The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show was this
last week. The Christian Farmer’s Outreach
had an evangelism booth at the show and this
last Saturday our church (Granite Baptist,
Glen Burnie, MD) ran the booth. The booth is
set up with 2 signs. One reads “Christian
Farmer’s Outreach” and the other
reads “Free Gift with a Message.” There
are about a dozen chairs in the booth and 4
or 5 soul winners – people trained to
lead others to Christ. People come in and sit
down to get a walking stick (a square yard
stick with a little leather strap on one end
holding colored beads – gold, dark, red,
white, and green). They have to sit down and
hear the gospel in order to get the stick.
We usually have a chance to give a clear presentation
of the gospel to anywhere from a few hundred
to over a thousand people a day at a medium
sized fair.
Well, we made it to the Sports Fair this last
weekend – even with the snow. It was
not as busy as last year at the evangelism
booth (I heard a lot of people stayed home
because of the weather). But we still saw a
lot of decisions for Christ on Saturday – over
140 people prayed to ask Jesus to be their
Savior.
I know every decision is sweet to God. And,
every once in a while, He gives us a taste
of how sweet they are. In particular, I'm thinking
of a gentleman that Cathy was able to lead
to Christ on Saturday afternoon. Cathy was
sitting in the back of the booth when a couple
walked in to hear the message of the beads
and to get their free walking stick. As they
sat down and Cathy engaged them in conversation
it became very apparent the young man (in his
late 20s) was mentally handicapped and the
lady was probably his nurse or aide and she
was already saved.
As Cathy went through the plan of salvation
she got to the part where she talks about Christ's
death, burial and resurrection. When she told
him that Christ had actually risen from the
dead the young man's eyes got big as saucers.
He said, "No way, I didn't know that!" and "Really?!" and "Wow,
I never knew Jesus rose from the dead. No one
ever told me that before!"
Before Cathy asks people if they would like
to trust in Jesus as their only way to heaven,
she does a little review to make sure they
understand everything she has told them. She
asked him if he knew he had done some sins
in his life. He said, "Yes." She
asked him if he understood there was a punishment
for his sins. Again, he said "Yes." She
asked him if he understood that Jesus paid
for those sins on the cross. Once more he said, "Yes." Then
she asked if he believed that Jesus rose from
the dead. He said, "No way!" She
told him she could show him in the Bible where
it said that. He said, "Oh, I believe
you now. Just, no one ever told me that before.
I never knew that. But now I know because you
told me. I know Jesus rose from the dead."
Cathy held his hand and prayed that he would
be saved today. She then asked him if he would
like to ask Jesus to save him so he would go
to heaven some day. He said, "Of course!" Then
he asked Jesus to be his Savior.
As Cathy told me later about this young man
it got me to thinking. How many times a day
do we overlook talking to someone about eternity?
How many people have we had a chance to talk
to and was able to make up some excuse why
now isn't the right time? How many Christians
did God send across the path of that young
man and they thought he's too slow to understand,
he just wouldn't get it?
It says, in Luke 10:2 - Therefore said he
unto them, "The harvest truly is great,
but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he would send
forth labourers into his harvest."
" Know
the love of Christ, that you may be filled to the measure 
