"...whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." - John 4:14 KJV
The Living Water Minute is an e-journal of our homeless ministry, faithfully kept by Ryan George, one of our directors. The original intent of the Living Water Minute was to be a regular e-mail communication from our ministry's leadership to our volunteers. But since it gives any reader a clear idea of what our Homeless Ministry does, we thought it would be a good idea to publish some highlights here on our website so that people can get an inside view of the work we do for the glory of God, and in Jesus' Name.
Ryan has been away at seminary since summer 2006, so journal entries have not been recorded since then. But the regular homeless outreaches continue unabated and our ministry's dedicated volunteers continue to serve the homeless in Washington DC.
Click here if you plan on being a volunteer, or would like to learn more about our regular homeless outreach.
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A big change in Big Frank (04/09/06)
Philip sings a song about the Lord (03/26/06)
The "widow's mite" of Xavier, a homeless man rich in faith (02/26/06)
Ken's answered prayer, and Jimmy's story (02/12/06)
A poem about our Lord written by a homeless man (01/29/06)
Randy is doing well in North Carolina—thanks for your prayers (01/08/06)
Dozens of homemade quilts for the homeless (12/18/05)
The ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD (12/04/05)
Thanksgiving feast (11/20/05)
A broken and contrite heart God will not despise (11/06/05)
Victorious in spiritual war (10/30/05)
Homeless men help a stranded woman to get home (10/23/05)
Blankets and shoes for everyone (10/16/05)
Spiritual food (10/09/05)
The difference between perfect justice and perfect grace (09/25/05)
Ye cannot serve God and mammon (09/18/05)
September 11 (09/11/05)
The born-again gypsy (08/28/05)
Changed lives (08/21/05)
Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God - 1 Corinthians 10:31 (08/14/05)
Rodney needs your prayers (08/07/05)
Shepherd's Pie (07/31/05)
Pray for Randy (07/24/05)
The heat's on (07/17/05)
A work in progress (07/10/05)
Mighty works for the Lord (07/03/05)
All are one in Christ Jesus - Galatians 3:28 (06/26/05)
Thankful to wake up each day (06/19/05)
Fields ripe for harvest! - John 4:35 (06/12/05)
David turns 180-degrees for the better (06/05/05)
A calming Psalm (05/22/05)
Repentance proven by deeds (05/15/05)
We witness the work of our Lord (05/08/05)
The Gospel is preached on May Day (05/01/05)
Homeless are hungry—for the Word (04/24/05)
200 meals are served (04/17/05)
The homeless open their Bibles wide (04/10/05)
Homeless men rejoice, and repent, on Resurrection Day (03/27/05)
Time well-spent with "the least of these My brethren" (03/20/05)
The one Gospel in which we stand, by which we are saved (03/13/05)
A delicious dessert buffet (03/06/05)
Bread from Heaven for the homeless (02/27/05)
What is truth? - John 18:38 (02/20/05)
Man does not live on bread alone (02/13/05)
The Good LORD delivers sleeping bags to the men who need them (02/06/05)
A rough start, but a blessed outreach in the snow (01/30/05)
Let us rejoice and be glad this day (01/23/05)
Abundance exceeding all that we ask or think! (01/16/05)
The fierce cold of winter settles in the park (01/09/05)
Demolishing a stronghold of sin and sadness in the inner city (01/02/05)
Many servants from far and wide gather in the park (12/19/04)
Miracles of loaves and fishes (12/12/04)
Scattering seed (12/05/04)
Thanksgiving feast in the park (11/21/04)
Kevin "threw in the towel" and surrendered to the LORD (11/14/04)
Bible study in the park (10/31/04)
The Father knows that you need these things (10/24/04)
The soul is the target of the Thief (10/17/04)
Workers in His harvest field (10/10/04)
Record-breaking day: God's overwhelming provision (10/03/04)
Pleasant surprises (09/19/04)
A difficult day (09/12/04)
Declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection (09/05/04)
God's justice and love are reconciled on the Cross (08/29/04)
How faithful the LORD is (08/15/04)
"The man with the red hat" talks peaceably with Joe (08/08/04)
Spiritual food gives life to the soul (08/01/04)
Rejection of Esau (07/25/04)
The first to arrive today came in Jesus' name (07/18/04)
Resist temptation and await the Blessed Hope (07/11/04)
A very rainy 4th of July (07/04/04)
Message about the Great Banquet (06/27/04)
Introducing the Living Water Minute (06/06/04)
We began with Ron preaching through large sections of the book of Acts. Ron’s first point was that Peter and John’s ministry was offensive to the religious elite notbecause they were helping the poor, working miracles, teaching philosophy or even referencing God: what angered the religious leaders was the apostles’ use of the name of Jesus as they engaged in these activities. At one point, after the apostles were arrested for preaching in the name of Jesus, the word of God says that the rulers, elders and scribes “called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). Later, when they were arrested again for preaching in the name of Jesus, the rulers, elders and scribes said to them again, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?” (Acts 5:28). Indeed, the word of God contains this clear direction for all Christians: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). This gets at the heart of why we have always been intent on distributing food and clothing in the name of Christ, with a standing cross in our midst, His name on our lips, and His Gospel in our message—so that He gets all the credit and the glory. Ron’s second point was just as important. He noted that the Apostles and many who came after them through the centuries have not only publicly proclaimed the most sacred and powerful truths of the word of God to all who will listen, but they did it even when it might cost them their lives. Ron’s point was that true Christianity does not harbor the “secret wisdom” or “secret gospels” that are coming into public awareness once again these days. Simply put, Ron warned everyone in the park of anyone who comes to them with “secret wisdom” especially when such wisdom regards the Lord Jesus Christ, for they are antichrists (i.e., devils). From the beginning, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ—the only way of salvation revealed to us in the sacred text of the sixty-six books of the Bible—has been subjected to the following command of Christ: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops” (Matt 10:27).
Brian and Renee Thomas served a delicious lunch of Americanized goulash. Ruth brought a hot vegetable medley for a side and others brought desserts and drinks. Still others brought clothing to be distributed to the homeless. Many were fed and clothed today in Jesus’ name. We praise God for His continued provision of food and clothing.
Big Frank [who is often a trouble-maker at our street outreaches] was in a totally different mindset on Sunday. He was quite calm and self-controlled. He was suffering from a bad toothache and an ear ache. The pain seemed to humble him greatly. He really seems to have no one in the city. I pray for God to show him mercy and to heal him in the name of Christ, and that the Lord would lead him to others who would show him mercy.
The atmosphere was quite serene today as there was a sense of relief today that winter may have finally passed for now and more warm days are in store for the “least of these” on the streets. This will be my last “Living Water Minute” for awhile. My family and I are moving to California at the end of the month so that I can attend seminary.
I preached a message regarding the greatest threats to the Christian churches: false teachers. Citing passages like Jude v4, 2 Peter 2:1, Acts 20:29-32 and the words of our Master to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matt 7:15), I reminded listeners that the greatest threats to the Christian churches are uniformly described in the New Testament, over and over again, as those who will profess to be Christians and dwell in the churches (i.e., they will be dressed as sheep) yet secretly introduce heresies into the churches unnoticed by many. As the Apostle Peter said, “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies.” These servants of Satan will seize upon the same ignoble covert tactics of warfare seized upon by the terrorists of our day—however, these servants of Satan are spiritual terrorists who masquerade as citizens of heaven with Bibles and fine-sounding “statements of faith” in hand, not as the temporal terrorists of our day who masquerade as American citizens with the Koran in hand. Christians need to be on their greatest guard against the spiritual terrorists. If Christ and His Apostles are our guide, those who would kill the body and those who are publicly and overtly non-Christian do not pose a serious threat to the spiritual health of the Church; battles against such as these are brushfires outside the city walls of churches that distract the watchmen from the “Trojan horse” within. I concluded with the Apostle Paul’s words, “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (2 Thes 5:21).
After I finished speaking, a multitude of old and new co-laborers gathered and efficiently served a lunch of meatballs, pasta and homemade cookies. We also were able to distribute many bags of clothing and shoes to the homeless. These supplies just continue to show up at each outreach from a variety of sources.
At one point, a man who was listening to me speak approached me after the outreach had been completed. His name was Phillip. He told me that he had been affected by the word of God that I spoke. He then proceeded to tell me his testimony including his conversion in his mid-twenties and the Gospel singing ministry that ensued. He said with clear sorrow in his eyes that he had backslidden since his mother died seven years ago; however, it was so obvious that he had a contrite heart and missed the Lord and His service to the Lord. He painted a vivid picture of backsliding when he said that after his mom died, he did not even give thanks for his food before meals for almost a year and a half. We prayed with him, and after lifting our bowed heads, we found a little Hispanic lady standing among us. She asked for prayer, for Psalm 23. After praying that over her, Phillip burst out in song praising the Lord in English then reaching for her hands, he sang to her about the Lord in Spanish! We pray that this incident would be the beginning of the Lord’s restoration of Phillip.
Lastly, we said goodbye to a faithful co-laborer yesterday, Jerri Plemmons. She has tirelessly and fearlessly worked the mission field at McPherson Square park for many years now, but the Lord has called her to Richardson, Texas, to continue her work for the U.S. Postal Service and, more importantly, to hopefully engage in prison ministry bringing mercy and the hope of forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus Christ to the “least of these” in prison. We pray that the Lord will prosper Jerri’s ministry in Texas for His namesake and for her good. We thank God for her help in this little ministry.
While the temperatures were frigid, the Christian fellowship was warm from the start. We began when our brother in Christ Hamed proclaimed the word of God. Hamed was delivered by God many years ago from the religion of Islam, which is a religion with many lies, the worst of which are that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God and was not crucified. Years ago, by grace, through faith, Hamed rejected these wicked lies and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Oh that many more Muslims around the world would come to a saving faith in the grace of God through Jesus Christ!
