From NYC team:Shalom Dwayna, blessings and peace to you!
After quite a week of snow storms and slush puddles galore, we were happy when the weather this past Sunday was favorable and granted us the opportunity to set up once again in the subway below Times Square in New York City.
We had received several more copies of KJV and NKJV New Testaments, in addition to gospel tracts about the "new birth" in Spanish, and our trusty sign saying "Have you heard the Good News" John 14:6, which you were gracious enough to provide to the ministry as a beacon for those passing by the table. We combined these newest materials along with some other supplies, which Christine and Suzi combined with what we currently have, such as music cds, apologetics cds, rapture cds, etc.
Foot traffic on this particular Sunday seemed lighter than usual, and I guess it could have been as a result of the Olympics hockey game between Canada and the U.S..... So, after some time, people began to come over to the table. (It seems that a lot of people who are familiar with the corridor tend to think that we are associated with another ministry which used to set up on the opposite end but is no longer there.) I explained that we were a separate ministry whose goal was to be evangelistic and provide apologetics and discernment information and materials to both the unsaved and Christians, including all religious peoples.
Suzi brought along her guitar to play some worship music and sing, since we cannot have music playing from a radio. At one point, a young girl (pre-teens) joined her in singing and trying to play the guitar, while her mother and Suzi discussed various things concerning apostasy and spiritual concerns.
Various people came over to the table with different questions and from different backgrounds. One man who approached explained that he was trying to learn about who God was from various sources and that he was a student of a 12-step program for some type of addiction; I cannot recall which one. I then went on to commend him for trying to make the effort to overcome his habit, but insisted that the best step -- and only one step at that -- is to become a born-again believer through salvation in Jesus Christ, because without the power of the Holy Spirit in one's life, one cannot overcome sin and cannot have victory. The man seemed very touched by what I said and took various materials explaining the new birth and Jesus. He was very happy that I took the time to explain these things and walked away with a big smile. I was so pleased to be able to give him good news!!!!
Another gentlemen who tends to come by every Sunday, and with whom I joke saying he can't get enough of us or our materials, informed us that he loves all the materials we have on the Purpose Driven movement and Rick Warren, as now he is quite convinced that he needs to warn people about this dangerous movement, including the New Age/ecumenical implications. He vowed that he would continue to come to our table, because he wanted more and more materials to pass out to people. What a warrior!!! Praise God!
A Muslim man approached the table and indicated that he was from Myanmar, formerly Burma. He subsequently had a conversation with Suzi regarding salvation and Jesus being the only way to the Father. She explained that only through Jesus could one repent of sin and attain salvation and that there is nothing we can do to merit or earn it. He also discussed the deity and purpose of Jesus and His relationship to God, the Father. He did not believe that Jesus died upon the cross and that He resurrected on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Before he left the table, he walked away with various items, and we prayed for his salvation, as well as several others.
One man approached the table and all he desired was prayer, which we gladly provided.
Christine got her first experience with theosophy with a man who claimed to be an esoteric adherent. For those who are not familiar with this term, it is the same as Gnosticism, or hidden knowledge. It is defined as:
es•o•ter•ic http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Esoteric
–adjective
1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions.
2. belonging to the select few.
3. private; secret; confidential.
4. (of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group: the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras.
Christine had never had a conversation with a Gnostic before, and she was quite amazed at how the Holy Spirit brought to her mind verse after verse to refute questions and statements the man was addressing to her. I could not hear the whole conversation, but I hope that he was able to consider the things that Christine had to say from God's Word, the Bible.
A young lady approached the table and asked in a defiant way if we believed in gay marriage, as she happened to be looking at a tract and said that her friend had showed her a tract, and she was confused by it. I told her that according to God's command, marriage was established between one man and one woman and that any other form of union is not condoned by Him or the Bible. She then inquired if we were Christians, to which I replied, "Yes", at which point, she put the tract back on the table and left. I felt so badly about it, but I also knew that we have to be faithful to God's law and be clear in our defense.
Right before we decided to start shutting down the table, a group of Jewish men approached and it was made apparent that one of the men took issue with the Jewish materials we had on the table. He was bothered by the fact that -- he claimed -- we here "hiding our true purpose". I stated that we were very open about why we were there and that Jesus is the Messiah and the Saviour and that He also was a Jew. The man said that he was fine with the fact that Jesus is for "others", meaning Gentiles, but not for the Jews. He claimed to know all about Jesus and His story. He also attacked me on the Bible stating that he had much knowledge of the Torah as he studies it all the time, and while that is good, I told him the issue is that he only focusses on the first 5 books of Moses (Torah - the Law) and not the Tanach (the Old Testament), and even less so the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), as he refutes that there is a new covenent. I explained that the New Testament is a Jewish book written by Jewish men of God. I further stated that there is indeed prophecy about the New Covenant, and it was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 31, verses 31-34 or so. I then offered him a Brit Chadashah but he refused it. I told him that as a student of God, he should want to study all things pertaining to God, and not just follow what a rabbi has to say. He then stated rather proudly that he was a Lubatvicher. For those who do not know what that means, it is a group of Jewish men whose philosophical aim is to promote Jewish life and traditions as well as the Torah and adherence to it. They also practice a lot of mystical traditions from Kabbalistic sources and traditions. They believe that a man from Brooklyn, named Menachem Scheerson, was the messiah, although said person passed away a few years ago. According to their website, this is what it has to say about him:
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/default_cdo/jewish/The-Rebbe.htm
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory, the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is considered to have been the most phenomenal Jewish personality of modern times. To hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of sympathizers and admirers around the world, he was -- and still is, despite his passing -- "the Rebbe"
read more...
