Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen Come, Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 5:16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil

Luke 24:46,47 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

2 Corinthians 7:9,10 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Are we called by God to help others sacrificially and to walk in a manner worthy of our calling? Of course! But it was never meant to act as a substitute for preaching the gospel or to serve as a prerequisite for doing so! Such limitations are man-made adaptations developed in response to the general rejection of Jesus seen in contemporary culture. “Being direct and simple in a well-rounded presentation of the gospel seems to only make people uncomfortable and angry. Therefore, we need to modify it so they’ll listen to us.” It’s a very reasonable and pragmatic solution...but one which has no basis in scripture. It boils down to this…we’re afraid of their reaction and we’re afraid of being seen as some religious nut…we are ashamed of the gospel. So we trim a little here and there and focus on helping with tangible needs (who wouldn’t appreciate a little help?) and we not only get to avoid being persecuted for the gospel but we get the positive feedback from those we’ve helped which makes us feel good about ourselves. Everybody wins, right? But what about what God has commanded of us?

2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes

Romans 10:17,14 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

A God Appointment

What once again brought this topic to the forefront with me is a recent encounter which God had preordained for me. I was hesitant to write about it because the last thing I want to do is appear to be seeking glory for myself. The glory for what happened belongs solely to Jesus Christ because I am neither brave nor wise enough to attempt such things on my own. I tell you about it to illustrate a point. I also want people to know that I am not just theorizing when I say these things and that they CAN be applied in real life.

Occasionally, I have gone down to the Little Five Points MARTA station and Woodruff Park (with groups and by myself) to hand out tracts and preach. I would like to do so on a regular basis but my work schedule just hasn’t allowed it. This past Thursday, I went to Woodruff Park and brought a bag of Krystals with me to give to some of the homeless there. My intent was to feed a few people and do a little street preaching. When I got there, a guy was standing on the corner preaching. He looked familiar and I stopped for a moment and placed my hand on his shoulder and said “Thank you for being here.” I walked on towards the pavilion where I intended to speak but a group was setting up there with microphones and such (I later found out they were putting on a presentation promoting Islam). So I handed out the burgers to some people and went back down to where the guy was preaching. I recognized him as Zachry Baxter and called him by name. We had met at the Gay Pride Parade last year and we had mutual friends who were also street preachers. We fellowshipped for a while and then I started handing out tracts (from an organization called Soul Winning Attack Team or SWAT) while he preached. Soon he had to leave but I continued on…I considered preaching but the street corner had a lot of people passing by but no one staying long enough for me to do any good so I just kept handing out tracts.

A guy about 30 years old with dreadlocks took one and hesitated while reading it before slowly moving on. He went about 20 steps and turned around and yelled “Hey! Come here!” I went over not knowing what to expect. The first thing Galen said to me was “I’m on the prowl.” His breath smelled of alcohol. But he sat down so I sat down with him. He proceeded to pour out his story. He had gotten released a few months ago after spending 13.5 years in prison for armed robbery. He had been a Christian and at one time he felt that God had called him into the ministry. But he had gotten involved in drugs and his life had self-destructed. His son had been 3.5 when he went into prison and became involved with gangs as he grew older. Shortly after his release from prison and being reunited with his son, his son was killed in a gang shooting. The guilt of his son’s death and his wasted life was eating him up inside and he wept and I wept and prayed with him as the grief poured out of him. He had stumbled a couple of times with drugs since his release and he was living in a shelter while he tried to get enough money to go back to where his mother and father lived in Kentucky. He was struggling with why all these things had happened to him. That morning he had awoken with the fear that his fate was to die on the street or in prison. Someone had offered him a beer (even though he doesn’t drink) and in his despair he had drunk it and “gone on the prowl” …without hope and angry. But he said that as he walked towards the park, he had also pleaded with God to help him find a way out.

I silently sought God’s guidance throughout the encounter. I told him that the problem of suffering was a tough issue, but that God had never intended for the world to be this way. But man had rebelled against God and sin and destruction and entered into the world and we continue to pay the price. I told him that I would be glad to pray for him but that until he gave his life completely over to Christ that anything I could do would just be a band-aid. I warned him that surrendering his life to Christ wouldn’t mean that all his problems would be instantly solved and that he would probably have some whole new ones. But that God would be with him and use even the bad things that happened for good. I told him that I knew that he was still struggling with some sins and that he needed to let those go and repent. I acknowledged that surrendering your life to Christ doesn’t mean that you’ll never sin again but that, when you do, you acknowledge your guilt, ask God’s forgiveness and deliverance from the sin, and start following Him again….eventually He WILL set him free. I also told him that he didn’t have to carry around the guilt of his son’s death anymore. God knew that he loved his son but the consequences of his sin had kept him from him. I said that Christ had died on the cross for his guilt and he was forgiven and that he needed to forgive those who had wronged him in the same way that God had forgiven him. I then told him that his fate was not to die in prison or on the streets, but that God was going to bring him through this and that someday he would help someone else who was going through the same things. He wept repeatedly…

I felt the Lord wanted me to help this man and I told him that our meeting had been no accident…that God had arranged it. I offered to take him to the bus station and buy his ticket to Kentucky so he could return to his family. He said “I’m afraid…what about my fear?” I told him that he would have fear whether he stayed or he went and that he needed to take courage and do what he felt was right. After discussing it for a while, he finally decided to get the ticket. I drove him to the bus station and bought the ticket and gave him some spending money. While we were standing in line at the bus station, he said “I’m running for my life…God has opened a way for me.” As I drove him back to the park (he needed to collect his things and wouldn’t leave until the next morning) we marveled at how God had arranged all this and he realized that God had heard and answered his plea for a way out. Before, I dropped him off, I held his hand and prayed with him for God’s protection…for God to fight for him and deliver him and make him whole.

I am blessed and humbled that God allowed me to be part of this wonderful story of reconciliation and restoration. I don’t tell you this to try and bring any glory to myself but to make a point. The point is that if I had assumed that I had to establish some sort of relationship or credibility with people before telling them about Christ, I never would have even been there for this whole event to happen. I am no one special…I don’t have some special innate talent that makes these things easy for me…I just happened to be obedient that day to what God had called me to and was sensitive to His leading. My fervent desire is to be more consistent in my obedience…and for others to be open to boldly speaking the gospel to the whole world.