Preaching Podcast

Shine, Rain, Clear & Preaching

Today is Saturday & again to the beach to share the Good News!

As this is summer time in SW Florida, rain was a factor. We met around 3:30 pm and began talking to people and handing out tracts.

I met Kevin and his friend. Kevin was open and questioning about the Gospel, while his friend was very closed and NOT open….we talked of the coming Judgment of God and God’s Righteousness. Kevin seemed bothered, while his friend was losing patience.

Later, I met Andreas & Louis; young men. These guys had some kind of church background, but considered themselves good guys and hoped they’d get to Heaven. Both professed to have kept the Ten Commandments, so without comment I began to go through the commandments to see….they failed miserably. After seeing their guilt, they professed concern, so I explained the incredible Grace of our God in rescuing his chosen from the terrible grip of sin, exhorting them to repentance and faith.

It began to rain, so we all gathered in the shelter of the Dairy Queen awning to talk together of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What awesome conversations these are, to enjoy Christ together and his amazing Word.

The rain let up a little, but it seemed that everyone had abandoned the beach, we all decided to go home. I hadn’t got to preach open air and felt a pull, so hung around a little, walking around the block. I got back to the square and saw people coming and going from the pier….thought about preaching & wimped out.

Returning to my car, I had the door open when I was approached by a man I’d talked to about the Gospel (Kevin). He and I chatted for a long-time, getting deeper into the Word, showing the Righteousness and Sovereignty of God. I finally asked him if he’d stand in as my rent-a-crowd for an open air…he agreed & I preached across from a ice cream shop….lots of folks stood around listening….no comments or hecklers though.

I send Kevin home with a Bible to read….pray for him.

Fourth of July Evangelism

Many from the Gunnery Road Baptist Church met Friday to go hand out tracts and share the Gospel at Veteran’s Park here in Lehigh Acres, this 4th of July. I mentioned it to the Pastor last week, he made an announcement encouraging people to come out & many did. Each person went out armed with 100 tracts and a 2-hour commitment. Very cool!

When I had first arrived, I met a woman pushing a baby carriage. I gave her a tract & she introduced herself as a Christian. As usual, I told a story; a story that I was on the ground at her feet, knife in my chest, bleeding out with 2-minutes to live, scared of Hell….How do I get to Heaven? She couldn’t explain the Gospel & said something like “I’m born again & you’re being too pushy….she was mad”. I’m sorry I made her mad, but expect it’s most likely a result of being bothered that she couldn’t explain the Gospel after professing to be a Christian.

I began handing out tracts to people sitting around tables under a sunshade (sunshades are popular during the summer in Florida. At the first table, I met Joe. Joe is from New York, where he was involved in evangelism with folks from his church. We visited for a short time, encouraging him to preach the Gospel & inviting him to come to church with me.

I moved on & began to hand out tracts to everyone sitting along the tables; at the far end of the tables, I met Debbie & Richard. A young girl was sitting at their table, but left as we began a serious conversation. Debbie showed a very strong conviction of sin. She and Richard both claimed to be Christians, but talking to them, I’m not sure. She’s said she’d not been born again – had not truly repented of her sin & put her faith in Jesus Christ and the Blood he shed for sin on the Cross of Calvary. We talked for quite a long time, thoroughly explaining the Gospel & the exhortation of scripture to “examine yourself, whether you be in the faith” (I Cor. 13). Sue joined the conversation and we invited them to join us at church in Sunday. Sue stayed to chat with them while I eventually moved on to talk with others. She hugged Sue when they left.

It turns out they did come to church today & sat with us. Pastor Vance preached on I Corinthians 13:5 as we’d been discussing a couple days earlier & he preached a strong, clear message. Pastor knew they where there…he and I were talking later & both had noticed the songs we sang about being freed from the bondage of sin…hoping they’d touch her. They had to leave right after church but said they were glad they’d come & would be back. Please pray for Debbie & Richard; very nice people, be so good to see them come to true repentance & faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Later, I moved back along the tables & found that all the people had moved…all new people…cool! I began to hand out tracts and talk to people. I met a couple women, seems that everyone from the church had also talked to them. One said she was new to the area and looking for a church. I was able to chat with them & a bit light-heartedly use my standard knife-in-the-chest story to ask her to explain the Gospel. I got a squishy response, so we chatted about what the scriptures say about the Judgment of God, substitutionary atonement, repentance and faith. It is sad to see professing Christians so unclear on the Gospel.

Further down the tables, I met a couple girls, older-teens or early twenties. They thought they were good people & good enough to get into Heaven. We discussed the Law to show them their sin & what the scriptures say about God’s righteous judgment (Hebrews 9:27, Acts 17:30-31, Revelation 21:8, I Corinthians 6:9-10). They showed concern & took an “Are You Good Enough to Get Into Heaven?” tract.

