Bezeugen BLOG

The Psalm 119 conference and the 500 brought a number of people into town that enjoy going out onto the streets to preach. Since we often go to the Dallas West End DART train station at lunch, we went, and invited a number of others to join us. We ended up with more than ten of us at the DART station. Due to my work schedule, I was only able to for an hour before heading back to work. However, Duane, Robert, Mike, Tim and others stayed longer. The Gospel was preached. Many one on one conversations were had. All totaled by the time Duane and Robert left at 5PM, probably 1,000 Gospel tracts had been distributed. It was a real blessing to be on the streets with all of these Godly men.

As the summer is hear and we have plenty of opportunities with the nice weather to go back to this location, it seems it will be one of our regular fishing holes.

For nearly a year, I’ve been participating in Project Ezra. On Easter Sunday, Pastor Ben started coming with me. It has been such a blessing to be able to read God’s Word together in the open air. This week Duane Seaberg is visiting. The three of us met at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. For an hour we read and expounded on Bible passages. We also handed out bottles of water and Gospel tracts. We got to have several one on one conversations. One guy we talked too was a recent convert to Christianity. He expressed interest in learning how to share the Gospel. A young woman who heard us talking with him came to talk to us as well. She asked us “the best way to share your testimony?” We explained that it needs to be done in the context of the Law and Gospel and also invited her to the training seminar.

In the afternoon, we went out to Frisco where the Rough Riders were playing a baseball game. The game had started at 2PM. We planned out arrival for about 4:30. When we got there, there was a trickle of people coming out of the stadium. I suppose the Rough Riders were considerably behind and hence people were leaving early. We set up the box on the corner and Duane started preaching while I handed out tracts. We alternated turns on the box and handing out tracts.When the game was over there was a big wave of people leaving. When that crowd passed, we packed up our stuff and headed to the car.

At that point we went back to the Nature preserve. We handed out the rest of the bottles of water that we had packed that morning. We read and preached on John 4 to explain to people why we had the bottles of water. Then we read and expounded on 1 John. At that point the water was gone and it was time for dinner. So we called it a day.

Following the Psalm 119 conference, Transplant Ministries and Lost Cause Ministries hosted the Five Hundred. The idea is to get 500 Christians onto the streets of the city on the same night. There were about 120 participants that went out to witness at four venues:

• Southlake Square
• Sundance Square 
• Fort Worth Stock Yards
• Dallas West End

Byron, Tyler and I co-lead the group to the Dallas West End. Following a short briefing in Keller, we were supposed to meet in Dallas at 6:45. When we arrived at 6:20, there were already about 15 of our team members waiting for us. That was really encouraging that they were there and ready to go. Since many of them had not eaten dinner yet, we decided to brief the group, pray and get started a few minutes early. After prayer, some went to eat dinner and the rest started witnessing. More members of the group arrived for the next 20-30 minutes. We were also blessed to meet up with four guys who witness regularly in the West End.

We set up our main station at the corner of Corbin and Market. During the entire evening we always had someone stationed in this area. We had a box setup for open air preaching. A number of us preached from this area. At one point, an angry agnostic was questioning me while I preached. That heckling drew in a good sized crowd. Eventually, he went away frustrated. His question revolved around foolish things like what was the date that God created the earth. I pointed him to Acts 17 that the time of ignorance is passed.

Others in the group went to the DART station and some others went over to the Bodies exhibit. Ellen handed out her fist Gospel tract! That is awesome. Stepping out of her comfort zone. Our youngest son, Brendan, got up on the box and read two Gospel tracts. That was really cool to see him be excited to share the Gospel in the open air. LeeAnn was out on the streets for the first time. She spent a long time speaking with a woman who could not see very well LeeAnn did a great job speaking with her by reading a Gospel tract to her to since the woman was unable to read it. Way to go, LeeAnn!

At 9PM we meet back at our meeting point, shared our experiences and then prayed. This may be the start of a new West End outreach group. There were a number of people in the group that indicated an interest in coming back out at least once a month. We will be working on organizing these outreaches in the coming months. It was a pleasure to be part of this event. I look forward to additional 500 outreaches.

Once we had wrapped up, we realized there was a deep need right before us. We spoke with a man named Joseph, He was on dialysis and had just gotten out of jail. He needed to get back home to Arkansas to continue his dialysis. We were able to provide him food, water and a bus ticket. In so doing we provided him a stack of Gospel tracts and watched him hand them out at the bus station. While at the bus station we were able to witness to a number of people as well.

On Friday and Saturday we attended the Psalm 119 conference on discernment in Keller, Texas that was put on by Todd Friel and Wretched TV. The conference was very well attended. My guess is that there were about 800 people there. The speakers included

• Todd Friel
• Peter Hammond
• Phil Johnson
• Justin Peters
• Paul Taylor
• Emilio Ramos
• Trisha Ramos

In addition to these speakers, worship was lead by Go Fish.

There was so much great teaching that it is hard to point out any one thing that was the highlight. So, I’ll point out a few things. First, Justin Peters sessions on the Word of Faith movement were extremely timely for me. Thus, they really stick out to me as a highlight of the conference. He makes a good point that not everything that a false teacher says is wrong. But, if the teacher has truth mixed with heresy then we need discernment to tell the difference. Bottom line – test everything against the scriptures.
Secondly, Phil Johnson spoke one session about modern issues like contextualization. Again, this is something that I’d been discussing recently with someone so it was of particular interest to me.
Finally, a huge highlight was seeing some friends that live out of town and meeting some friends for the first time that I had previously only known on Facebook.
It is my understanding that the audio of the sessions will be available later this year from Wretched.

