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Lessons Learned From Preaching The Gospel Of The Grace Of God On The Streets In Saint Augustine Florida

On March 24 in 2012, I stepped out onto the corner of St. George and Hypolita streets in downtown Saint Augustine, Florida, and answered the call of God on my life to preach on the street. I preached alone that day, but amazingly God has provided co-laborers to minister with me every time since then including today.

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In St. Augustine we preach to all different kinds of lost people, and we preach to all of them the same message. We preach Jesus Christ crucified, died and buried, and risen again on the third day according to the scriptures.

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24 (KJV)

On March 24 in 2012, I stepped out onto the corner of St. George and Hypolita streets in downtown Saint Augustine, Florida, and answered the call of God on my life to preach on the street. I preached alone that day, but amazingly God has provided co-laborers to minister with me every time since then including today.

So I thought I would share some of the lessons that the Lord has shown me through street preaching.

ACOUSTIC PREACHING: Though I have never used amplification when preaching on the streets, I have watched and listened as others have done so. It seems to me that when you’re preaching without amplification, it comes off more like the conversation that it’s supposed to be. Street preaching through microphones has a very harsh quality to it, and can be quite off-putting to the passersby. I believe with all my heart that if God has truly called someone to preach on the streets, then He has also given them a voice that can carry through on its own without electronic amplification.

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A MAN WITH BRO. DAMIEN PRAYING TO RECEIVE JESUS AS SAVIOUR AFTER HEARING THE STREET PREACHING ON HYPOLITA STREET

LOVING THE LOST: Nothing makes me cringe more than watching some angry, self-righteous street preacher calling people out for their sins while mocking and belittling them. I think these people do a disservice to the cause of Christ. Yes, we are called to preach against sin, that’s true, but we need to always remember that it’s the Holy Spirit that brings the conviction. In St. Augustine we preach to all different kinds of lost people, and we preach to all of them the same message. We preach Jesus Christ crucified, died and buried, and risen again on the third day according to the scriptures. We preach Jesus Christ as the one and only way to Heaven. We preach because Hell is real and we don’t want to see them or anyone else going there. In short, we preach because if God loved the lost enough to send His Son to die on the cross for them, then showing them love is the least we can do.

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Bro. Damien preaching the gospel on Saint George street in St. Augustine, Florida

A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POLICE: When we started this street ministry, one of the first things we did was pay a visit to the then St. Augustine Police Commander, Steve Fricke, and spoke with him of our desire to preach on the streets while at the same time staying within city codes and ordinances. Commander Fricke was very nice to us, and told us what we needed to do, and we did it. From that day to this, 6 years later, we’ve never had a tense or bad moment with local law enforcement as we’ve preached within the hearing of well over a million people and the handing out of over 250,000 gospel tracts. The St. Augustine police have treated us very well. So it makes me just a little suspicious when I hear stories of street preachers who have these horrific run-ins with their local police. I can’t imagine they are not operating “in the flesh” when these incidents occur.

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Bro. Jay Taking Two Men Through The Surprisingly-Tricky ‘Intelligence Test’

Many things about the Church have changed over the past 2,000 years, with some of those changes being good and some being not so good. But one thing that has never changed is the God-appointed ministry of street preaching. Jesus was a street preacher, all His disciples and apostles were street preachers, and the apostle Paul was absolutely a street preacher.

“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23 (KJV)

If God has called you to be a preacher, don’t wait around to “get a church” who will give you a “pulpit”. Grab a boxful of gospel tracts and your King James Bible, and head out to your local street corner and preach the gospel of the grace of God to the people walking by. I promise you that by the time you’re done, you will know for sure if God has really called you to street ministry.

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Click To Order Your Box Of The Official Now The End Begins Gospel Tract

How the NTEB Gospel Tract came to be sent around the world

One day back in 2015, I was walking to St. George street to preach, and this thought came into my head that I should make the NTEB gospel tract we were using available through the website. I entertained that thought for a moment, then after we started preaching, I promptly forgot all about it. About an hour later, I was approached by a young Spanish couple on St. George street who stopped to hear me preach. After listening awhile, the man asked me in broken English about what I thought was him getting some tracts. So I handed him a box of tracts and he gave me a $20 bill. I assured him that there was no charge for the box of tracts, but that’s not what he was asking me. I finally understood that the the $20 he was handing me was to be put towards printing the tracts in large quantities and making them available online. Funny how the Holy Spirit works, isn’t it?

