SERVICE PART 1

On a typical day of service I go out to the gateway to the narrow path. I pack lots of invitations to be saved and have a Bible in my pocket. Once I've prayed to my God and Saviour I am ready to go into service.

Today is a good day for service near the narrow gateway. I approach the crossroads and stand just outside in plain sight of all who are walking down the broad road to destruction. I hand out invitations to any who will receive them. Many times I just hand out the invitations but sometime I enter into discussion with the travelers on the broad road. I never know what to expect. All I can say to my Lord and Saviour is that I am available.

As I offer the invitations to the people I also look into their faces. I behold the look of a lost person who is preoccupied with the things of this world. Many are unhappy and have no hope of a better life when this life on earth has ended. This can be seen in the eyes of the people who walk by and can be seen in the lines on their faces. Even though they sometimes laugh and smile there is still an emptiness in their life. This void is in everyone's life and heart and only the Saviour, the Lord Jesus can fill that void. Until a person accepts the Lord Jesus as Saviour they will try to fill that void with all kinds of earthly pleasures and treasures. Wealth, immorality, pleasure seeking offers enjoyment for a few moments but afterward the void is still present. False religion attempts to fill the void but the pain and emptiness is still present and never really goes away.

After handing out invitations for awhile, the first person who stops to talk is Mr. RELIGIOUS-BUT-LOST: Here is some of the characteristics of this person: He is unteachable and exceedingly loyal to his religion. He considers the error of his false religion the truth. The Bible is OK as far as it does not contradict his false religion. He likes the verses about Jesus and the children but others he believes are just man-made opinions.

II Th 2:
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

He vigorously defends his religious error in the name of truth. He does not love those who follow the narrowness of the Gospel. However he faithfully attends church and listens to the sermons of his church priest. He has come in contact with True-Christians on the narrow path. At first he heard what they had to say. Then when they stated that Jesus was the only way to God he became angry. A verse that describes him is the following:

Matt 23:
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

As he approaches me he takes an invitation to be saved. He stands nearby quietly reading it and then enters into the following dialogue with me:

RELIGIOUS: You really don't believe this is the way a person is to be saved do you?

ANDREW: Yes, yes I do. The Bible says we are to trust alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. See here is what the Bible says:

John 3:
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

RELIGIOUS: That is just wishful thinking. I will gain my salvation by attending mass weekly, by confessing sins to my priest, by doing penance, by the sacraments, by praying to dead saints and Mary the queen of heaven, and by having my unforgiven sins purged in purgatory after my death. That is salvation! It is not some 'easy believe-ism' like you are saying.

ANDREW: The Bible is very clear that we are not saved by any good works that we can do!

Eph 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

RELIGIOUS: That's complete foolishness and how dare you try to lead people astray with that teaching!!!! The teachings of the church are all that matters. God has spoken through our leaders and He has given us tradition. We are not like your type of people with all kinds of splinter groups who believe all kinds of different doctrines. At least we have unity and tradition.

ANDREW: The Bible warns about the religious leaders in the days of Jesus who used tradition to nullify the word of God:

Mark 7:
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

At this point Mr. RELIGIOUS-BUT-LOST got very angry. He ripped up the invitation right in front of my face and threw it at me. The papers pieces fluttered across my shoulders and flew to the ground with the wind. As he walked away he called me a few choice names and then continued down the broad road. People on the broad road looked over at the commotion to see what was going on. They watched with interest as if this situation was some form of entertainment to break the mundane events of the evening. After it was ended and the show was over they resumed their walk down the broad path. However there were a few curious bystanders who walked over and grabbed an invitation and quickly put it away in their pocket for later reading.

At that point I said a quick thank you prayer to God and prayed over this situation. I prayed that God would open the eyes to Mr. RELIGIOUS-BUT-LOST. I also prayed for the bystanders who became curious and silently grabbed an invitation. I prayed for the Lord to bless them and to open the eyes of their understanding as they read the invitation.

I continued to hand out invitations to those on the broad road. After a few minutes I again received another visitor. This man was dressed in robes and was a follower of Mohammad. He had a big black Koran under his arms as he took and examined one of the invitations I was handing out. He told me his name was FOLLOWER-OF-ISLAM and that he believed in Jesus also. He told me that Jesus was considered a great prophet according to his religion and he had great respect for Him. I then answered him:

ANDREW: That is very good that you think that Jesus was a great prophet of God...as indeed He was. Now let me ask you a question. Was Jesus a true prophet or was Jesus a false prophet?

