Friday Night Notes

a good night...

A solid three hours of street preaching tonight. My pastor, brother Laz and myself were in the field, and it really was, for the most part, a good night. Mockers and scorners were few in number, and our preaching went unhindered. Even the weather cooperated: it snowed a bit, but it was still quite mild.

Highlights of the night:

1- I offered a young lady, who was walking by me, a Bible tract. She gave me an embarrassed smile, and walked passed me without taking the tract. "Oh, well..." I thought. But then, about 8-10 feet away, she did a 180, and still with the embarrassed smile, she took the tract and started reading it as she walked away.

2- I had a long conversation with a man named Denis tonight. He is a French speaking Romanist, who was out having a few beers with his friends. When he saw the Gospel signs we were carrying, he walked up to me and asked:

"What's the point of all this?"

"The point is preaching the Truth that is in Jesus, and your need to come to God through Him," I responded.

"Oh! I believe in Jesus," he affirmed, pulling out a crucifix attached to a gold chain he was wearing.

"Ah, but that's not Jesus," I replied. "That's an idol and God hates idols."

I went on to show him the Second Commandment and he saw with his own eyes that he violating the commandment with his crucifix. I explained to him that contrary to the teachings he received from his priest, "being Catholic" did not mean "being Christian". I touched on some of the issues where the Scriptures and Romanism just don't mix, and I could tell that all of this was really weighing heavy on his mind.

He then attempted to show me the merits of Romanism in his hometown, how the Romanist building was a focal point in the community, and gave his small town a place to get together... etc... etc. I answered:

"What will happen to you after you die Denis?"

He just gave me a perplexed, kind of clueless look.

"You see my friend," I started, "when you stand before the Living God, the fact that you had a cute little community with a lovely little "church" building where you could all get together isn't going to matter much. What will matter is whether or not you know the Lord Jesus Christ, the REAL JESUS, the JESUS of the Bible, and whether you are born-again."

He immediately saw the merit of what I was saying, but I could tell it was disturbing him deeply. He tried to discredit our evangelism by assuming that we were most likely a bunch of unemployed guys, looking to dupe people into a religious scam (because of course, all open air evangelists are jobless bums... lol). After I told him what I did for a living, he was undone. Not only did I have a job, he was forced to admit that I was most likely better educated than him.

I invited him to church on the Lord's Day. I promised him a French Bible if he came. Please pray that Denis will come to our church service and that the Lord will save him by the reading and studying of the Word of God.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

In the end, I am comforted that that verse will be played out perfectly. All the people who read the Gospel signs, took a Bible tract, listened to the preaching, if any of them are of the Lord's sheep, sooner or later, they will follow Him.

Praise God.


Rand