A new married couples fellowship group served piping hot lasagna, fruit and rolls. We also served hot chocolate. All who were hungry were fed. We then distributed clothing of all sorts.
I have several stories that show us how faithful and merciful God is to those who call on His name. First, I got to talking to Mortin, who has been a regular homeless participant in the outreaches. He was hanging out well past the end of the outreach and seemed joyful. I asked him what was going on. He immediately told me how over the past several weeks he has stopped alcohol and drugs and has gotten a job so that he can provide for his basic needs. He attributed all of this to the Lord. He said that he had confessed his sins to God and through Bible study and hearing the word of God preached he was delivered from his sins. He told of how he bought a couple of beers soon after he was delivered and after taking one sip, he concluded that he had no desire to take another and gave it away. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Second, we met a man named Xavier, who was recently made homeless through a series of difficult circumstances in his life. What was most interesting about Xavier is how he essentially preached a sermon every time he opened his mouth. Apparently, he has taught the word of Christ to others in his lifetime. I don’t think I’ve met another person in the park so filled with faith and trusting in Christ. At one point, he told us how someone gave him money for transportation to a job that he just got, but that he soon found someone else that he thought needed it more than him and he gave it all to this other person. Amazing! This is yet someone else we have met on the street who has the faith and love of God like the widow who gave her two mites (Mark 12:42). He said he loves to talk about God, which was evident from our conversation with him. “Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and hears of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5).
We had a blessed day of ministry. Actually, we came very close to canceling the outreach due to the 12+ inches of snow that fell in this area. However, a combination of a few rays of sun, the confidence of the Midwesterners who were tasked with bringing lunch and our blessed memory of the last outreach that took place in the midst of piles of snow drove us into the city to serve the King of kings.
We served a lunch of hot sloppy joes, green beans and apples provided by a group of first-time co-laborers. Ruth and Micah brought hot chocolate. Others brought bottled water, which is critical in cold conditions since the homeless forget that they need water and can easily become dehydrated. We then distributed several bags of clothing of unknown origin. We had so many co-laborers yesterday (15 maybe) that it is impossible to guess who brought these clothes.
At one point, Ken, our long-time friend from Cambodia, pulled me aside to tell me some good news. It has been many years since I have seen him this excited and desirous of talking with depression being his standard countenance. He proceeded to tell me that he had a good job interview several days ago as a “houseman” at a local hotel. He was surprised because he had spent several weeks applying for jobs all around the city without getting any calls back or interviews. Further, many of the job applications were difficult to complete. Not so with this job application. He said he was able to complete it with ease and just about five minutes later, they called him back in for an interview, which went very well. He said that unlike previous times, the answers to the interviewer’s questions came effortlessly. I told him this seemed like a great blessing from God. Then he proceeded to tell me that unlike the other times, this time he had prayed to God just before he started completing the application. He was convinced that the blessings were an answer to his prayer. Now, I’ve never heard Ken say anything to lead me to believe that he prays to God or even knows God. This is the first time! Not only that, but he offered up to us that he has been praying to God before he goes to sleep at night. After knowing Ken for upwards of five years and never seeing or hearing any sign of a relationship with God, it was a great blessing to hear this testimony. I pray that he would continue to learn and walk in the truth, even unto salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord.
People often wonder how homeless become homeless. Yesterday, I heard yet another unique story of how one man became homeless. His name is Jimmy and he’s from Pittsburgh. Apparently, his house burned down and his fourth child is only three months old and has already had multiple operations in a children’s hospital in Pittsburgh. Through all of this, he was forced to drive to DC to find good work to support his family under these trying circumstances. He is sleeping out of his car. As of yesterday, he had finally gotten a Federal scale job and was now hoping to move his family from Pittsburgh to find a home in one of the distant, more affordable suburbs.
Later, I met a homeless man who pulled me aside not to ask for money or even prayer, but to ask my advice on how he could transport some of his clothes to those in the park. Somehow, he had been blessed with more clothes than he needed and had three bags at a friend’s house by RFK stadium. I found myself asking him several times whether he was actually homeless, and he answered several times in the affirmative. He stays at nearby Franklin Shelter. He said that he loves to help and that if he ever has the means, he wants to build and operate a homeless shelter. He reminded me of the widow who gave her two mites to the work of God!
“Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5). “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). “Give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’” (Proverbs 30:8-9).
I thank the Lord that we did not cancel the outreach.
Upon entering the park, many smiling faces greeted us. Many gave us a hard time about being absent the last two weeks, but were obviously happy to see us, as if they missed us.
I preached a message from the text, “Fools mock sin, but among the upright there is favor” (Proverbs 14:9). I spent most of the sermon dealing with the first half of this passage, as I see the mockery of sin as a cancer in our society. I pointed out that it is foolish to mock sin because sin is the cause of all the death and destruction around us and, moreover, sin is the cause of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He bore the wrath of God due men and women for their sins so that they might be forgiven and assured of eternal life. I concluded by pointing to the wise approach to sin exemplified in Psalm 51, in which David, in the wake of his adultery, says “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (v.17). When the wise observe sin in themselves, they do not mock it or glory in their shame, rather, they sorrow over it and turn from it to Jesus Christ, so that “among the upright there is favor”. When the wise see sin in others, rather than mock it with the world, they expose it as Christ did (John 7:7), and they mourn over it as Christ mourned over Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which would murder Him (Luke 19:41-44). I trust that God’s word will not return void.
We served a lunch of French fries, homemade meatballs and vegetables. There were also assorted sweets and hot chocolate and various drinks. I would estimate that upwards of 100 passed through the lunch line. We also were able to distribute clothing that filled many bags and that came from unannounced sources, though I think Tom Malloy was behind much of it.
I had several fascinating conversations today, one of which was discouraging and two others were encouraging. The discouraging conversation was with a man I’ve never met before who seemed to be a believer for the first ten minutes of conversation or so. He quoted passages form the Bible and was making all sorts of observations and applications of Scripture that were correct; that is until he quoted from the Aquarian Gospel and the Koran saying that these texts are “bibles” too. What scared me about this man was that he knew so much about true Christianity, yet was quoting from these other demon-inspired texts and, moreover, was living amongst our homeless friends whose salvation we pray for regularly. I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders before he left the infant church at Ephesus, “For I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Ephesians 20:29). I pray that our friends are able to defend themselves with the full amour of God (Ephesians 6).
The second conversation was brief. I had retrieved a Bible for a man who had just gotten out of an intensive care unit at a local hospital for various ailments relating to alcohol abuse. However, I was intercepted by Hammond, a long-time acquaintance in the park who regularly has attended our outreaches. He was dressed well and had the smell of cologne. He said he was doing better these days. Then he asked if the Bible was available. Never to turn down such a request, I gave it to him. I asked him if he had a plan for how he would read it and he said he would start with Job, but I was able to persuade him to read the gospel of John. He was glad to have a Bible, which made me glad (of course).
I then got another Bible and went to talk to the fellow from the ICU. He said Jesus was his Lord and Savior and that Christ’s death is the sacrifice for his sins. He was counting on the fact that Jesus looks at a heart of faith and contrition rather than all of his drunkenness and sin. He told me he had not had a drink in three weeks and was thankful for that. Then he told me about a poem he wrote about Christ. I had to write it down since he never learned to write very well. The poem went like this:
Today I went into prison where I looked upon anguish and strife,To my amazement, this man illustrated not only my sermon but many other theological truths that are missing or distorted in many learned circles today. This simple, illiterate man glorified God. God only knows how many others have had such an encounter with this man. He said he wrote it and memorized it many years ago. I’m reminded that God specializes in calling men like this to glorify His name. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. . . that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27, 29).
but the message I learned from a prisoner there I’ll take with me the rest of my life.
He said he was contented in paying society’s due.
It’s easy to render to Caesar, he said, when you have the Master with you.
Though I’ve seen his anger fly out of hand for he was just human you see.
Then he asked both offended and God to forgive, unashamed when bending his knee.
Today I went into a prison when I saw to my disbelief
the face of my Lord and Savior worn on the face of a thief.
Ron preached a sermon on the meaning of repentance given to us in the sacred text of the Bible. He used a well-known illustration in the story of “Tookie” Williams, the founder of an infamous Los Angeles gang who was recently executed as punishment for his commission of multiple murders. Ron asserted that the media and the lawyers of Mr. Williams, among others, insisted on a steady refrain that Mr. Williams was both innocent and redeemed, that Mr. Williams was innocent and had repented. Ron brought our attention to the impossibility of a man being both innocent and redeemed, for anyone who is innocent need not be redeemed, and anyone who repented and was redeemed no longer has the option to claim innocence. Ron’s point reminded us all how godless people will often take sacred words from the Bible and reinvent them to suit their own sinful means. This was the case here, and sadly, according to Ron, some Christians were duped into believing that they were seeing a story of true redemption when they saw terms like “repentance” being thrown around. Ron cited a key passage on this matter from the Bible, 2 Corinthians 7:10, which reads “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Mr. William’s sorrow was worldly, for it included an apology (i.e., a defense) that said “I didn’t do it.” So much of what is held out as godly sorrow leading to repentance today is actually worldly sorrow, for it includes an excuse or a defense coupled with a superficial confession.
As God’s providence would have it, Jerri Plemmons happened to have Bible tracts with her describing the godly repentance of David Berkowitz, the infamous “Son of Sam,” who now loves the Lord Jesus Christ as his Redeemer. It was an incredible blessing to be able to share David’s story with the homeless, most of whom have seen the inside of a jail. Rather than “I have redeemed myself” as Mr. Williams was quoted as saying, Mr. Berkowitz proclaims on the pages of the tract that God redeemed him (i.e., purchased him) through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, his Redeemer.
I pray that God would give the gift of faith to those in the park yesterday who have yet to have godly sorrow leading to repentance, so they might believe Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for their sins and thereby be saved from the coming Judgment. A good number of them seemed to appreciate Ron’s message. “The LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:4-5).
