"You are riddled with sin but He loves you and wants to set you free"

"Your entire life is an offense against God. You are riddled with sin but He loves you and wants to set you free" I said "will you kneel down with me on the street now and ask Jesus to forgive you?" I said and Tom replied "I will". Heaven met earth today at 6pm on Grafton street as the bemused masses passed by no doubt wondering what these 4 people were doing on their
knees with heads bowed in prayer. The creator of the universe was meeting them and they didn't care what anyone thought. Humility opened the door for God's grace and presence. it was a sweet moment and one of eternal significance for both Tom and those who are yet to encounter God through whatever ministry He has for him.

Before this encounter the word was publicly proclaimed preached and sung. Boy does the enemy hate God's praises being sung (check out Psalm 149 to find out why!). Myself and the 3 other team members prayed together on the street before it was proclaimed that there is no other saviour, no other gospel, no other God who offers forgiveness only Jesus. It pleased the Father to crush the Son for our redemption. How can we neglect such a great salvation.

The photo at the top is of John preaching 2 weeks ago on Patrick's day and stopping to answer an enquirer. Oliver told John later that when preaching it's best to not stop for individuals. Although we can't make rules but have to be led by the Holy Spirit in all we do we ned to be mindful that the enemy can send people to have the preaching stopped....christians and unbelivers alike!

Guilty

Guilty...We are all Guilty before Holy God, who keeps up alive during the night only for us to wake up and seek out more ways of sinning and offending HIm. Why does He allow it then? Because He wishes none to perish but all to come to repentance. If you think this message is not for you then that is evidence that Jesus did not come for you. Huh? Yep. He said He did not come for the righteous but for the lost. "The healthy have no need for a doctor" Jesus said. More to the point: those who think they are healthy don't see any need a medic. We're all guilty, not in the eyes of our equally guilty friends but in the eyes of our perfect creator God. I know Cheltenham Racing festival is on and a lot of gambling is happening but dont gamble with eternity, repent today and receive God's forgiveness and new life. Yes we're all guilty so make sure that your judgement is on Jesus and not yourself!

It's St Patrick's weekend and God is gathering his troops for a lot of street outreach on Friday and Saturday. Believers: pray that Patick's Gospel is proclaimed this weekend with power.

"So are you going to arrest me?"

Thus said the Garda to me on Grafton Street this afternoon. He had come in response to "numerous complaints" and as a follow up to our first caution. He had just cursed by using the Lord's name in vain and I immediately told him it was blasphemy. Oliver my Evangelist friend, who himself was a former Garda, stood silently by but couldn't help but smile to see the law man meet a higher authority. It was just another one of those brief Holy Spirit moments when we realized God was with us and protecting us. Oliver , myself and L. as well as Maurice, a believer from Dundalk who faithfully comes down to Grafton Street on Saturdays to spread the word, had all been preaching at different times over the previous hour or two and many had watched and listened to the eternal Word of God about our sin and idolatry and God's solution in the death and resurrection of Jesus at Calvary. God's word will not return void. Other believers came at different times to encourage and help us but if another 10 or 12 came there would have been much work for them.

Last night between 11 and 2 about 14 believers shared the word and again there were very significant discussions of eternal value. Check out the video vault for some excerpts of video testimonies by the believers. We were particularly blessed by the addition of about 4 new evangelists who came from the Harp and Bowl meeting. I trust that God used them mightily for HIs glory.

"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:17-18)

Dave Davidson said "If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death." Hmm.....food for thought. Cheers. Ant

She chose Jesus

Pray for Annalina from Germany. She was on Grafton Street this afternoon and stopped and stared as we held up the "Jesus" stickers. When we asked her if she knew Jesus a conversation began and soon she understood that she had offended God and wanted to say sorry to Him. Out of the blue an emissary of Satan arrived and butted right into the conversation uninvited. He insisted that she should trust Mary the mother of Jesus and not Jesus alone. I said to the man it is recorded in the Bible that Mary confessed to being a sinner, when he asked about this I pulled out my pocket BIble and together we read (Luke 1). This made the man very annoyed but when we all turned back to Annalina and asked her if she wanted to thrust in Jesus alone or in Mary and Jesus she said "Jesus". She left us soon after this but with the promise to close the door of her room and pray to Jesus directly asking his forgiveness.

God was clearly reaching her and the devil knew it but as has happened so many times in the past...he failed. Hallelujah. We were honoured today to be joined by John "the bull" from Limerick who spoke of the B.I.B.L.E. Basic Instructions before leaving earth to the people and to us about F.E.A.R. Fake Evidence Appearing Real.

And the photo above? The blind, white, crablike creature dubbed the "yeti crab" was just one of many new sea creatures discovered this year by the international Census of Marine Life ocean survey. The census is now in its sixth year and seeks to record all life, living and extinct, in the oceans by 2010. Never before has this perfectly adapted and designed beautiful creature been seen. Give thanks and praise to the Creator.

Healed of influenza

As myself and Oliver Hurley were sharing Jesus with some young people today on Grafton Street the Lord put it on my heart to declare that Jesus was here and that he would heal them if they had any ailments. They all looked at a girl at the end of the line who had been suffering badly from flu. I asked her if she would like Jesus to heal her (I never presume they want healing). She asked for it. After a brief prayer (check out Mark 16!) she went wide eyed and stared and laughed at her friends and said she felt better. A wonderful peace descended on the group of four and very precious seed was planted while they stood in awe of a miracle in Jesus' name. Miracles are the dinner bell of salvation. This is just one of the many encounters we had today. The harvest is rich but...

