Augusta Co. Fair

MINISTRY PROFESSIONS OF FAITH

JULY 31-AUG 03 AUGUSTA CO. FAIR 223

AUG 7 COURT SQUARE 25
AUG 9 CROSS LIGHT 04

Eight volunteers spent four days sharing the gospel at the Augusta Co. Fair last week. Many thanks to Karen Brooks, Johan Weiss, Rob Gilmer, Pam and Alan Foster, Michael Cash and Rob Mansfield. Great job everyone!

By the power of the Holy Spirit, our team saw 223 people profess saving faith in Christ. All glory to God!

Here are some pics and stories for you to enjoy.

DAY 1

A GREAT WAY TO START THE SHOW!

Catherine (pink shirt) sat down with her friend. Her friend was already saved. Catherine initially told me she was 100% sure of going to Heaven, but I sensed she was just repeating her friend's answer. She had no clue why God would let her into Heaven.

She really seemed to grasp the truth as I shared and wanted to place all of her faith in Jesus. There was a deep sincerity here, and I believe she even had some tears in her eyes...

"HE SAVED ME...THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

A DIVINE REVELATION!

Little Joe thought God might let him into Heaven because 'he (little Joe) was trustworthy'.
After I shared the law with him and then the penalty for sin, he said something I had never heard before...

"I HAVE TO DIE!" (Little Joe really understood!)

Little Joe was obviously concerned about the eternal consequence of his sin. When I held up the picture of Jesus to him, his concern changed to joy and relief...

"HE DIED FOR ME!"

After praying to place his faith in Jesus, little Joe told me...

"HE ALREADY SAT IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR FOR ME AND HE GAVE ME ETERNAL LIFE. I AM SURE NOW, 100%. (MY HEART FEELS) REALLY GOOD."

MAKE SURE YOU DIG A LITTLE DEEPER!

Trevor sat down and said, "Hi, I'm an atheist." I replied, "Hi Mr. atheist, I'm Mike."
His friend Cody told me he was 100% sure of Heaven because he 'was a Christian.'

I asked him, "What makes you a Christian?"...'I believe in God'..."What do you believe about God?"...'He created everything.'..."Anything else?"...'He's the Savior'..."What do you mean by that?"...'I can talk to Him.'

Cody's idea of Christ being the Savior was simply, 'I can talk to Him.' So, I shared the law and the gospel.

At the end, Cody (on the right in the pic) confessed that he had been trusting himself for eternal life, instead of Christ. (He talked to God but had not trusted Him as Savior)

Cody prayed with me, transferring his trust to Christ alone...

"HE CAME INTO MY LIFE. (MY HEART FEELS BETTER) NOW THAT I KNOW THAT HE SAVED ME."

Trevor understood the message, but wasn't ready to trust in Christ. (God save Trevor!)

GOD COMPLETED THE STORY!

I met Megan on July 4th at the Happy Birthday America event in Staunton. If you remember, I shared a story about her. She was 'working' her way to Heaven, as her fiance was a Christian and was leading her on that path. After hearing the gospel from me, Megan put her faith in Jesus...

Fast forward to the Augusta Co. Fair. Here is Megan with her fiance, Jessie. Jessie was not initially 100% sure of his eternal destination because he really did not understand the gospel. By the grace of God, and the encouragement of Megan, I was able to lead Jessie to Jesus!

"HE SAVED ME."

MAKE WAY FOR LOGAN!

His wife Rachel and his mother Dawn were already saved. So as to not be an unnecessary distraction, both quietly left the booth and allowed me to focus entirely upon Logan.

Logan's initial belief in God was limited to "He created everything." After sharing the law and the gospel, I told him...

"God was already judged guilty in your place 2000 years ago. If you place all of your trust in Him, when you stand before Him, God will not judge you for any of your sins. If you trust in yourself, then you will be judged guilty for your sins."

Logan also did not understand the person of Christ. Logan thought that Jesus was a created being. He thought that, "God made Jesus." I explained that Jesus was God himself manifest in human flesh.

Logan finally understood both the work and person of Christ and wanted to place all of his trust in Him...

"HE SAVED ME...(MY HEART FEELS) WONDERFUL...I TRUST IN GOD."

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

Because of a need for an extra day of rest, I cancelled the first day of the fair. When we arrived, I noticed that the vendor who was next to me had also missed the first day of the event. He arrived a little later to set up his booth. The event organizers had placed us near the back, adjacent to one another.

I recognized this man. I had shared with him last year, on the last day of the event. He had prayed with me then, but I was not really sure that he understood at that time.

Well, Sam recognized me too and I wasted no time. Sam was not initially 100% sure of going to Heaven, as he was trusting in his works. I shared with Sam as he was setting up his booth. He assured me that he wanted to hear. After hearing the gospel again, Sam appeared to understand and wanted to place his faith in Christ alone.

We spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as neighbors at the fair. Saturday, I decided to ask him the question again...

Smiling, Sam said...

"NOW I'M 100%...I TRUST IN GOD!"

THE WHOLE FAMILY!

Here is papa bear Steven, mama bear Amy, and little cub Richard. I shared our little bear gospel presentation with Richard. He wanted to place his trust in Christ. Mama bear and papa bear followed suit...

A GREAT TESTIMONY!

The last person I shared with on day 1 was little John. He thought God would let him into Heaven, "If I'm serving Him."

After hearing about the person and work of Christ, little John wanted to trust in Him, instead of his works. He prayed and then told me...

"I HAVE ACCEPTED GOD IN MY LIFE AND I HAVE ALL MY TRUST IN HIM. HE'S MY SAVIOR. (NOT ME) BECAUSE HE LIVES IN MY HEART, I WILL GO TO HEAVEN."