We served a hot lunch of lasagna yesterday. Micah also brought enough hot chocolate for all in the park as well as some tasty desserts. We were blessed with many co-laborers yesterday, some of whom were new and very enthusiastic and helpful. We distributed loads of clothing rought by Tom Malloy and others, including jeans, sweatshirts and sweaters, socks and underwear. One of the new co-laborers, Libor, was impressed with the amount of work that he thought was involved in organizing the outreaches. However, I told him that there was very little organization entailed for each outreach. God just raised up people to proclaim the word, pray with the homeless, serve lunch, distribute clothing and generally encourage the park in Christ’s name.
One last word about the nature of the friendships God has forged in the park through this ministry. Many of you will remember Randy, whom I’ve mentioned before in these letters. He and Chicago served Christ with us for many weeks, serving their fellow man on the streets. Many will also recognize the name, Bill Witmer, another of our friends on the street who is actually rich since he is a co-heir with Christ. Randy must have spoken to Bill over the phone recently and Randy asked Bill to tell us that he is doing fine and that he says “Hi,” and that he might not return to the park as he has apparently found good living circumstances in North Carolina. This report was well-received for we had not seen Randy for many weeks now. These men are full of faith and minister to us more than we minister to them.
“Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5).
At this time of year when we speak figuratively of receiving the newborn King, I wanted to remind those in the park of the need for all people everywhere to prepare for the literal return of Christ, not as the baby Jesus, but as the Judge of the world (Matthew 25:31). I’m also reminded of the second coming of Jesus Christ when I receive all of the secular Holiday cards at my office. They usually have messages of “Peace!” and “Have a safe holiday!” but no mention of either advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God describes this situation well: “The day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). So many in the world today live as if Christ will never return and God’s courts of justice will never be set up. This is to be expected, for as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be before the coming of Christ to judge the world: “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away” (Matthew 24:38-39). I urged the Christians in the park to rejoice that we have an “ark” and His name is Jesus Christ, that on that day all those who have waited for His coming and trusted in His salvation will be granted eternal life. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
We were not only blessed to think of the eradication of all in this world that sets itself up against Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God, and the coming redemption of our bodies and inheritance of eternal life, but we were blessed with temporal blessings that also remind us of God’s goodness and love.
Two different small/fellowship groups participated in the preparation of lunch. One group brought hot, homemade chili with meat and bread and the other group brought green beans and beverages including Tang. After lunch, we had a veritable cornucopia of winter clothing and blankets. The blankets were actually homemade quilts brought by Greg from his home church in West Virginia! Apparently, women in his church make these quilts all year long and, on Sunday, the homeless were blessed to receive them. Tom Malloy also mustered up enough warm winter hats and gloves for everyone who needed them to take one or two. Eric brought a large box of underwear and socks. There were shoes and jackets as well. As usual, it was difficult to keep track of who brought what.
At one point after the outreach, one of the homeless commented to me that it was good that we stayed in the park after we handed out the food and clothing and preached, for many organizations will not stay and simply fellowship with the “least of these.” I did not really think about it until he said this, but I do see that many of the “volunteers” have built unique friendships with certain of the homeless. These friendships are predominantly founded on their joint love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and their conversations show this. I was reminded of how much I needed to be in the park on a regular basis, because for some reason, the Christian fellowship is so rich there. “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20).
Finally, Thomas, the man who is constantly drunk yet cries during the sermons and loves to hear the word of God, asked to pray with a bunch of us, but this time, he wanted to pray. It was a sincere prayer grounded in truth, supplicating to the Lord. He also talked about the Apostle Paul and his deliverance from being a murderer. He said he wishes he would be delivered from his sin of drunkenness just like Paul was delivered. Again and again in Thomas, I get a picture of the drunks Jesus must have hung out with many years ago. Christ was not following people into the pubs of His day hoping over the course of hours and many weekends that some door would open for His otherwise pagan, God-hating, sin-loving companions to ask just one question about eternity or God. He was hanging out with drunks who knew they were sinners and who were seeking the truth about salvation.
[Last Sunday in] the park I saw a man running around preaching a frenetic message that sounded like the gospel of Jesus Christ. I asked two men sitting on a park bench about the preacher and one of the men on the bench was with the preacher. He started talking about the realities of hell and the urgency of the matter of being reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. Eventually, the preacher came over to us and several others of his associates joined us. We talked for a bit and then several of the homeless who know me asked me what I thought of the preacher and his ministry. They were clearly uneasy with his approach. I had two concerns. First, they seemed to equate homelessness with unbelief, as if all the homeless were unsaved and a critical step in being saved was to leave the park. This is not the first time we have encountered such philosophy. Thankfully, I was able to get the preacher to concede that there are strong believers in the homeless community and that the ratio of believers to unbelievers in the corporate world could be far worse. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).
My second concern was deeper and more troubling. The preacher and his associates seemed to require their listeners come with them to their facilities in Philadelphia, PA. It seemed that the decision that was being foisted upon our friends in the park was not just simply to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior, but to come to Philadelphia. I recall that they had crafted some twelve-step plan of sorts that was somehow connected to Scripture. They seemed to deny that the gospel of Jesus Christ, and nothing else, is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), and that a man or woman could be saved by the hearing of the gospel right where they are on the park bench! While we believe that getting out of the park and off the streets would be good for our homeless friends, we do not believe such a move helps them get saved. Thankfully, all of the homeless I talked to saw all the red flags and did not heed these folks.
Another interesting event last Sunday occurred at Starbucks. When we first entered Starbucks, there was a homeless man inside whom I did not know. Eventually, he must have left. Later, our friend David came into the Starbucks and said that he ran into the homeless man (who was in Starbucks) and the homeless man told David that he was about to rob the Starbucks, but when he saw the “Reverend,” he could not do it and simply left the place. I pray this man will eventually come to believe that “the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21), so that he lives for the LORD rather than a “Reverend” or a police officer or his mom, so that he can stand with the Psalmist and say to the LORD, “Against You and You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4).
This past Sunday, we were all blessed in the chilly weather, especially the homeless, who were able to partake of a piping hot meal of rotisserie chicken, potatoes and green beans prepared by Hany Morcos and family. There was just enough of everything to fill all who were hungry to the brim.
Ron preached a message that essentially reminded us all that we worship Jesus Christ as God incarnate because of the Sign of Jonah, which proved that Jesus was the fully divine Son of God. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). In other words, Jesus Christ was declared to be the fully divine Son of God when He was raised from the dead on the third day after His death (Romans 1:4).
This is God’s ministry. We are vessels at best. We know that under God’s sovereignty, the very rocks could be our competition in this ministry, for as Christ pointed out long ago, “if the disciples shut up, the very rocks would cry out.”
God once again showed us that this ministry is wholly dependent upon Him and not us.
We served our annual Thanksgiving meal on Sunday, so there was much more work to be done than on the average Sunday. Early on in the set-up, David, who had signed up for work with the Red Cross [in areas hurt by Katrina], assumed an amazing leadership role among the homeless and at his command, drew a handful of homeless over to my vehicle to help unload. I was thrilled to see this!
Suzy and Abbey joined us for a couple of hours and talked with David. It has been many months since Suzy saw David, long before David changed. She commented that he is a different person, a new man. During the week, he got two winter coats from a local church and gave them to two older men who stay in another park and who are unable to move around very well. David continues to seem almost as startled as we are at his transformation, as if he is looking in a mirror and can’t believe what he sees. He commented how the only way to live life is to serve the Lord. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor 5:17).
I preached on Christ’s teaching to His disciples to begin prayer to God by saying “Our Father in heaven.” I delved into the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man to show the fantastic nature of the suggestion that any man or woman could ever have an intimate relationship with God akin to that of a child and father. Indeed, because of sins of mankind, the Bible refers to people in their natural state, into which they are born, not as children of God but as children of wrath and enemies of God (Eph 2:1-3; Rom 5:10). It was a joy though, to then focus on John 1:12-13, to proclaim how anyone who received Jesus Christ could become a child of God, born again out of darkness and sin and into the family of God with the full rights of a child. I emphasized that while Jesus Christ is the only way to become a child of God, by dint of His exclusive claim to dealing with the sin of the world, He is available to all people of all religions in the world, for God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). I trust the word of God will not return void.
We served well over 200 meals on Sunday. The effort was a orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, as we had just enough to fill every hungry person to the brim with chicken pot pies, freshly roasted turkey and ham, multiple recipes of potatoes, green beans, corn, apple sauce, cranberry, gravy, homemade cakes and cookies and, the most amazing of all the fixings, the pumpkin pies, of which there were many! We had upwards of 15 pumpkin pies and only had two left over at the end. The people and churches that contributed to this effort came from all over Washington. All told, I estimate that 15 to 20 people brought some dish to this outreach. Further, our church donated turkeys, hams and other fixings.
As Ron said, there was a look of joy on the faces of many homeless and volunteers as many stood back and wondered at the abundant provision of the word of God, the fellowship and the food.
Towards the end of the outreach, one of the homeless gave me a note, which read [quoted exactly], “To the cross people; from James Fetherson. Keep up the work, some of the homeless will come around. Myself, I have a apartment now. Last year, I was at homeless level. Got a job as a federal security person at a federal building. I was a member of the Army’s special operations fight in the middle east, 1991 Gulf War. James Fetherson, God-fearing person.”
I’m grateful for this change in his life. I’m also amazed that these kinds of results can be attributed to our work in the park. We do nothing by way of job placement or other social services. We rarely even talk about homelessness, for our foundational belief is that many of the social problems that are faced by those on the streets are spiritual at their core. By addressing the core issue of sin with the gospel of Jesus Christ, they can be liberated, not from their lack of material possessions, which is not evil in and of itself, but from their slavery to sin. Still, it gives us great joy to see how such liberation will often result in gainful employment and self-provision, which is good in the eyes of God (2 Thes 3:12).