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/528345/jewish/A-Brief-Biography.htm
Here is their purpose:
Chabad Lubavitch - Torah, Judaism and Jewish Info
Official homepage for worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement that promotes Judaism and provides daily Torah lectures and Jewish insights. Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. Chabad is considered to be the most dynamic force in Jewish life today. ... Find a Chabad-Lubavitch Worldwide...
lubavitch http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lubavitch
noun
1. a town in Belarus that was the center of the Chabad movement for a brief period during the 19th century
2. a large missionary Hasidic movement known for their hospitality, technological expertise, optimism and emphasis on religious study
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
He then tried to quiz me on my knowledge of Jewish holidays and quizzed me on the significance of the day... I told him it was Purim. He then said that I wasn't Jewish, to which I replied I am spiritually Jewish as I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I even wearing a Magen Dovid (Star of David) which I showed him. I then emphasized that of all the people in the world, and of the nations, Biblical Christians are true friends of the Jews and Israel and that we love them as we do all peoples, and that Jesus came to his own, and they rejected him for the most part. Then one of his friends tried to tell me that Moses predicted the current rebbe as the messiah but at that point he trailed off as Suzi then joined in the conversation and told them about a Messianic Purim (Jewish believers in Jesus/born-again Jews, a/k/a "completed Jews") celebration taking place in the city and recommended they attend the service and ask further questions of the speaker. They left with the information and I can only hope, as the girls also do, that we were able to plant seeds.
The final memorable encounter was with a young man who I will call "Z" as he has a Hungarian name, and I am not sure of the spelling. He used to belong to a church which was cultish concerning the King James Version being put on a pedestal and that it was the only true and correct version, and no other decent version of the Bible contained the true words of God or the Gospel. I spent about 45 minutes speaking to him about the importance of the Gospel, the need for repentance for salvation and new birth by the Holy Spirit and the need to continue to grow in the Christian life by reading, praying and attending church. After much back and forth, he still seemed confused about the whole issue of versions and seemed to believe that one could not be saved by reading a New King James version. While I explained that there were heretical versions out there, as long as he was truly saved, born-again of the Holy Spirit and continued to read the Bible (his preference was for the KJV), the Lord would keep him; he could not lose his salvation, and the Holy Spirit would lead him into all truth. I then invited him to attend my church and to listen to our Pastor on the radio, as I don't believe he has a church to attend. I then prayed with him for God to quiet his soul and take away the anxiety, which was from the enemy, and for him to trust in God with all his heart and not to lean to his own understanding.
Christian was able to join us toward the end and he was involved in conversation along with Suzi and various others around the table. We then said a group prayer and headed back to the church office to retire our supplies.
Again, there were many requests for complete Bibles in English, Spanish and Hebrew, more teaching CDs and DVDs in English and Spanish, more books on New Age, purpose driven, emergent, contemplative and information on end times. One gentleman said that he would return with a donation for our ministry!! A lot of the apologetics tracts concerning Catholicism and its traditions vs. Scripture were taken. Several of the Answers in Genesis tracts concerning evolution, creation, carbon dating, millions of years theory and others were also taken. Thanks to Pastor Recker for continually supplying us with these wonderful booklets.
We were so thankful to, once again, be able to sound a voice in the wilderness and that many seem to hear. We pray for much fruit to spring forth!!!
Shalom,
Fighting the good fight of Faith!!
Heidi
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From Suzi:
This ministry has been such a joy and each Sunday God has new surprises! It was wonderful to spend some time worshipping on the guitar because of what happens in our midst when we praise our King! II Chronicles 20:21,22 is one of my favorite examples!
It is always encouraging to meet other Christians who are excited to find us and who are also interested in sharing the gospel. We met Jill from Jesus is Lord Ministries and her daughter Nakelia who enjoyed playing on my guitar!
We also met Sam from Word of Life ministries...God seems to be answering our prayers in raising up more laborerers and bringing us together for mutual encouragement!
I met Mike who had alot of questions about the Bible and asked for prayer because he lost a large sum of money. I couldn't help but think that while he lost earthly treasure, he could be stumbling upon the greatest treasure of all. We prayed that God would restore what was lost and that above all his soul would prosper in growing in his knowledge of Jesus!
Christian and I were able to pray for Harold, a Jewish man who was was very depressed for being rejected by his family. We were able to share that Jesus was rejected by all and that He is our sympathetic High Priest. He allowed us to pray for him, that He would come to know Jesus and His Savior and Lord!
Always such a priviledge to share the word of life and encourage all people to respond as we earnestly contend for our faith!
In His love,
Suzi
