Half Formed in the image of the Lord

I think I may say to every person whom I am addressing: if you are saved, the work is only half done until you are employed to bring others to Christ. You are but half-formed in the image of your Lord. You have not attained the full development of Christ's life in you unless you have begun in some feeble way to tell others of the grace of God. I trust that you will find no rest for your feet till you have been the means of leading many to that blessed Saviour who is your confidence and hope. His word is "Follow Me, not merely that you may be saved, not even that you may be sanctified;" but "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Be following Christ with that intent and aim. Fear that you are not perfectly following Him unless in some degree He is making use of you to be fishers of men. The fact is, that every one of us must take to the business of man-catching. If Christ has caught us, we must catch others. If we have been apprehended of Him, we must be his constables, to apprehend rebels for Him. Let us ask Him to give us grace to go fishing... C.H. Spurgeon from "The Soul Winner".

A Tale of 2 Mexicans

On Friday of last week while on Grafton Street at about 1 am (Saturday therefore) 2 Mexican guys approached me as I held the large “John 3:7” sign. One was very talkative and as soon as I said that Jesus said “You must be born again” and explained the simple meaning of this he began to attempt to justify himself by means of his religious tradition. As the discussion progressed it became clear to me that this person had never experience the reality of Jesus and so I declared that He was with us and that if either of them had any sickness Jesus could touch them and heal them now. As soon as I said this the 2nd Mexican, who had been virtually silent up to this time, said that he had a bad back and that he would like prayer. I laid my hand on his shoulder and asked Jesus to touch him and instantly, without prompting, he looked amazed and said the pain had gone.

While he was still wide eyed and moving his back to be sure of his healing the first chap continued in his own justification as before. I was amazed that the healing of his friend by Jesus had so little impact on him, but I remembered that when Jesus healed the sick as recorded in the gospels some of the religious had such hard hearts that they wanted to have him arrested and put away. This spoke to me about hard hearts and that when people have lots of questions these same questions may not be roadblocks to the faith they’d like to have but may be diversionary tactics to avoid the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Thank God not all have such hard hearts.

Video is online!!

Better late than never!! Look at my sidebar for the "Street Outreach" video link. Hope you all enjoy it and don't forget to post a comment! Better still meet me on Friday night at the top of Grafton Street from 11pm to 2am. Anthony.

Is the John 3:7 outreach under threat?

Is the John 3:7 outreach under threat? I don’t know but I do know that evangelism will never cease as long as pre-believers exist. Sometimes people say that your faith is a private matter and you should not be trying to convince others of your beliefs. Hogwash. If somebody is going to die because of your inaction, and you knowingly do nothing, you could be charged with negligence in a court of law. Jesus not only loves the world but gave His life for all the people in it. To keep this message to oneself is hardly His plan.

Oh yes that scary pic at the top is a view of my left eye taken on tuesday after I whacked it with a "John 3:7" board on Fri night last. No permanent damage guys but lots of pain, hospital visits and drops! Now I know what it means to be the apple of God's eye!!

A fisherman doesn’t go fishing in his bathtub

A fisherman doesn’t go fishing in his bathtub. If he expects to catch fish, he casts in his net OUT WHERE THE FISH ARE, away from the house, out in the streams, lakes and waterways of the wilderness.
A farmer doesn’t harvest grain in his dining room. If he expects to reap the ripened grain, he must wield his sickle through the heat of the day, OUT WHERE THE GRAIN IS RIPE, away from the house, out in the broad fields where the grain stands ripe unto harvest.
A soulwinner doesn’t win souls only inside the church building. If he expects to reap the lost he must carry his witness OUT WHERE THE SINNERS ARE, away from the sanctuary, out in the markets, on the streets, in jails, hospitals, houses of prostitution, in the homes of sinners out among the people where the lost souls are. This is evangelism!

Extract from “Soulwinning – Out where he sinners are” by T.L. Osborn

It failed and a child of God was born again.

