7 souls heard the gospel today!!

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Why are you offended that I mentioned race? Let's rewrite the Bible so we won't know that the Eunuch was an Ethiopian.

By "almost" receiving the Holy Ghost, I mean her repentance was deep and strong enough that an atmosphere of receiving was being created. Sadly, her body was racked with pain and that was a hindrance.

Oh did I mention that she too was Afro-American? There. I just did.

Do you honestly believe that at the moment she cried out to the Lord in mercy she wasn't saved?

You were there, so based on what you have seen before with humans having an experience with God, was she repentant? Did she verbalize and even demonstrate a saving faith in Jesus Christ?

Do you honestly believe that she would die and go to hell tomorrow if she died without speaking in tongues?

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originalist,
You said, "... heard the gospel."

Do you remember what you said or what was said to these souls?

The next time you go out, is there anything you are going to differently so that you can reach even more people?

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

Do you honestly believe that at the moment she cried out to the Lord in mercy she wasn't saved?

You were there, so based on what you have seen before with humans having an experience with God, was she repentant? Did she verbalize and even demonstrate a saving faith in Jesus Christ?

Do you honestly believe that she would die and go to hell tomorrow if she died without speaking in tongues?

I let God be God , but preach what the Apostles preached. Why weren't those Samaritans in Acts 8 saved even though they had believed and were baptized? Why did they receive the Holy Ghost a day or two later?

Why weren't those Ephesians saved in Acts 19 the moment they believed Paul's preaching? Why was it after they came up out of the waters of baptism that Paul prayed for them and they were filled with the Holy Ghost?

Tongues is not the issue. Regeneration and the timing of it is.

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

Originalist,
You said, "... heard the gospel."

Do you remember what you said or what was said to these souls?

The next time you go out, is there anything you are going to differently so that you can reach even more people?

Here's what I said.....

What do you think happens when someone dies?

I let them answer.

Do you think a person has to be a good person to go to Heaven?

I let them answer.


How would you define a good person? To Juan, a good person in who?


I let them answer.


Now did you just describe yourself when you described what you consider to be a good person?


I let them answer.


Can I ask you a few questions to see if you are indeed a good person?


If they say yes, I continue.


Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?


If they are, I ask them to recite a few from memory. If they are not, I go over them with the individual.


I will now continue this post using fictitious names and demonstrate the technique...



Mark: Let me ask you this. You're 19. In your 19 years, how many times do you think you've told a lie.


Juan: Almost every day.


Mark: So if you tell llies almost every day, then what does that make you?


Juan: (laughing) A liar.

Mark: Have you ever stolen anything in your life?

Juan: Yes I have.

Mark: How many times do you think you've done that?

Juan: Probably like once a month.

Mark: Once a month? Really? For how long?

Juan: Since I was around 15.

Mark: For 15 years about once a month? So if you steal once a month for a long time, what does that make you?

Juan: I guess that makes me a thief.

Mark: Do you know what it is to take God's name in vain?

Juan: Yes.

Mark: How many times do you think yopu've done that?

Juan: Probably every day.

Mark: That's called blasphemy and the Bible says that the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain.
Now you're 19, a young man. How would you define the word "adultery"?

Juan: Cheating on your wife?

Mark: I know you are not married, but Jesus said that whosover looks upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How many times do you think you've done that?

Juan: Oh much more than I should have? (laughing)

Mark: Okay Juan, by your own admission, you are a lying , thieving, blasphemous adulterer in your heart. Does that sound like the definition of a good person?

Juan: No, it does not.

Mark: Here's where it gets a little serious. Those are four of the Ten Commandments. If God judges you based on the standard of the Ten Commandments when you die and stand before Him,
do you think he'd find you guilty or innocent of breaking the Commandments?

Juan: He'd find me guilty.

Mark: And if he found you guilty, do you think you'd go to Heaven or Hell?

Juan: I think I'd go to Hell.

Mark: Does that concern you at all?

Juan: Yes, it does.

