I’m Not Really Up For This Whole Preaching Thing Right Now
Ministry Update April 23, 2017
“Did you guys get one of these tonight?” “What is it?” “It’s a Gospel Tract.” “Do you believe in Jesus?” “Yeah.” “You do? Have you repented and put your trust in Him?” “I’m not really up for this whole preaching thing right now.” Sadly, the young lady that said this, had missed the preaching. Aaron, Joshua, his son, Serenity, Cody and I were just singing hymns to end the rainy night of witnessing downtown. So I really wasn’t preaching to her.
Sadly, I had just walked over and handed her and the guy that she was with both tracts, asked if they believed in Jesus to which she had replied “Yeah.” I say sadly because if a stranger asked me if I believe in Jesus I would answer enthusiastically YES and I’d happily talk as long the other person wanted to talk. For someone to say they believe in Jesus and then immediately reply I’m not really up for this whole preaching thing right now, doesn’t really sound like an excited follower of Jesus. No, it sounds more like a false convert.
False Converts
Unfortunately, Springfield, MO is full of false converts and that’s one of the main reasons that I go out street witnessing. Too many people are counting on some kind of one-time religious experience and because of that, they think they are saved. Following Jesus is a daily denying yourself, picking up your cross and following Jesus. It’s not a one and done type of event. I look forward to reading the Bible every day. It’s not a case of oh, I’ve read the Bible. That’s not the question. Are you still reading it? Do you still desire to draw closer to God? Does sin grieve you? Oh professing Christian, examine yourself and see if you really are in the faith.
We started the night the same way we ended it, by singing hymns. When we were singing What Can Wash Away My Sin, a young man named Byron stopped for a minute and sang with us. Aaron handed him a tract and invited him to sing the next song with us, but he said that he had to keep going. But we always love it when strangers just stop and join us singing hymns.
After we initially sang hymns, Aaron and I both brought short messages. It was raining Friday night, but there were still people walking around and through the square. We also know that some of the residents in the apartments on the square hear us too. At one point Aaron looked up and noticed someone watching from their apartment window, so he pleaded with them to come to Jesus. He also did the same thing with a couple that stopped across the street and listened for a bit. While he was preaching, Joshua saw a group of three or four young men walking by, so he quickly ran over and handed them tracts and got into a Gospel conversation with them.
Buzzed By A Skateboarder
Aaron, the Craft family, Allen and Bob witnessed for several hours on Tuesday afternoon. Then Brian and I witnessed at MSU on Wednesday during the lunch hour. We both brought messages and handed out tracts. We had two mockers and one encourager. One mocker yelled at me as he rode by on his bicycle. Then while I was still preaching, I was buzzed by a skateboarder. He got so close to me that he actually hit my Bible as turned at the last second to keep from hitting me head on.
After we finished up at our usual spot we walked over to the back of the student union. A preacher named Josh from Texas was preaching. His wife came over and talked to us. While we were talking a young woman stopped and told us how we were going about this the wrong way. She believed students didn’t need to hear about Hell and God’s judgment, but just about God’s love. So I asked her to pretend that I was lost and asked her to witness to me. She explained to me that I needed God’s love. I told her that I was happily married, had a successful career and that I was an independent person. That I’d made it my whole life without God and didn’t need Him now. So again, I asked her how she would convince me that I needed Jesus and she said that at this point she would ask if she could pray with me.
Favorite Atheist At MSU
After that Brian started talking to her and a few more of her friends stopped to talk. Brian is more mild mannered than a lot of us open-air preachers, so hopefully he made some headway with her. Then my favorite atheist Emily walked up. She was the one who really mocked us a couple of Friday’s nights ago. That night she told Kelly that she was bisexual and she previously told me that she was engaged. So I asked her which is it and with exasperation she said it’s both.
Then I asked her if that meant her fiancé could have sexual relations with anyone that he wanted to and she got really mad and told me that they were faithful to each other. (I guess I’m too old because if you are faithful to one person then I don’t really see how you can be bisexual). I think young women say that they are bisexual just because they think it is the culturally correct thing to say. She got upset with me. When I told her that I really didn’t understand, she apologized to me. Emily said just because she likes looking at women doesn’t mean that she has physical relations with them. Since she apologized for being mad, I took the opportunity to hand her a tract and she took it and said that she’d put it with her collection of other tracts. May God prompt her to read them and may He convict and convert her.
I offered tracts behind the student union. Most students refused tracts, but the young man pictured above took a tract.
(Witnessing doesn’t always go the way you anticipate, but that doesn’t mean you should stay away from it. On the contrary, Jesus told us to go into all the world and share the Gospel with every creature. Are you sharing the glorious Gospel in the world where you go?)