Tom was on vacation in Dublin and at 1am last night as he strolled up Grafton street he asked me why I was holding a “John 3:7” sign and what did it mean. He was undeterred by another gent, highly intoxicated with spirit of many type bar the Holy One! After speaking briefly about the need to be born again I asked if he had friends who were belivers and he said he knew some. I then asked why he himself had not trusted Jesus. He couldn’t answer but now expressed a willingness to repent and ask Jesus into his life as Lord and Saviour. As the moment of prayer approached the intoxicated one was now so loud and blasphemous that he was “street preaching” his demonic terrade. The enemy was stirred and was fruitlessly but desperatly trying to distract from the sanctity of the moment when a sinner was humbled and ready to accept Jesus. It failed and a child of God was born again. All praise and thanks belongs to the King of Kings who utterly defeated every Demon at Calvery. Tom is now on a flight back to Florida, the new Tom I mean. Tom was one of 8 last night who invited Jesus in. We were privaliged to be joined by some new evangelists from Core and Every Nation Churches. This 11pm-2am Friday night Grafton Street outreach has changed me and is a move of God that is happening between churches. Ring Shane O’Brien 086 3032576 or myself Anthony Brabazon 087 9795454 for more details.

Why ain’t we in heaven yet?

God’s plan was for His people to go and not to wait. Yes they were told to wait until… until what? Until the promise from the Father would be sent to empower them to GO in His name and in His power. I do believe all Christian churches should create a welcoming atmosphere for pre-believers but I believe more that believers should Go and preach to all creation. Matthew recorded Jesus saying “Go and make disciples of all nation” but Mark recorded Him saying “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation”. Believe me there is nothing more fulfilling as a believer than sharing your faith and seeing others accept Jesus into their hearts… It’s why we are still here!

Grafton Street 1.30 am Saturday

What started out as a chance encounter with Declan Harvey and Derek Doran at Trinity Church resulted in my going out at 11pm to meet Shane O’Brien and his team of evangelists on Grafton Street last night. We held large “John 3:7” signs and simply waited. All night long people approached us and asked “what does this mean?”, and then “What does it mean to be born again?”. It was an evangelist’s heaven and the night saw 6 people pray to receive Jesus and many others witnessed to. No prizes for guessing where you can find me between 11 and 2 next Friday night! I pray that my wife can make it too somehow.

Yes God heals Today!

Jesus Christ healed the sick virtually everywhere he went during his ministry years on earth. Of course there was his hometown where the unbelief of the people somehow managed to reduce (but not eliminate) the number of miracles He did.

Skip forward 2,000 years approx to Celtic Tiger Ireland and guess what - He's still at it through His people and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was outrageous that He told His friend some day that it'd be better for him to depart so the Promise of the Father, namely the Holy Spirit could come...and come He did at Pentecost! Yes there are still those "home towns of unbelief" i.e. places where His people should know better, yet despite the limitations on miracles brought about by unbelief He can still operate although in a reduced capacity.

Take God at his word I say. Read Isaiah 53 and 1Peter 2:24, learn how He bore sickness as well as sin and how we can gain both benefits by belief. He loves you. Ant

An Outragous thought!

"Be Holy for I am Holy" God said. Yet some find this impossible. Not so if we ask Him to help us. It's an absolute zoo out there in the fallen world. Drug and alcohol abuse are shocking as is the absolute futility of the lives of the vast majority. Is this what people were created for? Hardly. Let me propose the outragous thought that you and I were created for a relationship with our creator. We all dream of heaven yet we need transformation from above if we are to have a hope of getting there. That's the very thing Jesus promises to any who will sincerely call on Him. Try it!

"where have the miracles gone?"

I've heard it said that we should not expect much propesies today and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are also not for today. I can well understand if some believers do not see such gifts in operation but to then try and shoehorn theology to justify the view that miracles are not for today denies the character of Jesus, who according to Hebrews chapter 8 verse 11 is unchanging. Remember Gideon. In his day no miracles were seen but did he conclude that the age of miracles was over? NO. He cried out to God asking "where have the miracles gone?". This is a more appropriate response than denying the miraculous presence and intervention of God today. What do you think?

...He's waiting for the call!

Talk to God always! Nurture your relationship by both talking and listening. He loves to hear from you and talk to you. And when you talk to him be natural and not like a robot rabbiting platitudes and pious words. What if a pal of your starting adopting a formula in communicating with you. Wake up and smell the coffee! God is a person...and He loves you.

