From the Heart
By Jason Decker
Ministry Newsletter
July - August 2001
This Issue
: From the Heart • Witnessing to the Cults • Utah Olympics • Prayer Partner Network • The "IN" BoxThe Summer of Love !
The sun has finally assumed its rightful place of glory in the Seattle area – well at least for this week !
Forth of July is obviously known as Independence Day, and after reading about the recent slew of arrests of religious worshippers in China, I have just one thing to say "Thank You Jesus !" for all those who have laid down their lives for us to have the freedom to worship, pray and share the Gospel.
We are going to take the next few issues of the Saints Alive newsletter to focus on how we can be more effective in sharing Christ to those lost in darkness. This summer is a time when we can take vacation and visit family and friends. I pray that we can maximize these times together and show them the Love !
The Decker family is now in the final stretch of preparations for the wedding of Joshua and Joscelyn! Even with two amazing Christian families supporting this, its still a miracle for all the details to come together. They will be married August 4th in the Seattle Area.
New Projects Underway !
We have several major projects underway which need some major "help" in order to be completed by the end of the summer. We need your help in 2 major ways ! First, please PRAY FOR US and the ministry of Saints Alive. Second, consider "sponsoring" one of our projects. Our ministry plans also include a missions trip to Ecuador in October and Utah in February of 2002. We are in the midst of "reprinting" 3 books written by my father – Ed Decker. "To Moroni With Love" and "The Question of Freemasonry" will be printed in paper back in a smaller size with a new 4 color cover. These 2 books have been our most effective tools over the past 20 years to both the LDS and Mason’s. Please consider helping us further the impact of these dynamic booklets for the next generation to come! These are currently only available on our website.We are also reprinting "Decker’s Complete Handbook on Mormonism" which will be available in Hardback. We are also collaborating with several other noted ministries to develop a CD ROM and website "search engine" that will allow you to research different issues by TOPIC. We are also looking to expand this project beyond Mormonism to include Freemasonry, Jehovah’s Witnesses and more ! Another project in the works is a DVD of the God Makers.
Please pray that we have favor in negotiations with publishers and printers to keep the quality up and the cost down.
We are truly blessed to have you as a part of the ministry of Saints Alive.
Your Brother In Christ,
Jason Decker
From the Heart |
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I have been repeatedly woken up in the middle of the night with a recurring burden from the Holy Spirit. That we are not showing the love of Christ to those we witness to. How is this so? I see this on two different levels. In my sharing these points, please do not take them too far because it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can be truly effective in sharing the love of Christ.
First, on a natural level – we (Christians) fail in our communication due to our lack of truly listening to those we talk with. We tend to use automatic responses based on either what we know is right or switch the subject back to our experiences or testimony. Before the LDS missionary even finishes their sentence, we are already thinking about our reply instead of about what they are saying. It’s not about being "right" as much as it is about being like Christ to them. We need to show them the love of God by stepping into their life for a moment.
Second, on a spiritual level – we approach them only with our "self" and neglect to utilize the Holy Spirit as a tag team partner. We try to His job for Him – convicting people of sin and righteousness. The fact is, we are not alone when sharing Christ. God is right there with us and wants to be included as an active participant in the conversation.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."
John 16:7-15 NKJVWe as "humans," tend to look at things with a limited perspective. In the world, people look at things as either good or bad. Breaking the law can be a felony or a misdemeanor. We have different levels of looking at things and its all relative to what standard we use for comparison. Sin is Sin and it all demands a consequence of death. God has another way of looking at things.
"For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another."
Rom 14:17-19When we are "right" with God, it is a 100% thing, not 99%. Righteousness can only come by GRACE because none of us are perfect or good enough. This is the very reason we all need a Savior. Without being "Right With God" it is impossible to have "true peace" that comes from the Holy Spirit because we are in conflict with God – because He is holy. God does not desire for us to live at the break-even point as Christians. He wants us to get to the Promised Land of Joy and the life of "Abundance."
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
John 10:10-11It is really not the things we do, or do not do that God looks at. God is more focused on our hearts and where we stand in relation to Him, not what other people think. He looks at what is in our hearts before what’s in our hands. Its what comes out of our hearts that matters more to Him. It is how we respond to things after the fact. (Mark 7:15) After all, what made King David a man after God’s heart ?
I have a BIG question for you – When was the last time you shared your faith with someone ? Did you tear them down or build them up ? Did you tell them what you know or about who you know ? Did they leave angry or stirred up – wanting more ?
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." 1 Cor 8:1-3
Lord, Lord, Did we not talk to the Missionaries at our door ?
It really doesn’t matter if you know all the errors in the Book of Mormon if they can’t tell that you know Christ (Matt 7:22). What is the one thing above everything that stands out more than any scripture you can quote ? LOVE !Do you remember that hymn " Yes they’ll know we are Christians, by our love, by our love" ? This is so true. 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 really gets to the point, without love, nothing you do or say really matters. God does not want our words to hit brick walls, but to penetrate to the depths of their hearts.
BIG QUESTIONS ?
God has challenged me with a question that should be answered every time you encounter someone when you share your faith. What is the biggest NEED in their life ? If that need was met by Christ they would know-that-they-know Christ is real and loves them. Next time you meet with an LDS missionary, try to find out these questions.
I have noticed a tendency for many Christians to approach people "straight-up’" with the truth and quite frankly – over power them and shut them down. We need to approach them from the foundation of truth, but embrace them with the Love of Christ and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. It is not our job to convict people of their sins – that is what the Holy Spirit is for. The Holy Spirit is the master gentleman, both tactful, graceful and to the point. I want to be like Jesus when He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, to be candid and seize the moment, yet sensitive enough to listen empathetically to her and the Holy Spirit. By listening with "BOTH EARS" (natural and spiritual) Jesus was able to find the door to her heart and turned a broken hearted woman into an evangelist who brought the whole town to meet this Jesus of Nazareth.
Pray for Holy Spirit Revelation !
What are the ROOTS ?Every tree bears fruit ! For instance, Utah has the highest rate of anti-depressant drug use in the United States. Depression is a fruit or a "consequence" of a works based faith. Imagine never knowing if you are good enough to get into Heaven or if you ever are pleasing to God ? That can put a lot of pressure on people. What are the roots causes that feed our behaviors?
We sometimes revert to the "Shotgun" approach and blast everyone with everything we’ve got and hope that something might hit the target. Jesus used "laser beam" technology and always hit His target. One Bullet, One Kill ! When he met the Samaritan woman at the well, He didn’t just deal with the circumstantial issues – water ! But recognized why she was at the well in the middle of hot day – she was the outcast and He dealt with the underlying need in her life by listening and picking up on the unseen things – and opened the door into her heart.
It is my prayer that we are effective and truly carry the Love of Christ to those who really need it.
| Witnessing to the Cults By Ed Decker |
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I have talked to and prayed with so many heartsick Christians around the world who have lost a loved one, a child, a parent, a spouse or a friend to one of the many cults that abound in the land. Of course, there are many Christians who have made the acquaintance of a Mormon or Freemason or Muslim and want to know the best way to share The Good News of Jesus with them.
There are as many variations to the questions and needs as there are groups out there. The New Age, for example, has about as many definitions as it has followers. But there are significant base parallels to every cultic group.
In every cult group, every attempt is made to humanize God, deify man, minimize sin, devalue Christ’s death on the Cross and separate you from the authority of Holy Scripture.
This last is often done by adding to the Bible, that group’s own created scripture of higher authority, usually given by mystical means to that group’s spiritual leader. They will also make every effort to convince you that salvation is only available through that group and its special plan for your step into eternity.
This tells you then, that in order to witness to someone in any of the cultic groups, it will be necessary for you to deify and glorify God, reveal mankind as lost to God through sin, lift up the gift of Christ on the Cross, demonstrate the validity of the Bible and point the way to the cross as the only way of salvation for mankind.
Simple! No, not quite. Well, if someone shows up that you know is head over heels into some cultic theology, and you know absolutely nothing about it and you don’t have time to run to a library, then you can always start from the above premise and you will never go wrong. Trust me, the newly arrived cult member will quickly set you straight on his/her doctrine in any of the above areas.
But, assuming you do have some time to prepare, I strongly suggest that you learn the simple basics that separate that specific group from orthodox Christianity. Then you are ready to proceed. Almost.
With an acknowledgement and thanks to JEWS FOR JESUS for an old tract I carried around until it was unreadable, here it is rewritten with some of my own pointers on witnessing that I consider vital to your success on being a really effective witness :
1. Be a Real Friend. There are a zillion spiritual scalp hunters out there who want to win a lost soul for Jesus, but are completely unaware of the person who is attached to that soul. Try to have an honest and well-rounded relationship with your friend before you attempt to witness.
Pray about your own motives and make the association a real one. It is the intensive person-to-person witness through which most cultists are being won to Christ. It’s really true that what you are usually speaks louder than what you say. You must be brokenhearted for that person!
Be ready to love that person just exactly as they are and where they are, even if they never leave that cult. I am convinced that the vast majority of these people are where they are because they really want to serve God with all their hearts. These people are not God’s enemies nor are they ours. They are victims of false teachers.
