Busy Week of Street Witnessing
Ministry Update November 6, 2016
We had a great week of witnessing that ended with witnessing on the square Friday night. Kelly was preaching about the reality of Hell while his daughter handed out tracts. A drunk woman came up while Kelly was preaching and she was arguing over sin. Her boyfriend dragged her away and she was cussing and yelling trying to get back to Kelly, but her boyfriend prevailed. I bring this up because God used the angry woman to draw other people to us.
The first one talked to Kelly and he wanted to argue that the Book can’t be trusted because it was written by men. He said that he believed in a Holy God, but not the God of the Bible. We kept trying to understand how you could know a Holy God without the Bible. Later on he said that he believed in God who is a Spirit, but again, he rejected the Bible. After Kelly talked to him for a while, I took a crack at him. I didn’t get anywhere with him and after a while, he became exasperated with me and then Erica started talking to him. Erica did a great job of at least getting him to see that just like our minds direct the pencil to move across a piece of paper, God so directed the men who wrote the Bible.
I Know It’s A Sin
While Erica was talking to the man who rejected the Bible, I struck up a conversation with his friend named Cody. I asked Cody if the other guy was his friend and he said yes. I asked him if he has been drinking with his friend and again he said yes. I asked him if he realized that he was sinning against God by getting drunk and he admitted “I know it’s a sin.” I was amazed that he admitted it so quickly.
He told me that he believes in God and he knows drinking is a sin. I took him to Matthew 7:21 and pointed out that Jesus said Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of the Father. I asked him if he understood that by getting drunk that he was not doing the will of the Father. Again, he acknowledged that he understood this.
So then I jumped down to Matthew 7:23 and told him that Jesus said then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me you workers of iniquity. I told him this is a scary verse and it should really scare you. That Jesus is going to look at you on Judgment Day and tell you that He never knew you, that you were a worker of lawlessness. That you chose the bottle over Him. I told Cody this should scare you. He told me that it does. I witnessed to him some more, explaining that God gave His only begotten Son and that He had nothing more to give. That Jesus is the only way of salvation and I told Cody that he needs to repent and trust Christ.
Is It Ok If I Pray For You?
I told Cody that I pray that God saves him. Then I asked him if I could pray for him and he said that I could. He put his arm around me and I put my arm around him and prayed that God would save him. That God would wrestle with him like God wrestled with Jacob. That God would keep him awake at night and keep after him until he repents and surrenders his life to Jesus. After I finished praying with Cody, he reached out and gave me a big hug and thanked me. I asked him if he has a Bible and he said no. I said “well you do now.” I gave him a Gideon New Testament and suggested that he start with Matthew and read the verses we talked about earlier. Oh, may God save Cody and his friend both.
While this was going on, Aaron was prompted by the Holy Ghost to stop preaching so Erica and I could continue with the conversations we were involved in. Aaron, Erica, Kelly, Rachel, Diana, Elise, Serenity and I ended the night singing a couple of hymns. It was a blessed night on the square and may God bless the tracts that were handed out.
Gay Christian
Before we started the night, a young woman walked up to me and thanked me for witnessing at the Gay Pride Parade. I handed her and two of her friends tracts. As she walked off, she said that she’s a gay Christian. I didn’t hear her, so I asked her what she said and she repeated it. I gently explained to her that we don’t pick on homosexuals. In fact, we name off all sorts of sins, especially those listed along side homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
The guy that was with her was looking at the back of the tract and said he didn’t know if he wanted to go to Heaven because the party was going to be in Hell. I probably shouldn’t have said this, but I told him to go on to Hell then and let me continue my conversation with the young woman. Unfortunately about that time the young woman’s gay grandmothers walked up saying she’s gay, her grandparents are gay and that I wasn’t going to change her mind and they all walked off.
I felt bad for the young woman because she seemed receptive to hearing truth. Even though she had questioned that the Bible was written by men and that there were only a couple archaic references to homosexuality in the Bible. I asked her if she gets to pick and choose what she believes and she said no. That’s when her grandmothers showed up. I really wanted to ask her how then could she ignore those “archaic verses.”
