OSA NATIONAL EVENT – LAS VEGAS – DAY 4 (A.M.)

Overpass Teams – Saturday Morning

If I haven’t said it already, I just want to let everyone reading this know that this is just my journal from the 2009 OSA National Event in Las Vegas. I tried to keep up, from day to day, some of the things that were taking place. No doubt, God did many more amazing things. These were just some of the raids that I took part in. And, it seemed that the stories were getting longer, as the week went on, so I’m going to break them up into stories, instead of the entire day.

On Saturday morning, I rode down to the strip with Pastor Andrew, his wife Morgan, and Joe. From there, I was assigned to Pastor Mark’s team. I have found that, if you want to get into some “trouble”, you just need to tag along with Pastor Mark for a little while. Praise the Lord!

We set up on a walkway overpass which connected Bally’s to Bill’s. The pedestrian traffic was pretty busy. It was awesome! All of the tracts were passed out within the first half hour. That was alright though, because it seemed that everyone in my team was quite the evangelist. Everywhere I looked, someone was either in a conversation or doing some open-air preaching.

I recall a conversation I had with a young couple. They were appalled by the Malachi sign I was holding. I was able to explain to them how it is the churches’ responsibility to fight abortion. This hit home for them, because they were professing Christians. They had even given me a promotional flyer to their church, which was linked to Creflo Dollar (who has a large abortion mill right across the street from him, which he has been completely apathetic towards). Using the story of the good Samaritan, I was able to show them their specific responsibility, not only to the poor and destitute, but for their unborn neighbors. I could tell that they had been cut to the heart. They promised me that they would join the battle at the clinics in their hometown. I even got Flip to come over and meet them. He told them that they needed to confront Creflo, telling him to do something about the clinic across the street from him. They said they would send him an email. I pray they do.

To end our conversation, I confronted them for being in Las Vegas. They said they were there to celebrate the husbands’ birthday. So I told them they had no business in Las Vegas if they were there for themselves. No, the only reason a Christian should come to Vegas is to serve Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Gospel.

The morning went very well. The gospel was preached, sin was exposed, and Jesus was lifted up. As we were wrapping up, I had a little altercation with a drunk guy. I had previously told him that there would be no drunkards in the Kingdom of Heaven. I saw him walk by from time to time. Well, after walking up, running his mouth, and walking off a few times, he decided he was going to put a stop to my preaching. He charged up, got right in my face, and punched me in the ear. Praise the Lord! That was the first time I have been punched for the sake of Christ!

By the way, I didn’t stop preaching.

OSA NATIONAL EVENT – LAS VEGAS – DAY 3

Witnessing Encounter with Larry – Friday Morning at The Fremont Street Experience

Friday morning, at the Fremont Street Experience was quite dead.  It was obvious that Las Vegas was not the kind of city that got up very early.  All we saw, for a while were clean-up crews.  I was under the impression that it was a daily necessity, considering the filthiness of that place.

We were manning Tom Raddell’s abortion display, and reading through the Bible, when I had a conversation with a man named Larry.  It was, no doubt, a divine appointment, which went on for, what seemed to me, well over an hour.  I remember his initial comments.  He basically was asking the question of, “Where is God when all of this happens?”  He was looking at pictures of aborted babies, an african american hanging from a tree, and holocaust victims piled in stacks.  That’s a good question isn’t it?

During my attempt to answer this question, he said that he didn’t believe that God would send anyone to Hell.  Well, after I shared some Scriptures with him and some sound reasoning, he changed his mind.  I could tell that Larry was a man of much conviction.  He believed in God, but confessed that he was unsaved.  He had never really thought it necessary to search the Bible for the truth, because he thought he had enough of it to get by.

After discussing sin, righteousness, and judgment; he was pretty convinced that he didn’t have what he was hoping he had before.  He knew, for sure, that he needed to get right with God or he would spend eternity in Hell.

It was incredible to see the Scriptures coming alive to him.  I shared with him many Scriptures, but the ones that made the most sense to him were Romans 7:14-25 and Romans 1:18-32.  When I shared Romans 1 with him, he was astonished.  His exact words were, “Adam, if I didn’t know you were reading that from the Bible, I would say that that is an editorial from one of today’s newspapers.”  Isn’t it amazing to see the Scriptures come alive to someone who, previously, had never given them the time of day.

I was so blessed to be able to minister to Larry.  His heart had truly been pricked.  I explained some things in the Bible to him and tried to answer all of his questions.  By the end of our conversation, he told me he would go home and search out the truth for himself by beginning to read the Bible; that he would get right with God.  I told him to start with the Gospel of John.

I’ll never fortget his departing words.  He said, “I’ll never forget you, Adam.”  Isn’t it such a priviledge to be able to share the Gospel with someone, and know that his life has been so drastically changed.  Praise God!  Just think, he was just heading on a daily task one minute, and the next minute God confronted him with eternity.