Thank God for the gospel of Jesus Christ, which enables men and women to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and leave worries about food, clothing and possessions behind (Matt 6:33).
When I arrived at the park with a carload of equipment, Chicago showed up with a smile and praises for God. He helped me unload, as did one of the quiet Hispanic men whom we have known for some time, but who has never helped with the outreach before.
I preached on the text, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). I contrasted true Biblical faith in the living God, without which it is impossible to please God according to Hebrews 11:6, with the organized religions of the world that lead their adherents to put their faith not in God but in man-made rituals, formulas, methods and tricks. From special beads to quotas for daily prayer times to the use of prayers revealed in the Bible as formulas to unlock the blessings of God, people are deceived into thinking that that they will be heard for their many words, special words, special dances or rituals or the quantity of their sacrifices. The truth of the matter was summed up by the Psalmist when he said to the living God, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17). When a man is contrite over his utter inability to impress God with religious activities and sacrifices, he is in a position to have a relationship with God, for there, and only there, will a man cry out to God for mercy and find it in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, thus preparing the way for faith in God, rather than for religion.
Many of the homeless seemed to be helped by the word of God. Chicago, as usual, was intent on learning the Scriptures I used in my message. He talked about how he wanted to live a life pleasing to God, through faith in Jesus Christ. He said he needed our prayer, because he felt like he was still trying to live a life on the street in the “street culture”, and the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is, he confessed double-mindedness. He waited around for us to re-load all of the ministry equipment and then asked for our phone numbers. He said that seeing and hearing from us just once a week was not enough. I gladly obliged.
Chicago is following in the footsteps of Donald Henson, an old friend who was once homeless and seeking the Lord’s face. Donald Henson lives in an apartment in DC now, but we regularly keep in contact. Don has been fighting cancer lately, finding his strength in the Lord. Don visited the park yesterday for the first time in maybe a year, just to say hello to us. We learned yesterday that Don and Chicago are good friends, brothers in Christ. They had met, I believe, while in the Spiritual Transformation Program at a Mission here in DC. Don just smiled when he saw that Chicago had asked for my sermon notes, just as Don used to do when he was still on the streets and regularly coming to the outreaches. We laid hands on Don and prayed for him regarding his cancer.
We served a lunch of tasty homemade meatballs made by Ruth, bread, cookies, chips and drinks. Micah was kind enough to bring the drinks. We also distributed some clothing, but not much. We are praying for winter clothing for the homeless before the temperatures drop.
The word of God, sweet fellowship amongst children of God through Jesus Christ, sunny Fall colors and temperatures, a good lunch and signs of the work of the Holy Spirit all around. It was a beautiful day, by God’s grace!
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
(1 Thessalonians 2:19)
Randy was overflowing with thanksgiving since he recently was awarded disability benefits from Social Security Administration. He has at least one hole in his heart (physically, not figuratively), is blind in one eye and going blind in the other and is an asthmatic. I’ve never heard him complain though and, like many of the regulars who participate in the outreach, he seems to just be thankful to have another day to live and breathe and learn to live a live pleasing to God their Savior.
Ron preached from Deuteronomy 18 and 32, and Revelation 13 and 20, among other passages dealing with signs, wonders and miracles that are driven by the power of Satan in the world and are available to people in the form of all sorts of spiritual exercises commonly described as witchcraft, though coming under all sorts of decoys and titles. It is a joy to be able to equip the “least of these” with the tools to recognize such evil and to know what the LORD thinks of it.
During Ron’s message, one of the homeless women whom we’ve heard has put her trust in Christ as her Savior came up to me and quietly asked me which Scripture indicates that Jesus died for anyone in the world without regard to their ethic origins, wealth, age or any other characteristics on which human prejudices are based. I told her John 3:16 might help and she smiled and said that was the verse of which she was thinking and she returned to a group of homeless who were having a debate apparently centered on this question.
We later learned that the debate was sparked by a newcomer to the park who claimed that Christ only died for the Jewish race and no one else. This man became violent at the end of the day and actually preached a mini-sermon from the edge of the park before he departed. The lady who I mention above was not the only one of the homeless who confronted this false teacher with the word of God. Another man also argued from Scripture against the heretic to prove he was wrong, however, this other man let his temper get the best of him and a full blown verbal fight ensued. Eventually, the fight ended due in no small part to the gentle words from Jason, a new worker with us, and Ron who interposed himself between the men. Although it was a joy to see how the homeless were using the word of God to fight against the evil teaching that they heard, the incident was a sober reminder for us that the homeless are not exempt from the cunning of the Father of all Lies.
Bill Witmer came through the clothing line yesterday and did nothing but look at a pair of shoes that were clearly for women. He knew he could only choose one item as he went through the line and there were some sweaters and other items remaining that could have suited him. However, he was thinking of a lady friend of his who needed a pair of shoes. It was a joy to see this selfless thinking coming from Bill. This is our prayer, that the homeless who receive the word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ will become more and more Christ-like so that they go out into the world as His ambassadors doing and saying what He did during His earthly ministry.
Bill and the lady who was seeking the chapter and verse for John 3:16 are examples of our hope, our joy and our crown of rejoicing in this ministry to the homeless. I cling to the hope of seeing such as these in the presence of Jesus Christ Himself when He comes again.
If you have been following these emails, you will recognize the pair of names, Randy and Chicago. Well, Randy and Chicago again gave us much reason to praise the Lord yesterday. Randy told me how he and Chicago helped an older lady get home this past week. They had met her on the street. She was stranded far away from home, which is in Florida. I’m not sure how this happened, but I do know Randy and Chicago essentially adopted her for a few days and began to work with her to contact her family members. With the use of computers at the local library and some phone calls, they were able to locate her relatives and arrange for her to be transported back to Florida. Randy was very excited to tell me about this. This is a picture of the ultimate results we have been praying for: that homeless would be converted and strengthened in the Lord Jesus Christ and embark on missions of mercy, proclaiming the Gospel in their own environments in the inner-city, and bear much fruit. We desire to witness the “good soil” become manifest, so that “He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).
I preached from Matthew 6 regarding Christ’s teaching on religious hypocrisy in the areas of charitable deeds, prayer and fasting. After exposing the symptoms of such hypocrisy using Christ’s teaching and giving some modern-day examples, I exhorted my listeners to examine their own hearts when they do a charitable deed or engage in public prayer or fasting, to see if they are sincerely engaging in these activities to please God, or, to please men and gain glory from others. I am continually amazed at the insights that we hear from the homeless on spiritual matters. Frank, the Samson-like homeless man whom I’ve mentioned before in this weekly email, observed that Muslims are good examples of religious hypocrisy as they let the whole world know when they are fasting and praying. This is not surprising though, for their entire religion is based on self-righteousness rather than the only righteousness that satisfies God, the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, even the righteousness of God (Rom 3:21-22; 2 Cor 5:21).
We served a lunch of pizza, potato salad, oranges and cake to about 100 homeless. Tom Malloy brought clothing from McLean Bible Church’s clothing ministry including blankets, sweaters, socks and a few pairs of pants. Dan brought new tassel caps, which were hot items now that the temperature is dropping. The clothing distribution was very blessed like last week. The ticket system resulted in much more fairness as we witnessed some of the smaller and more quiet members of the homeless community step up to the table of clothes showing their ticket with a smile, knowing that they would never have been able to get clothes they needed if they were left to fight it out with the other homeless.
We met David’s brother yesterday. (I refer to the David who is serving in New Orleans right now.) His brother was able to corroborate the major changes we have been seeing in David’s life. He was similarly thankful of the positive changes and we praised God together. We thank God for how He showered His mercy on us in the Lord Jesus Christ and changed our lives, bringing us from the darkness of spiritual death to His marvelous light of new life.
Randy and "Chicago" came over to my vehicle and greeted me as soon as I found a parking spot across from the park. As Chicago pulled the wooden cross from the back of my truck, he sang a hymn about the cross. He continued to sing that hymn off and on for the rest of the outreach. Randy also took on his weekly responsibilities and helped unload the equipment. Randy and Chicago are Christians. They are also very different, with Randy being Caucasian, small and quiet and Chicago being African American, outspoken, big and strong. Yet, at the end of the outreach, they kindly waited for one another and walked out of the park together. I asked Randy whether they hang out and he said "yes". It's continually amazing to see how God blesses Christians with the fellowship of other Christians, though they might be different outwardly, especially in difficult times like those facing these guys who live on the streets.
Ron preached from John 8, reminding us all of the Biblical meaning of Christ's teaching on how the truth will set a person free. Rather than set a person free from oppressive governments, physical or emotional trials or the guilty conscience that comes with fresh sins, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ will set a person free from slavery to sin, the form of bondage into which all people are born. Ron told his listeners that the only way out of this bondage is faith in Jesus Christ who paid the price of all their sins when He bore God's wrath against them in His body on the cross. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 2:21).
We were blessed with a multitude of co-laborers on Sunday, many of whom were unexpected. Lunch was a major team effort. Louise brought homemade Bolognese sauce and Alain and his group brought pasta. Others brought drinks and still others brought desserts. Tom Malloy brought piles of blankets and shoes, so that almost every homeless person who was willing to wait in line was able to get either a blanket or a pair of shoes. After serving well over 100 homeless persons, we had leftover food and some clothes. Micah summed it up when he surveyed the outreach and said the Lord blessed everyone with His "bounty."
I observed one unique blessing of the day while we distributed blankets and shoes. We used the numbered ticket system to distribute clothes to inject more fairness into the process. It was striking to see the result. We had handed out tickets for clothing to the homeless while they were in the lunch line so that the strongest and most conniving members of the homeless community would not get the best clothes as has happened so many times in the past. This time, as I called out ticket numbers, one after another of the smallest and quietest of the homeless stepped forward to receive the Lord's bounty. A good number of the Hispanic community were able to get blankets and shoes for the first time, since their lack of English and smaller numbers often disadvantaged them in prior "competitions" for clothes. This was a picture of justice and I'm sorry we have not used this system more in the past.
