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As missionaries we travel a good bit and have different opportunities to make the Gospel known than many others. Sometimes it is difficult to know what we will face and what opportunities we may have. The great thing is that where we find people we find an opportunity.

Recently we have been in PA as we speak at churches. When we got here we were hoping for some open doors to witness but were not sure what we might find. After our first Sunday I found myself feeling very anxious to get out into the surrounding towns and look around. I really did not feel up to the task after all of the traveling but I knew it was what the Lord was directing me to do.

As I drove through town I noticed a group of people standing outside of a certain building as if they were waiting. As I drove by the second time I noticed even more people standing around. By the way they were dressed I could tell that they were poor and that the building was probably a soup kitchen.

I found a parking place and got out about seven one dollar bills I had been saving for just such an occasion. I had never walked up to do an open air by myself so I was nervous about what might happen and if they would even listen. I walked up to them at first and was so nervous that I walked right by them all! I kept going to the end of the block and acted like I had some purpose in doing so before I turned around. I then went back with the money in my hand.

As I approached the second time, I struck up a conversation and asked who was interested in making some money. They very quickly responded and in no time I had a person who wanted to take the “;good person test”;. It went very well and they actually listened very well. They seemed to be enjoying it almost too much, so I really emphasized what Jesus said about repentance and sin to make sure that I was not just giving a partial gospel message. Still, they kept listening and nodding in approval of what was being said. ; At the end I actually got 2 hugs and a handshake from some of the people. I told them why I was out there and tried to encourage them some more as I left. What an amazing God we serve! He can use anyone who will just step out and open their mouth to declare His message.

Since that day I have gone out about 3 or 4 days a week to the same area. Some have become annoyed and others have come to look for me and ask questions and give me prayer requests. ; I have also seen the Lord work in the lives of those around me to give them a desire to do this as well. Three different times I have had others go with me who wanted to see what God was doing. As we get ready to leave now, my desire is to see others pick up and continue witnessing in this area.

A few weeks ago I went to downtown Gallup, NM to see if I could find any good fishing spots for my wife and I on Wednesday nights.

There were not too many people around as I started to walk down the steet, but as I looked across the street I saw an intersting area between two buildings that had a lot of room to sit on each side. As I looked closer I saw some people sitting in the area. So I crossed the steet and went over to where they were to give them some tracts. At first there was an older man, two ladies and a younger man. The ladies recognized that this was a “church thing” right off and seemed to be very open as I asked them about their beliefs. The older man thanked me politely and left.

As I continued they began to laugh about how badly they had broken God’s law but assured me that they did love God very much. The first lady was the most outspoken and began to tell me all that God had done for her and that she was sure she was just fine with Jesus. As I mentioned the teaching of Jesus on lust and adultery the second lady mentioned the following verses that warn it is better to pluck out your eye if it offends you because it is better to go to heaven with one eye than to hell with both. I was supprised that she knew this verse right off and that they both acknowledged that it was in the Bible. I thought that this was going great, but then it began to get crazy.

A much older lady came up (half drunk) and began to joke with them and the whole conversation was totally sidetracked for a few minutes. When she finally left I resumed the conversation where we had left off. As I reminded them of the law and verses we had just discussed, the first lady began to get more uncomfortable. She assured me that she knew Jesus loved her no matter how much she sinned and that she was ok. I reminded her of the verse that her friend had quoted and said that Jesus was extremely serious about repentance. I began to try to explain the need of a repentant heart to her but as she saw where the conversation was going she had had enough and let me know in no uncertain terms. She began to get very offended at me and accused me of racism and said that she had her traditional (animistic) beliefs too and that she was still sure Jesus loved her.

Others had been comming up to us as we were talking and I was handing them tracts too. At this point in the conversation a younger man with his mom and sister came up. I felt that this was the worst time for him to come up because the first ladly I was witnessing to was angrily and loudly twisting everything I was saying. Instead of getting offended at me he asked me to come over and talk to him and his mom and sister. I gladly did that but it was hard to get away from the noise the first lady and her friends were making as they mocked me. This guy really wanted to talk though and kept trying to find a place to listen to me. The first group kept sending other people to come and find out what I was saying and it just made things a mess.

Finally we got far enough away from everyone else that this man (CJ) told me what was going on. He had been in a gang and from the sound of things, there was not much he had not done. He said that he had been trying to pray and that God was not listening. He wanted me to pray on his behalf. As I tried to explain the gospel to him there seemed to be a wall that he could not get over. I sensed that although he knew he had done wrong he was not willing to forsake his sin. He just wanted out of trouble. He was very emotional and began to cry.