Visiting the abortionist’s house(Eric Grant) – Friday afternoon

On Friday afternoon, when we were visiting the houses of the abortionists, I had the chance to speak to some of the neighbors.  I spoke with one woman for a long time.  It was Brenda, Kelly, Michael and me.  It was awesome how God used each of us to minister to her.  She said that she didn’t have a problem with killing a child in order to keep “crackheads” off the street.  Her logic was that a child raised in a bad home was a drain on the society.  Therefore, kill them before they are born.

I tested her premise.  I suggested that we ought not to stop at killing the unborn.  If they are a drain on the society, we should kill the children that have already been born as well.  She had to change her logic after that one.  I then explained to her that criminals are criminals, not because they were born in bad environments.  No, criminals are criminals because they turn their backs on God and do what is right in their own eyes.

I was able to explain to her that we are born in sin.  Sin is the problem.  The Holy Spirit provided excellent opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, in it’s entirety, to this woman.  I could see that, as we reasoned with her, she was really listening.  For, it wasn’t us that was speaking to her, but it was the Spirit of God.

I pray that this woman comes to repentance.  She knows the truth now.  She might not accept it, but she knows it.

Meanwhile, there was a bunch of screaming going on down the street(at the abortionist’s house).  I found out later, that Eric Grant’s wife had come out and started acting like the demon-possessed woman that she is.  I didn’t see this happen, but I did get to see Pastor Mark and Shelley confront him right at his door-step.

It was awesome.  As Mark and Shelley were talking to him, about forty people, dawning red OSA shirts, gathered in his front yard.  Mark said that in the middle of a sentence, Eric Grant’s jaw hit the floor, as he said, “Whoa.”  You could tell he had never been confronted for murdering little babies.  I couldn’t believe his response.  He actually said that he’s not an abortionist, rather he is an OB-GYN.  OK.  I don’t care what your job title is.  You can be a lawyer, but if you commit rape, you are a rapist.  Likewise, you can be a doctor, but if you perform abortions, you are an abortionist.  Therefore, a murderer.

He didn’t like it too much when Ken and Jo Scott asked him some tough questions.  That’s about the time that he got a phone call.  After returning from the call, he said he would not take anymore questions and asked us all to leave the yard.

I guess that’s when his wife (the head of his household) reared her head.

OSA NATIONAL EVENT – LAS VEGAS – DAY 2

A-Z Women’s Clinic – Thursday Morning

By the time we arrived to the abortion mill (around 7:30am), it was already quite hot.  Being that it was our first day together, the entire group joined forces at this specific gate of Hell.

I was really blessed to hear Rusty’s testimony.  He shared about a wonderful opportunity he had, sharing the gospel with an irate woman that morning.  In his words, she was “spittin’ mad” because we were judging.  Well, she was under the assumption that we had no right to be where we were, doing what we were doing.  I believe Rusty said that she asked him the age-old question, “Who gave you the right to judge?”  Being a man of great discernment, Rusty politely said in reply, “Ma’am, do you have a few minutes?”  She pulled to the side, and it wasn’t long that she was in tears, weeping uncontrollably.  She was under much conviction.  Praise God!

Our prayer is that she has, by now, found the peace of God through repentance and faith in Christ.

The Fremont Street Experience – Thursday…All Day

After being at the Fremont Street Experience for a few hours, I was getting pretty tired and was ready to get back to the hotel.  It was around 2pm and I figured that, if I left, I would have a chance to get a nap before the Thursday night rally.  Well, that was before Tom asked me to stay.  I sure am glad he did.  All of my flesh wanted to say no, but I knew, in my spirit what God wanted me to do.

Had I left when I wanted to, I would never of had the chance to meet Bubba.  Bubba was around fourteen years old, accompanied by hs sister and I think a couple other family members.  He was a very nice kid, but was lost in his sin.  His sister professed to be a Christian, and I could tell she was excited about where our conversation was going.

After taking him through the law, this happy-go-lucky kid was pierced to the heart with the fear of God.  He was thoroughly humbled and I could see that he was ready for grace.  I told him that he didn’t have to pay for his transgressions with and eternity in Hell.  I explained to him how Jesus took his punishment on the cross.  His eyes were opened and I could see that glimmer of hope in his eyes.  He now saw that the cross was, by no means, foolishness.  It now made perfect sense to him.

Now, just so you know, I’m not one that pushes “cheap grace”.  I could have easily gotten him to pray the “sinners prayer”, but I don’t do that.  I don’t ever want to give someone the false assurance of being saved if they have not truly repented.  Jesus didn’t teach it, so I don’t use it.  His sister was a Christian and he said that they would go home and talk about it.  He knew what he needed to do, and he knew the cost of doing it.  It’s up to him when he wants to come to Christ.

I prayed with them and encouraged them to sit down today and go over the things we had talked about.  I truly believe, that as you read this, Bubba’s name has already been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!  Praise God!