Thursday at MSU
On Thursday at MSU, Allen, Aaron, Brian, Erica, Margaret and a couple of friends of Allen witnessed at MSU at the Bear Paw where we can use amplification. Before I got there, Aaron said a middle aged woman came up and thanked them for being there and for sharing the Gospel instead of the way Jed and his wife witness at the campus. Aaron said a young woman named Billie came up to them teary eyed and asked them to pray for her. It appears that God was working on her and may our gracious Lord continue working on her until he brings her to salvation.
A Little Police Interaction
They were there around five or six hours, but I only joined them for a couple of hours. They took turns preaching and Aaron finished up shortly after I got there. I jumped up and brought a message from John 6:29. While I was preaching we had a little police interaction. Aaron intercepted them. They asked that we turn down the amplifier which Aaron did. Then they asked him to turn it down some more, but the second time he stood his ground. He reminded them that loud concerts are held there at the same spot all the time without any interference. He also reminded them that the Supreme Court has already ruled that we can use amplification and they didn’t argue with him.
Offending God, Not Me
Then one young woman walked by, stopped to listen for a little bit, then she walked off flipping me off with both hands in the air. I told her that she wasn’t bothering me, but that she was offending God, who sent us there to share truth with her. She didn’t like that, so she flipped me off the whole time she walked away. I told her that we will all be witnesses on Judgment Day that we tried to share truth with her, but she rejected it. But most of the time I was there, many students took tracts and we had a very blessed time preaching and singing hymns. May God be glorified.
Witnessing The Wrong Way
Continuing going backwards in the week, on Wednesday, Brian and I witnessed at MSU during the lunch hour. We both preached and handed out tracts. One professing Christian talked to Brian about how we are going about this the wrong way while I was bringing a short message before I had to go back to work.
My Favorite Atheist
The first time I brought a message my now favorite atheist walked by and asked me to tone it down because it was Wednesday. I reminded her it’s not Monday, but she told me Wednesdays were worse. I don’t know why she thinks that. Then she walked by a while later while I was still preaching. She wanted to give me a hug. I know some street preachers shun this, but I don’t mind. For some reason it makes Atheists feel better to hug people, so I let her hug me. After she hugged me, she told me that she didn’t have her engagement ring on, but that she just got engaged. I told her congratulations.
How Many People Get Save Each Year?
Then she reminded me that nobody is listening when we preach. They are just walking on by and not paying any attention. She also wanted to know how many people get saved each year. I told her some people do, but mainly we are planting seeds. I told her that Paul planted, Apollos watered and God gave the increase. I told her that we mainly are planting seeds. I told her in fact, every time she walks by, she is hearing God’s truth.
She really has a good sense of humor, so she told me that she really doesn’t hear that well. I laughed and told her some of God’s truth is being planted in her and that I pray that God uses those seeds and brings someone else along to witness to her further. She actually shocked me by thanking me for praying for her. Then she walked away saying that I really need to talk quieter. So as she walked away, I talked as loud as I was before and said, even though my friend and I have different views and she’s asked me to talk more softly, I can’t do it. I must lift up my voice like a trumpet in the street. She actually turned around and smiled at me. I think she did so because I called her my friend.
Same Woman Who Cussed me Out Severely
What is most amazing about all of this is this young woman is the same one who cussed me out severely last Spring. She said things that no one ever said to me before in seven years of street ministry. It appears that God is softening her heart. She is still a devout Atheist, but our last two interactions have been very cordial. (She’s the same one who offered me part of her lunch two or three weeks ago). Oh may God continue softening her heart even more and May He draw her to Himself as only He can do.
That Book Is A Man-Made Creation
On Tuesday, Aaron and I witnessed in front of Hobby Lobby at noon. No, we weren’t protesting Hobby Lobby, it’s just a busy corner by the Battlefield Mall with a lot of traffic. While I was bringing a message, a guy at the stoplight in the turn lane rolled down his window and yelled “That book is a man-made creation.” I assured him that it isn’t and that this Book calls him to repent and trust Christ Jesus. I encouraged him to do so before it’s too late. Unfortunately, he turned the corner laughing a very wicked laugh. There were a few people walking by, several people waived to us as they drove by. The Gospel went forth and we hope and pray that God was glorified.
(These updates are given to encourage Christians to share the glorious Gospel with this lost and dying world.)