I hope you've been encouraged, challenged, and/or convicted when reading my posts about Mardi Gras. It truly was an awesome experience of fellowship, preaching, and trusting the Lord. More than anything, I hope my stories (which are really God's stories as told through a broken vessel - me), anyway, I hope these stories will stir a fire within you to go out and "seek and save that which is lost". 
Street-preachers "seeking and saving that which is lost"
http://www.youtube.com/user/crytogod#p/u/1/nb59qUV7coQ
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Street-preachers "seeking and saving that which is lost"I want to finish up my Mardi Gras experience posts by telling you about two conversations I was a part of. There were MANY good conversations which I had, and I wish I had the time and energy to tell you all of them. But that would be impossible. I was able to share the Gospel with COUNTLESS number of people. Thousands of seeds were planted and some people even expressed interest in KNOWING Jesus. But what follows are two experiences I was a part of which really stand out to me.
Probably the most memorable conversation I had (besides the 19 hour drive down) was with a New Orleans fireman. It was during the morning on Fat Tuesday and we were set up by the local fire department. As I was holding my sign, one of the older fireman started saying some pretty nasty and mean things to me (things with a lot of swear words). He was really mocking the Gospel and our "efforts" to share the truth. It really shocked me, not because he was saying these things, but because he was saying them in Uniform! It was pretty obvious he was, in part, trying to impress the "rookies" on the fireteam. Every now and then he would look over at his buddies and laugh.
My first comment to him was in regards to his behavior as a civil public servant for the city of New Orleans. In fact, for a lengthy time I didn't even address Jesus, but rather his poor representation of the NOFD and him being a horrible role model for the "rookies". It was pretty obvious he did not care for the things of God (although he did say he was a christian and goes to church every Sunday - big surprise)! It seemed like we went back and forth for 10-15 minutes about his behavior. But then something happened. I don't "know" what it was but the conversation turned to the Spiritual and this man's countenance changed. He stopped talking so much and asked a lot of good questions. He stopped swearing and mocking the Gospel. I was able to give him my testimony and I was able to give him the Gospel. I noticed several of the "rookies" were listening pretty intently...most "smiles" were gone. By the end of the conversation, this guy was thanking me for talking to him and he apologized for how he started our conversation. About 30 minutes after we got done talking, a girl was brought over to the fireteam. She was having trouble breathing and the entire team was around her. They placed her on the edge of the firetruck and gave her some oxygen. Out of the blue, the fireman I had been talking to yelled to me, "Hey Steve, this girl could really use your prayers right now. Pray for her." He said this in front of all the other fireman, and he wasn't kidding! Like I said, I don't know what happened but it seemed the Lord had softened his heart for the time being. When I was back at camp after the day was over, all the preachers were sitting around the dinner table. I was getting ready to go to the Airport. One of the preachers asked me if I had talked to a fireman earlier in the day. Which of course I had. He said the fireman specifically sought out the preacher and asked him if he knew Steve. The preacher said the fireman had nothing but good things to say about me and he said my passion for Jesus was very evident. He also said later in the day a fire was called in and for some reason the fireman was thinking about me on the way to the fire. I never saw the fireman again but maybe one day I will!!
The other conversation I was a part of happened on the evening of the last day, Fat Tuesday. Another preacher, Kevin, and I were doing one-on-one conversations with other preachers (for Kevin's weekly TV show). As we were setting up to interview one of the preachers, a young man ran up to Kevin. He had seen our banners from a distance and remembered Kevin from last year. To keep it short, this guy was a professing christian and had seen Kevin and his ministry on Bourbon Street last year. This guy was really mad at Kevin's ministry last year because of all the banners and preaching. He felt they were so "judgmental" and "condemning" and he voiced his opinion to them last year. However, this guys testimony doesn't stop there. I highly encourage you to watch the video below. Often times people say our type of ministry (open-air preaching/banners) produces no "fruit" and only turns people off or away from God. I won't defend this now, but the video below obviously proves this wrong. Praise the Lord!
To watch the video you need to click the "play" arrow at the lower left corner of the grey rectangle. It might take a few minutes to "buffer" before playing. If you still cannot view the video, click the following link:
Probably the most memorable conversation I had (besides the 19 hour drive down) was with a New Orleans fireman. It was during the morning on Fat Tuesday and we were set up by the local fire department. As I was holding my sign, one of the older fireman started saying some pretty nasty and mean things to me (things with a lot of swear words). He was really mocking the Gospel and our "efforts" to share the truth. It really shocked me, not because he was saying these things, but because he was saying them in Uniform! It was pretty obvious he was, in part, trying to impress the "rookies" on the fireteam. Every now and then he would look over at his buddies and laugh.
My first comment to him was in regards to his behavior as a civil public servant for the city of New Orleans. In fact, for a lengthy time I didn't even address Jesus, but rather his poor representation of the NOFD and him being a horrible role model for the "rookies". It was pretty obvious he did not care for the things of God (although he did say he was a christian and goes to church every Sunday - big surprise)! It seemed like we went back and forth for 10-15 minutes about his behavior. But then something happened. I don't "know" what it was but the conversation turned to the Spiritual and this man's countenance changed. He stopped talking so much and asked a lot of good questions. He stopped swearing and mocking the Gospel. I was able to give him my testimony and I was able to give him the Gospel. I noticed several of the "rookies" were listening pretty intently...most "smiles" were gone. By the end of the conversation, this guy was thanking me for talking to him and he apologized for how he started our conversation. About 30 minutes after we got done talking, a girl was brought over to the fireteam. She was having trouble breathing and the entire team was around her. They placed her on the edge of the firetruck and gave her some oxygen. Out of the blue, the fireman I had been talking to yelled to me, "Hey Steve, this girl could really use your prayers right now. Pray for her." He said this in front of all the other fireman, and he wasn't kidding! Like I said, I don't know what happened but it seemed the Lord had softened his heart for the time being. When I was back at camp after the day was over, all the preachers were sitting around the dinner table. I was getting ready to go to the Airport. One of the preachers asked me if I had talked to a fireman earlier in the day. Which of course I had. He said the fireman specifically sought out the preacher and asked him if he knew Steve. The preacher said the fireman had nothing but good things to say about me and he said my passion for Jesus was very evident. He also said later in the day a fire was called in and for some reason the fireman was thinking about me on the way to the fire. I never saw the fireman again but maybe one day I will!!
The other conversation I was a part of happened on the evening of the last day, Fat Tuesday. Another preacher, Kevin, and I were doing one-on-one conversations with other preachers (for Kevin's weekly TV show). As we were setting up to interview one of the preachers, a young man ran up to Kevin. He had seen our banners from a distance and remembered Kevin from last year. To keep it short, this guy was a professing christian and had seen Kevin and his ministry on Bourbon Street last year. This guy was really mad at Kevin's ministry last year because of all the banners and preaching. He felt they were so "judgmental" and "condemning" and he voiced his opinion to them last year. However, this guys testimony doesn't stop there. I highly encourage you to watch the video below. Often times people say our type of ministry (open-air preaching/banners) produces no "fruit" and only turns people off or away from God. I won't defend this now, but the video below obviously proves this wrong. Praise the Lord!
To watch the video you need to click the "play" arrow at the lower left corner of the grey rectangle. It might take a few minutes to "buffer" before playing. If you still cannot view the video, click the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/crytogod#p/u/1/nb59qUV7coQ
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
No comments:
Post a Comment