FOLLOWER: Well of course Jesus is a true prophet. He is the greatest prophet other than Mohammed.

ANDREW: That's very interesting as Jesus also claimed to be God in human flesh, the Second person of the Trinity. The Bible clearly shows that there is only ONE God and within the ONE God there exists three Divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. These three Divine persons are the ONE God. That is what the Lord Jesus taught and what the Bible teaches.

FOLLOWER: Well there is only one problem. The reason we use the Koran is that it is the latest revelation from God. It is a known fact that the Bible has become corrupted over the years. Mohammed gave us the Koran and we can trust the teachings as they were given direct from Allah to Mohammed. Mohammed is the greatest of the prophets. Allah is ONE... There is no 'Trinity'. There is only one God and not three gods like Christian's claim.

ANDREW: Boy you said a lot there! First Jesus directly claimed to be God and if He was a true prophet of God then we have a problem. Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet but denies that He is God. However in the Bible Jesus is a prophet plus He is God manifest in human flesh.

John 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Either Jesus is a true prophet or He is a false prophet! Jesus cannot be God in the Bible and be a true prophet of Islam at the same time! We have a problem! Next, I never said there was three gods. The One God of the universe is a triune God. Not three gods but One God who exists as three Divine persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit. This is a big difference from three gods.

FOLLOWER: Well I cannot agree because the Bible was written by men and it has been corrupted. Therefore I choose to follow Mohammed, God's greatest prophet.

ANDREW: Well that is your decision but the God who created both the heavens and the earth can easily tell men to write down His word. He can then easily preserve that word from corruption which is exactly what He did! Here is a question for you to think abou:

WAS THE BIBLE REALLY WRITTEN BY MEN...... OR DID GOD WRITE THE BIBLE THROUGH MEN?

Listen to what some of the men who wrote the Bible said:

KING DAVID

2 Samuel 23
1 Now these [be] the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man [who was] raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was] in my tongue.

APOSTLE PETER

Acts 1
16 Men [and] brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

2 Peter 1
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.

1 Peter 1
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

APOSTLE PAUL

2 Timothy 3
16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Galatians 1
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2
13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

LISTEN TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: (who you claim to be a prophet)

Luke 24
44 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.

Matthew 24
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

John 12
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

The Bible is not the word of men that has been corrupted. The Bible is the Word of God. Men merely wrote down the words that God inspired them to write. Then God, who is all powerful, has preserved His Word even to this day. The Bible goes on to say that Jesus is the ONLY way a person can be saved. There is no other way to God but through the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

FOLLOWER: Well I still think the Bible has been corrupted and I'll follow Mohammed who is God's greatest prophet.

After this the FOLLOWER-OF-ISLAM left me and went on downward along the broad road. He clung tightly to his Koran as he walked on. I said a prayer for God to bless the truth that was spoken to this person's heart. I prayed that God would open his eyes that he might come to the Lord Jesus and be saved.

I continued to hand out the invitations to anyone who would receive one. People came by and I continued to look at their faces and their reaction to the invitation that was freely offered to them. It wasn't very long until another person stopped to talk to me. His name was RENE and he said he was a new Christian. He told me about 2 years ago he was watching me over a several month time period. He would silently come by and grab a invitation and read it. Over time he accumulated several different invitations and he admitted they provoked him to think about eternal questions. He also began to read and study the Scriptures. There came a point in time when he realized he needed a Saviour so he repented and humbly accepted the Lord Jesus into his heart. As a result the Lord Jesus came into his heart and he was gloriously saved. RENE reached into his pocket and showed me several well worn invitations he had been reading that provoked him to think about his eternal soul. He said he had a burden to become a pastor of a church and had enrolled in a Christian school for training. He starts his Bible training in a few months and within a few years will be trained to be a pastor.

I encouraged RENE to be a good steward as the job of pastor should not be taken lightly. We live in days where pastors don't love the flock of God. They do not feed God's people and they do not protect them from false teaching and error. Unfortunately many pastors are just interested in wealth, fame, and the praise of men rather than the praise that comes from God for being a faithful steward. I told RENE to cling fast to sound doctrine and to never compromise his faith or his doctrine. I told him that he should take the time to teach God's people to be aware of the evil and deceptions that can so easily ensnare. RENE agreed with all I said and promised me that he would be a good and faithful servant to God.

After RENE left I was encouraged. Many times the work on the broad road can be discouraging. Seeing person after person reject the Gospel and the free invitation to salvation can be draining. It's sad to think of all the people who will die and spend eternity in the lake of fire because they chose to reject the only Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing a person with a good teachable heart is a blessing in this dark and evil world.

