Bible Comes Alive
Ministry Update December 3, 2017
I love God’s word and I love reading the Bible. God constantly reveals truth to us through the Holy Spirit while reading the Bible, no matter how many times we’ve read a passage of Scripture. What’s really fascinating is how the Bible comes alive while out street witnessing. Many times we’ll be open-air preaching and just right on cue, God sends a mocker walking by that confirms His truth contained in His word. It never gets old seeing God proving the reliability of Bible when He makes it come alive.
Friday night Conner and I witnessed downtown during Artwalk. I started us off with a message about why I believe in God. After quoting some Psalms and verses in Job, I quoted Romans 1:18-21 and when I mentioned people suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, a couple were walking past us across the street. The woman promptly flipped me off.
She didn’t like hearing God’s truth, so she proved it’s true by suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. The ironic thing is she came back and just stood there for a minute. After she said she didn’t have a question, she quoted about justice and mercy flowing down like a river and about how we are to be humble. Then she promptly walked away. I assume she was insinuating that I wasn’t being humble because I quoted Romans 1:18-21.
Young Couple Listens For A While
A young couple also stopped in front of me and listened to most of the message. When they first got there, I asked them if they had any questions. They said, no, that they just wanted to hear the Gospel. They seemed to agree with message until I quoted Galatians 5:19-21, the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. The message was about God’s Holiness and our unrighteousness and how Jesus is the only Savior.
When I started quoting the opposite of the fruit of Spirit, the young woman walked away and the young man followed her. It’s a shame, because I wanted to talk to them. We really don’t know if they were believers or not. Earlier when they told me they didn’t have questions, I handed both of them tracts and they both said they had a Bible at home. May God save them if they really aren’t saved.
Conner Preached Next
Conner brought a message after me and I just said Amen the whole time he preached. My friend also talked about Romans 1:18 and following how people suppress the truth in unrighteousness and exchange God’s truth for a lie. He also talked about how we have new desires when we are truly saved and how and God still convicts us and we still need to repent when we sin. A woman driving an SUV actually stopped in the middle of the street to mock him, but I couldn’t hear what she said.
After he finished up, we were getting our stuff ready to head to the square and hand out tracts there. That’s when Shawn walked up to us and said he was sorry that he missed the preaching. I gave him a tract and asked him if he’s a follower of Jesus. He said that he is, so I asked him how he came to faith. He told us that he had an experience when he was a child, but didn’t really get it until he was 32.
Contemplated Suicide And Had A Void
At that time, he had a good career in the Marines, a lovely wife, five kids and a new home. But he wasn’t happy. He even contemplated suicide. Shawn said that he had a void that couldn’t be filled. He cried out to God to let Him know that He’s real and God answered his prayer. Shawn started going to church after that and was convicted that he needed to repent and believe the Gospel. Then I asked him where he goes to church and he told me that his church split. So I asked again where he currently attends and he said they don’t currently attend church.
So I invited him to Crossway Baptist Church and Conner invited him to visit Hope Baptist. Shawn told me that he and his wife came to Crossway when Ken Ham was there. I told him I was there too at that event and told him that we have services at 8, 9:30 and 11 am and that we’d really like him and his wife to visit us. I hope he does. Shawn also seemed excited about street witnessing. He said he used to do the same thing, so I invited him to join us any Friday night. We also hope that he comes out to witness with us.
The Bible Comes Alive Again
Next, Conner and I walked toward the square. We handed out tracts along the way. Two men were walking toward us. The first guy refused a tract, but the second one took it. When he saw that it said Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven, he handed it back to me. (Years ago I wouldn’t take a tract back, but now I do. They will still be responsible on Judgment Day for their refusal of the tract). He gave it back to me because he’s an environmentalist. Again, the Bible comes alive! This man worships the created – the earth rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
We had several more people say “No thank you.” But on the square, we split up a little bit and handed out tracts to different groups. I handed tracts to a guy and two girls. They all took a tract. The one girl looked at, so I asked her if she’s good enough to go to Heaven and she said that she thinks so. (The Bible comes alive once again. Most people proclaim themselves good in their own eyes). So then I asked her how good do you have to be to go to Heaven and she said something like it varies.
She didn’t want to discuss it anymore. Her friend that was on the phone the whole time told me that she isn’t good enough to go to Heaven. I told her I appreciated her honesty. Unfortunately, she was still on the phone. I would have liked to talked to her more. After a few more rejections and some more tract takers, we called it a night. May God convict and convert many of the lost souls we encountered that night and the Bible comes alive through people rejecting the truth because they love their sins as well as believers who love hearing God’s truth.
Prove It
On Wednesday at MSU, I was bringing a message when the skateboarding atheist rolled near me, wiggling his fingers at me like he frequently does. I asked him to stop, which he did. I handed him Tim Stout’s booklet How God Reveals Himself Through Science and said this is the science I believe in. He replied, “I’ve already seen this and it’s bull____.” So I said, “prove it.” (It was actually fun to say this because atheists constantly say prove God exists).
The atheist skateboarder came back toward me and thumbed through the booklet. He was struggling to find anything that he could dispute. So I asked him what his name is and he said Quinn. I told him my name. Then he looked at his phone, so I told him to take the booklet with him, take his time, ask his friends and professors and then get back with me in a week or two. I sincerely want to hear what he thinks is unscientific about Tims’ booklet. If he does get back with me, then I’ll take his question to the author and get an answer from him. I wouldn’t’ be surprised if I don’t hear back from Quinn.
Mockers And Scoffers
After that one student mocked as she walked by, but I couldn’t hear her so I just said “Have a good day.” Another girl recorded as she walked past. When I was talking about Jesus being the only way of salvation, one student smirked the whole time he walked by me and kept looking back at my direction. So I pleaded with the students to not be God mockers and scoffers. Somehow this offended the young man and he started to come back toward me. But then he stopped and went back the way he was walking. May God convict and convert him, Quinn and the other mockers. None of them will be smirking or mocking God on Judgment Day if they die in their sins as unrepentant sinners.
A young girl named Brittany stopped and listened for quite a while. Then she walked up to me. I stopped open-air preaching and asked her if she had a question. She said that she just wanted to know if she could pray for the ministry. I told her you bet! We can always use more prayers. She asked me what denomination that I belong too. I explained that it’s really about sharing the Gospel, wanting people to become followers of Jesus.
Glad To See Someone Sharing The True Gospel
Then I told Brittany that I’m a Baptist and that I belong to Crossway Baptist Church. She shook her head like she wasn’t surprised that I’m a Baptist (but she meant in a good way – as in Baptists tend to be the ones out evangelizing). I asked her where she attends and she said James River Assembly of God. I gave her a Seek and Save the Lost tract and thanked her for her offer to pray for the ministry. She replied that she was really glad to see someone out sharing the true Gospel. With all the mockers we encounter, it is nice when God sends an encourager like this every now and then. To God be the glory and may He direct Brittany’s path . Another encourager stopped and shook my hand before the message ended.
(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others. You too can witness first hand how the Bible comes alive when you tell others about Jesus. Our Lord said you are either for Him or against Him and it is so true. No one is neutral to Jesus. You either love Him or hate Him.)