Friday Night Notes

urgent need for prayer and fasting...


Just prior to going out for my customary night of street evangelism, I watched a short video on YouTube in which Paul Washer speaks on fasting, weeping and preaching the Word of God. What a blessing brother Paul's teachings have been to me! In the video, the good preacher states: "... the judgment of God is not going to fall, it has fallen! And we need, and all of our fellow humanity must realize our dire need that we are in. But again, that come back to preaching, and the informing of the people. The Law of God must be rediscovered in the Temple!" I can verify brother Paul's assessment that God's judgment has indeed fallen on the land. Oh, it's not famine, war or plagues. It's worse. It's a complete void of the knowledge and fear of God.

I must admit that having the words of Paul Washer fresh in my mind, I was under severe conviction. When I looked upon the faces of those I attempted to minister to, I realized that I had never seriously prayed for my fellow man. Never seriously fasted. Never seriously wept. One can get so hardened, so used to the misery of an extreme sin-culture, that all urgency to call out to God for His salvation has been dulled down. The reality is: things aren't getting bad. Things are bad. Extremely bad. Now is the time for prayer, fasting, and yes, serious weeping. The Holy Spirit save me from my carnal callousness.

There were a lot of souls to preach to tonight due to the start of Winterlude, an annual winter festival in my city. Despite the larger crowds pastor Tim and I gave out very few tracts and only had a couple of one-on-one conversations. The only conversations I had were with a kind saint who thanked me for my efforts, and the other was with an old wicked soul I have dealt with on several occasions in the past (he mocks me with all manner of blasphemies and mockeries, but he usually has a friend with him who genuinely listens to me).

We lost about 45 minutes of preaching time during our three hours of evangelism due to very loud fireworks, which was part of the Winterlude festivities. The bangs were so loud, car alarms actually went off all over the place in the market. Preaching was essentially impossible. So pastor Tim and I both stood on separate street corners with our Bible signs and offered tracts to any who wanted to receive one. It didn't take me too long to start getting cold from just standing around in the frigid wind offering Gospel literature, but the Lord helped me and I was able to carry on.

After the 45 minutes of noise and flashes of light, both pastor Tim and I went back to preaching the Gospel. Our efforts, during that last hour, were met only by mockery and scorn. The hostility demonstrated to us when preaching repentance and faith in Christ never ceases to amaze me. From exasperated sighs, to threatening glares, crude mockeries to all manner of blasphemies, we bore it all tonight; and that, without complaint or the slightest inkling of retaliation. I thank the Lord for His work in my life... I slowly (very slowly) learning to be longsuffering toward my fellow man.

That's all I've got for tonight dear readers. It's been a busy week, and it's time for some rest. Remember Pastor Tim and I in your prayers, dear saints.

Have a blessed weekend everyone,


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

No Notes

it's a cold one out there...

There are no "Friday Night Notes" tonight, dear readers, due to the following two reasons:

1- it's -20C outside (-4F)... -30C (-22F) with the windchill. That's just too cold to be out on a street corner for any length of time.

2- it's our wedding anniversary this weekend, and my wife and I could only go out and celebrate it tonight. So we TOTALLY did!

Have a blessed weekend.


Rand

Friday Night Notes

the loss of godly wisdom...


It's been such a busy week that I couldn't believe it was again time to go out street preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; time just flew by! I've been busy putting together a scientific article at my work (Lord willing, I'll be going to Salt Lake City in the spring time to present some interesting data at an international conference), so I have to admit that I felt a bit off tonight. When things get too busy, I have trouble focusing on matters at hand; whether they be at work, at home, or in the case, in the marketplace.

Nevertheless, I made my way downtown with Pastor Tim, figuring that the Lord could strengthen and give me the wisdom I needed to preach His Gospel. I also figured that a tired and frazzled preacher was better than no preacher at all. I'm sure the ungodly and the principalities and powers of darkness would disagree with my assessment, but what do I care what they think!

At first glance, tonight's evangelistic effort seemed to me to be, well, quite fruitless. I say "at first glance" because I'm all too aware of the marvelous things the Lord can do in the background, hidden from view. That said, it was a real spectacle of ungodliness tonight. A street beggar playing old 1960s songs on a guitar got more attention than the Gospel of Life we were preaching. I doubt I gave out more than 10 Bible tracts in over 3 hours of evangelism. All the conversations we had with sinners turned out to be unprofitable, with most of them ending with mockery and contempt toward us.

The words and actions of the masses in the market tonight were a perfect reflection of the state of society in general in the West. Absurdity. Absolute absurdity. Have you been keeping up on the news? In the last five days, this is what made the news:

- An American weapons company was caught putting Scripture references on their products. There is an absurdity right here, but it does end there. A big brouhaha is created over the small inscriptions on the said weapons (a tempest created by those who hate the slightest smell of godliness), which ultimately are only references like 2Cor8:12, not the actual verse, as if these would aggravate how the Middle East views the West. There's a second absurdity.

- A movie named "Creation" is coming out. Problem is, it's a favorable "bio-pic" of Charles Darwin. Absurd. But I'm not done. The film apparently boasts that Darwin "knowing how incendiary his ideas were, wanted to make sure he had incontrovertible evidence to back them up." Incontrovertible evidence? Really? Absurd.