Lastly, John, our longtime friend on the streets, was encouraged on Sunday during the clothing distribution process. John is an older Christian man who has advised us over the years on how to deal with unique matters of street homeless ministry. After the clothing line formed, John realized he did not even have a ticket. He asked for a ticket anyway, even though there were at least 80 to 100 people in front of him. I told him that he should pray that the Lord would help him in the face of these odds. He did. Afterward, he had received a pair shoes and was smiling ear to ear with the joy and confidence that comes with answered prayer. He then began to talk with renewed hope of getting off the street and starting in a local Salvation Army program.
Because of financial limitations, we could not serve lunch today. Before I began to preach, I let the two dozen or so homeless already in line know that we did not have lunch. Upon hearing this, one or maybe two men left the line but the rest stayed to hear the sermon. Paul and Bill, two good friends who live on the streets and are brothers in Christ, approached me later and were filled with praise for how barely anyone left the lunchline upon hearing that we had no food. Bill echoed the comments of a good number of the others who live on the street and are leaders of a sort that many of the homeless depend upon our ministry coming down each week to be fed "spiritual food." He commented that he knew at least a few who had turned towards the Lord since they started participating in our outreaches. This was incredibly encouraging, though I know that we basically just planted the seeds that have blossomed as such, and that ultimately it's God who makes the seeds grow. Only God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, could shine in the heart of a lost soul to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
I preached from Matthew 5:43-45, where Christ teaches that we are to love our enemies, not only those who love us. He taught that we are to do this "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." The Christian's love of his enemies reveal that he is a son of God. God's enemies are all those who reject Christ. As the Scripture says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). Yet, the offer of reconciliation is made to the whole world, for "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). We see a picture of this in Christ's prayer for his murderers, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). He loved even His murderers, we ought to love our enemies as well.
At one point, I asked everyone who was a Christian in line to raise a hand. Almost immediately, Robert raised his hand. I've written about Robert in the past. I've known him for several years now and have noted his increased interest in hearing from God's word each week. However, I had never asked him if he actually repented and trusted Christ. It was a joy to see that he had.
I praise God for how the simple message of Christ crucified and the accompanying work of God in the hearts of men is transforming lives of the "least of these" in McPherson Square Park.
Most of those in line stayed to hear the word. I preached on Christ's words recorded for us in Matthew 5:38-42, in which we see the stark contrast between perfect justice (i.e. an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, verse 38) and perfect grace (i.e. turn the other cheek). In seeking to convey the meaning of this text, I was reminded of the lesson in the story of Christ and the religious rulers who were going to stone the adulteress. The lesson is that the second we cry out for perfect justice, we put ourselves in dire jeopardy, for we are all guilty of breaking God's law at some point and deserving of condemnation (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23). "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Once again in studying the Sermon on the Mount, I was struck of how holy, just and good the law of God is, but how sinful, bad and unjust we are. As Paul says, "The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). The problem is not that the law of God is cruel or unjust, but that we are so sinful that we are all condemned under it. Indeed, the purpose of the law is to show us our sin (Romans 3:20). Thankfully, while the law of God came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17), and we see the height of grace in the gospel of grace, by which men and women are given salvation when they deserved death. Grace is undeserved kindness and is found nowhere else like it is found on the cross at Calvary. Understanding the grace of God found in Jesus Christ, its not surprising that Christ taught all of His disciples to practice undeserved kindness by turning the other cheek, not resisting an evil person, not taking those who persecute us to court, but simply by returning good for evil.
After the outreach, David, whom I've mentioned time and again, gave one of the most encouraging testimonies that I have ever heard in the park. He exclaimed that he truly understood that he is saved by grace alone and that grace means he did not deserve it, but deserved condemnation. This truth is what has been changing David for many months now, so much so that he is actually working with the Red Cross using his 25 years of food service experience to help the less fortunate in the flooded area of New Orleans. He plans to leave either Thursday evening or Friday morning and stay down there for at least three weeks. He told us that his "relationship with God" has been growing steadily for many months now. David recalled the many times in the early years that he would just curse me and mock me, but that each time his guilty conscience would lead him to apologize, I received him and forgave him. He said this has stuck with him. He knew all I was doing was trying to copy my Master. For the first time in years, we will not see David for weeks as he embarks on a mission to work with his hands to support himself and to help those in need. I told him not to forget his Bible and he said, "I won't!" Praise God.
Ray is another regular at our outreaches who usually listens to the word of God and spends time fellowshipping with us. He approached me to ask me for transportation money for a new job he got. He had a form that was a contract with this new employer. He was joyful and excited, but at the same time continued to just talk and hang around. Eventually, it occurred to me that he was telling me he would not be at the park much anymore and was essentially saying goodbye, for he hoped to make enough money to get off the street. At the same time, each of us realized that we would miss the other and the times we have had in the park. Yet we both agreed, of course, this was the right direction for him and parted with excitement. I pray, O God, help him serve you, as he should, as he steps out trusting you.
One other notable event of the day was the passer-by that burst out in verbal persecution today while I was preaching. While I did not hear all that he said, I do know that he initially said, with anger and a raised voice loud enough for all of us to hear, "Just feed them" and "They don't want to listen to you!" As he continued to walk by, within 20 feet or so, he continued to yell at me filled with hate and anger. This took place as I preached on grace. Thankfully, God gave me the grace to bless him rather than curse him and return evil for evil. Many of the men in line knew that this man's comments were ignorant of the fact that I required no one to listen to the sermon in order to eat: they were listening voluntarily. This passer-by reminded me of the view of many in the world of homeless as mindless, sub-human people with stomachs to feed and naked bodies to clothe. The world thinks that happiness is found in food, clothing and material possessions, but many Christians through the ages have found the one and only true way to happiness: reconciliation with their Maker. Woe is me if I do not tell these people in the park how to have this!
We thank God for this ministry of reconciliation and pray that He would continue to help us and Ray, and David and all of His church to serve Him all the days of our lives until we go to be with Him in glory forever.
David also helped. I've mentioned David many times in this weekly email. He used to be an enemy of the outreach. There were times when he cursed me or others involved in the ministry and many weeks and months when he never lent a helping hand. But yesterday, as has been the case for many months now, David helped unload and set up, he inquired how we were doing, even asking about my wife and daughter. He has genuine smiles for us each week and most importantly, seems to be more and more interested in the things of God.
Ron preached on the impossibility of serving God and money and the dangers of putting our hopes in money or those who bear it including the governing authorities, which often operate for their own glory rather than the glory of the King of kings and the everlasting kingdom of God. He concluded with the Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy regarding the rich: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Ron brought the focus of his listeners to the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ as our driving motivation and hope in this present age.
We served lasagna coupled with steamed vegetables from the Lord's servant, Ruth. We were blessed with many Spirit-filled co-laborers yesterday who refreshed many in the park. Tom Malloy made another clothing run from McLean Bible Church, which has been setting aside clothing for our use at McPherson Square for many years now. We distributed many pairs of shoes and some clothes including new socks.
At one point, Frank, a huge, boisterous guy whom I've mentioned before, showed up on the scene after we were winding down. In previous weeks, he has defended the deity of Christ and the greatness of John the Baptist from the Scriptures. This week, as he approached, he asked whether we had any food left. Upon hearing that we had run out, he immediately quipped, "Man cannot live on bread alone."
"The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how."
Hany Morcos brought lunch with the help of his father yesterday. The entire Morcos family is involved in this outreach on a regular basis, and we are grateful for their help in this labor for Christ. They brought piping hot spaghetti and meatballs! Others brought cookies and drinks.
Several of the homeless asked me about our plans for the winter. This is the first mention of winter I've heard for many months. As the temperatures are starting to drop in the evenings now, these guys are already starting to worry. One man asked me if we would be getting any of the military sleeping bags that we got last winter. In fact, this guy was with a man who received one of the four sleeping bags we distributed last year. Others are starting to think about taking the sweatshirts and sweaters that find their way into the clothing we distribute. We pray for an ability to help clothe the "least of these" this winter, for their warmth and the glory of their Maker. This prayer includes a prayer for more laborers for this little harvest field as we enter into the colder months.
I continued preaching through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6), this time covering Christ's teaching on adultery and the fact that we can commit it in God's eyes just by looking at another person lustfully. It's clear that the deepest cause of sin was not the eyes, but the sinful desires of the heart. Even if we took Christ's teaching to gouge out our eyes literally (which He did not intend), sin would not go away. I observed that there are millions in the world today that in the name of God force women to cover themselves from head to toe, thinking that the problem is the environment around them, rather than the depravity within them. This is the spirit of self-righteous Phariseeism that Christ confronted when he said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). Christ stated the truth about sin when He said, "For from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:21-22). This all laid the foundation for the Good News that by faith in Christ and His death in our place on the cross, no matter how many adulteries we have committed, we can be declared innocent (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
After I finished, I met a man named Michael who described himself as a born-again gypsy. I remember him from the week before when he came through the lunch line and could not stop praising God and testifying to various truths of God's word. This week, he was doing the same thing and decided to give me his testimony. He had gone through church after church during his life, but he was not saved until a friend brought him to an evangelistic outreach where all he can remember is seeing a huge cross and believing the Good News about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He wanted to pray together and praise the Lord together! It was a treat! At one point, he grabbed his Bible and asked me to start reading at Genesis 1:1. Each time I encountered a reference to another day of God's creative work, he gasped and proclaimed with child-like faith how mighty and awesome God was to be able to create the earth. He conceded that God could have done it all in a day if He wanted to. What faith! He said that Genesis chapter 1 was a central Scripture passage for him in his life. I was reminded how important it is to take God at His word. Michael recently moved from Los Angeles and said that aside from working as a roofer, mechanic, and general tradesman, he "pastored" among people on the street. He said he even tried to preach the gospel to the crips and the bloods in East LA. He said he regularly tries to preach the gospel to the guys in McPherson Square Park. At one point, I saw his Christ-likeness in action as a bully in the park came up to him and demanded money. Rather than resist or fight the man, he was very kind and forgiving and promised to give him the money when he had it. When I asked him about the incident, he immediately cited the Scriptures having to do with loving even our enemies and blessing them. This guy had such a strong, simple faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ. We hugged and he prayed for safe travels for Suzy, Abbey and I this week as we travel to none other than LA. What a picture of how the last will be first and the first last. A thrice divorced, former drug addicted, homeless gypsy, bullied by many around him, suffering from bleeding feet from too much walking, yet overflowing with joy. "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
We served lunch to over a hundred people. We were blessed with new helping hands of Mike, Dan, Carl and others. Louise and her daughters brought a lunch of hot dogs and baked beans. They also brought warmers and table clothes, which was a nice (and needed) touch. They also brought cold water and clothes, all of which we were able to hand out.
