Posted on 01/24/2008 8:01:22 AM PST by Manfred the Wonder Dawg
Subject: Report from Mexico
January 22, 2008 ESV Acts 17:16 ¶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
We flew into Mexico City last night at about 11:30pm. It was amazing to behold a city of 30 million people. I have never seen that many lights in all my life. We had no trouble getting into the airport and on to the place that we were staying. While at the airport we were able to speak a word of the gospel to three different people.
Today we left at about 9:00am and headed across Mexico City to a homeless mission. There were approximately 200 people present for the church service. I preached on the “Rich Young Ruler†out of Mark 10. I got the distinct impression that the people were used to hearing a weak gospel that is followed by the typical raise your hand to be saved and walk to the front to accept Jesus. I was pressing the law of God on them and they started laughing. I showed them from the law that they were liars, thieves, and idolaters at heart and they laughed. I then told them that it was not funny and that they had offended the God of heaven. There seemed to be at least a level of conviction that began to fall upon the place and out of the 200 people there may have been one person who was moved by the Spirit of God unto conviction. Certainly there could be others who God spoke to, but I was only allowed to see the one man.
The situation here is drastically different than in Peru. The people in charge of ministry teach and practice all of the things that I have been completely against. They push for numbers and use weak methods to try to bring about results that only God can accomplish. Today I did not give an invitation, but the pastor later told me that 22 people got saved. Where did he get the authority to pronounce 22 people saved? There is no way possible for him to know whether or not God gave them a new heart. Only time will produce the evidence of whether or not there is biblical fruit that is lasting. The experience was a good one and I am glad that I went, but I was starkly reminded of why I hate a watered-down man centered gospel. There is no power in a gospel that plays upon the emotions of man by using the methods of men.
This afternoon we finally made it to Tepito. It was horrid. It was worse than Sullana. They are worshiping a female goddess who has the appearance of death. She had a skull for a head and it is very demonic. We shared the gospel with several individuals and then we went to the place where the first shrine for Santa Muerta is. There were hundreds of candles burning as offerings unto this pagan woman angel of death. People would offer cigarettes, money, pictures, tequila, chocolate candy, flowers, fruit, and whatever else they thought would work. Out in front of this shrine they had symbols on the ground that you could stand on. One symbol you could stand on would bring death on all of your enemies. Secondly, they had symbols that you could stand on that would bring purification. Thirdly, they had a symbol that you could stand on that put a curse on Christianity. I went into the shrine and started reading the gospel of John in Spanish and people began to make threats against us. We went back in later and begin to pray and ask God to be glorified and people began to surround us and we thought we were going to be beat up. The owner of the shrine was not happy and then a big burly guy showed up in a taxi and was showing off his tattoo of death and I think it was some type of threat upon us. However, God was gracious and provided protection for us and when we were through praying most of the people had moved back away from us.
I want to take a moment and write a few thoughts about the gospel. First, the gospel is a supernatural work of God in which he regenerates and thus enables men to be able to believe. Without regeneration there will be no turning of man towards God. Secondly, Jesus did not make it easy for people to get saved. The woman at the well had to leave a lifestyle of adultery. The adulterous woman had to leave her sin. The rich young ruler had to sell it all. Nicodemus was never led in a sinner’s prayer. Men were called to repent. Men are not called to go through some man-made method that will supposedly produce salvation. Men are never told to repeat a prayer in order to be saved. Thirdly, Jesus never reported numbers in order to make his ministry look better. Jesus actually had many people turn away from him because his teaching was too hard. Fourthly, the only method that has been left for the building of the church is the proclamation of the Word of God. Paul never mentions how that music program is supposed to be. Paul never mentions to Timothy or Titus anything about demographic surveys. Paul never tells Timothy or Titus how to report numbers to an agency. There are those who would reference Acts and the 3,000 that were saved, but you never find this as a common practice of the church, but rather a demonstration of the power of God in the birth of the early church. Fifthly, salvation is 100 percent God or it is nothing. If man plays a part in salvation then he will have something to brag about when he gets to heaven. However, the testimonies of Scripture are about God doing the saving and no man.
Because of the truth: Pastor: J. Randall Easter II Timothy 2:19 "Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases."(Ps. 115:3) "He predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will."(Eph. 1:5) Those who have been saved have been saved for His glory and they are being made holy for this is the will of God. Are you being made holy? Spurgeon says, "If your religion does not make you holy it will damn you to hell."
Don’t know if he’s been in a mosque - I don’t monitor his life in that amount of detail. Have you?
Never heard of him until this post. I'd be eager to read of his work with Muslims, of particular interest is any proselytizing he may have done while in a mosque.
You wrote:
“Since Randall did not say all - or many - Catholics pray to the Pope; only that this one woman did, how do you know if he’s lying?”
1) Since I have never, ever, even heard of a Catholic doing this I have no reason to believe any would.
