My family and I were truly blessed last night with the privilege of going to Fletcher, North Carolina to see and hear once again what I believe to be the greatest preacher of at least this century. This great man of God just happens to be the man that the Lord used to lead me to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It indeed was a wonderful time of fellowship and of hearing God's Word. As I said, this man is truly a great preacher and he is also a great soul winner. Now, I have seen and heard this man preach God's Word many times since that wonderful night on Friday the 13th of November in 1992. And I have yet to witness a sermon where I personally was not truly blessed. This is not to say that I haven't had my toes stepped on many times, for I am indeed far from perfect.

I heard a story once of a preacher who was telling a fellow preacher that when he entered the pulpit, he had to look around the congregation before he preached to see who all was there so he would know how to preach. Well, this fellow preacher told him that when he entered the pulpit, he got down on his knees and asked the Lord for direction and then he would stand up and start shooting and then look around to see who all he had hit. Well, the man I just told you about, J. Harold Smith, is just such a preacher. He doesn't compromise the Word of God for any man and this stand for the Lord has allowed the Lord to use him to win countless hundreds of thousands of souls to the Lord.

All of God's spokesmen and spokeswomen should indeed adopt this method of telling others about Christ. You probably noticed that I included spokeswomen and I feel I should clarify that as I don't believe for one second that God has ever called a woman to preach, but when He saves us, He does call us to both witness and to be witnesses and that includes women and children.

You have probably also noticed that I have entitled this little article, " Bubblin' " and you may be saying, "What has this got to do with bubblin'?". Well, for the most part nothing except that I felt I should make it clear that this man who has won so many souls to the Lord has never had to compromise God's Word to do so. Now, this man hasn't limited his soul winning to the pulpit and no matter where he wins souls to the Lord, he uses the very same thing. That thing is the Gospel of Christ.

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Mr. Smith uses this verse of scripture to begin all of his radio broadcasts and this is the very first verse of scripture that I learned after the Lord saved me. I personally believe that this is probably the most important verse of scripture to the saved person found in the Bible. It truly is the Gospel of Christ that is the power of God unto salvation to every man, woman, boy, or girl. No amount of talking that anyone could do could ever cause a person to truly repent of their sins and truly get saved. It has been said that if a man can talk you into salvation, a man can talk you out of it. It has to be the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God that will draw a man unto Him.

I bet you didn't think I would ever get to it. Well, the very second I laid eyes on J. Harold Smith, there was something that caught my attention. That something was the fact that this man had something that was missing in my heart and life. Now, I had joined the church and I had been baptized and I attended church pretty regularly, so I was convinced that I was saved. I had heard a lot about J. Harold Smith before I went to see him that night. But I went there expecting to hear just another sermon. That thing I spoke of that caught my attention that this man had that I didn't have was the pure joy that this man projected.

My little girl used to sing a song that said, "It's bubblin', it's bubblin', it's bubblin' in my soul. It's bubblin', it's bubblin', since Jesus made me whole." Well, the very second I laid eyes on this man, that song popped into my mind. This man was truly bubblin' and it was so apparent that it was not a put on. This man was so full of joy that he was completely beside himself. This was enough to get my attention so that I could hear the Holy Spirit speak to me as this man presented the Gospel of Christ to me.

So many times, when a preacher enters the pulpit, he puts on this, "I'm about to preach mode or attitude" and he takes on an almost phony appearance. So many times when a person is presented with the opportunity to witness to someone, they put on this, "I'm about to witness mode or attitude" and again there is almost a phony appearance. Now, these people could very well be truly concerned with what they are doing, but it serves as a hindrance rather than a help in getting a lost person's attention. As I said before, a man cannot draw a person to the Lord, but it is indeed possible to lead someone away from Him.

Last night as I saw Mr. Smith, I again saw that bubblin' in him just as I have seen it every time I have seen him and you can tell that it's not something he puts on. This is the way he is and friend, if you are truly a child of God, you too have every reason to bubble. I said I saw this in J. Harold Smith the very second I laid eyes on him and I knew that it was missing in my heart and life. Now, I could have just pretended to be joyful and I may have been able to fool some, but I wanted that and he showed me how to get it. I thank him and I praise God for that wonderful free gift that can only come from knowing Jesus in an intimate personal way as my Lord and Saviour.

Now, I'm not a great soul winner like J. Harold Smith yet, but I pray every day that the Lord will use me in whatever way He sees fit and it is my prayer that He will always allow me to project that bubblin' to those that don't know Him. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and all my job is, is to present that Gospel to others as the Lord leads and then it is up to Him to call that person to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is up to that person to heed that calling.

Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal saviour? You know, we are all sinners. You are a sinner and I am a sinner. God loves us so much that He sent His own Son into this world to die on the cross as the final sacrifice for your sins and mine and those of the whole world. The sin debt has already been paid, but the only way that sacrifice can be applied to our sins is for each one of us to recognize the fact that we are a sinner and to repent of those sins and to accept Jesus Christ as our own. If you have not made this decision, I urge you to do so right now. If you believe that you are a sinner and you believe that Jesus died for your sins, just ask God to forgive you of all your sins and ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and life. He will do it as His Word says and you will be saved forever. God bless you.