Who Are You Talking To?
Ministry Update January 26, 2020
A woman stopped her vehicle and yelled at Kelly, “Who are you talking to?” “I’m talking to you ma’am”, was his reply. I loved Kelly’s response and this isn’t an uncommon question that we get when witnessing downtown. You see, cars continuously pass by. People walk by us. In fact, a couple of different times I noticed people about a block South of us and they could hear Kelly open-air preaching and I don’t think he ever saw them. Even when you can’t see someone directly in front of you, there are people milling around downtown and they do hear the open proclamation of the Gospel. Also, they can’t “unhear” what they hear.
I brought a message before Kelly and we both had similar experiences, except my drive by mocker was incoherent. We both also had drivers that revved their engines to try to drown out the preaching. But it was mostly quiet as we suspected it would be considering it was 30 degrees out and felt like 23 degrees with the windchill. Some people took tracts. One guy responded with “No way” when offered a tract. Another couple wouldn’t take one and the young woman smiled and said “No, we’re Christians.” I tried to ask if she knew anyone they could give the tract to, but she didn’t hear me. Kelly and I had a great time visiting as we handed out tracts.
I’m Already A Believer But I Will Pas It On To Someone Else
At Missouri State University on Wednesday I handed out tracts on the way to the witnessing spot. My favorite encounter was when I offered one to a guy who looked at it and said, “I’m already a believer, but I will pass it on to someone else.” I thanked him and loved his response. Before I could suggest that he take one and hand it out, he said that he would pass it on. Had several mockers while open-air preaching. Two guys walked by smirking and one asked “Are you cold?” I told him that I was and they both just laughed. I couldn’t hear what the other mockers said.
The last student that took a tract was the saddest of all. I asked, “Did you get one of these?” She politely smiled and took one. Then she took a few steps and promptly threw it in the trash. Since I was right there by her, I said, “You will give an account one day for doing that.” She ignored me and walked to her car. In Matthew 12:36 (Jesus is speaking) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Think about this, if unrepentant sinners are going to give an account for every idle word that they speak, how much more will you be responsible for when you were handed the glorious Gospel and you callously tossed the words of eternal life into the trash?
(Regardless of how people respond to the Gospel, Christians are called to share the Gospel with others)