Success: What Is It?

Mary and I made it down to the Market today, and it was an interesting day. We got down a little later than usual. I talked to several people, so the preaching was shorter and kind of "here-and-there."

Right away I ran into a man named Ken, a big, burly man, and a believer, who I've seen every year since 2009 when we started preaching at the Market. We never really talked, so he asked how I came to know the Lord. I shared about that, and we enjoyed a few minutes of the fellowship of Christian brothers.

We set up at the cross-walk between 4th & 3rd, and while I was preparing, Mary came up with another man named David, also a believer, and we talked a bit about evangelism and the times we live in. Up on the box, I started out with the true definition of success....

SUCCESS: FINDING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD

 

So today I had a woman heckle me, which was great. It is rare down at the Market, and usually consists of a "drive-by", but this woman came up to the box and wanted to engage. I really should pray for more hecklers, because it grabs a lot of people's attention - gives them an excuse to stop and see what's going on - and as other open air preachers say, it can generate a crowd really quick. Since the preaching was intermittent, I won't post all of it; but here is a brief exchange with my heckler:

Click HERE for the audio.

 

A man by the name of Don came up and shared how he had been saved out of radical Roman Catholicism. Since my background is Catholic, I could identify. This fella was driving 300-400 miles to attend a Latin Roman Catholic mass somewhere in Illinois! Praise God that he was delivered from this deep bondage, being born-again by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. (Don has my cell phone number: if I hear from him, I may ask for his written testimony, and if I get it, I will post it here on the website).

 

By the time I finished with Don, it was a little after 12 Noon, when the Market shuts down. I finished up with a few minutes of clearly presenting the gospel out of 1 Corinthians 15. Mary had passed out all her tracts, and had walked a few blocks down to 2nd Street where our friends Steve and Theresa Paul had their organic grains stand set up. We enjoyed visiting with them, and helped pack things up before leaving.

 



Brothers and sisters, the Lord has given us the command to preach the gospel and to be his witnesses wherever we are. It's not a numbers thing: you are successful whenever you step out by faith and reach out to someone with the hope of the gospel. And it is an act of worship to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and to give glory to our Most High God.

Contact us if we can be of any help. We want to encourage you to be bold, and to be the people that God created us and saved us to be:

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(Titus 2:11-14)