Don't confuse religion with Christianity

Don't confuse religion with Christianity. Huh?? I hear you say...Remember that Jesus got the greatest opposition from the religious who prided themselves in "the knowledge of God". Sinners loved HIm. "But I thought it was all about being religous.." you might say. No. It's about relationship. He didn't die so you could have religion, He died so you could have life. Confused?? Just talk to Him, He'll explain it better than me.

Locked up demons

I have to be honest and say that I am greatly encouraged by the fact that when Jesus died on he cross He "led captivity captive" and made a "public display" of the defeated demonic powers that are in operation on earth (check out Ephesians chapter 4). Recently on the world stage we have seen huge demonic demonstrations. The temptation is to despair that the enemy is winning but, thanks to God's word, we can be sure of the exact opposite, namely that there is not a single demon in opeartion on this planet that was not publically displayed as defeated at Calvery. Good to be on the winning side isn't it. And if you are unsure which side you are on then turn from your selfishness and sin and turn to Jesus who bled and died for you. Nice also to be part of God's "mop up crew".

Never saw the like!

"we never saw anything like this" the crowd said after the healing of the paralytic by Jesus in Mark 2 (verse 12). There's a whole bunch of religous churchianity that the masses have seen and have understandibly gown quite bored of over the years. But when God re-emerges with his anointing to heal and touch lives through believers who, for a change believe, as He is doing in many cases today, people will again be heard saying "we never saw anything like this" . Such is the Kingdom of God.

The Great Encouragement

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
The Great Encouragement ("I will be with you") is wedded to the Great Commission ("Go") Wow.

Clouds above and crowds below speak in unison

The book of Hebrews in Chapter 12 verse 1 speaks of a supporting "cloud of witnesses" which egg us on to run the race for God. It is not unreasonable to conclude that if you are a believer in Jesus that those who dide in faith and are with HIm encourage us to share our faith. But few think of the crowds below who denied Him when alive on this earth but now like the rich man in hell who begged Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to his 5 brothers "lest they come to this place of torment" (see Luke's gospel chapter 16 verse 27 etc.) want us to witness for Jesus. Add the total population of heaven to the total population of Hell. That's a lot of people.

A woman who couldn't walk for 12 years...

"This evening we again saw mighty healings. A woman who couldn't walk for 12 years was brought in a wheelbarrow to the meeting and jumped out perfectly healed. I wanted to see the wheelbarrow, but they said that it was on hire and the owner had already left with it. Miracle after miracle was reported and the mighty crowd roared praises to the living God." Don't you just love when our wonderful Saviour touches people! this incident happened only yesterday at a CfAN gospel crusade. Check out http://www.cfan.org for more

Father has feelings too!

Salvador Dali's famous painting of the death of Jesus is taken from God the Father's perspective. I sometimes wonder how He felt when He saw Him die, that is before He turned away like He had to. All for us. I'm sure that was in the minds of both the Father and the Son. We can hardly brush off this event as meaningless or of no relevence to us when it cost our Creator so high a price.

The Problem with Heaven

What is the Gospel? Do good? Try Hard? Nah. Problem is that heaven, God's address is a place of perfection and we all fluffed it. Ooops...so what now? Thank God he sent his son Jesus to take the rap- which was a slap on the wrist...NO..but the death sentence..NO other way. Now we can get the goods he paid for: Forgiveness and eternal life if we park our self centerdness sideways and tell GOd what rotters we are when compared to Him, ask forgiveness and invite Jesus to be our boss. DO IT NOW.

Hello World...eeeeh....Hello...is anyone out there?

Hi there. This is Ant and I live in Sandymount Dublin Ireland. Yes I am an alian, this world is a strange place for me and it aint my home. I belong to an unseen and eternal kingdom which cannot be seen except by those who submit themselves to a powerful experience called being Born Again. Sounds wierd? It surely is, but weird and wonderful. MOre about that later. I, amongst other aliens serve a powerful and benevolent friendly King. If this Blog develops the way I hope there will be all sorts of wonderful things on it. Come back soon.