved and looking for a clear way to share their faith with others. Just a few months ago, I was that same person. I heard a clear presentation of Law and Grace and I have not been the same since. There isn't a person I see walking by that I don't in my heart wonder if they have had a chance to make a decision for God. It is hard to sit around wasting time knowing that most people who are just outside your door have never had a chance to hear of the justice and the mercy of our Creator. I encourage you to get out there and start sharing your faith. It is like eating potato chips... I bet you can't tell just one!

Look and Listen

Click on this thumbnail to see the latest pictures from our Friday night witnessing.


Big night in Burbank - everyone getting some great one on one witnessing in. The audio this week is Dru witnessing to Laura, who was raised a Mormon. She never really had any concern for her eternal destiny, as she figured she was good enough to get to the "middle" heaven reserved for people who didn't kill a lot of people. I don't think I ever got through to her, but I tried to plant the seed. Please pray for Laura, and for all Mormons, who don't understand the true nature of God's justice, bringing them to repentence and faith in Jesus, who shows them the true nature of God's mercy.

Stand Up - Speak Up - Shut Up

Well, two out of three aint bad. Tonight we had a great heckler. He got so agitated he spun himself into a fury that drew at least a hundred people over to see if he was going to blow up. It was great. A good heckler will stand up (not be scared), speak up (so the crowd can hear and be interested), and then shut up (so we can preach the gospel to everyone). Well, we need to train our heckler a little better because he really didn't want to stop speaking once he got a taste of it.

Tony was taking a young lady through the "Good Test" and in the middle of it, this guy started yelling about which Bible we were using, and how did we justify forcing our opinions on everyone. Interesting, as he was the one yelling his opinion at us. We kept an eye out for safety, as you never really know what someone is capable of. As the crowd grew, and Tony was speaking over him to make sure everyone heard the complete gospel, I started to engage this guy. I gave him the attention he wanted, and spoke softly. He came over to me so I could hear him, and I kept speaking to him moving to the side of the crowd. He followed and I ended up having a great conversation with him and his friends. One young lady whose first language was Greek said she moved over to Buddhism from Christianity, as she felt that even though she respected Jesus, she thought we all were going to have to suffer for our own mistakes. She and I saw eye to eye a little better than her heckler friend. She was able to keep him calm enough to hear me present the Gospel one more time calmly and completely. I left them shaking hands and pleading with them to consider letting Jesus pay for their sin rather than stand before a God who is angry at sin. The Bible doesn't say, "If you make mistakes, you will come back in the next life as a dishwasher so you can learn your lesson." It says that it is appointed ONCE for man to die, and then comes judgment.

As I looked up, I noticed that out of the hundred people that got to hear Tony open air preach, at least thirty or so were still around engaging those in our group in one to one conversations. I heard at the end that we passed out over five hundred gospel tracts and got bibles into the hands of many who asked.

Some other happenings of note: Spencer, who is sixteen, pictured here, got up on the box and preached to the crowd for the very first time. This is a kid who is not allowed to drive after 11pm due to California law and needed to get driven home, but was out here brave enough to preach the Gospel to a crowd of people he doesn't know. I thank God for his heart and his boldness. It is a tough skill to get up and draw a crowd and keep them standing there engaged while you present the Law and Grace.

Also, the Scientologists were next to us again. This time I engaged them very politely. They were a couple that had started into Scientology in 1974, and were very deep into it at OT3, if you know what that means. I asked them about Xenu and they feigned ignorance. I would have respected them more if they admitted knowing what I was talking about and told me it was a lie. But, they kept saying that they had no idea what I was referring to. Basically, the Xenu story explains the origins of their religion and explains that Judaism and Christianity were made up to trick people. Since they didn't admit to that story, and they contended that Scientology did not negate the possibility of Christianity being true, I explained quickly about the Law of God and His grace, and I left them with a detailed tract that they could read afterward. They were very nice and we said we would speak again if I see them in a few weeks.

Tonight, Ian and his wife got the microphone and recorded a one to one conversation with a couple who were professing Christians. They asked them how they would explain the gospel to someone who had never heard it. Listen for yourself to see how it turned out.

Fishing in the Rain

Tonight it was raining in Burbank, so we moved into the mall. There were relatively few of us out tonight, so it was easy to blend in and speak to people one to one. Joey actually did get stopped by a security guard but after talking to the head of the security department, was told that he was not breaking any rules and was absolutely allowed to start conversations with people. They even offered to help Joey file a complaint against the one guard. Of course, he didn't do that.


I spoke with a kid who had been living on the streets of Burbank for ten years and told me he was 'born again'. He said that by having faith in God he would be saved. But, he couldn't really explain what that meant, or exactly what that faith would produce. He was doing drugs, and was hurting his body in other ways and when I offered him a bible, he said that he wasn't able to read it without falling asleep. I spent some time with him and pray that he doesn't end up one of the people crying out Lord, Lord, only to be sent away.

Back outside, it was a little slow, but I actually had a few great conversations with groups of kids. As usual, there were plenty of kids joking around and coming in and out of the conversation, but one or two in each group sat there focused till the end and I left them with something to read. One kid kept coming back trying to get $20 for memorizing the Ten Commandments. I told him that I was not going to pay him to call his friend and write them down and come read them to me. In fact, I gave him a list of them to keep for himself. He still kept coming back trying to show my that he could memorize them. At first I was trying to ignore him, but after he kept coming back, I realized that he really wanted to talk. It was not about the money. After memorizing them, we went through them and I explained the ones that he didn't understand, and I explained how Jesus maginified them and judges our hearts and not just our actions. At the end, he understood why we were out there speaking about God's law and pleading with them to get right with God while He is still patient with us. When God pours out His wrath on sin, I begged him to place his faith in Jesus to take that punishment and not be in a position to take it himself.

Please pray that each of the people that heard the gospel tonight keep those words in their heart so the Holy Spirit can go to work on them when they are not distracted by the peer pressure of being with their friends. I thank God for giving me the heart to get out of the house on a Friday night in the rain and for entrusting me with the precious gift of the gospel and the commandment to bring it to all the world.

Friday Fishers

Open Air Extraordinaire

The group is growing each week as new people join up. We have a lot of new people hearing about what we do and coming along. Many are just starting out and have no idea how to start a conversation with a stranger and lead them through the Law and Grace. A big part of the night was pairing up with various people and letting them watch a witness encounter. Tonight's podcast is one where I took Andre around and we found a group of kids. I opened with a variation of the Name Ten Get Twenty game and in about nine minutes stopped their mouths with the Law and had them sitting there stunned as they learned of God's mercy. It sounded too easy, but it was basically the only recording I got as the next three groups I talked to either weren't interested or ended up having their rides pick them up in the middle of the conversation. One lady, in fact, as I got to the end of the good test was so convicted, she swooped up her three teenage kids with a, "Come on, boys, I've heard enough. Let's get out of here." Even when people couldn't stay to the end, either with a one to one, or an open air preacher, I make sure to get a "Good Person" tract into their hands so they can read it in private later. Sometimes pride is too much for a person to overcome and even though I am presenting the harsh truth, I leave room for the person to escape if they are really through with the conversation. It is not me that will ultimately convert anyone. It is God, using His Spirit, through His Word.

Open air is definitely becoming a regular part of our week. We are blessed with such a great location that is very friendly to us setting up and preaching. Tony Miano has a lot of great props, including a stand with some very nice signs to get people's attention. He also has many bears donated from the Children's Hunger Fund that we can use to gather a crowd. I was the first one up on the box tonight, and I felt pretty good about it. But, I am still learning, and I need to get better at gathering a crowd and keeping my volume up so everyone can hear me. The great thing about being part of a team is that I can get feedback and learn from everyone. Tonight also, there was a table next to us with Scientologists promoting their religion. There were no conflicts between the groups, as they were very quiet. I was surprised, but neither group went up to the other. It was very apparent, though, that while they had two people sitting at their table listening to what they had to say, there were hundreds of people gathered around our preaching and witnessing. God is certainly in control and can sway the hearts of men. I thank God that we are blessed with the feet to carry us to the streets, the mouths to proclaim His Gospel, and the hearts that have been softened by His Grace to have compassion for a lost and dying world.

Tag Team Evangelism

Tonight, we had a nice group at Burbank Town Center. All the regulars were there. I met a gentleman named Russel from Hollywood during the boot camp and he wanted to join us to see how we did our open air preaching. Also, a young man, Brook, joined us. I had met him before in Simi Valley, and he usually goes to 3rd Street Promenade. He was relatively inexperienced and I paired up with him for some one to one. The audio this week is of Brook speaking with Yvette. She, while very nice, was quite a challenge, and it was all I could do to not jump in and rescue Brook. But, he did really great and stepped right up to the challenge. After getting knocked around a bit he asked me to step in. I wrapped it up with Yvette, who thought her plans were to just see a movie tonight. The Law did its work and closed her mouth and she left with something to really think about. One of the great things about pairing up is that we get to learn from our experience while having someone to bail us out if it gets too difficult.

Before that, Tony got up and preached open air using some stuffed animals to draw a crowd. There were really a lot of people gathered and we could have used some more witnessers to speak to all the people who were standing around. I got pulled aside to speak with a guy who, though open minded, admitted to me that he thought he was God. I said that I wasn't shocked as most people essentially believe the same thing. We sparred for about 20 minutes and shook hands and parted amicably. I told him that his pride would keep him from bending his knee to the Truth. I pray that it was just his youth that let him hold on to his silly ideas. I pleaded with him to observe the creation as proof of the creator, and his conscience as the creator reaching out to give him some light. If he would just respond to that light then God would reveal himself directly through the Bible. I don't think I got through, but I definitely gave him the Law and the Gospel, so he is without excuse. Men know the truth, but they supress it because they love their sin. With the Word of God now in his mind, pray that the Holy Spirit works on his heart tonight.

I have missed a few days writing here just trying to catch my breath after the boot camp, but I think I am back, renewed with energy and zeal to seek out and save the lost. Please pray for endurance so we can all run the race as to get the prize, and pray for all that heard the Gospel tonight.

Open Air in Burbank

The evangelism team returned to the Burbank Town Center on Friday, for another evening of open-air preaching and one-to-one evangelism. About fifteen members of the team were present, along with a few new friends.

The crowd was a little lighter than last week. Even so, more than 100 people heard the preaching of the Law and the gospel.

Joey gathered the team and put out a challenge/encouragement everyone. Whoever open-air preached for the first time, one person would receive an Evidence Bible and one person would become the proud owner of Joey's milk crate. Matt and Jeff answered the challenge and open-air preached for the very first time.

Tony started the evening with a session of open-air preaching. He used a game of trivia, with the prizes being dollar bills (donated by the team) and stuffed animals (donated by Children's Hunger Fund) to draw a crowd.

The crowd was attentive, and a man by the name of Ron stepped forward to take the "Good Person Test." Ron admitted that he was/is guilty of breaking God's Law and he would spend eternity in hell. He also acknowledged that the thought of facing God's wrath and judgment concerned him. Tony then took him, and the rest of the crowd through the gospel.

Once he finished preaching, Tony spent some time with Ron and his friend, Shakel, going over the Law and the gospel again. Shakel is a professed Christian who said he had grown up in the church, converted to Islam, left Islam, and was born again last December. Although he spoke the Christian language, Tony wasn't sure if Shakel was saved. Both men received Evidence Bibles, Hell's Best Kept Secret CD's, and True and False Conversion CD's.

Matt, Jeff, and Joey each open-air preached. Joey took a woman (who was present with her young daughter) through the "Good Person Test." By the time Joey finished preaching, the woman expressed her desire to get right with God by repenting of her sin and putting her trust in Christ alone for her salvation.

Throughout the evening, the entire team was engaged in outstanding (and sometimes lengthy) conversations with the unsaved. Dozens of people (Jews, agnostics, scientists, professing Christians, young, middle aged, and seniors) heard the Law and the gospel during these one-to-one and small group conversations. Tony brought out his evangelism display boards, which helped a number of team members to initiate conversations with lost people. One such instance was when Mike (a friend of Tony) took someone through the "Good Person Test" for the very first time!

During the evening, the team met Pastor Ed and Sarah from Pasadena Church of the Nazarene. Apparently, Burbank Town Center is Pas-Naz's regular fishing pond. Pastor Ed asked if he could pray for us at the end of the evening.

Burbank Town Center continues to prove to be a good fishing hole. The Lord, gracious and sovereign, provided the spot, the bait & tackle, and the fish--plenty of fish. To Him be the glory forever and ever!

Chaplain Tony Miano

Ten-Four Ministries

www.TenFourMinistries.org

Preaching to the Choir

Tonight, the whole group showed up to the Burbank Town Center. Until we get Northridge resolved, this looks like our new fishing spot. It is basically an outdoor mall with plenty of public sidewalk space and the fields are full of people coming and going to shops, restaurants and theaters.

Tony was the bold one tonight and stood up on a bench and did some open air preaching. Except for one lady that was really agitated (and acting as if she was demon possessed) doing calisthenics screaming out random things, the rest of the crowd was absolutely enraptured. I saw nobody heckling, and after Tony stopped, the crowd actually rushed him to shake his hand. I've never seen open air go like that. Usually the crowds do not want to hear the gospel proclaimed.

I'd say there were at least thirty of us all totalled, and we probably needed more considering there were over one hundred people standing around listening waiting to ask questions. As soon as he finished, we were overwhelmed with people to talk with. Many people were Christians, but had never imagined themselves standing up and sharing the gospel with strangers. We loaded them up with copies of "Hell's Best Kept Secret" books and CDs. Everywhere I looked there were people either sharing or listening to a presentation of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

After a while, the crowds thinned out and we spread out to find people on benches and standing around. Many of the people we approached had already spoken with someone, but they were happy to talk with us. Many people actually asked us to come back next Friday. I didn't get up to preach open air, but I have the feeling that I will be doing that very soon. In two weeks, the Evangelism Boot Camp is coming up and I should be more prepared to preach after that. I am going to get a video copy of Tony preaching to put up here for everyone to see, but till I get that figured out, the podcast for this week will be the second part of Tony's sermon from a couple weeks ago.