At this point CJ started to become angry at all the noise in the backround and all of the sudden charged over to the people making noise and confronted them. I was not sure what was going to happen, then for some reason one of the loud guys began to curse CJ and things really heated up. CJ charged them and was obviously looking for something (like a knife) in his pockets that he could not find. When the first guy noticed this he pulled out his own knife and with an insane amount of cursing and swearing dared CJ to fight him.

In the end CJ walked back towards us and asked his sister for the bag she was carrying. He was looking for his knife. At this point I yelled to CJ that I was leaving and that if he wanted to pray I was not going to hang around. To my supprise he listened and left with me. As we walked away I very straightforwardly told him that this was what was separating him from God and that he needed to repent. He began to get angry and said that he was not interested in prayer anymore. I gave him a tract and told him that I cared about him and would pray for him anyway. He was getting more and more angry and he threw the tract on the ground. But his sister came up behind me and asked for one as his mother picked up the one that he threw on the ground.

Satan certainly was at work, but I pray that God will use the few words I was able to share and the anger CJ displayed to convict him of his sin. I also hope his sister and mom recognized the truth and turn to Christ as well. God is in control of all things and can use the chaos that Satan causes for His purposes.

As I left I had a much deeper burden for the people of this area who are in such spiritual darkness and pain.

“When we merely say that we are bad, the “wrath” of God seems a barbarous doctrine; as soon as we perceive our bad-ness, it appears inevitable, a mere corollary from God’s goodness…” - C. S. Lewis

Again; opposition will hurt you, if it should give you an idea of your own importance, and lead you to dwell with a secret self-approbation upon your own faithfulness and courage in such circumstances. If you are able to stand your ground, uninfluenced either by the favor or the fear of men, you have reason to give glory to God; but remember, that you cannot thus stand an hour, unless he upholds you. It shows a wrong turn of mind, when we are very ready to speak of our trials and difficulties of this kind, and of our address and resolution in encountering them. A natural stiffness of spirit, with a desire to have self taken notice of, may make a man willing to endure those kind of hardships, though he has but little grace in exercise: but true Christian fortitude, from a consciousness that we speak the truths of God, and are supported by his power, is a very different thing.
-John Newton

Just as I was deciding what I needed to do today I came across this quote. I was terribly convicted and I pray that I may take heed from this day on!

Jesus is no idler or loiterer; He is about His Father’s business, and you must march with quick step if you would keep pace with Him. As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes are sluggards to active persons.  Those, who have much to do have no fellowship with gossips, who drop in to while away hours with chat. Jesus has no fellowship with you, who care not for souls what are perishing. He is incessantly active, and so must you be if you would know His love. There is a fierce furnace-heat beating upon everything today. Men are toiling hard to hold their own, and Jesus must not be served by slothful hearts. I am sure that I err not, from His mind, when I say to you, beloved, if you would know the Beloved fully, you must get up early and go afield with Him to work with Him. Your joy shall be in spending and being spent for Him. C. H. Spurgeon

Whatever opportunity you have, do it vigorously, do it speedily, do not defer it. If you see one hurrying on to destruction, use the utmost of your endeavor to stop him in his course. Show him the need he has of repentance, and that without it he is lost forever. Do not regard his despising of you; still go on to show him his danger: and if your friends mock and despise, do not let that discourage you.  Hold on, hold out to the end, so you shall have a crown which is immutable, and that fades not away. – George Whitefield

We have nothing to do but to save souls; therefore spend and be spent in this work. -John Wesley

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightly works within me. Colossians 1:28-29

As long as you feel your own weakness and helplessness, you will always find help from above.- John Wesley