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Click Image To Make A Donation To The Ongoing Work On Now The End Begins

So in March of 2015, I made a web page advertising the tracts for sale, and within minutes orders starting coming in and they haven’t stopped. We regularly get orders from just about all 50 states, Canada, New Zealand, and as far away as South Africa. The Lord has truly blessed our efforts to get the gospel out.

At the 6 year mark of our street ministry, these are some of the things I have learned about preaching on the street. I’ve learned that preaching to people goes a whole lot further than preaching at people, that showing a little love and compassion can make the difference between someone walking closer or walking away, and that lost people really are listening even when you think they aren’t.

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The Original 2012 Founding Members Of The NTEB Street Preaching Team from L to R Bros. Jimmy, Stephen, Craig and Me!

And I’ve learned that there is nothing more satisfying on this earth than having the privilege of leading someone to the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever way God chooses to use me to do it. If you would like to experience what it’s like doing street ministry, please send me an email to make arrangements, we’d be happy to have you join us some Saturday afternoon.

The war is real, the battle hot and the time is short…to the fight!

 


 

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The Children Of The Glory Fellowship Orphanage In Kenya Sleep On Cardboard And Now Operation Africa! Wants To Give Them New Cots And Clean Blankets

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Operation Africa! Has Been Given A New Mission To Provide 44 Mattresses And 44 Blankets For The 84 Children At Glory Fellowship Orphanage Sleeping On Cardboard Floors

The children at Glory Fellowship Orphanage in Kenya are sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder on pieces of cardboard spread across a bare concrete floor. There are no mattresses beneath them and no warm blankets covering them on top. That is an actual photo at the top of this article, showing you how these precious children actually go to sleep every night. What if that was your child, would you be happy with that? I say we do something about it.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27 (KJB)

Through Operation Africa!, the Lord has already allowed us to send more than 1,100 King James Bibles to Kenya, provide them with life-saving medicine, and complete a water well and tanker program at the orphanage. Now God has placed another urgent need directly before us: 84 children need 44 mattresses and 44 blankets. This is not a request for luxury. We are talking about the most basic human necessities, like a comfortable place to lay their heads and a clean blanket to keep them warm through the night. These children should not have to spend another night sleeping on cardboard when, together, we have the power to change their situation. We can’t fix all of Africa, but Lord willing, we can fix this.

The Bible does not tell us merely to feel sorry for the fatherless; it tells us to visit them in their affliction. That means seeing the need, stepping into the need and doing something about it. Through Operation Africa!, God has brought these children into our lives and given us an opportunity to put our faith into action. Let’s get every one of these 84 children off the floor, put a clean mattress beneath them and place a warm blanket over top of them. The children will sleep two-to-a-bed. The cots are $45 each, the blankets are $30 each, and we need 44 of both. Altogether that comes to $3,300, a very reasonable price to pay to put all 84 children into the type of sleeping arrangements you would want for your precious children. All of us together should easily be able to do this, pray for this outreach, and come help us!!

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this overwhelmingly urgent task of providing the children of Glory Fellowship Orphange with medicine and clean drinking water. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!


NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
1340 N Great Neck Rd.
Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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THE BIBLE BELIEVERS SUNDAY SERVICE: I Quit

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I Quit: When God’s Mightiest Servants Reached Their Breaking Point, Lost Their Courage And Discovered That Their Calling Was Stronger Than Their Discouragement

“I Quit” are two words that nearly every servant of God will be tempted to say at some point in the ministry. The Bible does not airbrush its heroes or pretend that men of faith never collapse beneath the burden. Jeremiah decided to stop preaching, Peter returned to his fishing boat, Elijah asked God to let him die, John the Baptist questioned Christ from prison, Moses could no longer carry the people, David became convinced that Saul would eventually kill him, and Paul despaired even of life. These were not weak men playing at ministry; they were mighty servants who discovered that calling does not make the flesh indestructible. The difference was not that they never reached the breaking point—it was that God met them there and refused to allow their darkest moment to become the final chapter. Christian, do you feel like quitting today? This message is for you.