The next person to stop to talk was Miss PLEASURE-SEEKER. As she arrived I could see that she had heard the Gospel before. She knew I was a Christian and had several questions to ask.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Hi, I can see you are a Christian.

ANDREW: Yes, I'm a follower of my Lord and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ! I would encourage you to step off this broad road and turn aside to this narrow gate to heaven.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Can you tell me what you Christians do for fun? For example I go to the clubs and dance on a regular basis to all kinds of rock music. Do you dance?

ANDREW: No can't say that I do. I don't attend bars either.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Well I also like to have a drink occasionally. I see nothing wrong with getting a little high as long as you don't go too far. Do you like to drink?

ANDREW: No I don't drink either.

Eph 5:
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Prov 23:
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Hmmmmmm. I also like to have sex on a regular basis. I'm living with my boyfriend and we have had many good times together. Unfortunately we are about to break up. I think he is seeing another girl and I don't tolerate disloyalty! It will be a bit painful but I'll just find another boyfriend to live with. I really enjoy sex. Will I still be able to have sex if I ever became a Christian?

ANDREW: Well God is not against sex but He does expect us to wait until a proper marriage relationship. The Bible says:

1 Cor 6:
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Heb 13:
4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Well that doesn't sound too fun to me! Like, man.... I have a life! ... Do you? You don't seem to have any fun do you.

ANDREW: From what you have said I can see that you live your life for pleasure. You seek out all kinds of sinful pleasures to indulge yourself in. However is it really worth it? Is a few years seeking pleasure here on earth really worth rejecting the Saviour and perishing in hell for all eternity? How do you compare a few years with all eternity? The Bible warns us not to blindly seek after pleasure: See here.... This is what the Bible says:

1 Tim 5:
6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

Prov 21:
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

PLEASURE-SEEKER: Well thanks I've heard all I want to hear. I just love dancing, drinking, and partying. I certainly don't want to become a religious person and give all that up for a boring life like you have!

As she returned to the broad road, I noticed she entered one of the local bars that had a special rock group playing with a huge dance floor. I said a prayer for her asking God to let her understand that a few sinful pleasures do not compare with all the glories in heaven that awaits God's people. I prayed for her to reach a point in her life where she repents of her sin and humbly comes to the Lord Jesus Christ for cleansing by His shed blood.

I've noticed that there are many people on the broad road who just love sin and darkness. They do not wish to leave their sinful pleasures and come into the light. The Bible describes this as:

John 3:
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Little do they realize that and eternity in hell is quite a price to pay for their love of sin and darkness for a few short years. Although they do not care now the day will come when they will scream hopelessly but to no avail. Once they reach the end of the broad road and fall over the cliff, it is too late. They have then rejected the ONLY Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. By rejecting Jesus they have died in their sins and are lost.

Working at the narrow gate encouraging people to leave the broad road can be very eye opening! I find myself looking at people and wondering why they do not come to the Lord Jesus. What is their lame excuse for rejecting the Saviour? Everyone I meet who loves the broad road has an excuse. Although each excuse is different the end result is the same. They do not want to come to God's Saviour, the Lord Jesus.

The next person who stops to talk is a fellow named BURT-THE-BLASPHEMER: Burt does not like Christianity. To him it is just foolishness. He constantly berates Christians and has little good to say about God. He believes the Bible is just a book of myths written by men. He really hasn't looked at the evidence showing the Divine inspiration of the Bible but really...who needs the facts. Burt is not a pleasant person to be near especially if he is angry. He constantly demands: Show me God if He is real. Make Him appear to me now so I will believe! After that he rants and raves about the foolishness of Christianity. The Bible describes this type of fellow as:

Jude 1:
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

2 Pet 2:
12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

BURT stops to talk. He grabs a tract and then quickly throws it down to the ground in disgust.

BURT: Can't you find anything better to do with your time than to hand out this trash! What kind of a loser are you anyway?

ANDREW: This invitation presents the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Saviour. The invitation is for all to come to Jesus for salvation, forgiveness of sins, and a home in heaven.

BURT: You really are crazy aren't you. Didn't someone tell you that the Bible was written by men? It is just a bunch of myths and fairy tales!

ANDREW: How do you know that? Have you ever read the Bible?

BURT: I've read parts of the Bible but not the whole thing. I am NOT a gullible fool like you! I can think for myself and I do not need any crutches to lean on. You must be a really weak person to follow the "Bible"... God's revelation!... Yeah right!! ....Loser!

ANDREW: The Bible presents the simple plan of salvation. You see we are all sinners and the penalty for sin is death.

Rom 6:
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

However God became a man (Jesus) and died on the cross and paid for our sins and purchased a place for us in heaven which He offers as a gift to all who will receive it.

BURT: That is a bunch of crap! God doesn't even exist and neither does Jesus! It's all fairy tales for weak people like YOU to believe in so you can make it in this tough world. I've talked to losers like you before! You just can't leave well enough alone. Instead you come here and force your brainwashed beliefs on people who are walking by and minding their own business! YOU ARE A FREAK AND A LOSER!!!

At this point BURT grabs a fistful of invitations out of my hand and violently pushes me to the ground. He calls me a 'religious Bible thumper' and throws the tracts all over the ground. He then walks away in disgust and heads off down the broad road.

After this incident I'm a bit shaken. Some people who reject the Gospel get very hostile to that which they reject. As I get up I dust myself off and begin to pick up all the scattered invitations from off the ground. A couple of people who watched the incident lend a hand in picking up the invitations. I thank them for assisting me. When I'm done, surprisingly, a few people come up and grab invitations. They are curious to see what I have that could possibly be so exciting as to elicit such a response from BURT. I gladly hand them an invitation and thank them for taking one. I silently pray for BURT and all those who saw the incident. I pray that God's will shall be done in this situation. I pray that as a result of that flare up some people would be provoked and convicted of sin. I prayed that people would come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be gloriously saved. I also prayed for BURT that he would be convicted about the facts on Christianity which he completely ignores. I prayed for protection for myself and other Christian workers from BURT and his violent attitude and actions.

I continue to hand out invitations. I notice that some people eagerly grab one out of my hand while others just pretend I'm not really there. Some glance over at the narrow gate while others fix their eyes on the strip joint down the street.

GEORGE-THE-ARGUER stops by to talk. GEORGE loves to talk and debate. It took me some time to find out his name as he does not like to give it out. When asked about his name he would always say just say: 'call me Beelzebub'. However some people on the broad road were familiar with this person and gave me his name. GEORGE is not the least interested in the saving Gospel of the Lord Jesus. However he loves to debate and argue. He doesn't have much of a social life so he spends his free time looking for Christians to talk to. He then enters into unprofitable debate with them. GEORGE calls himself a born-again-atheist just to get a good argument going. He has no concern for eternity but just lives from one fruitless discussion to the next.

Prov 13:
16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

Prov 17:
7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

Prov 17:
12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Prov 18:
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

GEORGE: Well I see you are handing out these useless pieces of paper again. I'm sure everyone just walks by and thinks you are crazy as they throw the invitation on the ground. You are really wasting your time.

ANDREW: Well they can think about me any way they want. I just want people to accept the invitation and receive the Lord Jesus into their hearts as Lord and Saviour.

GEORGE: That is debatable. People look at this paper and say it is complete foolishness and just walk on by. Just look at people they are not taking any invitations. Maybe the odd one here and there but I'm sure they take them to the first trash can they see and throw them out. You are really wasting good trees by printing these invitations and handing them out. Does your God mind you destroying trees so you can hand out these useless pieces of paper?

ANDREW: These are not useless pieces of paper. They contain God's words and the plan of salvation. People must choose to accept or to reject the Lord Jesus as their Saviour.

GEORGE: Whatever, whatever.. I have a better religion. I call myself a born-again atheist. I'm in charge of the pool of fire to which I will consign you when you die....maybe even before then.

ANDREW: What is a born-again atheist... the term is contradictory?

GEORGE: No it isn't! Can't you reason and use your mind. It is a new religion that I have started. You cannot understand it because I have not enlightened you.

ANDREW: George, you need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

John 3:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

GEORGE: Foolishness. I decide who will be saved or not and I have decided you will not be saved. You will be consigned to the pool of fire and burn there for all eternity. You have committed high treason by handing out these invitations and turning people away from born-again atheism. Because of that crime you deserve the pool of fire.

ANDREW: Hell is very serious business it is not something to take lightly. You talk about born-again atheism and pools of fire but after this life is over you are headed to the lake of fire and will be separated from God for all eternity. You need to come to the Lord Jesus to be saved.

Rev 20:
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

GEORGE: Nonsense, more treason from you Christian liars. When I sit on my throne you will be the first one I judge and consign to the pool of fire.

