Friday Night Notes

cold and wet...


It was good to be back preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the market. I've missed the last two Fridays of street preaching, so despite a steady light rain, I purposed to go out for some serious evangelism; I get too rusty if I let more than two weeks go by. It's quite the discipline and hard work, this business of street preaching, but I thank the Lord my God every Friday that He has made a street evangelist out of me.

My night of evangelism didn't start out too well. It rained steady during our first hour of preaching, and we got a short visit from a less than favorable police woman. She told me I was being too loud and that I was causing "a disturbance" (there was no one around at the time). It was clear that she didn't like my preaching and that she was hoping that a little intimidation would get me to leave. I rolled my eyes, muttered a "good grief", and went on with my preaching. Probably realizing she didn't have a legal foot to stand on, the officer left, though she did drive by a number of times, glaring at me at every opportunity. The Lord have mercy on her.

This exchange reminded me of the great evangelist, George Whitefield. Now there was a man who knew how to cause a "disturbance" with his open-air evangelism! Check out this excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Benjamin Franklin once attended a revival meeting in Philadelphia and was greatly impressed with Whitefield's ability to deliver a message to such a large group. Franklin had dismissed reports of Whitefield preaching to crowds of the order of tens of thousands in England as exaggeration. When listening to Whitefield preaching from the Philadelphia court house, Franklin walked away towards his shop in Market Street until he could no longer hear Whitefield distinctly. He then estimated his distance from Whitefield and calculated the area of a semi-circle centred on Whitefield. Allowing two square feet per person he realized that Whitefield really could be heard by tens of thousands of people in the open air."

Moments after that nonsense, a young man walked up to me as I was preaching and ordered me to "shut up". When I asked him what was the problem, the young man said nothing. So, I went back to my preaching. Somewhat annoyed with me, the man started asking me to tell him about Jesus; this wasn't an expression of interest, he was trying to find some fault with whatever I had to say. After putting up with a few of his "gotcha" questions (he never did "get" me), I asked him if he had been drinking. The young man was a bit erratic and I didn't want to waste my time on someone who was under the influence of alcohol.

"No, I haven't been drinking," the young man answered. "It wouldn't make sense for me to be seeking God while I'm drunk."

"You're right," I answered.

A couple of more "gotcha" questions came up, and that's when the young man got close enough to me for me to detect the stench of alcohol on his breath. So I stopped all the questioning and whispered to him:

"You're a liar."

"What do you mean?" the man said.

"I'm going to ask you again: have you been drinking tonight?" I replied.

The funny thing about our conversation was that he was doing his best through all sorts of questions to find fault with me, and in two simple questions, I had found fault with him. I suggested that he go home, sober up, and make it a point to seek God with all his heart. He was quite annoyed. He said he would come back to talk to me some other day when he was sober. I guess we'll see.

Pastor Tim and I were blessed by the encouragement and kind words of a Christian woman who showed up during our second hour of evangelism, and a man named Nathan during our third hour of evangelism. The Lord bless them abundantly for they have seriously refreshed a couple of weary preachers.

It was during our second hour of preaching that I shared a few words with a street beggar named René. He claimed that the Lord had saved him from heroin addiction and alcoholism. He was genuinely pleased that I was preaching the Gospel, but I was disturbed by his begging and the company he kept (men that I know for a fact are drug users and alcoholics). Not having any proof of sin however, I took the man's word and encouraged him to keep seeking the Lord. I will no doubt be seeing him in the weeks ahead... the Lord help him and save him!

In our final hour, pastor Tim and I had a few short one-on-one conversations with sinners... some good, some not-so-good. One woman stands out in my memory. She was an elderly woman, and it was clear as she walked toward me that she had a bee in her bonnet. She quickly snapped at me with:

"All religion is good for is causing wars!"

I laughed. Then I said:

"You were just itching to spew out the nonsense, weren't you? You feel good getting that off your chest and 'setting me straight'?"

The woman seemed a bit annoyed by my assessment of the situation. I tried to show her the distinction between false religion and carnal lusts which creates "wars and fightings" (James 4:1), and the Living Faith which only breeds peace and righteousness (2 Corinthians 13:11). She would have none of it, so she walked away angrily. The Lord, again, have mercy.


And that's all I have to report for tonight, dear readers. Please remember Pastor Tim and I in your prayers, dear saints. The cold season is upon us here in Canada, making street evangelism all the more challenging.

Have a blessed weekend and a glorious Lord's Day, dear friends.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

No Notes

sicky-wicky...

I was unable to go out street preaching tonight, due to a nasty cold.

Please continue to pray for pastor Tim's preaching efforts.

