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Volume 3, Number 24
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June 17, 2009
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Greetings!
It has been some week! Mande's grandmother died and I had the honor and privilege of doing the funeral ceremony. We got to witness at The Shops at Legacy Wednesday night. And we prepared several thousand more tracts for the mail along with the July tract club mailing. Plus, Bezeugen is now an Ally of the Living Waters Ambassador Alliance!
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Reflections on a funeral
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 Mande's grandmother, Wanda Williams (Nanny), passed away last week. We had the opportunity to review the Gospel with her a couple of days before she died. Mande asked her if she had trusted Jesus and she acknowledged with the squeeze of her hand. We later confirmed that with one of the staff of the home where she lived. As we witnessed Nanny's last days and hours, I could not help but think that we talk to people about death all of the time and here it is happening right in front of us. It was very sobering to think that one moment a person may be alive. The next they may be dead. What happens next has to do with what they have done with Jesus! Fortunately, Nanny had accepted Jesus and trusted in Him. We know she is in heaven now. It was a joy to be able to share that Good News at the funeral. If you'd like to read the funeral service, it is online. |
Witnessing Tip
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 Your Jerusalem
by Todd Cormier
I have always seen my mission field as my own back yard. As the Lord said in Acts 1:8 "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to all ends of the world." Our mission field is in our neighborhoods, grocery stores, gym, etc.. Notice He says we will be. Our changed life in Christ is not what we do but who we are. Jerusalem is where we are. There are thousands of people within a 5 mile radius of most any believer who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. In many cases more than one might find in a small country. We as believers have also all been given the same ministry in one sense. The ministry of reconciliation according to 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21. Our mission is to reconcile unbelievers to the Lord in whatever capacity and by the means He has given us. We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices and He will work through us to accomplish His will in doing so.
In regards to proclaiming His word to unbelievers, there is more opposition than acceptance. However, this only validates what God's word says. I have had Muslims say that there are many more Muslims in the world than Christians. If you are ever told this, you can say, you are absolutely correct and you are just validating what the Holy Bible says. Jesus supports this claim in Matt 7:13 when he says "enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by that gate but narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life and there are only few who find it." The parable of the sower in Matt 13 also supports the fact that the vast majority of humanity will spend eternity in a lake of fire. Only 1 out of four or 25% become a believer in that analogy. I don't say this with a nonchalant attitude because it is horrific that this is a reality. However, as an evangelist we need to understand the depravity of man's heart. The Lord never minces words when He speaks of the utter depravity and the deceitful nature of the heart of man. And herein lies the problem. See: Psalms 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9,10, Genesis 6:5. There are many other scriptures that describe the corrupted nature of man.
So how does knowing this help us in sharing our faith. For one, it motivates us because we understand the price that had to be paid to redeem a man who in every way was corrupted and utterly opposed to God. It will make the true believer truly grateful and it should motivate the redeemed to share the amazing gift of eternal life with a world that stands condemned under the judgment of a Holy God. Secondly, knowing the condition of man's heart without Christ assures me that only the supernatural work of God can convict a sinners soul. This is beneficial because I know that I am merely a mouth piece that the Lord can use to convey His gospel. I am a vessel that He would delight in using. The Holy Spirit does all the work. This is good because I don't need to feel responsible when someone that I have shared Christ with rejects the gospel. What a relief ! I know about the depraved nature of man's heart. No wonder he is initially offended by the gospel. There is a scripture in John 3:17-18 that so clearly says why any person rejects Christ. The reason will never be a lack of understanding, knowledge, upbringing, religious affiliation, geographical location, etc.. According to God's word, If any man ever rejects God's gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. The reason without question is that this person loves his sin and is not willing to give that sin up. And consequently if he repents of his sin, he will have to be accountable to God. He would then have to allow God to change him. This however, is contrary to everything that mankind is inherently about. We must remember that he has inherited the sin of his forefather, Adam. Romans 5:12,13.
Finally, the Lord keeps us here because He delights in using us for His will and for His glory. See: John 17, where the Lord Jesus says that He prayed not to take us out of the world but to keep us from the evil one. The funny thing is that He also does it for our benefit. He gives us an opportunity to display and express our love for Him in response to His most incredible love for us.
We pray that you will be encouraged to reach your Jerusalem for Christ! If you'd like some hands on training, tracts or other resources please let us know.
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| Prayer Requests
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We appreciate your prayers
- 4100 Gospel tracts were mailed to our missionary partner in Uganda, Moses. Please pray for him as he distributes these tracts. 4000 of the tracts are our new Bad News / Good News tract. Tract Club members will also be receiving some of these to hand out.
- Please pray for Carl's teaching of the Ten Commandments at VBS at Hebron Community Church and also his Gospel presentation. Expect to have 200 children 1-6th grade!
- We can use help preparing the monthly Bezeugen Tract Club mailings. As the mailing is now close to 100 units we can use more help. If you are in the Dallas area and would be willing to help for 1-2 hours it would be greatly appreciated. Next opportunity to help is mid-July to prepare the August mailing. Please email Mande and let her know your willingness to help so she can contact you when we get this scheduled.
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Bezeugen is now on YouTube
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 Brady's Tract Testimonial
I met Brady Brewer at the Ambassador Academy. He shared with me that he was saved through a Gospel Tract. He allowed me to video tape his testimony which we are now using as inspiration for Bezeugen Tract Club. Watch the video here!
Carl's Open Air Preaching
On the last day of Ambassador Academy Carl got to open air preach on Huntington Beach. Here is a video of one of his times "on the box".
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Thank you for your support and partnership in the Gospel. Please remember that we have Free Evangelism Resources available for you on our web site. Choose from a number of books and DVDs. Please use the link at the bottom of this email to forward this email to your friends and ask them to subscribe to the Bezeugen Blast!
God Bless,
Carl Kalbfleisch
Bezeugen Ministries
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Witnessing Events
and Calendar
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Monday's and Thursday's at lunch: witnessing at Valley View Mall, Galleria Mall, Gravevine Mills Mall, Irving Mall or Brookhaven College. If you would like to join us, please contact me for the specific location and time for a given day. June 17 - Witnessing at Shops at Legacy 7-8:30pm. June 21-25 - Ten Commandments and Gospel presentation at HCC VBS June 27 - Prayer Station at Wal-Mart in Denton, TX. July 4 - Reading 1 John in the open air as part of Project Ezra. July 9- Evangelism Seminar, Pilot Point, TX from 7-9 pm. See www.bezeugen.org/seminar for details. Join us at 6:30 for dinner and fellowship! We appreciate your prayers. Please come join us!! |
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See all witnessing events: www.bezeugen.org/events/
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Memory Verse
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We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
1 John 2:3 (NIV)
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More Memory Veres Online: http://www.bezeugen.org/verses.html
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