What is revival and where is it to be found. Revival is not something that is accomplished by human ability or wisdom. It takes the power of God moving among His people.  It is also not something that comes with self exaltation. It requires brokenness and humility on the part of God’s people. Finally it is not something that comes to those who do not desire it. What God wants for us comes in response to a hunger for God and His goodness.  To begin with we need to see exactly what it is that God wants to happen . We have to have the right goals if we want to reach the right destination. Let us turn to Isaiah and see what God tells them when He calls them back to Himself. Isa_1:11-20 God tells them in no uncertain terms that He is not impressed with their  continued form of religion while they are denying God Himself in there actions. He warns them that certain destruction is coming upon them if they do not repent of their sins. He calls them to come back and cleanse themselves from these multiplied sins in His sight. He promises them that they will be washed as white as snow if the come back to Him but He also promises them that they will be completely undone if they persist in their ways.   Next we see that there is no ability on our part to change this hear of ours. The ability is not in ourselves and much of the problem has arisen from the false sense of being in control. This is pride. There is not place for pride in the church and any pride that exists will be dealt with. Let us look at the next chapter.  Isa_2:17-22If God is going to punish the proud then we must seek humility.  It is easy to desire the benefits of salvation while not desiring the way to salvation. There are millions who claim the salvation that Christ offers who do not have it because they refuse to come God’s way. God tells us very clearly that we come humbly or not at all (the Pharisee and the Publican) and we need to take heed. The Bible promises us that if we will Humble ourselves then God will exalt us. This is what we need and it is this exaltation that we need to prize. Let us forsake our self sufficiency and our desire to be in control and our desire to make our own decisions. We all serve one of two masters there is no man alive who makes his own decisions. To make a decision not to serve God is to make the decision to serve Satan. This is where the people of Israel were and it is where many in the church in general are.  So now we know we are to be humble but what is next? Where do we go from here? Let us look at what the Lord told the people of Israel.  Isa_55:1-3 Isa_55:6-9   God offers us everything that we need if we will turn our hearts to Him and seek after Him with all of our hearts. We will have as much of God as we want. The pitiful state of Christianity and its seeming inability to transform lives is a direct result of People having no desire for God at all. It is very easy to come forward and make a decision at a meeting like this and it is fairly easy to go to Bible school and learn lots of facts and information. These do not require any desire for the Lord. For the man or woman who has no desire to know his creator and redeemer these things will serve only to harden the man in his ignorance of God as he is now able to argue his point about theological issues and talk with words that the normal person finds impressive. These exalt the man in the eyes of a certain peer group and make him feel a certain amount of control. This is a modern day Pharisee. Unless that person has been broken by the fact of his condemnation under the law of God and has cast himself wholly upon the Son of God, his redeemer, then the man is lost and is completely blind in all of his supposed wisdom. The simplest and most humble man who unworthy and ignorant though he may be, if he will cry out to God in faith and search for God as if he really believed that God was more important and more to be enjoyed than all else in the universe, will one day find that he possesses the greatest treasure in the universe. God Himself will take that man and show that man the treasure of His kingdom and the exaltation that He has in store for all those who fear God.  Who of you will be that person who will desire God. Who of you will take the time to seek Him. The faith that brings salvation is a seeking faith.  Hebrews 11:6     Do we want to know God because we realize that we need Him or do we want to find a means of feeling better about ourselves and making others think more highly of us? What we believe will always lead us to a certain destination. There are only two options. Jesus tells us that there are two roads. There is the broad road that leads to destruction and there are many who go that road. The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and there are few who find it. Will we be treasure hunters after the only true treasure that exists. We have all seen movies that glorify earthly treasure and show what lengths a person will go through to find it. Nothing is to dangerous and nothing is to costly to find the treasure that is portrayed. How much more should our lives show the casting off of everything unnecessary to find the treasure of the knowledge of God. We have all the tools that we need. Will we use them or will we allow this life to go by and  forsake the only thing that is real, believing the  lies of this world. Will you commit to come with me to find the treasure of the knowledge of God. The way is not easy but the end is glorious.   First of all I would ask have you ever repented of your sins in humility before the Lord and sought to know Him in faith? If so you are alive tonight and God is with you never to leave you and never to forsake you. If this is you where is your level of desire for God. You will have as much of Him as you desire. Seek Seek Seek the King of Kings. Do you wish you knew Him better? You can! But it will require putting some things aside and doing other things instead. Certainly sin must Go. But also everything that you would do instead of seeking God must go. Will you put seeking God in a place of priority in your life. Do you really think you are going to grow close to God in 5 minutes a day. How much time are you going to make for the King of kings? You will have the amount of God that you really desire to have.  Now maybe you have never repented in humility and brokenness over sin. Maybe you have never wanted religion or maybe you have wanted religion only to have some situation in which to climb to the top. Some do it in a secular Job and some do it in the church. Both are wicked in God’s eyes. Maybe all you have accepted is form of religion and not the point of religion. The Gospel shows us the way to know God. Apart from that there is no point.  If this is you tonight would you repent and confess that you have been guilty  before God of sin and trust your life into the hands of God for safe keeping. The life of a Christian is not easy. It is a narrow and hard road, but every difficulty is the opportunity that Jesus takes to fulfill His promises to us. In every affliction we find comfort and in every difficulty we have hope. God Himself is wanting us to be His so that He can show us how great and loving He is. Will you step from the broad road that leads to destruction onto the narrow road that leads to life and the greatest treasure in the universe. Whoever trusts in Him will not be ashamed.