Though I wanted to leave at 2pm, God had other plans.  I ended up staying for around twelve hours.  It was worth it.

OSA NATIONAL EVENT – LAS VEGAS – DAY 1

Witnessing Encounter with Brian – Wednesday Night

On the first night, at the airport, I met a man named Brian.  He was from Las Vegas, flying in from New Orleans.  It was a great conversation(which hopefully leads to a great conversion).  He told me that he was a Catholic and needed to get right with God.  When I witness to Catholics, the first place I take them is usually John 3:1-21, which is where Jesus tells Nicodemus that you must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God.  He was interested in what I had to say, and had admittedly never paid the Scriptures much attention.  He was very excited when I pulled out my Bible and showed him certain passages.  Don’t you love it when someone, all of the sudden, realizes the power in God’s Word.  I could tell that he would go and search out the things we had talked about to see if what I said was true.  After all, he knew that if what I told him was true, he would not be going to Heaven when he dies.

I gave him Mark Cahill’s, “One Heartbeat Away” before his ride picked him up.  When his ride pulled up, I helped with his luggage and we said our goodbyes.  Over and over, he expressed how thankful he was for the conversation we had.  I am just thankful that God gave me the opportunity to share the gospel on that night.

NAMBY-PAMBY CHRISTIANITY

C.T. Studd (1860-1931) was an English missionary who faithfully served His Saviour in China, India, and Africa. His motto was: “If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us.  Should such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.”  (C.T. Studd)

When I first read this quote, I was blown away.  I’m not sure when C.T. Studd gave this quote, but it was at least 78 years ago, as he died in 1931.  And though it was uttered almost a century ago, is it not just as relevant today?

Men like C.T. Studd are rarely found today.  He was obviously a man’s man.  He preached the gospel without compromise.  And he stormed the gates of Hell with reckless abandon.  Praise God!  As a man of God, he didn’t mince words.  He fearlessly preached the truth, regardless of who might get offended.  Do you see that today?  Yeah, about as often as you see a comet.

The truth is, a man of God who has grasped “Masculine Holiness” is hard to find today.  Why, when you look at this “namby-pamby Christian world”, you don’t at all find masculinity.  On the contrary, you find a church that has been emasculated…a bunch of spiritual sissies.  It seems today, the church finds it more relevant to be a hippie than a man of God!

Why has the church been so emasculated?

First of all, we no longer stand on the Word of God.  We are far more concerned with being relevant to the world and allowing the world to dictate truth, than we are standing on the Word of Almighty God.  We just don’t want to confront anyone with God’s Word.  We would rather tell them a pretty story about God’s word and paint it up to look all non-offensive.  I’ve got news for you!  The Word of God is offensive!

Secondly, the men have become lazy and passed the authority to women.  This is true, not only in the church, but in the home.  We live in a feminized culture and a feminized church.  We shed more tears trying to pray saints out of heaven than we do praying sinners out of Hell!  How backwards is that?  We need men of God, like King Josiah, to rip their garments and weep over their sin.  We need men of God to openly confess and repent!  We need men of God to take back the responsibility and authority in God’s church and in our homes, and take to the streets to tear down the gates of Hell!

In the words of Dr. Voddie Baucham, “Are you smellin’ what I’m steppin’ in?”  You see beloved, all of our compromises today started when we departed from the firm stance on God’s Word being our standard.  As soon as you allow any outside influences to direct your paths, you will compromise His standard.  And, as soon as you do, Satan is just waiting to pounce on you.

Hopefully, this will cause you to ask the question, “Well, what must I do?”  I’m so glad you asked.

First, you’ve got to come to terms with the fact that you are wrong.  You’ve got to humble yourselves.  Despite how strongly you believe that everything you are doing is completely justifiable, you need to admit that you are wrong and God is right.  And just so you know, as I write this, God is revealing things to me that I’ve got to change.

Then, once you realize that you are wrong, you need to repent.  That is basically just changing all of your thinking to line up with God and His Word.  You can’t let experience dictate truth any longer.  You can’t let your emotions run your spiritual life.  You must ground yourself into God’s Word.  Allow all of your thoughts and actions to be filtered through His standard.

And last of all, you’ve got to go to battle.  “The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us.” We need to, as C.T. Studd did, run to the front lines.

There is a wonderful opportunity to respond to God’s call to battle.  From July 15-22, men and women of God will be meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada to wage war against the devil.  There are currently nine abortion mills in the city of Las Vegas.  If you are wondering where the battle is, you can see it no clearer than when you look at abortion.  Innocent blood is being shed and we must stand in the gap on behalf of our unborn neighbors.  We must run to the front lines.

It’s not to late to join us.  Just go to http://lasvegas.operationsaveamerica.org for all the information.  Time is running out, but you shouldn’t have any trouble booking a cheap flight and a room.

In Christian love,

Adam Tennant