“O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.” Jeremiah 20:7 (KJB)

The Bible Believers Sunday Service: I Quit

I Quit

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (KJB)

God’s calling does not make His servants immune to exhaustion, fear, disappointment, loneliness, or doubt. God sometimes allows His servants to reach the end of their own strength so they will learn to trust “in God which raiseth the dead.”

MAIN POINT: The breaking point does not have to become the quitting point.

Dispensational Note: Jeremiah and Elijah ministered to Israel under the law and the prophetic program. John the Baptist and Peter ministered in connection with Israel, Messiah, and the kingdom. Paul is our apostle and doctrinal pattern for the present Church Age. These men did not occupy the same dispensational position, but the spiritual principle remains: God’s servants are weak, but God remains faithful.

I. Jeremiah: When Faithful Preaching Brings Reproach

“O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” Jeremiah 20:7-9 (KJB)

A. Jeremiah was faithful, but faithfulness did not protect him from discouragement

Jeremiah preached exactly what God told him to preach. Instead of producing repentance, his preaching produced mockery, opposition, persecution, and reproach. His discouragement was not caused by disobedience. It came while he was faithfully carrying out his calling.

B. Jeremiah allowed his circumstances to distort his perception

When Jeremiah accused the LORD of deceiving him, he was speaking out of anguish, not giving a doctrinal statement about God’s character. God had already warned Jeremiah that the people would fight against him. Jeremiah had not been deceived; he had become overwhelmed by the cost of obeying God.

C. Jeremiah attempted to resign

Jeremiah said:

  • “I will not make mention of him.”
  • I will not “speak any more in his name.”
  • I am finished preaching.
  • I will remain silent.

D. The Word would not release the prophet

Jeremiah could close his mouth, but he could not extinguish the Word burning inside him. The pain of holding back the message became greater than the pain of delivering it. Jeremiah tried to silence the message, but the message would not release the messenger.

II. Peter: When Personal Failure Makes You Go Backward

“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.” John 21:3 (KJB)

A. Peter had once appeared fearless

Peter had promised to follow Jesus even unto death. But when confronted during the Lord’s trial, Peter denied Christ three times. His confidence in himself was shattered. That’s a great starting point for the Christian, to have your self-confidence broken. You must decrease, He must increase.

B. Peter returned to something familiar

Peter did not formally say, “I quit.” Nevertheless, his actions indicate retreat. Not knowing what place remained for him, Peter returned to the occupation he had known before Jesus called him.

He could return to the boat, but he could not return to his old life as though Christ had never called him.

C. Peter’s retreat influenced other people

When Peter said, “I go a fishing,” the others answered, “We also go with thee.”

A discouraged leader rarely retreats alone. Other people are watching, and they may follow him into his withdrawal.

D. The Lord allowed Peter’s nets to remain empty

Peter had years of fishing experience, but “that night they caught nothing.” The empty nets demonstrated that Peter could accomplish nothing independently of Christ. Jesus already had fish and bread waiting on the shore. Christ did not need Peter’s catch; Peter needed Christ’s provision.

E. Christ restored Peter through love and recommissioning

“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” John 21:15 (KJB)

“He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” John 21:16,17 (KJB)

Jesus did not ask Peter whether he still felt brave. Peter’s self-confidence was gone. The question was, “Lovest thou me?”

Peter’s restoration was followed by a renewed commission:

  • “Feed my lambs.”
  • “Feed my sheep.”
  • “Follow me.”

Teaching Truth: Failure said, “Go back.” Jesus Christ said, “Follow me.”

III. Elijah: When Exhaustion Follows a Great Victory

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:4 (KJB)

A. Elijah’s collapse came immediately after his Mount Carmel victory

Elijah had confronted 450 prophets of Baal. God had answered by fire. The people had confessed that the LORD was God.

Then one threat from Jezebel sent Elijah running.

  • Yesterday, Elijah faced 450 prophets.
  • Today, he was afraid of one woman.
  • Yesterday, he prayed for fire to fall.
  • Today, he prayed for his life to end.
  • Yesterday, he stood before a nation.
  • Today, he sat alone beneath a tree.

