A Man Died Behind You!!

This trip has really done three things for me. One, it has reminded me of the importance of prayer. Two, it has solidified, once again in my mind, that the field is white unto harvest, but the laborers a few. When you’ve read my updates, you’ve heard this phrase a lot lately, and you will continue to hear it until you are convicted and convinced that it is true. Third, how instrumental the body of Christ is at encouraging each other in evangelism and our daily walk with Jesus. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy reading about what our great God is doing and has done.

We landed in Boston and were greeted by a home grown Bostonian. Pastor Tom Cabral is a third year church planter in Fall River, MA. His city is filled with drugs, crime, and a plethora of other life destroying sins. Our first stop was his church so that we could intercede for the city. The night before we pleaded with the Lord of the harvest, and this prayer was a continuation. We had over one hundred people praying for us during this trip. Prayer must precede the harvest. Prayer reminds us that we are a dependent people. As our prayer time ended, we focused our preaching efforts on two locations in his city. The first was in front of the local courthouse and the second was a really busy intersection in the heart of his city.

A Man is Dead Behind You!!!

I strapped on my PA system, and a girl came up and got right in my face and asked, ”What is this about?” Leah was twenty-one but looked older from the years of heroin abuse and self-mutilation. Her arms had scabs and scars from the razor blades that she used to cut herself.  As we proclaimed the Gospel, she began to tear up but was so high from the drugs that she could not make a coherent decision. We gave her the Gospel of John and a card to Pastor Tom’s church and prayed for her in her drug-induced state.

As we continued to preach, EMS, fire trucks, and police cars began to gather behind us. Sean, one of GGM’s team members, walked over to see what happened. He came back over to tell me that a gentleman that previously walked past us had tragically fallen dead in the street behind us.  Sean went over to the crowd, which surrounded the lifeless body, to share the Gospel of hope. I proclaimed how fragile life is to the captive audience on the other side of the street. There was a holy reverence in the air for what just happened, and everyone was paying attention to what we had to say. One gentleman was shaken by what happened, and I went up to talk with him personally.

Rick’s father was a Christian and had been praying for him for years. Rick was an unbeliever. As I shared the amazing reality of God’s holiness and Rick’s rebellious heart toward this God, his eyes became open to these two truths. When I explained the Gospel, it made sense to him, and he responded in repentance and faith in Jesus right on the sidewalk. During this trip to Massachusetts, four gentlemen confessed Jesus as Lord. As you have read above, the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. This story gives evidence of this reality. Please, go transform a life by sharing the Gospel!! We are privileged people who serve an amazing God.

TJ Began to Weep

After we left Pastor Tom, we traveled on a bus to visit Pastor Tanner of Redemption Hill Church in Medford, MA. One of the locations that we setup to preach was Harvard Square. Harvard Square has a buffet of nationalities- truly the nations have come to the cities. As I began to preach, the musicians were playing softly off to my left. After about thirty minutes, they stopped for a few minutes to listen to the Gospel. One female listened just long enough to show her rebellious heart the truth. She came up and grabbed my microphone and unplugged it from the speaker. When she did this, a gentleman standing there spoke up and demanded that she stop. He stated, ”Some are paying attention.” She walked off, infuriated. I continued to tell the people who were listening how to have peace with God. I could see the gentlemen in front of me become visibly shaken by what was being said. Everyone else with our team was busy talking with individual people about the Gospel. Praise God!!

I stopped preaching and talked with him personally. TJ began to tell me how he believed, and he was facing intense physical pain. The tears started to build in his eyes, and they gushed forth uncontrollably for over a minute. I hugged him as he wept right in the hustle and bustle of Harvard Square. He asked me to pray for God to either heal him or give him the strength to endure until He called him home. There was so much maturity and wisdom in that prayer that I gladly prayed over him.

Church, we need each other. God has not designed us to be lone rangers. We need each other for encouragement, accountability, and wisdom when we are in the vice of tribulation. We need to remember that prayer for the lost and each other is a must, the fields are white for harvest, and encouraging each other in evangelism and our walk with Jesus is fundamental to growth and maturity.   I hope the three things that God reminded me of this trip will encourage you to go transform a life by sharing the Gospel.