God gives us a framework for having an assurance of salvation that does not look to a special prayer or a baptism or a commitment, but a changed life. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments" (1 John 3:3). We praise God for the changed lives we are seeing amongst the homeless at McPherson Square Park. We continue to pray for the men who continue to reject Christ.
Ron finished preaching on the seven churches in Revelation. He drew insights from these passages into the churches that surround us today and shared his wonder at the timelessness of the Scriptures. We trust that God's word will have an impact in the park according to His sovereign purposes.
Hany brought homemade Shepherd's pie and we also had chicken-vegetable stir-fry over rice. Ruth brought rice for approximately one hundred people. As usual, we had tons of desserts. The Brian and Renee brought cakes and others brought cookies. We had plenty of drinks as well to help mitigate the risk of heat exhaustion on another steamy DC afternoon. Tom "the clothes man" Malloy brought a couple of bags of clothing including socks, underwear and T-shirts. Also, we distributed at least 10 pairs of shoes. Their shoes tend to wear out quicker because they walk everywhere and many work construction jobs, so this was a blessing for them and us. Finally, Cynthia Butler dropped off fresh fruit for the men before we arrived at the park. A group of the homeless saved an apple and peach for me. Did I mention changed lives?
We were also blessed with many co-laborers. We are always encouraged and strengthened by the Lord when He sends new laborers to the "field" at McPherson Square. I'm reminded of Christ's words to Paul as Paul faced trials in urban ministry many years ago: "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:9-10).
Armando, another homeless man, came to me before the outreach began and asked if we could give him our used rubber gloves after we are done serving lunch. He used to ask us for new gloves, but decided that might be too wasteful. He needs the gloves to help pick up trash each Sunday after we leave. I really never knew that he did this until yesterday. A couple of hours later, several police officers came to the park and were clearly disturbed by the numbers of homeless and the trash on the ground. One police officer spoke directly to me and said if we really want to do a community service, we could pick up the trash. I immediately thought of Armando and pointed to him and told the police officer that he helped us pick up trash. The police officer observed him and then later commented to me that Armando does a great job. See, we pray for God's grace to help us through our outreach, but don't know how He will help. I know this is one way He helped us. Thank you LORD.
The comment from the police officer reminded me of the world's view towards what we do. Yes, we go to the park each week to help the less fortunate of our community and in that sense, we serve the community. Yet, this is not our primary objective. Christ established Himself and His glory as a higher priority than community service (Matthew 26:11) and, for that matter, a higher priority than every other person, including ourselves (Luke 14:26-27). The Christian's purpose on earth is to make God and His Son Jesus Christ known (Matthew 28:19). All that we do and say is for this purpose. "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17). "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). This is the very purpose of all of creation! God is beckoning men to Himself in every sunrise and sunset (Psalm 19; Acts 14:17, 17:26-27)! Yes, we serve the homeless of our community and thereby show them an ounce of the mercy that was shown to us by God in Jesus Christ. However, our mission is far greater and more profound than filling stomachs, clothing naked bodies and cleaning up trash, though these are good things to do: it's beckoning men and women to come to the one and only God, maker of heaven and earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to the glory of God.
I preached from Matthew 5:21-26, which reveals our Master's teaching on the sin of murder and the iceberg beneath the surface: hatred towards our fellow man. It was a blessing to be able to talk to these men about the antidote found in Jesus Christ, for many of them are consumed with hatred - some have even murdered. I spoke to one man afterward, Tony Lynette, who was passing through DC on his way to Norfolk. He said he had an anger problem. In the midst of him telling me about approximately 5 different psychiatric disorders that people had said he had, including one called "spontaneous anger eruption disorder" or something like that, I told him he sinned every time he let his anger fester. He agreed. I then asked him if he ever prayed to God and confessed this sin. He thought for a bit and then said "no". He asked me how to pray to God. He said he planned to pray to God and confess his sins later that day.
We did in fact have tons of food yesterday. We were all blessed by a group of women led by Laurel who prepared lasagnas and Rice by Michelle. There were also tons of desserts brought by various individuals. Other brought toiletries and still others brought some clothing to hand out. We served upwards of 20 gallons of cold beverages.
One last bit of news: Remember Rodney from last week? Well, Rodney told us yesterday that he forgave his wife! After nine years of harboring hatred and unforgiveness, he said a huge burden had been lifted from his back. He truly appeared to be lighter and more joyful!
I asked Rodney why he was still living on the streets. It was as if I asked a question he had forgotten how to answer. He said it was a good question and began to ponder the reasons. He does not do drugs or drink liquor. However, he is only able to work 20 hours a week because his temporary employment agency will not give him any more time. Therefore, he does not have enough money to rent an apartment. After the outreach, I continued talking to him and learned that he had served our country as a Marine in Desert Storm. Sadly, when he returned to the U.S., he discovered that his wife had taken everything and left him for a lifestyle of sexual perversion. "This devastated me," Rodney said. While we did not discuss the role this event had in his homelessness, it seems clear that the emotional devastation, the lack of family in the area, and his wife taking everything including money was enough to put him on the streets. Yet, surprisingly, the smiles continued and he was amazingly hungry to learn about the LORD and his Savior Jesus Christ. He had all kinds of questions. Another Christian had told him that he needed to forgive his wife. We talked about how he and I had been forgiven by God for many offenses against God that were far more serious than any offense from another human being no matter how great. As Christ said, "He who is forgiven little, loves little" (Luke 7:47). After talking about forgiveness, Rodney asked me other questions about certain Scripture, all for wanting to do the right thing in God's eyes. This is a core principal of Rodney's life from what I can tell.
During the outreach, Rodney served the men in line with cups of cold water. We did not ask him to do this. After the outreach was completed, he helped break down and load up the equipment. Micah and I talked with him some more. He said that he was being recruited by the National Guard and had been offered a $13,000 "signing bonus" of some sort. As with most everything, he wanted to talk about what God's word says about military service and whether it would be pleasing to God if he took this job. After sharing some Scripture with him, we concluded by offering to pray for him in this regard.
Overall, I was impressed by Rodney's maturity as a Christian and was reminded that poverty was never to be a "litmus test" for spiritual health. The church in Smyrna from Revelation 2:8-11 was a spiritually mature and healthy church, though they were impoverished. Christ summed up their state this way, "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich)" (verse 9). Christ clearly associated true riches with spiritual riches, not temporal riches. We should remember this as we read of the promises of prosperity in the Bible.
Rodney did not have to worry about the warnings in Scripture for those who are rich, that they be wary of putting their trust in riches rather than the LORD (1 Timothy 6:17; Psalm 62:10; Proverbs 30:8-9). Rodney is not wise in his own eyes, but at the same time has understanding. "The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding searches him out" (Proverbs 28:11).
I pray for Rodney, not that the LORD would give him money or even a house. I pray that the Holy Spirit would lead him to forgive his wife from his heart. I also pray for his ability to discern God's good and perfect will for his life, whether it be in the military or as a civilian cook or in some other role God only knows.
God provided food and clothing for the men in the park yesterday as well, but somehow, aside from thanking Him and those whom He used (Ruth, Peter, Jerri, Ron and Deanna and others), these items seem less important at this time here in Washington, DC, in light of Rodney and the many others whom we meet who are daily resting in God's everlasting arms.
As Derek preached from the book of James with some occasionally insights into the meaning of the text, I was reminded of why the word of God is referred to as being "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). One man in particular, who goes by the name "Chicago" commented to me that Derek's "message" was hitting him hard. I gave him a Bible after he asked for one and he continued to track Derek's message in the Bible.
While Derek was speaking, one of the homeless was talking loudly and picking fights with men in line. This man's name is Frank. Frank is really big and had the demeanor of a bull in a ring in Spain. He was undoubtedly distracting people from hearing Derek. Distractions are not new. It is not uncommon for at least one heckler to be present during a sermon. If it's not a heckler then it's another group with food. Over and over, we see the men and few women get tested as to how hungry they truly are for the word of God-whether they will be like the Israelites in the desert who could not get their minds off their stomachs in the face of their new-found freedoms to worship God or like Caleb and Joshua; like the droves of people in the crowds whom could hardly hear Christ in the midst of the ruckus or like Zacchaeus who climbed up into a tree so that he could hear and see Christ. When Frank was heckling, some men did come closer to Derek and make a concerted effort to ignore Frank. Others took the bait and "answered a fool according to his folly" and thus became like him (Proverbs 26:4).
We served pizza and homemade Shepherd's Pie. Hany Morcos and a host of his family members kindly pitched in to make the pie. Renee and Brian Thomas also brought homemade cakes and someone else brought cookies and drinks. We served upwards of 140 servings, many of which were seconds.