Mark: Why?

Juan: Because I don't want to got to Hell. I don't think anyone wants to go to Hell.

Mark: Do you have any idea what God di so you wouldn't have to go to Hell?

Juan: Didn't he like, die for us?

Mark: Where did you hear that?

Juan: It seems like pretty much everywhere now, even in the movies.

Mark: Juan, let me ask you something. You don't have to tell me why, but have you ever been in a court room?

Juan: No. Never.

Mark: Really? You still once a month since you were 15 and you've never been caught? (both laugh)

Juan: Nope. I've been lucky.

Mark: Let me ask you this. The fact that you've never been caught make you any less guilty for stealing?

Juan: No, it doesn't.

Mark: Well, let's say you were caught. You are standing before the judge. You admit to it. It's not a case of mistaken identity. It's not a bad jury or a corrupt judge. You actually did the crime. You're standing before the judge, and you'rewaiting to be sentenced. The judge says, "Juan, it's going to be a million dollar fine or a life in prison." Could you pay that fine?

Juan: No. But I think I'd try to find a way.

Mark: But a million dollars. You're 19. You're probably not going to be able to pay that fine, right?

Juan: Probably not.

Mark: So the judge is getting ready to take you off to prison for the rest of your life when someone you've never met walks into the courtroom,walks up to the judges bench, places a million into the judges hands and says, "Your honor, I've sold and given up everything because I love Juan and I want to pay his fine. Please let him go." Now a good judge, I think you'd agree, would punish a law breaker. But a good judge also, seeing you're fine has beeen paid and that the requirements of the Law have been satisfied would turn to you and say,"Juan, you're free to go NOT on the basis of anything YOU did, but because this other person came in and paid your fine". Would that be good news to you?

Juan: Yes it would.

Mark: What would you think of the one who paid your fine?

Juan: I think he'd be a really good person.

Mark: Well, that's a picture of what God did. God came down in the person of Jesus Christ. He was fully God, fully man. Without sin.
He died a horrible, bloody death on the cross, and took upon himself the punishment that you rightly deserve for breaking God's Law. Three days later He rose from the dead and he forever defeated death.
Now you're nodding your head like you've heard that before, and you might even believe that. Let me ask you this. Have you ever been on a plane?

Juan: Yes.

Mark: Where did you fly to?

Juan: To Chicago.

Mark: Let's both you and I are flying to Chicago. We're about half way there. The pilot comes over the loud speaker. You can hear fear in his voice as he says,"Folks, we've lost the engines! The plane is going down
and there is nothing we can do about it. But there are parachutes under your seats."

We both look under the seats, and the parachutes are there. We belive they are there, and we both believe in the parachute's ability to save us. The pilot then orders everyone to jump out of the plane.
I put my parachute on and I jump. You don't put your parachute on and you jump. Which one of us survives the fall?

Juan: The one with the parachute.

Mark: But we both believed in the parachute.

Juan: But only one was wearing the parachute.

Mark: So it wasn't enough for us to simply believe in the parachute. We had to believe to the point where we trusted the parachute enough to put it on,
and trust that it was going to open and save our life when we jumped out of the plane. There are millions and millions of people who say they believe in Jesus, but they are not going to spend a moment in heaven,because they've never "put him on" personally, like the parachute. We start this process by repenting. We ask God to forgive us for breaking his Law. Then we purpose in our heart that through God's help we will turn away from lust, adultery, stealing, and lying every day.

We also abandon every attempt to 'pay the fine ourselves' and trust in the fact that he already paid the fine at the cross, and put our trust in that. Then we 'put him on' by allowing his Spirit to come live within us, giving a new nature and a desire to live a life where we aren't constantly breaking his commandments.
Does that make sense?

Juan: yes it does.


Mark: The Apostles Peter told us how to "put on the parachute". Its found in Acts 2:38-39.

You see, when we forsake that which offends God and bury that old life with Christ in baptism, we are opening the way for God to baptize us with his Spirit to give us a new life and nature that wants to obey him. Does that make sense?