B. Great victories can be followed by dangerous emotional lows

Spiritual victory does not make the flesh indestructible. Elijah had expended tremendous physical, emotional, and spiritual energy. When the excitement ended, exhaustion, disappointment, fear, and isolation descended upon him.

C. God addressed Elijah’s physical exhaustion

“And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.” 1 Kings 19:5-8 (KJB)

God did not begin by rebuking Elijah. He allowed him to sleep, provided food and water, and allowed him to sleep again. Sometimes a servant does not immediately need another sermon. He needs rest, nourishment, and time in the presence of God.

D. Discouragement distorted Elijah’s perception

“And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 1 Kings 19:10 (KJB)

Elijah felt alone, so he concluded that he was alone. But feelings are not facts.

“Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:18 (KJB)

Elijah saw no one. God saw seven thousand.

E. God restored Elijah in five ways

God gave Elijah:

  1. Rest for his body.
  2. Food for his strength.
  3. Truth for his distorted perspective.
  4. Work for his prophetic calling.
  5. Elisha for companionship.

MAIN POINT: Elijah’s juniper tree was a terrible moment, but it was not the conclusion of his ministry.

IV. John the Baptist: When Circumstances Contradict Expectations

“And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Matthew 11:1-6 (KJB)

A. John had been a mighty and fearless preacher

John had publicly identified Jesus Christ:

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 (KJB)

John had seen the Spirit descend upon Christ. He had identified Jesus as the Son of God. Yet confinement, uncertainty, and approaching death brought him to a moment of doubt.

B. John struggled to reconcile his circumstances with his preaching

John had announced:

  • The coming King.
  • The approaching kingdom.
  • The axe laid to the root.
  • The fan in Christ’s hand.
  • The coming judgment by fire.

Yet Herod remained on the throne, and John remained in prison. The King had come, but John was still bound. Other people were receiving deliverance, but John’s prison door remained shut.

C. John did not understand the interval between the Advents

John belonged to Israel’s prophetic and kingdom program. He saw the prophecies concerning Messiah’s coming, His kingdom, and His judgment, but he did not yet understand the gap between the First and Second Advents or the still-unrevealed mystery of the Church Age.

The prophetic timetable was unfolding differently than John expected.

D. John took his question to the right Person

John did not send his disciples to Herod, the Pharisees, or public opinion. He sent them directly to Jesus Christ.

Faith is not the absence of painful questions. Faith takes those questions to the right Person.

E. Jesus answered John with scriptural evidence

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Matthew 11:4-6 (KJB)

Jesus did not explain every detail or promise that John would be released. He directed John back to the evidence of fulfilled Scripture.

The answer was essentially: Do not judge who I am by the bars surrounding you. Judge who I am by the Word of God.

F. Jesus did not define John by his weakest moment

“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11 (KJB)

John was questioning Jesus, but Jesus was not questioning John’s faithfulness. Christ knew the difference between hardened unbelief and a faithful servant suffering through a dark hour.

MAIN POINT: John’s question did not erase his calling, his courage, or his entire ministry.

V. Moses: When the Burden Becomes Too Heavy

“I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” Numbers 11:14,15 (KJB)

A. Moses became overwhelmed by responsibility

Moses was attempting to carry the burden of the entire nation. The work truly was too heavy for one man.

B. Moses saw death as his only escape

Overwhelming pressure can narrow a person’s thinking until he can no longer see any solution except escape.

C. God provided shared responsibility

God instructed Moses to gather seventy elders. The LORD did not remove Moses from his calling; He provided other men to help carry the burden.

MAIN POINT: Sometimes the answer is not quitting the work but sharing the weight.

VI. David: When Fear Becomes Greater Than the Promise

“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.” 1 Samuel 27:1 (KJB)

A. God had promised David the throne

Saul could not kill David without overthrowing the promise and purpose of God.

B. David listened to his heart instead of God’s promise

The verse begins, “David said in his heart.” David looked at Saul’s repeated attacks and concluded, “I shall now perish.” His circumstances appeared more powerful than God’s Word.

C. Discouragement drove David into enemy territory

When a servant stops resting in God’s promises, the world begins to look like a place of safety. David fled into the land of the Philistines because fear told him there was “nothing better.”

MAIN POINT: Discouragement causes us to calculate the future without including the faithfulness of God.

VII. Paul: When a Church-Age Servant Reaches the End of His Strength

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:” 2 Corinthians But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:” 2 Corinthians 1:8,9 (KJB)

A. Paul was pressed beyond his natural ability

Paul did not say that God would never allow something beyond human strength. He said that he was “pressed out of measure, above strength.” The pressure exceeded Paul’s natural ability to endure it.

B. Paul “despaired even of life”

This was not an immature believer. This was the apostle to the Gentiles. Yet he reached a place where death appeared certain.

C. God was destroying Paul’s self-reliance

The purpose is stated plainly:

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:” 2 Corinthians 1:9 (KJB)

God brought Paul to the end of himself so that Paul would place his complete confidence in the God of resurrection.

D. Paul also experienced abandonment

“At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” 2 Timothy 4:16,17 (KJB)

Every human companion may leave, but the Lord remains.

MAIN POINT: When no man stood with Paul, the Lord stood with him. As it turned out, that was all he needed.

Spiritual Application

  1. Recognize the Different Causes of Discouragement

These servants became discouraged for different reasons:

  • Jeremiah: mockery and rejection.
  • Peter: personal failure and shame.
  • Elijah: exhaustion, fear, and isolation.
  • John: confinement and unmet expectations.
  • Moses: overwhelming responsibility.
  • David: prolonged persecution and fear.
  • Paul: suffering, pressure, and abandonment.

The cause may differ, but the temptation is the same: stop, retreat, isolate yourself, or abandon the calling.

  1. Do Not Make Permanent Decisions During Temporary Collapse

Jeremiah decided never to preach again.

Peter decided to return to fishing.

Elijah asked to die.

David fled into enemy territory.

None of them was seeing clearly at that moment. Exhaustion, fear, humiliation, and loneliness are terrible counselors. Do not make a permanent decision while standing inside a temporary storm.

  1. Distinguish Between Rest and Retreat

Elijah needed sleep and food. Moses needed help carrying the burden. Peter needed restoration. John needed reassurance from Scripture. Rest is not quitting. Receiving help is not weakness. Stepping back long enough to regain strength is not the same as abandoning God’s calling.

  1. Do Not Turn Feelings Into Facts

Elijah felt alone, but seven thousand remained.

David felt certain that Saul would kill him, but God had promised him the throne.

John felt confused by the prison, but Jesus was still the Messiah.

Peter felt finished, but Christ still intended to use him.

Feelings are real, but they are not always reliable.

  1. Return to the Word of God

Jeremiah had the Word burning inside him.

Jesus directed John to the scriptural evidence.

David needed to remember God’s promise.

Paul learned to trust the God who raises the dead.

Discouragement grows when circumstances interpret the Bible. Faith returns when the Bible interprets the circumstances.

  1. Take Your Questions Directly to God

Jeremiah poured out his complaint before the LORD.

Elijah spoke honestly to God.

Moses cried unto the LORD.

John sent his question directly to Jesus.

God already knows the condition of the heart. Honest anguish brought into His presence is better than silent bitterness carried away from Him.

  1. Accept God’s Provision

God may provide:

  • Rest, as He did for Elijah.
  • Help, as He did for Moses.
  • Correction, as He did for David.
  • Scriptural reassurance, as He did for John.
  • Restoration, as He did for Peter.
  • Strength in loneliness, as He did for Paul.
  • Renewed fire for the message, as He did for Jeremiah.

Do not reject the form in which God sends His help. He knows best, let HIM do it.

  1. Remember That Your Retreat Can Affect Others

When Peter said, “I go a fishing,” others followed. Leaders must remember that their responses to discouragement can influence families, churches, ministries, and younger believers. This does not mean pretending to be invincible. It means taking weakness to God before that weakness becomes a path others begin following.

  1. Do Not Define a Servant by His Weakest Moment

Jeremiah was more than his complaint.

Peter was more than his denial.

Elijah was more than his juniper tree.

John was more than his prison question.

Moses was more than his frustration.

David was more than his fearful retreat.

Paul was more than the moment when he despaired even of life.

God recorded their weakness, but He did not allow their weakness to write the final chapter.