Tom Malloy brought clothes which we handed out to the men. This was a very contentious process among homeless men as it always has been. Many of these men are working as laborers during the day and they desperately need fresh clothes that have not been sweated in for days on end, so we understand. It is interesting to see the different characters of the men manifest themselves. Just yesterday, an older homeless man whom we've known for some time and who tends to be very gentle and always in inquiring about Scripture, waited patiently towards the end of the line for clothes while all of the fights and negotiating broke out towards the front of the line. When he eventually got to the table, he got a shirt that he liked very much. This was surprising since we barely had anything left by the time got to the front. I praised God for his patience and he seemed to take this in stride as if he was used to waiting on the Lord and being satisfied continually.
We thank God for the opportunity to serve Him this way and pray that it all redounds to His glory and the glory of Jesus Christ. I pray that "when the saints go marching in," we will see many of these faces from McPherson Square Park on our right and left no longer limping, smelling, dying, crying, fighting, drinking, smoking, but dancing and worshipping their great God and Savior with smiles from ear to ear.
As I was about to load up the big banquet table into the back of my SUV at Central Union Mission (where we store our outreach equipment), a man with no apparent connection to the Mission approached me from one of the back alleys and asked if I needed a hand. He was in relatively poor shape, yet he explained that he wanted to help me since I was helping other people. I'm not sure how he knew this. He helped me load the table and then departed. Thank you Lord.
Once I arrived at the park, there was a huge crowd gathered already. The day was beautiful, warm but not humid as last week. Many men came over to my truck to help carry the table, bins, water cooler, and other supplies. Immediately as I entered the park, three different men approached me and asked for Bibles. One was a Hispanic man who was looking for a Spanish Bible. Another was looking for a KJV and the third was looking for an NIV. I just happened to be carrying a Spanish Bible, an NIV and a KJV! These men were hungry for the word of God. Perhaps they take the Scripture to heart that says, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). One of the men has always kept quiet, but has been present at outreaches listening to the sermons for many months. Even today, he barely conversed with me, but took his Bible and returned to his spot in line.
The amplifier worked great today as I preached from Matthew 5:17-20, in which Christ teaches of the critical importance and permanence of the Old Testament for all people. I reminded my listeners how the commandments of God are the "tutor" that bring people to Christ (Galatians 3:24) and make people aware of their own sin (Romans 3:20), so that unbelievers might run to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins. The law of God not only prepares the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts and minds of unbelievers, it tells the redeemed Christian how to please God his Savior. The Christian desires to know God's commands so that through his obedience to them he might return a mere iota of the love that was first shown him (1 John 4:10). As Christ said, "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Finally, it was a blessing to conclude as Christ concluded with the truth that even though no man will get to heaven unless his righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, the Christian is given Christ's perfect righteousness in the great exchange on the cross: our sin to Him, His righteousness to us, so that we might dwell in God's presence forever (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 1:27).
Louise and her daughters brought homemade pasta with meat sauce, Micah and Hany brought cookies. We had plenty of cold drinks by God's grace. We also had 5 or 6 bags filled with T-shirts, underwear, socks and shorts, about half of which were brand new and donated by a Wal-Mart in Pittsburgh through the hand of my brother-in-law's mother. Tom Malloy brought additional clothes. In all this read: God's hand.
Derek also constructed a new and improved wood cross this week and brought it to the outreach! We've been without a cross for many months now. The new cross is bigger than the last cross having a height of at least 9 feet, is all cedar and has retractable arms for ease of transporting it (Suzy's design). Just in case anyone who reads this does not understand the location of this park, it should be noted that it is a block north of the White House. Yes, for years now, a block north of the White House, we've strapped a huge cross to a pillar in the middle of a park and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We thank God for the freedom to do this and wonder at this privilege.
A man named Randy Ussery approached me. I've never met him before, but he came to me asking whether we maintain a prayer list. He said that he was going blind in his left eye and and that he had "leakages" in his heart. Further, all of his clothes and medications had been stolen at the shelter where he stays. He simply asked for prayer for these matters. He said he did not regularly attend church but "keeps the Lord in his heart" and regularly prays. He thanked me for our outreaches and for bringing the word of God to the park. Please pray for Randy if you are led. He is the first person ever to ask if he could gain access to the prayers of those involved in this ministry.
There was so much activity today that I know I'm probably only giving you a glimpse of the many blessings given by God. I would encourage any who attend the outreaches to shoot me an email with any unique stories or testimonies of God's goodness in particular as it was manifest in the midst of the outreach.
What a day! I'll begin by recounting a very helpful message that was brought to me by one of our regular homeless attendees. As far as I can recall, I've never really spoken to this man aside from "Thank you" and "God bless" and "You're welcome." But today, having observed the various trials that beset us from the start, he told me that Christians must pass through many trials and tribulations as they enter the kingdom of God. He reminded me that trials in the midst of ministry are often to be welcomed. I was grateful for his words and thanked him. Who was this man? I have no idea. But I do know of God who is called, "the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:3), so above all I thank Him.
The first trial of the day was when the main course for lunch, hot dogs, were stranded in Springfield Virginia where they were supposed to be picked up from the home of our friend, Hany Morcos. Hany's address somehow slipped through the cracks. We called his home, but he had already left and his mother, who speaks broken English, answered and attempted to give us directions. I managed to glean the house number and street name and I gave a street atlas and such information to Ruth, who ventured into Virginia to pick up the hot dogs.
Normally, in such a situation, we would simply begin preaching and maybe preach a little longer than usual, however, Ron was the preacher today and Ron had lost his voice [preaching] a few weeks ago. He was depending on a sound amplifier to project his message, but the sound amplifier was not working. We thought it might have something to do with our power source, which was an electrical outlet existing in the park, so I retrieved the car battery starter that I keep in my vehicle. Larry was able to hook up the battery starter through an AC/DC converter in order to provide the needed power to make the amplifier work.
At this point, many of the homeless in the park were in a line that had formed for another group that was handing out clothes and also preaching the word of God. It was a blessing to see this other ministry at work. We thank God for the reminder that if we shut up, even the rocks would cry out, or, God would raise up other ambassadors of Christ. However, due to the presence of this other ministry, there were only a handful of homeless in line waiting to hear Ron begin. But once Ron began to preach (figuring God had ordained just the right people to hear the message), homeless started trickling into the line and soon, its size quadrupled at least.
Ron preached from John 17, reminding us that the kingdom of God is not built by human hands, but is given, or inherited from God. He reminded us that Christ did not pray for the world, but only for those whom the Father had given Him (John 17:9) and that the "blessed hope" of Christians is the return of Jesus Christ, because only Jesus Christ has the ability usher in world peace and build the idyllic kingdom we all know should exist but doesn't in our present world. Ron urged his listeners to devote themselves to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of creation, consistent with the Great Commission of Christ, not that the world may be saved, but that all whom God has chosen will be saved.
After Ron finished, the hot dogs still had not arrived and men were thirsty and hungry. Thirst seemed to be the preeminent problem. It was hotter and muggier today than any other Sunday I can recall. Everyone was sweating. Fortunately, we brought cold water and cold juices and the Starbucks across the street kept filling our 5-gallon cooler with cold water. Eventually, we decided to serve the mashed potatoes and corn that Ruth had kindly brought. As soon as we began serving the sides, the hot dogs showed up. Someone else brought cookies. We served over a hundred lunches.
God blessed us and for that we are thankful.
Today was hot, however, our God provided sufficient shade for all of us as we engaged in the ministry of the word of God and serving lunch.
While we were setting up for lunch and before Derek started preaching, a man in the line whom I've never seen before stepped out of line and thanked all of us for coming. We thanked him and told him we come in Jesus' name. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17).
We served a lunch of homemade spaghetti, a variety of homemade cakes and ice cream. Morcos brought the spaghetti after preparing it with his Dad today. He is a Christian from Egypt who just started serving with us last week. Morcos encouraged us from the beginning and continues to encourage us with his enthusiasm for serving the Lord Jesus. Upon reading our short introduction to the ministry, he wrote back to us [by email], "My heart is rejoicing by what I read. Blessed be God who provides the opportunity for us to serve him." Amen! Brian brought the cakes and Ruth brought the ice cream. Tina also brought lots of sodas and we also had [much needed] cold water.
I spoke the word of God to those in line for a while after we began serving lunch. One man in line seemed to be a step ahead of me on each point at the same time he was receiving the word with joy. I asked him if the Lord had delivered him from his sins. He said "yes", that he has been free from crack cocaine for 16 or 17 months. He said that he no longer had a desire for the drugs and that he owes this transformation to the Lord Jesus Christ. Although he had been attending narcotics anonymous meetings, he gave all of the credit for his deliverance to Christ. We praised God together.
Another man began to preach along with me, and continued after I finished. I told him he should continue to preach, and he said he will. This is the second week in a row I've met such a man, raised up by God to disseminate the Good News of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is awesome!
At one point during the outreach, I saw Thomas, the man who has perplexed me for several weeks with a peculiar combination of sensitivity to God's word... and drunkenness. I've wondered whether this guy was similar to the drunks who Christ actually spent time with. Well, today, he approached me and began talking to me. I immediately noticed a difference in his demeanor and did not smell liquor on his breath. He seemed alert, sober, and thoughtful. He explained that early in the day he thought about distributing newspapers for $50 and, as he had done in the past, using such cash to buy liquor. However, he said, "something led him to go to church instead." He said he's a work in progress and things are getting better by God's grace. He asked me to preach the word of God to him, and I had a particular Psalm in mind, Psalm 124:8, "Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth," so I elaborated on this for a few minutes. Tears welled up in his eyes as has happened in the past when he's heard the word of God. I can only think that I'm witnessing the type of transformation that happened in the lives of so many drunkards who came in contact with the Word made flesh, Christ Jesus, during His earthly ministry. I thank God for letting me see this work in the heart of this one sinner and pray that as He has begun it, that He would bring it to completion.
We are thankful for the opportunity to be vessels for the message of His salvation and trust there is no greater way to love our neighbors in McPherson Square Park. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). Amen.