Then what happens next is up to them.

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Sean

Oh no, there went a great thread bro. Someone was offended by race. Bummer....

So was it wrong for me to attend the "Black Evangelism Conference" or the "Spanish Camp Meeting"?

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by Originalist

I let God be God , but preach what the Apostles preached. Why weren't those Samaritans in Acts 8 saved even though they had believed and were baptized? Why did they receive the Holy Ghost a day or two later?

Why weren't those Ephesians saved in Acts 19 the moment they believed Paul's preaching? Why was it after they came up out of the waters of baptism that Paul prayed for them and they were filled with the Holy Ghost?

Tongues is not the issue. Regeneration and the timing of it is.

The Bible doesn't state that those people were unsaved either.

Also, can a person be regenerated by the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues?

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Here's what I said.....

What do you think happens when someone dies?

I let them answer.

Do you think a person has to be a good person to go to Heaven?

I let them answer.


How would you define a good person? To Juan, a good person in who?


I let them answer.


Now did you just describe yourself when you described what you consider to be a good person?


I let them answer.


Can I ask you a few questions to see if you are indeed a good person?


If they say yes, I continue.


Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?


If they are, I ask them to recite a few from memory. If they are not, I go over them with the individual.


I will now continue this post using fictitious names and demonstrate the technique...



Mark: Let me ask you this. You're 19. In your 19 years, how many times do you think you've told a lie.


Juan: Almost every day.


Mark: So if you tell llies almost every day, then what does that make you?


Juan: (laughing) A liar.

Mark: Have you ever stolen anything in your life?

Juan: Yes I have.

Mark: How many times do you think you've done that?

Juan: Probably like once a month.

Mark: Once a month? Really? For how long?

Juan: Since I was around 15.

Mark: For 15 years about once a month? So if you steal once a month for a long time, what does that make you?

Juan: I guess that makes me a thief.

Mark: Do you know what it is to take God's name in vain?

Juan: Yes.

Mark: How many times do you think yopu've done that?

Juan: Probably every day.

Mark: That's called blasphemy and the Bible says that the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain.
Now you're 19, a young man. How would you define the word "adultery"?

Juan: Cheating on your wife?

Mark: I know you are not married, but Jesus said that whosover looks upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How many times do you think you've done that?

Juan: Oh much more than I should have? (laughing)

Mark: Okay Juan, by your own admission, you are a lying , thieving, blasphemous adulterer in your heart. Does that sound like the definition of a good person?

Juan: No, it does not.

Mark: Here's where it gets a little serious. Those are four of the Ten Commandments. If God judges you based on the standard of the Ten Commandments when you die and stand before Him,
do you think he'd find you guilty or innocent of breaking the Commandments?

Juan: He'd find me guilty.

Mark: And if he found you guilty, do you think you'd go to Heaven or Hell?

Juan: I think I'd go to Hell.

Mark: Does that concern you at all?

Juan: Yes, it does.

Mark: Why?

Juan: Because I don't want to got to Hell. I don't think anyone wants to go to Hell.

Mark: Do you have any idea what God di so you wouldn't have to go to Hell?

Juan: Dicn't he like, die for us?

Mark: Where did you hear that?

Juan: It seems like pretty much everywhere now, even in the movies.

Mark: Juan, let me ask you something. You don't have to tell me why, but have you ever been in a court room?

Juan: No. Never.

Mark: Really? You still once a month since you were 15 and you've never been caught? (both laugh)

Juan: Nope. I've been lucky.

Mark: Let me ask you this. The fact that you've never been caught make you any less guilty for stealing?

Juan: No, it doesn't.

Mark: Well, let's say you were caught. You are standing before the judge. You admit to it. It's not a case of mistaken identity. It's not a bad jury or a corrupt judge.
You actually did the crime. You're standing before the judge, and you'rewaiting to be sentenced. The judge says, "Juan, it's going to be a million dollar fine or a life in prison." Could you pay that fine?

Juan: No. But I think Id try to find a way.

Mark: But a million dollars. You're 19. You're probably not going to be able to pay that fine, right?

Juan: Probably not.

Mark: So the judge is getting ready to take you offto prison for the rest of your life when some you've never met walks into the courtroom,walks up to the judges bence, places a million into the judges hands and says, "Your honor, I've sold and given up everything because I love Juan and I want to pay his fine. Please let him go." Now a good judge, I think you'd agree, would punish a law breaker. But a good judge also, seeing you're fine has beeen paid and that the requirements of the Law have been satisfied would turn to you and say,"Juan, you're free to go NOT on the basis of anything YOU did, but because this other person came in and paid your fine". Would that be good news to you?

Juan: Yes it would.

Mark: What would you think of the one who paid your fine?

Juan: I think he'd be a really good person.

Mark: Well, that's a picture of what God did. God came down in the person of Jesus Christ. he was fully God, fully man. Without sin.
He died a horrible, bloody death on the cross, and took upon himself the punishment that you rightly deserve for breaking God's Law. Three days later He rose from the dead and he forever defeated death.
Now you're nodding your head like you've heard that before, and you might even believe that. Let me ask you this. Have you ever been on a plane?

Juan: Yes.

Mark: Where did you fly to?

Juan: To Chicago.

Mark: Let's both you and I are flying to Chicago. We're about half way there. The pilot comes over the loud speaker. You can hear fear in his voice as he says,"Folks, we've lost the engines! The plane is going down
and there is nothing we can do about it. But there are parachutes under your seats."

We both look under the seats, and the parachutes are there. We belive they are there, and we both believe in the parachute's ability to save us. The pilot then orders everyone to jump out of the plane.
I put my parachute on and I jump. You don't put your parachute on and you jump. Which one of us survives the fall?

Juan: The onewith the parachute.

Mark: But we both believed in the parachute.

Juan: But only one was wearing the parachute.

Mark: So it wasn't enough for us to simply believe in the parachute. We had to believe to the point where we trusted the parachute enough to put it on,
and trust that it was going to open and save our life when we jumped out of the plane. There are millions and millions of people who say they believe in Jesus, but they are not going to spend a moment in heaven,
because they've never "put him on" personally, like the parachute. We start this process by repenting. We ask God to forgive us for breaking his Law. Then we purpose in our heart that through God's turn away from lust, adultery, stealing, and lying every day.
We also abandon every attempt to 'pay the fine ourselves' and trust in the fact that he already paid the fine at the cross, and put our trust in that. Then we 'put him on' by allowing his Spirit to come live within us, giving a new nature and a desire to live a life where we aren't constantly breaking his commandments.
Does that make sense?

Juan: yes it does.


Mark: The Apostles Peter told us how to "put on the parachute". Its found in Acts 2:38-39.

You see, when we forsake that which offends God and bury that old life with Christ in baptism, we are opening the way for God to baptize us with his Spirit to gives us a new life and nature that wants to obey him. Does that make sense?

Then what happens next is up to them.

Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed the reading and the visualizing.

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

The Bible doesn't state that those people were unsaved either.

If they had never heard of the Holy Ghost was being given by God, they had not heard the gospel or about regeneration of the Holy Ghost. Paul asked them literally, "Did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed?" If one receives regeneration of the Spirit immediately upon believing, then why was there a need to ask the question? If the Spirit is received instantly upon belief, then Paul's question would have been, "Are you believers?" Paul's further questioning revealed they were not believers because they had not yet heard the good news and that the prophecies of John the Baptist concerning the coming of One who would baptize with the Holy Ghost had been fulfilled.

Also, can a person be regenerated by the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues?

God can by his Spirit regenerate anyone who believes however he chooses. But I'm commissioned to preach the rule and to leave exceptions up to God.

[Sean]

Oh cmon guys, lets not debate a testimony...LOL

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Sean

Oh cmon guys, lets not debate a testimony...LOL

Agreed