| What God Did in Montgomery |
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| What God Did in Montgomery |
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This church is actively obeying The Lord Jesus' great commission in their hometown as well as throughout the world.
They have found places to care for the hurting and needy people of this historic city in the heart of the Deep South. One of these areas of focus has been in neighborhoods where income is low, and crime is high.
In fact, the headline of the front page of the local paper told of the neighborhood where we would share the Gospel all week. The paper said this area was still the worst place in the city...police calls were 100 a day, and arrests there increased last year.
Just the sort of place you would find Jesus!
Of course, one of the areas of ministry God has called John and I into is the inner cities of our nation and the world.
God speaks, leads and compels us to areas where He is at work.
It is a wonderful thing to be drawn by God to a specific place to do a particular thing for His Name's sake.
THAT IS WHY WE WERE IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA...TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE PRECISE LOCATION AND TIME HE WANTED.
The places we went are places most folks don't want to go. Places where sin has taken control...When these places are mentioned, it's in the same breath with poverty, violence, prostitution, sexual abuse, gangs or theft. But I believe this is where Jesus would be if He were here bodily today...on the streets. John and I watched Him change people before our very eyes, as we looked into theirs. Truly, we saw God demonstrate His power! | ||||||||
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TUESDAY - Summer days in the deep South are HOT, and this one was no different. John and I were cruising the neighborhood, asking God to lead us to someone who needed Him.
We drove up and down and around the neighborhood streets, and found a community center where there appeared to be lots of teenagers gathered. They were playing ball, listening to music and just sort of hanging out together.
As we drove by, John noticed 6 or 8 of them standing out front, so I stopped so he could get out and talk with them.
By the time I got the van parked and walked back to where he was, he was preaching to a small crowd! And it was growing all the time!
They were coming on foot and even on bicycles
from every direction.
"What is it that keeps us away from God, and out of heaven?" I heard him ask them as I approached.
"The wrong things we do!" he said.
"And that's why Jesus came...to pay for all the wrong things we've done!"
The Gospel is very attractive when presented clearly and under the power of The Holy Spirit, and John's was a beautiful, crystal-clear presentation of sin and The Saviour, directed powerfully by The Spirit of God Himself.
"For God so loved YOU that He gave His only begotten Son that if YOU would believe in Him, YOU don't have to go to hell and pay for your own sins, but you can have eternal life in heaven with God."
Boys and girls were still coming from inside the building when John gave the invitation to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour.
I wish you could have been there to hear all those young voices praying together enthusiastically, giving their lives to Christ Jesus!
The harvest is great...that's what Jesus said.
Sometimes it's one, or two or four...then sometimes it's a crowd.
He said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me."
As we were leaving, the director of the community center remarked that he was 'supposed' to prohibit any kind of religious activity at all there. But as he listened to John preaching, somehow he allowed it to go on without interruption. He said he knew these kids needed to hear what was being said.
Praise The Lord for opening a closed door, and for giving the boldness to walk through i
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Mark Martin Ministries |
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