There have been a lot of strangers who I have told the gospel to, and many of them were deeply affected by those words. Whether or not they stuck and changed their life, I can't say for sure. I think it's impossible for someone to hear the gospel in love and not have it affect them in some significant way.
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Abstract, but I agree AAA+, 1000% , because I believe STRONGLY in the Holy Spirit bringing influence and direction and, of course, help since Jesus said He would give us a 'helper' in His absence from Earth (ascent to Heaven, of course, we know !
) And, to help me the HS is surely helping others too , as I speak, He works. The power of God is sooo great.
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I have a story that I can tell about my influence (whose influence ?
) on a stranger. I've done various help things in my life, as the Lord leads, and, God's worked greatly in those situations like a Friday night in downtown Tacoma a few years back. I was there along with a bunch of churches all collaborating to feed soup and drink and a little soul music on a outdoor stage.
Two things happened this night, first, before I began helping serve street people I went for a walk on my own to see what/who was out there. I met a guy who was buff and tough, 6-4, 240, I was not buff like him. Anyway, I said 'Hi' and just made small talk before telling him I was helping with food for meal put on by area local churches. He then said he wanted to teach me a move from karate . I said ok and he proceeded to put me in a headlock after twisting me around. I was helpless but after a couple seconds he let me go. So...that is how that went as I left that area . Probably should think nothing of it, but I thanked God he let me go from a two-second, long duration, headlock .
Leaving there, I was walking back to main church party a couple blocks away. And, on my way back, I met a guy, clothes hanging off him ruffled and uneven, and, breath sauntering the air with alcohol. I decided to stop.
'Hey, hi, how are yoy doing?' , I said.
'Mmman, I am doingfine. Can't youttell,' he said through slurred, disconnected words. 'What youdoing?'
I said I was helping do a meal service, 'you should come over.'
He declined and so I offered to say something more because I believe God does amazing things through us when we are in situations like this.
'You know God,' I asked.
As he told me 'I know of him,' I told him more and after speaking with him 5-10 minutes I left and he thanked me for what I said (I said?
)
I helped out with the meal and that Friday night ended. The details are a little sketchy but I know the church did this meal for downtown Tacoma homeless every Friday night and I went back the next Friday and helped. And I went back the next Friday. All this time helping serve food, meeting homeless people, even the buff guy, who I could see was popular with other homeless, showed up. He, I could tell then, was a street people leader, he said hi to me . I went to this Friday night inter-church meal volunteerism event four Fridays in a row and as I was leaving the fourth Friday to go home to my car, there was this guy walking on the sidewalk toward me....
He was smiling, beaming is more like it. His hair together like Tony Danza's (who's the boss 80's tv show) or Robert Pattinson, for those needing someone more recent, or, Joel Osteen look. Point is, this guy was a sharp-dressed man. I mean, every if you girls would be crazy as ZZ Tops' bearded men and wouid like just, like me, thought that this guy COULD NOT be the same guy that I met my first Friday night on the street downtown, drunk as a sailor.
But....
It was !
He just started gushing how God changed his life in the three weeks since I saw him last.
'I am back together with my wife and three kids. I am a mechanic and I am back working at a shop. I just want to thank you for what you said . It helped me see that I could change.'
I should say too he hugged me and I just was thanking God , starting to show tears. I couldn't't fight the feeling inside me anymore.
God is so good, peeps
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