Friday Night Notes

had to lone-ranger it...

Last week was a big night of evangelism, complete with large crowds and several hours of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This week, everything was... well... somewhat less. The number of souls in the market was definitely lower than last week (it was windy and cold tonight), and there was only one preacher representing Grace Baptist Fellowship evangelizing. That would be me!

Pastor Tim didn't have anything left in the tank tonight. Secular work and the business of the church has kept him quite busy this week, and tonight, he needed to some serious rest. So, I took one of his Bible signs, a handful of tracts, said "Goodnight!", and made my way to the market.

As I entered the market, everyone was staring at me and my Bible sign as I made my way past the restaurants and pubs. I felt like "Christian" or "Faithful" in John Bunyan's classic, "The Pilgrim's Progress":

"Now, Christian and Faithful, as I said, must needs go through this fair. Well, so they did; but as they entered into the fair, all the people were moved and the town itself, as it were, in a hubbub about them, and that for several reasons; for their garments were very different from the kind sold at the fair; their speech was also strange since they spoke the language of Canaan."

Once at my customary preaching spot in the marketplace, I preached the Gospel for almost an hour. During that hour, I had a lengthy conversation with a young man and his girlfriend. I became clear after some time that the young man cared only to discuss "faith" or "religion" in a philosophical way. After answering some of his questions, I got serious and said:

"You know what, my friend? This is all very academic and interesting, but it is altogether vain. While we are both talking philosophy right now, there is a very important matter that separates us: I am saved from my sin, and you are dead in yours. The difference between you and I is that you are not sorry for your sin, you hardly even recognize the concept of sin, but when I was lost in my sin, I couldn't even breathe! I had to call out to God! I had to seek him with my whole heart. This happened to me because God regenerated my soul; I was born-again. You don't know what I'm talking about experientially, because you are not born-again. So you try to figure things out by philosophy, trying hard to fit all the pieces in a way that makes you feel good, in a way that will never move you to consider, or do anything about your sin."

The young man was pretty stunned. He knew what I was saying, and he knew that what I was saying made a whole lot of sense, but it was clear he didn't want to consider the matter any longer. I hope the Lord will remind him often of the things he has heard of me tonight, that he may realize his need, as I had recognized my need so long ago.

A short time after this long conversation, a colleague of mine from work stopped by and took one of my Bible tracts. He and his wife were out for a walk and wanted to say "hi!". We had a short conversation and they went on their way. I didn't press my friend to much because I have a pretty good feeling that I will have more time with him since he works in the lab just above the one I work in. I pray that the Lord give me more opportunities to witness to this dear soul.

After an hour of preaching, I decided to walk around downtown with my Bible sign, offering Bible tracts to all who would receive one. During this time, I met a number of brothers who were either starting or finishing their own evangelistic endeavours. It's always good to see friendly faces like brother Alex and brother Layton. The Lord bless them in their efforts.

I finished off my night of evangelism with a bit more preaching, and tract distribution but that last hour was pretty much void of any meaningful exchanges with sinners. Still, God's Word was preached, and many souls read my Bible sign... who knows what the Lord will do!


With that, I close this edition of the Friday Night Notes. Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, so I need to turn in.

God bless you, dear readers. Remember pastor Tim and I in your prayers, dear saints of God.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism