RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

One of the most unusual evangelistic meetings I’ve ever conducted took place in the Moscow airport. We were on our way to Siberia for evangelistic meetings when the airline told us our flight was delayed for three hours. Then we were told it would be delayed for another three hours. We kept being told the same thing — for three days and nights.
We camped out at the airport and slept on top of our luggage. We were dirty, tired, and almost exhausted. After two days my interpreter, Vladimir Daniella, said, “Sammy what’s in Siberia that’s not here?”
I was a little bewildered. “What are you talking about, Vladimir?”
“We’re going to Siberia to preach to people who need Jesus,” he said. “There are people in this airport who need Jesus. We can’t get to Siberia right now. Let’s hold our crusade right here.”
“Here?” I said. “Now?”
“Sure. Why not?” he said. “Come with me.”
I followed along sheepishly. When we arrived at a large group of people, Vladimir said, “Okay Sammy, you preach.”
I began preaching. I saw tears running down people’s faces.
Vladimir then said, “Sammy, you must ask people to come to Christ.”
I challenged the people who were listening to come to where I was standing and pray with me. Many got up and came to where I was standing and asked Christ into their hearts.
After we had finished, we were finally able to leave on our flight to Siberia. But when we landed, we learned there had been a snowstorm. All of the roads were closed. We had no way to get into the city.
That was no problem for Vladimir. He witnessed to everyone in the airport. He finally came to me and said, “Sammy, I have good news. The operations director for the airport has called a helicopter to come and get us.”
Soon the helicopter arrived. We rushed into the helicopter and were followed by twenty other people. Vladimir immediately went into the cockpit to share Christ with the pilots. After a few moments, he came back, sat beside me, and quietly said, “Sammy, when the helicopter lands, the pilots will leave the door closed for ten minutes and you can preach to everyone.”
We held an evangelistic meeting right there in the helicopter. Vladimir was a new Christian. I learned a great lesson from him: a lesson about simplicity of faith. The apostle Paul once wrote, “but I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Vladimir had a simple and pure devotion to Christ. What about you? Have you lost that simplicity and purity in your devotion to Christ?