How bad is sin?

Look at the punishment given by the good judge for the crime. If we see in the paper that a man got a €5 fine for something we conclude that his misdemeaner is only trivial. If another got 5 life sentances we know it’s a terrible crime. The wages of sin is death and judgement in the eternal fires of hell. Think of it. "What is sin?" people ask. Sin is slapping the face of The Very One who is giving you your every breath. Think of it and go to the "Good enough for heaven?" at the sidebar on the right. Ant

John returns to Croke Park

Saturday night saw the return of the "John 3:7" sign to Croke Park when Dublin Played Tyrone in the first floodlit game at the stadium. Well done to Pat McMullen and Shane O'Brien for having the vision to go up to the gate. They were greeted royally and ushered in without charge. Televison viewers on Setants sports (live) and RTE (delayed transmission on Sunday) would have seen them behind the goal at HIll 16. The sign had not been at Croke Park for more than a year. Members of the public had been on to the GAA asking where was the John 3:7 man was! Although the children of Israel were saved from death by looking at the brazen serpent (Numbers 21:8) and in the same way we are saved by believing on Jesus (John 3:15) people will not be saved by looking at the "John 3:7" sign but as has been proven by the street outreach it has lead to many asking how they can be born again. The night before the match 6 such people received this new birth and countless others heard the truth of the word of God from the 12 evangelists who braved the cold. If you are reading this you are either a missionary or else a mission field. Either way come and visit us on a Friday night at the top of GraftonStreet between 11 and 2. God Bless.

Short and Scary!

How short is the time we have left? Who knows. Jesus said that only the Father knows and that His return will be like a thief in the night (when least expected). It could be this weekend, it could be ten years or more. All we can say for certain is that the time left is short. When we spend eternity in heaven our view of the small time we spent on earth, even if we live to be 100, will get smaller smaller and simply vanish away, yet the work we do here now for and with Jesus in evangelism is of endless significance. I was speaking to a pastor in town this week and he spoke of evangelism as “scary”. I agreed that it was indeed scary without the Holy Spirit but with Him by our side we have His love which drives out fear.

“Hit me in the chest” he said

First of all, thanks to all who prayed for the Friday night outreach. We, and others, are eternally grateful for that!

I have lost count of the number of evangelistic encounteres we had over this weekend but some have stood out in my memory as wonderful exmples of the grace of God. On Friday night at about 12.30am 2 intoxicated chaps asked what the “John 3:7 “ signs were about. A Christ centred discussion ensued and during the discussion the lesser intoxicated chap said that he was in a bad car crash a week ago and was amazed that he only had a broken rib. When I told him that Jesus is risen, he is here and he can heal his rib if he would like the other guy pushed him on his sore ribs and said “Yeah, you need a miracle..” or something to that effect, to which the boken ribbed chap recoiled in pain asking him to not do that. When I again asked he said he would like prayer for healing.

I then asked the risen King of Kings to touch him, open his heart to the gospel and heal his ribs. Immediately he confessed to feeling better and when I asked him to test his ribs he turned to his friend, arched his shoulders back and asked the friend to hit him in the chest. The friend obliged with a good thump. The healed chap beamed from ear to ear with amazement and testified to me and his friend that he was completely better!

Immediately the pal who thumped him and had been more intoxicated and originally more vocal and joking about our outreach confessed that he had deep needs in his life, that he was adopted and had some heavy famility situations. He wanted prayer and I obliged, soon after that they disappeared down Grafton Street but I know that they experienced an unforgettable encounter wth the King which they will never forget, hopefully in heaven with thankfulness as belivers and not in hell with regret as unrepentant sinners.

I bet there was some intersesting chat in the night club that night!

Then today, Saturday, I was invited to join my good friend Oliver Hurley (check out my video interview with him in the video vault section of my blog) to hold up the “Jesus” stickers (Lift Jesus higher!) outside McDonalds on Saturday afternoon. This we did nd again had much witnessing oppertunity the most memorable of which was Seamus (about 18 and from Portlaoise) who was aBible reader but not born again. After hearing both the bad news and the good news we prayed not just to receive Jesusbut also the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. At the end of this prayer he began joyfully laughing and speaking a heavenly language given to him by the Holy Spirit. God is good and the harvest is rich and the number of labourers is increasing but boy is it still few. God Bless. Ant

Want to learn how to share your faith?

Let Jesus teach you. How do I do that? Step out with a large John 3:7 sign with other believers and answer as the Spirit leads you when an unvbeliever approaches and asks: “What does this mean?”. Over the last 6 months as I have gone out on Friday nights at 11pm on Grafton Street I have learnt soooo much by simply doing. God is good. He has been with me, and the other believers of course, and has taught us directly how to witness. He sent them out in the gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles and he is still sending them out. If you want to come ring me on 087 9795454 or simply turn up at 11pm at the top of Grafton Street on Friday. Graduate from the university of Evangelism…on the street! God Bless. Anthony

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.