2. Encourage Discussion on Life issues to get some insight on how your friend perceives and understand things. Listen to where his/her heart really is. Get him to talk about the things which concern him and lead him into a discussion about what his group means to him. People are in cults for many different reasons. Read John Chapter 4 and see how Jesus used the circumstance to get to the issues of the Samaritan woman’s heart.
In no way let them come to the understanding that you only care for him as long as you might convert him. Love that person right now! Where they are at! *Rom 5:8 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
3. In Some Way Give Your Own Testimony. A good place to begin is to show how God has answered prayer in your life. Focus on your transformation and the power of God to help you overcome.
* Revelations 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony"
Remember, those who follow Eastern religions and any number of the new cults will give just as fervent a testimony. Like the Mormons who use their "burning in the bosom" as a test of truth, each group has its own subjective method of instilling a counterfeit sense of security.
4. Answer all questions and objections from Scripture. But remember, you don’t have to answer every question when it’s asked. In fact, your friend will feel a whole lot more comfortable with you if you can’t. You can say, "I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll find out", or "Let me think about it a little more and I’ll give you an answer the next time I see you." Then, find the answer, be sure you understand it and bring it back!
5. Get your friend to study the Bible with you. Don’t concentrate only on their theological problem areas. There is power in all the Scripture. A good beginning point the Book of John - Chapter 1
6. Offer to pray for your friend’s needs. While an apologetics kind of ministry is not always welcomed, few people will decline prayer and God seems to be particularly pleased to honor prayers as evidence of His love and concern in these special cases.
7. Try to bring your friend into the communication sphere of other Christians who are former members of that cultic group. Such a meeting might be painful at first, but it does bring persons to the place where they can see that there really can be a God centered life after the cult.
8. Emphasize that Christ is the sin bearer for you and your friend alike. Remember that your friend has been programmed to think that he has to carry his own sin until it can be released only through his cult group leadership. It’s up to you to show him that is not true!
9. Ask for a decision. As a general rule, it’s not good to continually press for a decision, but you will prayerfully know when the timing is right in the matter. If they are not yet ready, ask them to pray with you for God to help them get to the place where they can commit to Christ.
10. Remember the areas that the cult cannot deal with and bring your friend to an understanding of these important matters; the power of the shed blood of Jesus, the Cross and the nature of salvation by grace. Be able to give a good, clear definition of the doctrine of the Trinity, an area of confusion with every cult.
11. Always pray before your visits. Going into this sphere of spiritual contact without the Holy Spirit is dangerous for both you and your friend. The Scriptures promise us the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us at times such as this.
12. Realize that your friend is under spiritual bondage, which can only be broken through intercessory prayer. It is vital that if you have a burden for this person that you be involved in persistent, aggressive prayer directed against the principalities of powers of darkness over him. Pray according to the Bible that the strongman be bound so that his captive can be set free. Pull down those strongholds and cast down vain imaginations and "every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." (2 Cor 10:4,5)
Ask for the intervention of the Holy Spirit to draw this friend to the Cross of Jesus for salvation. Also, solicit the assistance of the prayer group at your church and/or among other believing friends and family. This bondage can be broken through prayer in the name of Jesus. So many have been set free through the love, intercession and fellowship of committed friends and relatives.
13. If you need help, call a pastor or strong Christian friend and they will be glad to help! -Ed
Suspicions Confirmed
Visiting Reporters Complain Venues Tour Turned Into a Pitch for Church, State |
Sunday, March 18, 2001 |
| BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A media tour sponsored by the state last month to boost Utah's image instead inspired some unflattering portrayals of Salt Lake City and Mormon culture. "A few reporters are coming looking for things to criticize," said Spencer Kinard, director of the Utah Travel Council. "They are happy to ride in our van, eat our food, enjoy our hospitality, but then they turn around and write what a schlocky place this is." Some reporters who participated in the Feb. 5-8 tour by the Utah Media Center (UMC) said they were misled by a "bait-and-switch" agenda that touted 2002 venues but instead was laden with trips to non-Olympic resorts and Mormon story pitches by LDS Church publicity volunteers. |
We need to put together a media packet and have it out in the hands of the media by the end of summer, when the bulk of them will be getting hit with the same things these reporters faced at the Mormon Olympics. That means we need a few really special gifts and the time and to get the job done. One part of the project will be to distribute free copies of about 4 full books, including "Decker’s Complete Handbook on Mormonism", on a CD they are ready for some real facts.