Have a blessed weekend everyone,


Rand

No Notes Tonight

family business...

Hello dear readers,

There will be no street preaching reports from me tonight. I will be away this weekend visiting family.

Remember Pastor Tim in your prayers, he will undoubtedly soldier on in my absence.

Have a blessed weekend,


Rand

Friday Night Notes

safely through another Friday night...


"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

On several occasions tonight, pastor Tim and I could have been in, as the Psalm states, "in trouble". Thankfully, the Lord delivered us from every danger that came up. On one particular occasion I was able to disarm (used figuratively) a very drunk, very dangerous man who had no problem with harming me or my property. On another occasion, we got a little help from our friends... the police (nothing too dramatic... but it was sure nice to have those men come before things degenerated).

Whenever we go through nights like tonight, I always start to wonder how in the world I ever got into the business of street preaching. It sort of make sense for a man like pastor Tim. He's tough, both mentally and physically. Then, there's Rand. No toughness there. None. Yet, there is little doubt in my mind, that the Lord directed my steps to this most difficult, most noble, and most neglected of ministries. The Lord use my efforts as He sees fit, for as long as He sees fit.

It rained for much of the afternoon and early evening, so I didn't think we'd actually make it out to the market for our customary night of street evangelism, but the Lord stopped the rain just in time for our evangelistic effort. I didn't expect there to be a lot of people in the market since the weather was less than favorable for "a night on the town". I was however surprised with just how many souls were out and about. Don't get me wrong, all and all, it was a quiet night in the market, but we still shared the Gospel with hundreds, if not thousands in just a few hours.

During our two-plus hours of street preaching...

- a couple of Romanist priests walked by with their fine clothing and their nose stuck high in the air... no doubt making sure to look down on the practice of our "crazy sect".

- I dealt with a very drunk, violent man named Patrick. I was able to speak peaceably with him for a few minutes, but after those few minutes, Patrick became quite antagonistic and well... the word forceful comes to mind. Using a bit of cunning and sweet diplomacy, I was able to leave Patrick on somewhat good terms... in one piece to boot!

- both pastor Tim and I had a conversation with Catherine, the yoga-for-Jesus, Romanist, I-only-say/do-things-that-feel-good, "Christian". Pastor Tim didn't have much time for Catherine, so he not so subtly left her to me to handle. So I let Catherine talk... and talk... and talk. After a 10 minute monologue in which Catherine listed all the wonderful works she has done over the years, she concluded by saying: "It's just that I don't think you'll get what you want by preaching like you are doing." When I asked her what it was she thought "we wanted", she answered: "I-don't-know". Seeing that this was a problem, she asked what it was we were after, to which I answered: "God's glory". She claimed to want the same thing, but it was clear she hadn't the foggiest what that entailed. She then went back to pastor Tim and he spoke with her for a good 15 minutes. The Lord give this poor woman the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)

- a sharply dressed man showed up while I was preaching and shook my hand. He said: "You probably don't hear this often, but I'm really happy you are here, and I love what you're doing. It must be really hard, but we need men who will preach the Gospel. I really appreciate your efforts."

- as we made our way back home after nearly 3 hours of Gospel preaching, a man knocked on the window of one of the pubs we walked by to get my attention. He felt it necessary to give me the middle finger... can't win them all I guess. ;-)


On that note, I'll end this edition of the Friday Night Notes. I'm exhausted from a very busy week, so I'm going to bed now. Remember me in your prayers, dear saints... I'll be preaching the evening service on the Lord's Day.

Dear readers, have a blessed and safe weekend,


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Stormin'

see you next week...

Pastor Tim and I were unable to go out street preaching tonight due to an impressive wind and rain storm.

Have a great weekend, dear readers.


Rand

Friday Night Notes

Lookout! Mr. Popular coming through!


Even after 10 years of street preaching, it is near impossible to anticipate just what will happen in the market. No way of knowing whether I will be in grave danger, or if I will simply be ignored. I try not to dwell too much on what 'might' happen when I prepare for a night of street preaching, but for the most part, I can't help it. My mind just naturally wanders into possible scenarios, all sorts of scenarios, from great fires of revival to the severest of persecution, and everything in between.

Well, nothing could prepare me for the largely warm reception I received tonight. No, there were no 'great awakenings', sadly, but there was an appreciation for my efforts. A refreshing change I must say!

As I made my way downtown, my John 3:36 Bible sign firmly in hand, I met up with Emily, a young lady who attended some of our meetings a couple of years ago. She was on her way to some kind of special church service, but made a bit of time to chat with me. It was nice to catch up. After a short conversation, she took off for her activity, and I moved toward the old preaching spot. By the time I made it to my preaching spot, two other souls expressed their approval of my Bible sign. One man even said:

"Those are Words of Wisdom... good stuff!"