DAY 2

A TYPICAL RELIGIOUS ANSWER

Sheila told me that she was 100% sure that she would go to Heaven because...

"I follow Him...I love Him...I serve Him."

Unless you have shared the gospel with thousands, you probably hear this answer and think this person is okay. Think again. Some of these people have 'moved away from Christ' (Galatians). Others have never really been born-again.

Unfortunately, this is a 'works based' answer. It is all about what the person is doing, not what Christ has already done.

Maybe you think I am splitting hairs, until you hear her testimony at the very end. There are many others in the church who are just like Sheila.

Unfortunately, these are the people who get very upset when we share the law with them...(liar, thief, adulterer, murderer, blasphemer) They have religious pride. I had several at this fair who became very upset as I was sharing the law with them and walked off.

Right in the middle of sharing the law, one lady spoke up and said, "I did not come in here to listen to this! I don't have to listen to this and I won't! Thank you sir and good bye!" Remember the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 17.

Interestingly, most of these same religious people who are trusting in their works also don't know that Jesus is God. Go ahead and ask them and see what they say.

Thankfully, there are a handful of these religious folks who, upon hearing the law, do humble themselves and accept the fact that 'there is none good, no not one." Sheila was one of these. As expected, Sheila also did not know that Jesus is God.

Listen to her testimony after she transferred her trust from her works, and instead, trusted in the person and work of Christ alone...

"HE GAVE ME 100% BELIEF TO PUT MY FAITH IN HIM AS OPPOSED TO ME. HE REMOVED A BURDEN FROM MY HEART AND MIND. (MY HEART FEELS)...LIGHT."

DRAWN BY THE SPIRIT!

Nicole was working a booth in front of us and to the left. I had just finished sharing with some children. When I looked at her, it was as if she was really admiring what was happening in our booth. So, I said...

"You want a free bracelet too?"

She came over! Nicole was trusting in 'her faithfulness' to get to Heaven. After hearing the law and the gospel, Nicole repented. That is, she changed her mind, and transferred her trust to the faithfulness of God...

"I TRUST IN GOD."

ANOTHER DIVINE REVELATION!

Jennifer (mother), Grant (father), and Grant (son) sat down to hear our message. They were initially 'still working on going to Heaven because they were good people and were caring.' They wanted to hear how they could be 100% sure.

There was some resistance as I shared the law. It wasn't easy. Sometimes you really don't know if they are going to stay. We battled through it together, and thankfully they stayed.

When Jennifer heard that the just penalty for her sin was death in Hell, she exclaimed...

"That means no one can go to Heaven!"

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Romans 3:19)

Jennifer understood the position that she stood in, and also the position of every single human being...'that all the world may become guilty before God.'

The law had set the table for grace. The person and work of Christ were shared, and this family wanted to trust in Christ alone...

"HE CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE...I BELIEVE IN GOD...HE SAVED ME...I'M 100% SURE NOW...(MY HEART FEELS) UPLIFTED AND ENLIGHTENED!"

DAD THOUGHT SHE UNDERSTOOD!

Sharing with a child presents some challenges. Even though we receive permission from the parents to share, they still like to answer for their children and sometimes are surprised and upset when they hear their children really don't understand the gospel.

Little Kira told me she was 100% sure that she would go to Heaven. Unfortunately, she had no idea why she was 100% sure she would get in.

After a very long pause, while I was waiting for Kira to tell me why she would get into Heaven, Dad could not take it anymore and exclaimed...

"YOU'RE SAVED AND BAPTIZED!"

Many times we assume someone else understands, when they really don't. Unfortunately, when the children hear their parents answer, they just repeat that answer and then you have no way to proceed.

When dad blurted this answer out, I let out my frustration...

"AHH!"

I was shocked at dad's response...

"Did I mess up? I'm sorry, I will be quiet."

This usually does not happen. I was thankful dad understood, but still had no idea how to proceed.

I decided to wait about 10 seconds to hopefully diffuse the situation and get a fresh start with Kira. If she repeated her dad's answer, then I would have no way to proceed.

Thankfully, the pause seemed to 'reset' the situation, allowing the Spirit to take control. Kira then told me the truth. She was really only 50% sure of going to Heaven because, 'I have not done anything bad.'

After hearing the law, Kira understood that she had done bad things and deserved to go to Hell. After hearing grace, Kira decided that she wanted to trust in Christ alone and prayed with me...

"HE SAVED ME...I TRUST IN GOD...100%."

HE WAS REALLY LOST!

Lost is lost, whether you are moral and religious, or really have no understanding at all. Dalton was in the latter category.

He thought that God had sinned. He thought that God had a wife. When he was a child, his grandmother had told him that thunder meant God was fighting with his wife. Be careful what you tell your children. He also kept quoting different movies and books. Be careful what you watch and read.

Methodically, point by point, Dalton was beginning to understand the truth. Then, out of nowhere, someone who knew him came in the tent, grabbed him and pulled him away. I have learned to hold these people loosely so when this happens it does not bother me as much.

Maybe ten or fifteen seconds later, I looked up and saw an old acquaintance of mine (Todd) in front of our booth. We smiled at each other and then Todd greeted Dalton!

Turns out, Dalton was Todd's nephew and he had wandered off from their group. It turns out, Dalton was really lost. (LOL) Now that he was found safe and sound, I asked Todd if I could keep sharing with his nephew...'ABSOLUTELY!'

It took some time, but eventually this young man appeared to understand the truth and wanted to place his trust in Christ alone and prayed with me...

"I'M 100% BECAUSE OF GOD. I PUT MY FAITH IN HIM FOR ETERNAL LIFE."

TO BE CONTINUED...

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT!