Noise! Noise! Noise!
Ministry Update February 19, 2017
Friday night was full of noise! Noise! Noise! No, I’m not talking about our little 37 watt amplifiers. I’m talking about the motorcyclists revving their engines and cranking their stereo’s up. Several cars and trucks revved their engines too. It was very noisy downtown. I understand that lost people don’t like hearing the Gospel. The Bible says it is foolishness to those who are perishing. But a lot of this animosity was directed toward us while we were singing hymns. We also heard many hail Satan’s and other derogatory comments.
Erica, Diana, Elise, Serenity, Desire, Aaron, Kelly, Steven, Justin and I still had a great time witnessing Friday night. We sang several hymns to begin with and even more to end the night. Sandwiched in between, Kelly, Aaron and I brought messages. Steven and Desire were tracting machines. Everyone else handed out tracts or held signs. Aaron and Kelly both talked one on one with different people.
Why Did You Flip Me Off?
While Kelly was on the box I was standing near him with a sign that had John 3:36 on one side and John 17:3 on the other. A young man walked by me and flipped me off. I asked him why he did that. He came back and said he didn’t know why. His name is Bobby and he looked at my sign and said that he believes in Jesus. Again I pointed out that he shouldn’t have flipped me off. I tried to explain to him that believing in Jesus is a continual believing, a full surrender to Jesus.
Continuing I told him that Jesus called us to repent and trust Him as Lord. About that time a car drove by and a passenger yelled a cuss word out the window directed at Kelly. Bobby raised his beer and yelled approval. The beer was a strange brand so I didn’t recognize it as being beer. I again questioned Bobby about his claim that he’s a Christian.
No, We Are Not The Universe
Over the next few minutes he alternated between saying he’s a Christian and saying crazy things like God is dead or we are the universe. I asked him how he became a Christian and he said that he was just walking in the woods one day and he had a religious experience with God. So I asked him from that experience, God convicted him of his need to repent and trust Jesus. Then he started back on the we are the universe theme.
So I shared the Gospel with Bobby and pleaded with him to repent and put his faith in Christ. I asked him if there is anything in his life that he isn’t willing to give up for Jesus. He told me that he’s an artist and that he’d never give up his paintings. I tried to get him to see that he needed to fully surrender his life to Christ. He didn’t want to talk anymore, but I was able to press a tract into his hand before he walked away. May God truly convict and convert Bobby.
Skateboard Guy
On Wednesday, Aaron and I witnessed at MSU. We handed out tracts and I brought a message about how rebellious the Israelites were when God brought them out of Egypt. I pointed out that we are just as rebellious today. That we need to repent and trust Jesus. A couple of different guys walked by and mocked me. I just said God bless you to both of them. I think it was the skateboard guy that yelled “Stop giving Christianity a bad name.” I’m still praying about it, but this may just have to be a message for next week. Evidently this young man doesn’t realize that Christians being called Christians originally was a derogatory comment.
(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the glorious Gospel to this lost and dying world)