GOD MOVES ACROSS WICHITA, KANSAS

Eye-witness accounts from Mark Martin as member of the ICE Team, August 26-30, 2004

I was walking the wide street of a once exclusive downtown neighborhood. But today it showed the wear and tear of much change caused by time, crime, and neglect.

her house looked sort of like an oasis in the desert
among it surroundings.

quietly prim and proper, looking about my mother's age, she was sitting on her front porch saturday afternoon when i walked up her front walk. i strolled up thinking to myself that she must have sat here on this front porch many saturday afternoons in the past. surely she had seen it when it was new and elegant, but had watched as many of her friends and neighbors sold out and moved out, and new families from different ethnic groups moved in.

she returned my "Hello" and i introduced myself, telling her i was going about her neighborhood reminding people that Jesus loves them.

"my husband died not long ago," she abruptly, but quietly and urgently told me.

"i'm sorry. i really am. i'm sure i can only imagine how much that hurts," i said. "you must get lonesome sometimes."

she told me she lived alone, but that sometimes her son and his children would come to visit.

God's Spirit flooded me with compassion for her as i watched and listened to her. she was so visibly sad, even through her small smiles.

somewhere in that conversation, her eyes filled, but she resisted crying.

Just then, The Lord brought to my mind a verse from Isaiah and i spoke it aloud. "The Lord says He keeps all your tears in His bottle."

There are times in brief conversations when strangers become friendly and suddenly candid. That's what happened to Mrs. M and me.

It was about that time that God urged me to ask her the same question i ask almost everyone i share the Gospel with.

"Pretend you died at this moment, and that you are standing at the door of heaven...and Jesus is there.
And He smiles at you and says, "I'm so glad to see you!
But why should I let you come and live in heaven with me?"

She sat there a moment, then looked at me and said, "Well, I don't know WHAT I'd say..."

"Let me remind you of just a handful of things that you already know," i said softly to her.

I spoke of sin...we've all done wrong.

And that someone has to pay for the things we do wrong...and that 'someone' is us.

Then I talked about God's love for her...and I quoted John 3:16, pointing out that Jesus took her place and paid her price.

Of course, I remembered "Whosoever will call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved."

Finally, The Holy Spirit moved me to give her Jesus' Words as His invitation to her...

"Behold, I stand at the door of your heart and I'm knocking. If you hear My Voice and open the door, I will come in and I will sup (live) with you, and you with Me."

Even though she had told me earlier that she was a member of an old established church there, she was obviously unsure of where her soul would spend eternity.
And now she was clearly under the drawing power of The Heavenly Father.

"Does what I've said make sense to you?" i asked.

"Yes...of course."

"Mrs. M, you can know for certain that you are God's child and that you will go to heaven when you die. It's simply a matter of taking God at His Word, turning from your sin and believing on Jesus Christ."

"Is there any reason why you wouldn't want to ask The Lord Jesus to be your very own Saviour and Lord?"

A brief pause that seemed like a very long time...

Then, with so much sincerity, "No, no reason...but, but...I don't know how to do that."

I asked her, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ is The Son of God?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe that He died on the cross for all your sin, and that He was buried?"

"Yes."

"And do you really believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after His death, just as He said He would?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Well, the only thing left is to talk to God about this. Repeat this prayer after me ONLY if you agree with it. Remember, you are talking to God."

So I led this dear lady in a short, clear prayer of commitment to God, stating her faith in Jesus Christ, her repentance of her sin and her desire that Jesus come into her heart to live forever as Lord and Saviour.



Afterward, as I gave her some verses to give her assurance of what she had just done, she stopped me and asked a question of her own.

"What happens to us when we die?" she quizzed
me. I don't know for sure, but i suppose she was thinking about the hope that she would see her husband again.

"The Bible says 'to be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord."

Then, a beautiful smile and contentment came upon her face.

As i left her front porch, i turned in leaving and said, "May The Lord make His Face to shine on you!"

"Thank you for coming, Mark. Goodbye!"

And i knew i'd see her again...in heaven.

Because whosoever will call upon The Name of The Lord will be saved.


 


 

 

There are simply too many stories and too little space to tell of them here. Such as...

  • Christal, a 20 year-old mother of two little boys, who tearfully gave her young,but already scarred life to Christ. She was born again standing at her front door, right across the street from a church. Her husband is in jail, but she is now free, because 'whoever The Son sets free is free indeed!'
  • Thelma, 87 years-old, who prayed to receive Christ into her heart in her backyard on Sunday afternoon
  • Juan, who was saved in front of his house in old downtown Wichita on his 12th birthday. Now he has two birthdays on the same day! Jesus said, "You must be born again..."
  • Herman, who i met in a public park at a picnic table. He looked the typical 'homeless person,' but he was far from typical when we parted company. We talked for almost an hour, close to the end of daylight, when he decided to trust Jesus Christ with his soul for eternity. 67 years old, but suddenly born again when The Spirit of The Living God came on the scene!
  • Nathaniel and Jonathan, 11 and 12 year-old Laotian brothers who were playing in the street where i was going door-to-door, sharing the Gospel. They were so lively and full of fun, and it was no time before we were talking. Nathaniel told me he had saved his brother Jonathan from drowning; so, using a Gospel tool called 'the evangecube,' i told them how God's only Son, Jesus had given His Life to save theirs. These two precious little boys gave their all to Christ Jesus on that neighborhood street Friday. Two brothers born into the kingdom of God at the same time...a double celebration in Heaven as they were saved!
  • Ramses, a big 15 year-old hispanic, who i talked with at the top of a flight of rickety, old steps. It didn't take long for me to know that God had drawn me up those stairs because He was seeking to save Ramses. Yes, this young man heard and understood the good news about Jesus Christ and chose to turn from his sins and trust Jesus to be his Lord and Saviour.

 

But then, there are the other stories...tragedies...because they are about people who heard the Gospel and chose to reject Jesus as Lord and Saviour.


 

PRAY FOR THESE ~

  • A gang of young hispanic men with an attitude. John Shelton and i were walking down a long alley in the 'bad' part of town when we came on 7 young men, just standing around a garage drinking beer and talking. They didn't want to hear our preaching, especially then. We both tried to give them an opportunity to turn from their sins and accept Christ, but the most we could do was to briefly present the Gospel. We can only offer the Gift of salvation...everyone has the right to reject it if they wish. But it is sad and frustrating to see the enemy's hold of blindness on so many in the world today.
  • One of the guest representatives at our hotel listened to us very courteously, and, i think with much genuine interest. But she has just recently moved here from southern India, where she was brought up as a Hindu. As she was driving us in the hotel van from the airport, i asked her to tell me what SHE believed, as a Hindu. She didn't have a very clear-cut response, although she tried. i then told her what i believed and WHY. i must believe that The Word of God does not return void and that God will move in response to our prayers for her soul. Will you pray for her, too...right now
  • Downtown one evening John Shelton and i were sharing with individuals on either side of the street when the sky began to get dark, greenish and threatening. But we were each in the middle of presenting Christ to folks. I was talking to a man, woman and boy on the front steps of an old apartment building. Lots of people were out watching the sky. But i was able to make a short but concise presentation of God's good news to them. The man had sat quietly in a chair next to the wall till i gave the invitation to him to turn from his sins and receive Christ as Lord and Saviour. He began to pretend he didn't understand English (though he had only moments earlier) and began to rudely ask me what i thought i was doing. i told him quickly and hotly who i was...the ambassador of The Living Christ sent there to preach the good news of salvation to this house, and to warn him of the danger of living for the devil. He got quiet again, but would say no more. The woman and boy professed that they had already given their hearts to Jesus, but she admitted that she wasn't living for Him. Pray for these three...alcoholism and perhaps other abuses have demonic strongholds here. As i left, John and i rejoined just as we heard the storm warnings being sounded downtown. So we headed back up the alley in the dark praising God for allowing us to be His preachers in this place.
  • Again, there are so many stories of the lost who chose to remain lost. But we still remember their faces and their words. will you join in interceding for them, asking God to take away the blindness satan has on them and that they will choose to believe on Jesus Christ when they hear about Him again?

 

What's next?

 

Rio de Janiero, Brazil, September 3-13, 2004

I will be leaving this Friday for Rio as a team evangelist with a medical team from my home church, First Baptist Church, Sevierville, Tennessee.

Lots of flying time in this, too...about 2 and 1/2 hours from Knoxville, Tennessee to Houston, Texas...then 10 1/2 hours from Houston to Rio de Janiero.

But the rewards are sure to be great...serving the physical needs of hundreds with the expertise of the doctors, physicians assistants, nurses and technicians of the medical team, and presenting the Gospel personally by evangelists to all who come.

This will be my 6th trip to Rio de Janiero to preach Jesus. I remember many wonderful works God has done there to glorify His Name.

I AM SO THANKFUL TO HAVE YOU AWARE OF THIS, AND AM CONFIDENT OF YOUR PRAYERS.

 

 

 

Mark Martin
PO Box 1161
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
37868
GoPreach@webtv.net

 
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