Friday Night Notes

busy streets... a continual tide of lost souls...

I wish I hadn't been so tired when we were in the marketplace, preaching the Gospel. Had I been a bit sharper, I think I could have appreciated a great deal more the various events that took place tonight. Oh, I'm not going to report any mass conversions here, just a few sweet and nice events that encouraged us and gave us hope that the Lord will yet work great things through our efforts.

For the first time this year, I saw Brent downtown. Brent in years past has often dropped by to shake my hand and encourage me in my evangelistic work. He typically says: "I love what you're doing man! This is a good thing. I hope you are alright, I want you to be alright." I'm not convinced Brent is born-again, but he appreciates the preaching of the Gospel. Let us pray that the Lord will use what he has seen and heard to bring him all the way.

A few minutes after seeing Brent, a woman walked by me and showed her disgust with a facial expression. She then said to her boyfriend: "That's just so wrong, there's nothing right about all that!" I looked at the couple and slowly replied: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil..."

A brother-in-the-Lord came by as I was handing out Bible tracts on a street corner. I had met this brother last July during our Canada Day street-preaching endeavour. Like last year, the brother encouraged me with kind words, making it clear that he was quite pleased to see me continuing in the ministry. We spoke about his church pastor, Pastor Rick, who I mentioned a few weeks ago, was fighting prostate cancer. He told me that Pastor Rick had had a successful surgery but that he was still unable to minister at his church. Let us pray the Lord will grant him a complete recovery. Before leaving, the good brother embraced me, gave me a heartfelt "God bless you," and went on his way.

For a few weeks now, I've been handing out Bible tracts near our 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 sign. I noticed that if Pastor Tim or I are near that sign, no one tries to knock it down or damage it. The second we leave its side however, sinners do their best to rid themselves of this most convicting passage. So, not wanting to see another one of our Bible signs bite the dust, we are now babysitting our sandwich-board sign as we evangelize.

Before leaving the marketplace after three-plus hours of evangelism, a young man walked up to me, obviously high on something. He claimed to be under serious conviction of sin. He said he knew doing drugs was destroying his life and was inconsistent with a godly life. He said he would purpose to do right, but wound up in his favorite sin, every time. So I gave him this piece of advice:

"My friend, what are you doing the marketplace on a Friday night? Will this place help you get close to God, or will it get you closer to your addictions? When you got up this morning, did the drugs come a-knocking on our door? Or did you make your way downtown to get your fix? If you want to succeed, don't set yourself up to fail. Go home. Right now. Sober up. Spend time in the Scriptures. Go to church on the Lord's Day, and whatever you do, don't come back to the market. If you can help it, don't ever come back to the market."

The young man just stared at me for a few seconds, as if I had given him the greatest wisdom ever. He then replied: "Right! Okay!" And off he went for home. The Lord help him get things right, once and for all.

There is plenty more, but I'm too tired now. We gave out a lot of tracts tonight, and thousands of people heard or read the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ tonight. The Lord use our work as He sees fit, and may all honour, glory and blessing be His, now and forever.

Have a safe and blessed weekend, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism