The former slave trader and writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace” died on this day in 1807. According to The One Year Book of Christian History, Newton’s “final year was analogous to the setting of the sun. He had gradually lost his hearing and sight and he could no longer recognize some of his closest friends. He declined to the point where he could not walk unaided. Still, in his final month, John Newton the Wretch was able to say:
“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things:
that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
“I believe that entertainment and amusements are the work of the Enemy to keep dying men from knowing they’re dying; and to keep enemies of God from remembering that they’re enemies.” —A.W. Tozer
“The more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God the higher the message is that they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying themselves.” —R.C. Sproul
FAITH is full of inventions. The house was full, a crowd blocked up the door, but faith found a way of getting at the Lord and placing the palsied man before Him. If we cannot get sinners where Jesus is by ordinary methods we must use extraordinary ones. It seems, according to Luke 5:19, that a tiling had to be removed, which would make dust and cause a measure of danger to those below, but where the case is very urgent we must not mind running some risks and shocking some proprieties. Jesus was there to heal, and therefore fall what might, faith ventured all so that her poor paralyzed charge might have his sins forgiven. O that we had more daring faith among us! 
It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. 
Well, there is “Righteous Richard” Chavarria who started all of this a year ago today, first at the Torrance DMV once a week, now at the Hawthorne DMV three times a week.
He replaced “Righteous Richard” for a week while he went on vacation, reading his “sermon” from a clipboard until he had it memorized.
After he finishes there, he drives ten minutes to the Social Security office down the street, where he preaches another sermon before the doors open.
I introduce myself and remind everyone that I am exercising my First Amendment right to free speech. 
What results from all of this? I’ll know in Heaven; I just want to be obedient to Christ’s command to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
He replied, “I come from a Muslim country where you had to pray five times a day. If you didn’t stop and pray, you’d get beaten. If you tried to stop someone from preaching the Koran, they could kill you. I’m a Christian and this is good.”
“Open-air meetings impress people by their earnestness. How often I have heard people say, ‘There is something in it. See those people talking out there on the street. They do not have any collection, and they come here just because they believe what they are preaching.’ Remarks like this are made over and over again. Men who are utterly careless about the Gospel and Christianity have been impressed by the earnestness of men and women who go out on to the street and win souls for Christ.”
All things in the wide universe that are hateful shall be gathered together in hell, as in a vast receptacle provided on purpose, that the universe which God has made may be cleansed of its filthiness, by casting it all into this great sink of wickedness and woe.
A tract will often succeed in winning a man to Christ where a sermon or a personal conversation has failed. There are a great many people who, if you try to talk with them, will put you off; but if you put a tract in their hands and ask God to bless it, after they go away and are alone they will read the tract and God will carry it home to their hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
R.A. Torrey said this 100 years ago: “Open-air meetings are portable, you can carry them around. It would be very difficult to carry a church or mission building with you, but there is no difficulty about carrying an open-air meeting with you. You can get an open-air meeting where you could by no possibility get a church, mission hall or even a room. You can have open-air meetings in all parts of the city and all parts of the country.
“People often complain that they do not know how to take hold of this matter. Why, the reason is plain enough; they have never studied it. They have never taken the proper pains to qualify themselves for the work. If people made it no more a matter of attention and thought to qualify themselves for their worldly business, than they do to save souls, how do you think they would succeed? Now, if you are thus neglecting the main business of life, what are you living for? If you do not make it a matter of study, how you may most successfully act in building up the Kingdom of Christ, you are acting a very wicked and absurd part as a Christian.”
Who could resist these two sweet little girls wishing shoppers “Merry Christmas!” while placing Gospel tracts that held the words of eternal life into their hands?
Every now and then a Security guard would walk by and I’d say “Stop!” The girls would stop. “Okay. Good job. All clear.” They would start back up again.
I’m positive they read the message on the back that declares that if they have broken one of God’s 10 Commandments, if they have ever lied or stolen, or used His name in vain—even once— then they would be found guilty of being lying thieves and blasphemers, and on Judgment Day would end up in Hell. I’ll bet they never bothered to read the rest of the tract that speaks of God’s love for them, a sacrificial love that cost Jesus His life. If only they would repent and put their trust in Him, they could be forgiven.
They each earned $6.00 that day by handing out over 1,000 Gospel tracts. Sure, their motivation was primarily to earn a little extra cash; but it is my hope that in the future they will do it for the love of God and people.
…which draws them in further because it looks like they can actually be good enough to make it in. In addition to asking if they have kept the various Commandments, there are also questions like: “Have you given money to charity?” “Have you gone to church regularly?”
Fans snatched them up thinking they were receiving important info for game time.
A crowd of people get on, then we hand everyone a million dollar bill Gospel tract. I push the button to hold the doors open a few seconds longer, to make sure all the people are in.
Then I preach a 20-second sermon: “Hi everybody. You just got a million dollar bill and I want to ask you the million dollar question: If you were to die today, would you go to Heaven or Hell? Here’s a quick test. Have you kept the 10 Commandments?
“The bible says that if you break just one, that’s called sin, and if you’ve sinned just one time, you will be found guilty and end up in Hell.
“Let’s see how you do. If you’ve ever lied one time, or stolen one thing, God will see you as a lying thief, and on Judgment Day you will be found guilty and end up in Hell. But that’s not God’s will…
“If you repent and trust in Jesus, God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life.” I finish in one floor, about 25 seconds.
WHOOSH!! They clear out in a hurry, some saying “Amen!” others, “Thank you!” and still others, “That’s right!” If we go down two floors, I add John 3:16 and encourage them to repent soon. Or I’ll say with a smile, “That’s elevator sermon #252!”
People smile and actually appreciate the little talk. I don’t shout. I’m not overbearing. I speak in a conversational tone, just rather quickly.
…and was truly thankful that I live in a country where we will always have the right to preach Christ freely without fear of persecution or loss of liberty.
“It’s those stupid million dollar bills that we see all over the place! I think they say something about Hell.”
“I may as well read it…”
However, I continued speaking, and he continued swearing, sometimes putting the muzzle of the gun to my mouth, sometimes against my ear. While we were singing the last hymn, he got behind me, fired the gun, and burned off part of my hair.’
—From 