The article went on
to say:
"You were sort of held hostage to the whole Utah experience," says Ron C. Judd,
sports columnist for The Seattle Times. "I've been to Utah before, so the Mormon
stuff was not a surprise, but I did not want to get sucked into the spin cycle."
Kinard acknowledges the state travel council invited LDS Church representatives to attend
a reception dinner for the 17 visiting reporters. No other representatives of Utah faiths
were invited.
How to Get involved with the Utah Olympics
The "IN" BOX !
This issue we are featuring "email" letters exclusively. This is proof of how God uses new technology to help us reach more people than ever before! (Note, we have removed the names for confidentiality purposes.)
We want to feel free to contact us too !
- Ed Decker: Ed@SaintsAlive.com
- Jason Decker: Jason@SaintsAlive.com
-----Original Message-----
From: (X)
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2001 7:39 PM
To: Ed Decker
Subject: Olympics
Dear Ed-
Speaking of the Olympics, as Christians we will definitely have our work cut out for us. I am on the Olympic Committee putting some "things" together and do I have an inside track.
First, the LDS Church purchased an office in Downtown Park City to the tune of 6 millions dollars, it sits across the street from a couple of bars (ironic).
Second, the LDS Church also had over 400 acres of land donated by a women who had passed away, the state is funding to have it paved (a portion of it, off the freeway) and will charging for parking in this lot.
Trust me, this location will net a ton of cash, who was it who said "you can buy anything with Gold and he would control the Gold and Silver? (Satan in the Temple movie, yes I used to have the one year movie pass, had to be the most expensive movie pass I ever purchased! about 8 grand a year, sure miss that cash!
They plan on pulling extra missionaries in to handle the deceptive practices of proselytizing their false god. Also, they are expecting people
to be present from other denominations and are taking every step to prevent them from telling the truth. The Church bought a portion of Main St. between the Temple and the Joe Smith building (8 million dollars) so they could completely cut this area off to those who preach Christ of the Bible.
Want the icing? well the GA's of the church plan on getting involved in what ever they can to make there presence known, yes they are also trying to push the temple to be in the commercials and during ceremonies.
I think we will pretty surprised at how much the LDS Church will be involved in the Olympics, it amazes me on how any where else in the country
they kick us Christians out to separate Church and state, and here in Utah you can't tell between church and state? what is that all about!
Signed, (X)
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Decker [mailto:edecker@nwlink.com]
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 12:14 PM
To: S. Trent (X)
RE: errors REPLY
Importance: High
Dear Trent.....could you tell me from what source you are bringing this issue ??? Am I saying some where in my materials that the angel Moroni is Nephi??
I did once mention somewhere that the original commemorative booklet for the SLC temple that was handed out to its visitors at the opening identified the angel as Nephi... My copy of the original booklet is on file at the Spec. Collections Library at Utah State.... collection #210/Decker
Just one of those odd things in the evolving history of the church and its theological revisions.
With best regards, Ed
-----Original Message-----
From: Trent (X)
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 8:34 PM
To: ed@saintsalive.com
Subject: Errors
The angel that appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. was Moroni not Nephi. Nephi was the son of Lehi (Lehi was a prophet living in the land of
Jerusalem about 600 B.C. Nephi and his family left Jerusalem after his father Lehi had a vision. The vision told them to leave Jerusalem and go to a land of promise. So they did. When Moroni was alive, he was the only Nephite left. He was commanded by the Lord to bury the gold plates in a hill until the time was right to restore the true church to the earth. Then when the time was right Joseph Smith was praying about what church to join. God and Jesus appeared to him. God said this is my beloved son hear him. Then Jesus told him all about how none of the churches were true. Then a couple
of years later an angel appeared to Joseph as he was getting ready for bed. His name was Moroni.
I just thought I would straighten you out.
Sorry to take up so much of your time. = )
Trent (X)
Prayer Partner Network
We are launching an exciting new program at Saints Alive – The Prayer Partner Network. Our plans for the network include an interactive website forum, special update letters and exclusive training designed to develop our effectiveness as praying believers. This program has a two-fold purpose - To create a forum of prayer for those who need prayer and to create an opportunity for those who feel a calling to pray and intercede for others.
We are going to provide special training and materials focusing on Spiritual Warfare, Prayer and focusing on developing a lifestyle of impacting faith.
Ephesians 6:12-13
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Luke 10:19-20
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
We have had other prayer chains in the past and many of you have communicated a desire to pray with us as we minister to the lost and hurting people who come to Saints Alive for help. Please pray and consider joining the Prayer Network and help us launch this exciting new program. Fill out the enclosed card and send it back to us, or you can sign up on website at www.SaintsAlive.com
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