A Big Mac and a Sermon Please

April 10th my wife and I were busy preparing a dinner for students that bring music to our church. We are a small local church growing and sharing the Gospel within our community. Our music has been provided by several dedicated wonderful young college students from Cedarville University. Once a month for the last 3 months we have fixed them a good home meal to show our appreciation for their loyalty to the church.

Our last dinner we decided to smoke some Boston Butts and have pulled pork. This is a long endeavor taking over 12 hours just to smoke. During the late afternoon we realized we hadn't taken time for ourselves to have lunch. Ah, McDonald's just a mile away I'll run over there real quick. Well, quick it was not! You see, I was wearing a shirt that said This shirt is illegal in 51 countries on the front, and Romans 1:16 on the back.For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

In 51 countries around the world this message is illegal! In fact, you can be imprisoned or even killed for displaying or preaching the word of Jesus Christ the Saviour .

I had ordered and was waiting when an old man, in at least his 80's, said,"Thank you".

I turned and looked at him and he repeated thank you to me. He proceeded to say he too spreads the Gospel and is not ashamed of Christ. Then he noticed the front of the shirt with a small red cross and the message of this shirt being illegal. Immediately he knew it is the message from The Voice of Martyrs. He continued to say how he had met the man who started VOM and what that had meant to him.

He asked if I were a preacher and what churched I pastored. No, I am not a pastor but I do preach the Gospel of Christ to the lost and dying world. I told him of the ministry my wife and I do and how we have committed our lives to evangelism and missionary work. I also said that this shirt may well be illegal here in the United States of America if things keep going as they are. I said we are in the greatest days of apostasy this country has ever known. Apostasy is the falling away from the Gospel, from the Bible, from God. I said how prayer has been taken out of our schools. How there is a movement to control our very thoughts making it illegal in a public place to even think of God. Our thoughts can you imagine? Our Christian beliefs and convictions are everyday being minimized for the sake of heretics. There is an out cry for them to be able to speak as they please but God forbid we speak the truth of the Risen Jesus. We as Christians are being made to silence our voices and have to let the godless to go out of control. We are to stand idly by as those that hate the Gospel slander our very Creator. I went on, One day every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether that be while they are alive on earth or in the bowels of Hell. I hope that all I can speak to make the decision to follow Christ before it is too late. I don't want to see friends and loved ones crying out from a place reserved for the devil and his followers. I want to see them confess Jesus as their Lord while they have the breath in them to do so. The smiling old man looked in my eyes and said he liked my devotion to God and wished me well. I told him how we are preparing to go out and bring revival to America. I told him how this country was founded on the Bible and Godly morals and principles and that is where we need to return. We need to return. Going on I proclaimed how it is not too late. How America can stand once again in God's glory, if as a nation we humble ourselves and seek HIS face. Churches need to make that stand today, they need to say we are of God and no matter what any political group says we will serve God. I told him I did not know how much longer Christ we tarry His coming but we need to win souls for HIM, we need to be vigilant in spreading the Good News that Jesus saves all who come to HIM, "For whosoever calls upon My name shall be saved". "He that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out". The old man just replied quietly and with a tear in his eye,"Amen".

This talk lasted nearly 15 minutes. The entire inside of McDonald's was at a stand still. All the inside customers had put down their meals, the wait staff had stopped working, until one did say the drive thru was backing up. You see this old man was very hard of hearing I had to speak loudly for him to hear. The end results were everyone in the restaurant heard the Good News of how Jesus saves. I learned I am truly not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

My prayer is someone there who heard had the conviction of God's Holy Spirit upon them and gave their life to Jesus Christ. I may be a criminal to some for promoting the Gospel, so be it, I will never quit! I love my King my Jesus.

Looking back this has to be one of my favorite hubs. Not because it was expertly written. Not because it has so many comments given. But, because of the experience it was that day.