2) Since Catholics are NEVER taught by any catechism, any priest (whoever studied a catechism), or any Catholic radio program, TV program, bishop or pope to pray to a pope, I simply have no reason whatsoever to believe that what was claimed actually happened.
“Nobody can prove a negative, which what you are declaring if you say this woman never prays to the man worshiped as “Holy Father” within the RCC.”
There you go again, lying. No one worships the pope, yet you just said we do worship the pope. Do you have a single shred of evidence that Catholics worship the pope? And you wonder why we think anti-Catholics are liars?
Many reports from RCC sources show what can only be described as worship when ordinary folk and cardinals come into the presence the man ya’ll call “Holy Father” (Matthew 23:9): people bow before him, they kiss his ring, they fawn as lesser beings before a high priest.
Are you believing that no Catholic does anything unless it’s taught “by any catechism, any priest (whoever studied a catechism), or any Catholic radio program, TV program, bishop or pope”? That’s a stretch.
If I hear of Randall going to a mosque, I’ll be sure and post a report here. I was merely wondering why you are interested in validating Randall by this point if you yourself hadn’t seen the call to go into a mosque and preach the gospel who you admit need it.
Can you show me where the Catholic Church teaches that it is proper to pray to the Pope?
Nope - and I’ve never said the RCC teaches people to do so. The RCC seems content to teach people to pray to dead folks (those who’ve experienced “the first death” - that of the flesh).
Than why imply so in the article? Wouldn't it be more accurate to describe the woman as someone who, against the teachings of the Church, prayed to the pope?
People in heaven are not dead, unless you believe that Christ spoke to dead people at the transfiguration and that the book of Revelation is wild allegory in describing the saints in heaven offering bowls of prayers before the Throne.
Randall stated that the woman he spoke to had prayed to the pope - that’s it. No implication that the RCC teaches people to do.
As I said about praying to dead people - I defined them as having died the first death. They would still be on planet earth if their body hadn’t died. All the saints in heaven have died the first death, save Enoch (Gen 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11).
You wrote:
“Many reports from RCC sources show what can only be described as worship when ordinary folk and cardinals come into the presence the man ya’ll call “Holy Father” (Matthew 23:9): people bow before him, they kiss his ring, they fawn as lesser beings before a high priest.”
Bull. None of what you mentioned is worship. Did you worship your wife when you got on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage? Please, you’re embarrassing yourself. Give me EVIDENCE that a Catholic - ANYWHERE - worships the pope.
“Are you believing that no Catholic does anything unless it’s taught “by any catechism, any priest (whoever studied a catechism), or any Catholic radio program, TV program, bishop or pope”? That’s a stretch.”
No, a stretch is to say showing love and respect for the pope is worship. Do you have any actual evidence or what?
You wrote:
“Nope - and I’ve never said the RCC teaches people to do so. The RCC seems content to teach people to pray to dead folks (those who’ve experienced “the first death” - that of the flesh).”
Christ said God is the God of the living - not of the dead. Clearly you err in your knowledge of scripture just
Christ said the Sadducees did.
If that were truly "it", he wouldn't have bothered to mention it at all.
***Wasn’t the “Yea, verily, Yea,” from a Danny Kaye movie along with ye?***
***The Court Jester, of course. Remember the Knighthood ceremony at fast speed? Hysterically funny stuff!***
My favorite comedy! I saw it in 1956! Still I remember that “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pessel. The chalace from the palace is the brew that is true!”
Christ has destroyed death (2 Tm 1:10). Scripture calls the saints in heaven "the souls of just men made perfect" (Heb 12:23), not "dead people".
“Fr Rey Roda a missionary of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate was killed on Tuesday. 50 year old Fr Roda was the leader of a mission in Tawi Tawi in the far south of the county. This area is a base for Abu Saayff an Al Qaeda...”
http://anselmic.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/catholic-priest-killed-by-terrorists-in-the-philippines/
Feb. 6, 2006 (CWNews.com) - A Catholic priest was shot and killed in Trabzon, Turkey, on Sunday, and authorities there are investigating whether the murder was related to Islamic anger
Bangalore, India - More than 5000 mourners including Hindus and Muslims gathered for the funeral of a Sri Lankan Roman Catholic priest killed by a mine blast while on his way to distribute supplies to displaced people.
MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) - A Chaldaean Catholic priest and three of his assistants were shot dead on Sunday outside a church in northern Iraq, the local police commander said.
In the West Bank several churches were attacked and in Somalia a Catholic nun was shot dead. Christians flee Iraq. The news of the priest’s murder came as ...
Profiles: Fourteen Irish missionaries killed on foreign soil
In my area, Catholics are reaching out to the Moslems in discussion and peace.
There are a lot of people who are trying very hard to be united in Christ. The deliberate efforts either by pride, hubris, or hardness of heart to keep the divisions splitting even further and farther from the truth are terrible.
Kaye’s other fantastic movie is The Inspector General. Not too close to the Russian play, but still by virtue of his talent, very, very funny.
I would like to know if most Catholics who post on this thread believe they get to heaven by good works?
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