Today was a blessed day of ministry at McPherson Square Park in DC. Our numbers were few, but just enough—as always! "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." The group of us included Ron and Deanna, Derek, Scott Fine, Jerri and Anne Thompson and a dear brother in Christ from Egypt, Marcus, who blessed us with his praise for God and desire to see ministry done in Christ's name. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."
Many in the park turned their attention to my words as I continued working through the Gospel of Matthew chapter five, verses 13 through 16, having to do with disciples of Christ being salt and light in the world. It was great to be able to bring a message that not all people will dislike and even persecute Christians (verses 10-12), but that some will be drawn to Christians as the salt and light of the world, to the glory of God. Likewise, not all chanted "crucify Him, crucify Him" on that dark Friday when our Lord was murdered; some waited to bury Jesus and tend to His lifeless body. We pray the word of God would not return void and fall on good, ready hearts and minds.
There was one person in particular who was seemingly blessed by the sermon. She is not homeless, but was just passing by the park when she heard me and decided to come over and listen. She just happened to have her Bible with her. She was paging through her Bible as I called out Scripture and let out a few "amens" as I spoke. Afterward, she indicated that she had been reading through Matthew 5:13-16 today just before she came into the park. That's amazing, but what's even more amazing is that a sister in Christ at my church this morning prayed for me and the ministry and told me she had a conviction that there was one person in particular whom God was leading to come and hear this particular sermon. There's no question in my mind the lady with the "amens" was the person of whom this sister in Christ spoke!
Another man in the lunch line wanted to talk my ear off with all kinds of questions about Christianity. He said he was raised in a Christian home but called Jesus a "good prophet." I later learned that he was dabbling in the doctrines of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who categorically denied that Christ is the Son of God and promised Messiah from God. I reminded this man that this teaching is a manifestation of the spirit of the Antichrist according to 1 John 4:1-3. He thanked me for sharing this warning in Scripture with him and seemed to be rethinking his spiritual pilgrimage.
We served 43 large pizzas today and upwards of 80 servings of homemade spaghetti. We also served many drinks on this hot summer day. The number of organizations giving out food to the poor are usually fewer in the summer. Even fewer today evidently because of this being a holiday weekend. Thankfully, our Lord provided all of this food for those in the park.
Towards the end of the outreach a man came over to a group of us (which included homeless individuals) and he began to preach. He looked like he was probably homeless, but I'm not positive. One thing I know is that he was the first man among the usual Sunday crowds of poor and homeless who was led to really, truly preach the word of God. The homeless around him listened intently! He had courage and passion and a heart for the precious truths of God's word. Before my eyes, I witnessed this as an answer to prayer that God would raise up preachers and teachers of God's word from among the homeless to fearlessly proclaim the whole Gospel in the streets of DC. I love the idea of such "uneducated and untrained men" (see Acts 4:13) being used to do mighty works for the Lord thus maximizing the glory that redounds to God (who does not share His glory with another according to Isaiah 42:8). God only knows if it will be this man or some other who will take up this mission.
Praise God, to whom all praise is due. "His Truth is marching on!"
Thanks to God, today was a blessed day of ministering to the homeless and destitute in Washington, DC.
Prior to beginning the sermon, a homeless man we met several years ago named James resurfaced and offered to hand out lunch tickets. James approached me with a smile from ear to ear saying, "Remember me?" and while I had forgotten his name, I definitely remembered his face. He not only handed out the lunch tickets, he helped distribute clothing as well. He was an integral member of our team today and we thank God for him, not only for his help, but for how the Lord has worked in his life to lead him to serve Christ this way.
Scripture for my sermon today, titled "How to Recognize Antichrists and How to Respond to Them", was taken from 1 John and 2 John. Under the inspiration of God, John writes, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come... Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:18,22). I gave my listeners the same test God gives us to know whether a teacher is of God or not: "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world" (1 John 4:3). Many of these false teachers will come in the name of God and may even stand with Christians on issues of the day such as abortion and homosexual marriage. They may undoubtedly come under that ambiguous title, "men of faith." Consequently, we can only know whether a person is antichrist by determining whether he believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the fully divine Son of God come in the flesh. I concluded with God's directions for Christians regarding an antichrist: "Do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds" (2 John 10-11). In other words, Christians are to completely disassociate with those who actively propagate the evil lie that Jesus is not the Messiah who came in the flesh to die for the sins of the world. I hope and pray this message will better equip those in the park to face the antichrists that have influence here in Washington, DC, whether through TV, radio, local "places of worship", or through their presence in the park.
Those in the park today were blessed with two different home-cooked Asian dishes that served upwards of a hundred meals today. Louise and her daughters brought chicken stir-fry and Ruth brought Chop Chae and Rice, which her mother helped her make. We also served approximately 14 gallons of cold beverages today. I got the sense that we could have served 10 more gallons and pray for the same as we get deeper into the hot DC summer. We could also use some bananas...
Louise also brought the complete wardrobe of a friend she knows from her gym. He decided to give it away after he lost 130 pounds and God used him, an unbeliever, to bless many in the park today (especially the really big guys) in Jesus' name. "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17). A brother in Christ from our church also donated four pairs of loafers and dress shoes that were in good shape. They also were big, size 13. One homeless man was new to the outreach and was able to snag the nicest pair in the bunch. He was extremely thankful and I told him that the Lord had blessed him. He agreed and quickly asked whether we came to the park every Sunday and indicated he wanted to come as often as he could. He had listened intently through the entire sermon as well.
Our dear friend Paul approached me again today with great encouragement. He is a confessing brother in Christ; I believe he is homeless. He is really watching the spiritual progress of those in the park and encourages us to keep up what we are doing. We thank God for this particular gift of encouragement. Where would the church of Jesus Christ be without encouragers?
Larry, whom I mentioned last time, hung around with us after the outreach was complete. Larry is homeless, recently released from prison, and a brother in Christ. He loves Jesus Christ and has a humility about him that must only come through the chastisement the good Lord has put him through. He enjoyed talking with us about the Lord and the application of His word to life. We thank God for these types of friendships, in which we have a much better sense of the Scripture that says all brothers and sisters in Christ are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
Thank you Lord, for this ministry of the Gospel.
Today we were blessed with perfect weather, an impassioned sermon from Ron, a home-cooked meal from Mike Lee and friends and clothes from Tom "the clothes man" Malloy.
I arrived late so I'm short on details. Ron preached on the Balaam's error (Numbers 22-25; Jude 11) and its relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We served about 130 meals consisting of chicken, rice and green beans. We also had cold water for all. All of this was done in the midst of a sunny day here in Washington, DC.
My only story concerns Larry. We've known Larry for some time now. He approached me and said he was looking for me and gave me a warm, strong handshake (Larry is a big guy). He said he had been missing for a while because he had to go be with his mom who was dying and has now died. He said he did not do it for the blessing, but because he loved his mom. He said he had already been blessed because he woke up today. We hear that a lot from our Christian friends who live on the street, that they are blessed every day they wake up with their senses.
"Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"
The above saying of Christ comes to mind when I think of today's outreach at McPherson Square Park.
The day began in a unique way as a majority of the lunch line formed in the shade of a tree and circled around so that all were within earshot of us. The normal city noise and a heckler here or there were absent. When I prayed to open the outreach, multiple men in line immediately "shooshed" anyone who was talking.
I preached on the last of the beatitudes, in which Jesus said that we are blessed if we are persecuted for righteousness' sake and for His sake (Matthew 5:10-11). Also John 3:20; Ephesians 5:8-14; 2 Corinthians 2:15- 16; John 15:18-19; James 4:4). Christians are not to respond in kind [when persecuted], but to "bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt 5:44). Ultimately, I encouraged my listeners (as I am often encouraged) by the story of the apostles who rejoiced after being arrested and beaten simply for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:40-42).
Afterward, a man whom I've seem in our weekly outreaches for some time now, Paul is his name, approached me and told me that we might not know it, but many of the men in the park look forward to our ministry each week as a time for their spirits to be fed the word of God. I thanked him for the encouragement and praised God.
Another man in line was noticeably frustrated and asked me whether he could retaliate if someone came and hit him over the head and stole his wallet. I encouraged him to ask questions and to think about what I was saying (I rejoiced to see that he was listening to our sermons and weighing God's word in his own mind!). I spoke to him for a while and tried to bring the word of God to bear on his question.
Another man standing next to him said that he was angry with all the churches and was giving up. He had apparently left a church recently and was clearly venting, but not in a violent way. His name is Kim Johnson. We spoke for some time. Towards the end of the outreach, he called me over to him and starting telling me that he was sick of living the way he had been living and that he had finally realized all of his life's problems (including drug addiction) were his own fault—that he was the problem. He asked me how to get right. I told him to confess his sins to God and trust Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for forgiveness of his sins. We prayed. He was led to check himself into a Salvation Army drug rehabilitation program. I gave him a Bible and asked him to read through the Gospel of John and pray each morning while he is in the program before he does anything else.
Later, I spoke with Anne and Jerri, who had all sorts of praise reports as well. They were ministering to one of the few women in the park, Kristine, who was beginning to turn from her sins and trust Christ. They also reported that many were eager to hear the word of God today and that fruit was becoming evident in major ways. Perhaps the revival I've been praying for among the homeless is beginning to take place.
Lunch: Ruth brought tasty homemade meatballs, Ron and Deanna brought pizza and Brian and Renee brought cake. Close to 100 meals were served. We also handed out two full bags of clothing. Micah manned the ticket collection and shared Christ and the truths of Scripture with men in line. Surely, there are other stories my two eyes and ears and limited memory did not catch today.
We are not the only ministry God is using in the park. At times, we've seen Gospel choirs come down and sing to the homeless and preach to the homeless. Many do not know this, but I'm told by many of the veteran homeless that before this ministry even began, there used to be a man who would drive down from Pennsylvania with the word of God, clothing and food. He did this apparently for approximately three years until God called