  1. Understand What God Is Accomplishing

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:” 2 Corinthians 1:9 (KJB)

The ultimate purpose is the destruction of self-confidence. God does not need invincible men. There are none. He uses weak men who have learned that His grace, His Word, and His strength are sufficient.

Closing Challenge

Jeremiah tried to silence the message, but the Word burned within him.

Peter tried to return to fishing, but Jesus stood on the shore.

Elijah asked to die, but God fed him and sent him back.

John questioned Christ, but Christ answered him with the Word.

Moses wanted to escape the burden, but God sent men to help him.

David feared he would perish, but God’s promise remained unchanged.

Paul despaired even of life, but the Lord stood with him.

The common thread is not the strength of these men. The common thread is the faithfulness of their God.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 (KJB)

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJB)

Final Questions

  • Are you interpreting God through your circumstances, or your circumstances through the Word of God?
  • Are you calling yourself alone when God still has seven thousand?
  • Are you returning to old nets because of one terrible failure?
  • Are you making permanent decisions while physically and emotionally exhausted?
  • Are you looking at prison bars instead of the works of Christ?
  • Are you trying to carry a burden God never intended you to carry alone?
  • Are you trusting in yourself, or “in God which raiseth the dead”?

Final Challenge: Do not quit in the dark what God called you to do in the light. Rest if you must. Receive help when it is offered. Pour out your heart before the Lord. Return to the Word. Then arise, go back to the work, and continue in the strength which God supplies.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38,39 (KJB)

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Life At The Crossroads: Bibles Behind Bars Is Bringing King James Bibles And The Gospel Of Jesus Christ To Men Living Inside A Maximum-Security Missouri Prison

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At Crossroads Correctional Center In Missouri, Bibles Behind Bars Is Putting The Preserved Word Of God Into The Hands Of Men Who Need Truth And Hope Before It Is Too Late

Crossroads Correctional Center is not an abandoned relic from Missouri’s prison history; it is once again an active maximum and medium-security institution housing roughly 1,250 men behind concrete, steel, electrified barriers and coils of razor wire. Closed in 2019 and reopened in 2022, the facility stands as a grim monument to the consequences of choices made, laws broken and lives forever altered. From the air it resembles a cold, mechanical wheel, with cellblocks radiating outward from central corridors and every road ultimately ending at another locked gate. For the men living inside, however, this is not some trivial architectural curiosity or bland government statistic—it is daily life at the Crossroads.

“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” Psalms 68:11 (KJB)

There is something hauntingly appropriate about that name, Crossroads, because every man inside that prison has arrived at a crossroads far greater than the one that brought him before a judge. The State of Missouri can confine a man’s body, regulate his movements and determine the hour when his cell door opens, but it cannot prevent the word of God from reaching his heart. This is why the work of Bibles Behind Bars is so necessary and needed, placing the preserved word of God into the hands of prisoners who desperately need truth, hope and the gospel of the grace of God. These men do not need another watered-down paraphrase, religious pamphlet or empty program, they need a King James Bible they can open, read and believe. Some will leave Crossroads through the front gate, while others may never leave at all, but the blood of Jesus Christ can save any sinner who believes. No man is beyond the reach of God’s grace, and no prison wall is thick enough to stop his preserved word. Chaplain Matt at Crossroads wrote to us and said “We have had an influx of inmates hungry for the Word of God and they have been asking for Bibles in mass requests and we about out of Bibles and would appreciate a donation for as many as you can give!” There it is, waist-high and over the plate, let’s hit this thing out of the park.

In addition to Crossroads, we also have pending requests for Bibles from:

  • Orange County Department of Corrections – FL
  • Torrance County Detention Facility – CA
  • Macon County Sheriff’s Office – IL
  • One Bible requested by Mom Nancy for her son in Bay County Jail, Panama City – FL

Christian, the only way this works is if you will lift this ministry up in prayer as often as the Lord brings it to your mind and heart. The only way this works is if you will go above and beyond to help us with this “great commission” the LORD has given us. Come help us, we need you!!

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this monumental task of providing King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions, gospel tracts as well as Spanish Bibles to inmates in jails and prisons from Florida to Alaska, and every state in between. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!


NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
1340 N Great Neck Rd.
Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

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