Bible Quiz The answers are at the end of the blog. Have fun!! According to the Bible, are these statements true or false?
1. The more satanists or demonically ruled people gather together, the greater their power. 2. Early Scriptures were passed down by oral tradition.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
I thought you would enjoy hearing some true, first-hand accounts of the power of your prayers coupled with the power of the gospel.
Acts 19:18-20 describes the experience of the early church in proclaiming the gospel by stating that “many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”
This week I had the privilege of baptizing fourteen new believers in Christ. You may remember that last year we had a push on personal evangelism. We trained men and women to boldly share Christ with their personal testimony in the context of a clearly presented gospel presentation that included twelve memorized verses. This week we began baptizing the fruit of this evangelistic effort.
It is my policy that before baptism, the candidates must complete a nine-page Bible study and then give public confession that they have burned all talismans, jujus, idols and satanic objects. Before this baptismal service, these items were publicly burned. Homes were inspected by Jean Francois. At the pre-baptism meeting, I required each individual to publicly testify before all persons gathered that they had met these requirements. In the context of the above verses, I also demanded a public confession that all aforementioned items had been burned.
We awarded fourteen baptismal certificates. These certificates will be publicly displayed in homes and offices for a testimony to all. Many opportunities for witnessing will result. I think this is a great idea. We display all sorts of certificates and awards - why not our baptismal certificate as well?
The river used for baptism is also used by cab drivers to wash their cabs, by those collecting water, by mothers who are washing clothes and children as well as for many other reasons. We approached the river singing and praising God, and then those being baptized gave a short testimony of salvation to all who were listening.
Eric is a man with whom I have shared Christ many times over the years. This year he prayed to receive Christ when Taniform Peters once again presented the gospel to him and exhorted him to be ready to be baptized with the others. When I was a counselor for the Billy Graham Crusade, they told us that most of those accepting Christ at the Crusade had been asked to receive Christ at least ten times previous to their decision. Recently, a representative with the Billy Graham Crusade told me that he strongly believed that one of the reasons for the downturn in decisions at crusades was the fact that the average church member no longer aggressively shares Christ and then presses for decisions.
Jean François’ Mother was a village witch and sorceress. She woke one morning with a paralyzed leg. None of the incantations of her and her fellow witches availed so they called for the only Christian member of the family. Jean Francois prayed for his mother, and the leg was healed. She then wanted to accept Christ, as did the extended family. He said, though, that they should study the Bible. He came back the next day, and they did an extensive day-long Bible study with the family. At the conclusion, they all prayed to receive Christ. They then dug up and removed all the occult items around her house and burned the witch hut which she had used. She publically renounced witchcraft and has shared Christ with many who used to come to her for spells and potions. She now gives them a Bible.
Jean François’ cousin, Womba, also destroyed cultic objects and possessions and came to Christ. When his uncle and mother saw the power of Christ to deliver him from demonic attack, they, too, came to Christ. This situation reminded me of Gideon’s experience in Judges 6:23–33. “'Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.' But Joash said to all who stood against him, 'Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar' (Judges 6:30-31)." Dr. Womba earned a PhD in Math. He waited for the spirits to attack Jean François for destroying cultic objects. When, instead, Jean François openly attacked the spirits (burning objects and destroying idols), Dr. Womba came to Christ.
I first met Julius as a single man. Over the years, I have seen him grow in Christ, marry a Christian wife and raise a family. He led his son, Lawrence, to Christ, and it was a privilege to baptize this fine young Christian teenager.
I baptized Moise Stephan two years ago. This year his disciple, Tiku Fabrice, whom he led to Christ through an evangelistic Bible study, was baptized.
Tatiana is a francophone engineer working in Limbe and came to Christ through an evangelistic Bible study.
Notice the constant here – a clear presentation of Christ, followed up with a careful study of the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. These conversions were not supposed to happen. They all resulted from training in presenting the gospel in a clear, concise manner, using the written Word of God and calling for immediate repentance and acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior. They are non-Christians, who speak French as their first language, considered “hard to reach.” In my experience, the “hard to reach” people groups are the people groups where Christians have lost confidence in the gospel. The problem is not with the hearers but with the proclaimers. My faith remains unwavering in Christ and the gospel as presented in the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. Quite frankly, the only people I know who disagree with this approach are the ones not leading people to Christ, baptizing them and then disicpling them.
In Romans 1:16, Paul announces “for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
I close this email, as always, with a deep and abiding thankfulness for your sacrificial and effectual prayers, which empower and drive this ministry ever forward in the cause of Christ.
1. False - Hollywood has long propagated this lie. Whether it is Star Wars, The Lord of The Rings, Vampire movies or other occult blather, the scene is always the same. The more forces of darkness which gather, the greater their power. Through this lie, satan is able to make many Christians cower on days such as Halloween or Summer Solstice and have a good laugh in doing so. The Bible gives absolutely no credence to the number of demons nor demon possessed people as having any relation to satan’s limited power. In 1 Kings 18:1–40, it was one prophet (Elijah) verses 450 prophets of the demon god Baal. Their numbers were of no concern nor consequence to Elijah. In Mark 5:1–20, it was Jesus verses thousands of demons, and again the battle was over before it began.
2. False - Nowhere (and I mean absolutely nowhere) does the Bible ever mention the passing down of holy Scripture through oral tradition. This statement is simply the fabrication of Bible teachers based on the reasoning of man and their own imaginations. The next time a Bible teacher mentions “oral tradition” as a source of any information in the Bible, simply raise your hand and ask the four most dreaded three words known to liberals and lazy Bible teachers, “Chapter and verse please.”
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