The man who was operating the kid’s inflatable water-slides talked to me for a while. I can’t recall his name now, but he admitted he’d sinned before God, but felt that everyone else had too (very typical) & thus God would overlook sin. He felt that God knew that he’d done his best & was ‘comfortable’ that this was good enough. It took some chatting for him to seemingly hear that God’s standard was absolute moral perfection….that “he will be no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). Is this pretty common feeling simply the depravity of man, or is the modern church partly responsible, with it’s preaching of ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life’…preaching of the Love of God, but forgetting entirely of His Righteous Judgment. I eventually was able to explain to him of God’s standard. Often, a story works well. I say something like, ‘Imagine that someone murdered your daughter, slit her throat and dumped the body. The police caught the perpetrator; he stood before the judge and admitted his guilt, but asked the judge to forgive him, to let him go. If the judge let him go, would that be justice? What would you feel about the judge?’ I ask if God’s standard of justice is higher or lower than man's….higher! This often begins to open their eyes….though in this case, he was not very open…but seeds are planted. People often feel they are only successful when sharing the Gospel, when someone falls on their knees and repents. We are really successful when we are obedient to His command to share the Gospel; when we lift up His name and preach His Word, for His Glory….let our Lord create the increase.

My family was trying to get me to finally leave. Walking for the parking lot, a group at a table off to the side, asked me for some of the Million Dollar Bill tracts I was handing out. I was able to talk to them for a bit….one showed conviction of sin…I talked to him for a bit & invited him to the church here in Lehigh.

Pray for those who heard the Gospel, may the name of Jesus Christ be glorified and praised.

Bobby Backslider?

A couple nights back, heading home at the end of the day, I passed a car. I’d just turned off the main-road and was beginning the 8-mile run up Sunshine Blvd home, when I passed a cross-street; on the corner of the cross-street sat a small car; hood up and driver pacing back and forth, calling on his cell-phone...I drove by. I felt a tug inside; turned around and drove back.

As it turns out, Bob had just installed a new battery in his little Hyundai the night before and had failed to properly tighten-down the positive battery terminal, thus his alternator was not properly charging his battery – in short...’he be stuck’. Bob was a little agitated, as he was rushing to pick up his dear wife at work. “You need a boost”, I asked Bob....yep, he did....but I could sense hope drop in him when I asked if he had cables...he didn’t. I cheerfully turned around with a smile & lined my van up with the front of his car anyway, figuring I’d find cables from someone. Half a minute later, a lady in the house right beside us began backing out of her driveway....she had cabled & loaned them to us....I boosted Bob’s car.

As I was disconnecting Bob’s car, I asked what would happen to him when he died...Bob was polite, but assured me he’d take the time to talk another time, but was late picking up his wife....what do you know; his car engine quite before he could drive off. I now had time to talk to Bob while I figured out why it quit (found the loose battery terminal & fixed it) then re-boosting the car.

It turns out that Bob is a sinner and a lawbreaker, guilty before God and deserving of punishment. Bob told me that he loves the Lord, but is a backslider. I told Bob that we don’t see that in scripture (i.e. a man who falls away from the faith, but is still on his way to Heaven)....I pointed out that I John 2:19 says “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” That seemed to bother Bob; I trust he was convicted.

Pray for Bobby the ‘backslider’.

Glenn.

Church signs run amuck?

Modern ‘Christianity’ is baffling. While I’ve been here in Florida, I’ve noticed that churches commonly feature goofy sayings on their road-side signs. Some of these sayings are cute, occasionally (very) a saying is almost biblical but often they are quite irreverent & unbefitting an assembly of believers meeting to honour the name of Jesus Christ. I’ve taken pictures of a few, but this one takes the cake. This church, in the Buckingham neighbourhood, have resorted to what is (in my estimation) blasphemy. Their sign reads, “FOR ALL YOU DO HIS BLOOD IS FOR YOU”, a play on words and copying a Budweiser beer slogan “For all you do, this bud’s for you”.

Let us guard ourselves & make sure each of us does not fall into the trap of trying to be cool, to attract people to Jesus Christ. People will only truly be drawn to Him if God does the drawing, “No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him:” (John 6:44). Remember that WE are NOT the attraction to Him; our job is to “...Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). It reminds me of a sermon by the ‘Prince of Preachers’ Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?” (read this online at: http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/amusement.htm).

May we faithfully serve Him & glorify His name, operating according to His Word!

Glenn.

A Meeting With Darwin

Bob & Linda were the only other ones to join us in preaching the Gospel at Fort Myers Beach today. It was threatening to rain all around, but was sunny and pretty hot most of the time we were there (‘till rain drove us out around 7pm). I must admit that it was disappointing to have four or six others plan to join us, but not make it...but I’m learning to leave this with the Lord. Today was an interesting day; seems that each time out at the beach, our Lord has something else up – specific appointments with people.

I met quite a few Christians today & was able to encourage them to be active in reaching out to the Lost with the message of the Gospel. Please pray that God will but a burning fire in their hearts for the preaching of the Gospel. One couple’s hearts were breaking for their granddaughter, mired in homosexuality. Another man from Tennessee came back to talk to me after I’d given him a tract; he is a Christian & was really willing to talk about his personal responsibility to share the Gospel.