On Thursday night about 20 of us meet outside of the Dallas Convention Center where Benny Hinn was having a service. Benny Hinn is a leader in the Health and Wealth (prosperity movement) which teaches a number of things that are contrary to the Word of God. A large portion of the group was preaching near one of the entrances to the Convention Center. As people were coming, we also were handing out tracts and having some one on one conversations with the people that were attending the service.

Eventually, the police came and asked us to move to the other side of the street. This was odd, since they would not indicate that we had actually done anything wrong. We complied, moved across the street and continued preaching.

Myself and Duane Seaberg wondered down the street and found another spot to preach from. Along the way we spoke with a group of people that were going to the service. We had a short discussion with them and warned them about Hinn being a false prophet. We also had a short conversation with a devout Jew.

Following that, we went up on a hill and Duane, Kevin and I each preached the Gospel.

I thought he was on the trip to produce our film about AIDS Orphans but apparently he fell ill during the trip.  He is in the hospital with typhoid and malaria.  He has to pay for each day in the hospital plus any drugs or other medication used. The cost will be several hundred dollars.  This is an urgent plea for funds to you and to all those you know. 

Dear Friends of Moses;

 I am afraid that I do not have good news.  Moses returned home but did not improve.  They have admitted him to another hospital.  The family is out of money, even for food.  The hospital will not provide the needed medicines until they are paid for.  It seems the first hospital did not provide the medicine that they said they provided.

We have no idea of how horrible the medical care can be in some third world country.  I would suggest thay we also add our country’s health care system to our prayer list.  If we degenerate, we could see the same sort of problems here.

I have included a couple of emails from Moses’ brother, Arthur, so you will get the true sense of what is going on.

I know that I keep asking and I am so proud of you that you keep responding with giving.  May I ask you once again to dig deep?  This may well be his life we are talking about.

Pastor Steve

Dear Pastor Steve! My Brothers health is scaring us. for a couple of days after leaving the hospital hea semmed as though he was recovering but for the last two days he is complaining of severe Headache, stomachache followed by diarrhoea. this morning he resumed Vomiting he has no apetite and feels so weak. 

Good Morning Pastor Steve!

Hello brother’s & sisters in Christ,

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith & that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not works lest anyone should boast” Ephesians 2:8,9.

 I have noticed in my study of God’s word that very often, if not always, when we see a promise or blessing of God it is connected to a corollary condition that secures the legitimacy of that promise or blessing in a person’s life. Here are some examples for your edification. I will use a (P), for promise & (C) for condition.   

 Romans 8:1(P)” There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are (C) in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” 

Colossians 1:21-23 (P) ” And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (C) – if in-deed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.”

2nd Peter 1 8-10 (P)” For these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (C) Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these thing you will never stumble.”

1st Corinthians 15:1,2 (P) ” Moreover, brethren I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, (C) if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”

John 15 :7 (C) ” If you abide in Me and My words abide you, (P) you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.”

1st John 2:3-6 (P)”Now by this we know that we know Him,(C) if we keep His commandments. He who says he know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. (P) But whoever keeps His word truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (C) He who says that he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

 Finally, the age old debate. If you are saved, are you always saved? Do you have eternal security? It is the once saved always saved question. The answer is yes. The condition is, if you are truly saved. This question comes from this passage in John. Notice the condition. John 10:27-28  (P)” My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, (C) and they follow Me. (P) “And I give them eternal life and they will never perish; neither will anyone snatch them out of My hand.“

 I want to conclude by leaving you with this disclaimer. In every one of these examples where we see a condition that secures the legitimacy of the promise in an individual’s life. Never,ever is the condition the means of receiving the promise or blessing. The condition is the evidence of receiving the promise or blessing. It is the manifestation and the work of the Holy Spirit of God – working in one’s life. So lets go back to our 1st verse in Ephesians 2:8, 9 and add verse 10. (P) ” For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.” For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus (C) for good works, which God had prepared beforehand that we might walk in them.

 In closing, let’s not assume that an individual is a Christian just because he or she says so. If Christ has really taken up residence in a person, you will see the manifestation of a work of the Spirit in that person. You will see a changed life. Otherwise, we would have to conclude that Christ is not a wonderful Savior. Sanctification is a part of  salvation; as a process, while we are still in this body. We know that Christ is a wonderful Savior! Therefore, if one claims to know Christ and there is no evidence of salvation or sanctification. Who is responsible? There are only 2 options. The individual or Jesus. We know that Jesus is our great Savior and He will complete the work of sanctification in a true believer. Therefore, we can be sure that if a person is truly saved and knows Christ, we will see he or her change in a way that will glorify God. 

 2nd Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new.”         

Bezeugen Ministries is an ally of Living Waters Ambassadors Alliance. As such, we subscribe to the foundational messages of Living Waters known as Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversions. In order that we are of one accord when we are witnessing on the streets, we ask all those who go out to evangelize with us to listen to these messages and then indicate that you are in agreement with them.

Please click the links below to listen to each message.

Once you have listened to these messages, please contact Carl with an email indicating you have listened to the messages, agree with them and a short testimony of your conversion to Christ. Thanks!