As GEORGE continues on...(and he could continue on for hours) another person was listening to what George was saying. He enters into a heated debate with GEORGE. Nothing pleases GEORGE more than a heated debate. They both continue debating as I see them walking away from the narrow gate. Soon the sounds of their discussion is lost as they disappear in the crowds on the broad road. I bowed my head and prayed for GEORGE. I asked God to remove the veil before his eyes that is blinding his mind to the reality of eternity and his need of salvation. Eternity in heaven or hell is a very serious subject and I prayed to God that He would somehow make GEORGE understand that fact. So many people make light of their eternal souls. Salvation is very serious business as no one knows when they will reach the cliff and fall off into the fire below. People are literally one heartbeat from hell and they live and act like they don't care in this world.

As GEORGE left another man by the name of HARD-TIMES rolled up to me in a wheelchair. HARD has had a rough life. He was married and had three children. In his mid thirties HARD got a disabling sickness. He went from being a healthy man to being a sickly person could no longer care for himself. His 'faithful' wife promptly left him and then raised the children to be children of hell while she frequently and openly fornicated. His faithful wife had the lame excuse that she didn't want to live with a 'cripple'. As a result his wife had to work various jobs as she raised her children. She was a 'honey' to several immoral men so that also helped finances a bit. All this was a great influence to the children. HARD moved back with his mother who faithfully took care of him over the years. HARD never got over his misery and pain that he suffered. Although he heard the Gospel time and time again he never responded to it. HARD just wouldn't trust God. There was a block there somewhere and HARD refused to come to God. Unfortunately one day HARD will die and face a Christless eternity unless he humbly comes to the Lord Jesus for cleansing and salvation.

HARD should realize that on this earth we all have to trust God. It is very easy to trust God in the good times but when troubles come things can be different. Trusting God is very difficult when your life seems to cave in from all angles. Being a Christian does not insulate a person from problems, trials, or tribulations. The only promise we have is that God will be there with us through the problems. We are not alone in this evil world. Even though a Christian may fall seven times yet with the Lord in his life, he will rise up again! A classic verse on trusting God can be found in proverbs:

Prov 3:
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

HARD takes an invitation and reads it from cover to cover. He is a polite man. He has suffered in this world and does not go out of his way to give troubles to other people.

HARD: Hi, how are you tonight?

ANDREW: I'm fine, Thank you. What do you think of the invitation that you read?

HARD: It is interesting but myself I'm not really interested. I've see what happened to the Jim and Tammy Bakker situation as well as Jimmy Swaggart. I've seen lots of phony Christians.

ANDREW: That is a good point. Men sin and fail but Christianity is not built up upon individuals who call themselves 'Christian'. Instead it is built up upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the foundation stone. Men will let you down but Jesus will not!

Eph 2:
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

May I ask you a question?

HARD: Sure, go ahead.

ANDREW: When you die one day and stand before God and he asks you why you rejected the Lord Jesus what are you going to say? Are you going to say... well look at Jim and Tammy or look at Jimmy Swaggart?

HARD: I really don't know what I'll say?

ANDREW: Well if you did then God would say to you the following: He would say that Jim and Tammy and Jimmy Swaggart all must answer directly to ME. The issue here is not what Jim, Tammy, or Jimmy did... but rather what did YOU do with Jesus and the salvation so freely offered? So you see we are all accountable to God for ourselves. Don't worry what others will do as the issue really is what WILL YOU DO when you stand before God?

Heb 2:
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

HARD: Well it is something to think about...but I don't know. Thanks but I have to go now. Take care.

ANDREW: OK, then bye and thanks for stopping to talk. Remember that God loves you and wants you to come to Jesus for salvation and eternal life.

John 3:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

As HARD wheels himself further down the broad road I realized that he had talked to many Christians before. I prayed for him and asked God to touch him in such a way as to know that he is loved by God. Let him understand that we all suffer in this world and that we all are in desperate need of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I look at my watch and realize it is time to head home. But I'll be back again to serve my Lord at the crossroads right in front of the narrow gate. As I leave I have joy in my heart. Truly it is a joy serving Jesus. Who knows how many actually will accept the invitation they received. But really if you think about it, if only one person accepted Jesus and salvation it would be worth it all! For example: you could have a big scale. On one side of that scale would be all the wealth of the world. It would be filled with gold, silver, precious stones, stocks, bonds and all kinds of valuable earthly things. On the other side of the scale would be the value of one soul to God. Once the scale is released it would tip in favor of the soul as having more weight. To be a soul winner is a very blessed calling and all Christians should make it their priority to witness and pray for the lost.

RETURN