How about you? Do you regularly look for opportunities to reach lost souls with the message of salvation from sin, by the Blood of Jesus Christ? Many of us have a tendency to sit in Holy Huddles...hanging out only with other Christians. Yes, we do need Christian fellowship for sure, but one of the primary purposes of the church on this earth is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so souls can be saved & His name be lifted up and glorified. The Apostle Paul wrote of the qualifications of an evangelist:

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” I Corithians 2:1-5

So...if you’re a real Christian & if the thought of sharing the Gospel with strangers leaves you weak, fearful & trembling; you’re qualified – you’ve got the job!

Handing out a ton of tracts today, I met Kevin, a young Hispanic man. Kevin thought he’d go to Heaven when he dies & figured he’s a pretty good person – figured he’d do fine if judged by God’s Moral Law (the Ten Commandments). As we talked further, he began to see his guilt & that he’d be in trouble on Judgment Day. At this point another man walked up saying something to him like, “See, this is what we’ve been telling you”...turns out to be Kevin’s uncle. Kevin’s uncle and family have been taking Kevin to church for a long time; but Kevin didn’t seem to have any understanding of the Gospel & in fact saw himself as good before God. Our discussion deepened as I was able to exhort Kevin to Repent (confess & forsake his sin) & put his Faith in Jesus Christ & the blood he shed as payment of sin. We went through explanations of substitutionary atonement, Repentance & saving faith. Please pray for Kevin.

Sue & Jacquie setup their “Free Glitter ‘Tattoos’” booth at the beach again this afternoon. These ‘tattoos’ are something Sue learned while in New Jersey last fall at a Face Painting convention. They use a system of stencils and special glue to create a very bright and attractive ‘tattoo’, typically on children. They visit with the kids and parents while they are working, then leave them with a children’s Gospel Tract.

Tonight as I write this, I can’t recall how I met this next gentleman, but it must have been handing him a tract. We began to talk about the Gospel & he began to unfold his story to me. He is from Columbia & for years has played piano in churches; growing up in a Christian family. His world is falling apart, as his wife has just left for another man; leaving three very young (& adorable) children with Darwin. Darwin is not sure of his salvation, but does believe in God, the Bible & sees his personal guilt before a Holy & Just God. During our talk, we went through the fundamentals of Repentance & Faith; confirmed by a changed heart & life. It turns out that Darwin lives quite near us, so I invited him to come with us to church. Please pray for Darwin, he’s very broken hearted.

We talked to lots and lots of folks today & handed out quite a few tracts. It was a great day...like many days, preaching the Gospel is exhausting but I always go home with a skip in my step.

Glenn.

P.S. Please leave me a comment or email me to let me know your thoughts on this blog.

JOY IN HEAVEN!

“...I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10

As I drive from our house here in Florida, to where we are renovating our boat, my habit has been to spend the 15 or 18 minutes listening to preaching or my audio-Bible. One particular morning, a couple weeks back, I felt a prompting to spend the time in prayer. As I drove, I began to plead with my Lord for strength to live in holiness, to run from all sin, for Him to use me in reaching the lost with the message of salvation through the Blood of Jesus Christ & to send more labourers. I was asking my Lord specifically to send believers to me here in Fort Myers who are passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the streets.

I was shocked (sorry to say) when 90 minutes later, handing a tract to a ‘sandwich artist’ in a Subway store, a waiting customer interrupted. The waiting customer was a student at a local Christian school and asked me if I knew “Mr. Gallagher”. It turns out that Mr. Gallagher is a passionate evangelist who’s been teaching pupils how to share the Gospel as well as an evangelism class at his home church. I was able to meet with him a few days later; a warm Christian brother on fire for the Gospel. We are planning to go to the streets together. What an amazing, fast answer to prayer

Later in the day, I was heading to The Home Depot, but ended up stopping in at Lowe’s instead. I was looking for countertop for my boat; the young man in the kitchen department was very helpful in referring me to the supplier who could better help me with such a small installation. I thanked him, handed him a tract and asked him where he would go when he died. This started an extended conversation on the Gospel. His co-worker turns around, and says something like, ‘see, this is what I’ve been trying to tell you’; he’d been witnessing to him for months. We talked for a long-time; he seemed to be convicted of his sin & see impending judgment. I left, hoping he would be brought to repentance.

Today, I was back in Lowe’s & stopped into the department and visited with his co-worker (a Godly Christian man); he told me that our visit had a major impact. The weekend following the young-man went to the beach, struck up a conversation with a young woman, who shared the Gospel with him. She ended up praying with him, amid the jeers of a friend who was accompanying him. The following weekend he attended church with his co-worker and came forward at an alter call to pray in repentance to God, putting his faith in Jesus Christ. We know that simply a prayer doesn’t save anyone, but repentance before God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture basically tells us to be fruit inspectors, good fruit is evidence of salvation. I’m hearing that this young-man is changed in his demeanour, cleaned up his language & walking away from drinking and partying. It seems that there is joy in Heaven, over this soul coming to repentance. Please pray for him.

Glenn.