I have to say that at that point, I was feeling like a rock star! Way too much praise in way too short a time... I confess that I kept thinking that everything would go sour before my first hour of preaching the Gospel ended, but to my surprise, it totally didn't. If anything, things went really, really well.

A young lady came by to ask me why there was an Old Testament and a New Testament, and also wanted to know what "being born-again" was all about. I showed her, using the account of the Exodus, how the Old Testament was picture of New Testament truth; in essence, how the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. She saw right away. I then went on to explain that while everyone in the world was and is born once, but that we are all born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). I then pointed out that those who are born-again are those whom the Lord makes spiritually alive, through the reading or hearing of God's Word. She seemed quite pleased with my explanations and thanked me before leaving.

The young man who was by her side didn't care much for me however. He made sure I felt his disapproval with an austere look as I spoke to his friend. When she walked away, the young man pointed to my John 3:36 sign and said:

"I think that verse is wrong... I don't think I believe that."

"I wouldn't believe it either, if the Lord hadn't saved me," I replied.

Moments after this conversation I met a brother-in-the-Lord, a man named Paul, who was handing out Bible literature with the Open-Air Campaigners. We had a pleasant conversation I encouraged the brother to continue to faithfully work at the Great Commission. He wanted to have my church's coordinates, so we could have fellowship at a later date... I hope the Lord of the Harvest is preparing another faithful worker!

It was well into my second hour of street preaching, when I met a Romanist fellow by the name of Michael. We spoke about the demise of church attendance and what a shame that was but I made sure I didn't leave it at that. I told him that after reading the Bible, I could no longer be a Romanist (that always shocks them). I asked him if he spent quality time studying the Scriptures, and the answer wasn't at all surprising:

"No, and come to think of it, hardly anyone in my catholic family reads the Bible," the man answered.

I explained to the man that he needed to start reading the Scriptures. I told him to stop blindly following the teachings of men, and to find out for himself what the Lord has revealed. He agreed that he needed to do that. Let us pray for this lost soul.

As the third hour of preaching drew near, I was getting seriously cold; temperatures are dropping up here in Canada! I did however have a conversation that was somewhat funny, and the humour warmed me up some. A young man wanted to know what I was up to with my big John 3:36 sign...

"I'm preaching the Gospel of Jesus, my friend. Do you believe the Gospel?"

"Of course, I'm as right-wing conservative as you can be!" the man answered.

"Well, that's nice, I'm right-wing and a conservative, but listen, plenty of right-wing conservatives are going to spend eternity in hell," I said.

"No way," the man said, clearly disturbed.

"Look, if you're not born-again, I don't care how right-wing or conservative you are, your sins will sink you to Hell, guaranteed," I continued.

"Well, I went to Bible camps, and I go to church every Sunday, and I just don't believe you really need to be born-again," the man obstinately continued.

"You've been to Bible camp?" I said. "Great, so you know something about the Bible! You surely know that there is a book in the Bible called the Gospel of John, and in the third verse of the third chapter of that Gospel, Jesus said: "Except a man be born-again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." What do you make of that, my friend?"

"You f*%$# guy, you!" the man replied.

And here I laughed and laughed. You have to understand, the man did curse, but he wasn't really cursing at me, it was more like: "Oh man, did you ever get me there!" Anyway, despite the Scriptures being crystal clear, the young man still claimed that he was 'alright' without the Second Birth. To that, I said:

"Hey! my friend, suit yourself. I'm not going to win any prizes or awards because I've convinced you of the Truth. This whole conversation is for your benefit, not mine. I'm telling you how it is. This is what the Bible says, if you don't like and want to continue in whatever you think is right, go right ahead, it really isn't on me."

The young man appreciated my candor, and I know that deep down, he knew his position was contradictory and unbiblical. He shook my hand and went on his way. The Lord be merciful unto him.

Shortly after this conversation, I made my way back home where my wife was waiting up for me with a warm bowl of soup to thaw me out. Praise God for caring wives!

That's the notes for tonight, dear readers. Have a great weekend, and a glorious Lord's Day.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

No Notes

another rainy Friday...

Sorry dear readers, it is raining once again this Friday evening. Neither pastor Tim nor I went out to preach in the marketplace. Hopefully the Lord will give us a good Friday of preaching next week.

Remember pastor Tim and I in your prayers, dear saints... we will be having very busy weeks ahead.

God bless you!


Rand