- A Republican won an election in Massachusetts. The American Christian Right is celebrating. The fact that he calls abortion and gay marriage "settled issues", and that he posed nude in a smut magazine named Cosmopolitan, didn't put a damper on the celebrations. Absurd.

- Pat Robertson claimed that the earthquake in Haiti was God taking vengeance for a "pact with the devil"... enough said.

Tonight I dealt with a young man who thought Richard Dawkins was a very intelligent man and that I would do well to get edumacated by him ('cuz u no, us Chrissians ar a dumm bunsh). I spoke to a young woman who spent 4 years in Bible college but couldn't agree with me that my street preaching was in-line with Scripture, that Jesus preached more about Hell than Heaven, or that God could save men through simply preaching repentance and faith in Christ (I told her she wasted her money on her education). I also spoke to a very, very drunk couple who, after reading John 3:36 on a sign I was carrying, said: "I agree with that! We're with ya!"

There is such a bankruptcy of godly wisdom that I feel overwhelmed by the sheer folly of the wicked all around me. Whether they be religious or not. Reminds me of the following verse:

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3)

The foundations are destroyed. All the righteous can do now is to wait on the Lord for:

"The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright." (Psalm 11:4-7)


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

a question of perspective...

My friend and brother-in-the-Lord, Pete, made a mild complaint last week of cold weather in his neck of the woods. It was 0 Celsius in North Florida. Well, I was thanking the Lord for the mild weather He provided for us street preachers tonight. It was 0 Celsius.

All and all, it was a pretty smooth night of evangelism. We preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the marketplace from 8 pm to 11pm, and I'd say that things only started getting unpleasant at about 10:30 pm (the later it gets in the market, the more dementedly wicked the people get). I gave out a fair number of Bible tracts and lots of people read our Bible signs. Lots of people... and none of them kicked, punched, spat or made any attempt to break or damage the signs. It was a good night.

Even the street beggars were kind to us tonight (they usually don't care for us much, they see us as competition for peoples' attention). A number of these most wasted souls took some tracts and spoke kindly with us. I prayed and continue to pray that the Lord would be pleased to use us to save some of these sin-ravaged souls. What an amazing miracle that would be to behold! I believe and know that my God can save anyone... regardless of earthly circumstances...

"Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." (Isaiah 59:1)

Brent was back tonight. He's the soul that has refreshed me with kindness on more than one occasion... always making sure that I am well and offering a short "pep-talk" to give me courage. The good man spoke to both pastor Tim and I, offering his usual encouragements and then scooting off back home. Please pray for Brent. He definitely likes what we are all about, but I don't think the man is saved. He's been so great to me, I hope to be able to be a help to him, and I truly hope the Lord will save him.

So like I said, a smooth and good night of preaching... and then 10:30 pm arrived. Just half an hour, but what a miserable half hour it was. A group of people walked by me when I was handing out tracts and one of the ladies made sure to tell me that they all hated me and everything I was about (she actually used the word "hate", and all of them nodded in agreement). Moments later, another woman, after reading my Bible sign said: "I don't believe that 'the wages of sin is death.'"

"You will," I replied.

She didn't appreciate my reply. Oh well...

There were plenty of cruel mockeries, displays of hatred, people shouting at obscenities at us... etc... etc. Suffice it to say that I was watching my watch closely from 10:30 to 11 pm, begging the Lord to keep things from degenerating into violence before we called it a night. The Lord answered that prayer with an affirmative, and I am thankful. Very thankful.

That's it for tonight, dear readers. Thanks again for keeping up with my street preaching adventures. God bless you all!

Have a good weekend and a glorious Lord's Day,


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

an exercise in dexterity...


A frigid night of street preaching tonight. It went down to -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit); -20 Celsius with the windchill factor (that's -4 Fahrenheit my friends). Both pastor Tim and I were out in our full winter gear: heavy snow boots, thick winter jackets, heavy mitts and heat packs for my fingers and toes. At first I thought that my gear wouldn't cut it and that I would be one frozen preacher by the time our 3 hours of preaching was done, but I fared rather well.

Street evangelism is such extreme temperatures is quite challenging. For example, I can tell you that after an hour in such sub-zero weather, it becomes difficult say certain words when preaching the Gospel: my lips get so cold, that certain consonants are impossible to clearly enunciate. Also, have a look at the picture above. Have you ever tried handing out small Bible tracts with heavy mitts on? I don't know how many times I nearly dropped my tracts in wet snow tonight, but it was more than five times.

The cold weather also made for a quiet marketplace tonight. We still preached the Gospel to hundreds of souls, but there were a few stretches where no one was around (you don't see that happening in the summer time!). Pastor Tim and I only gave out a dozen tracts each, and pastor Tim was pretty much the only one to have one-on-one conversations with sinners and saints alike; on two occasions, the good preacher was encouraged by Christians. I have to admit, by the end of the night, I was beginning to feel left out! ;-)

I did have a short one-on-one conversation with a wicked soul who came to me with the sad and terribly used idea that I wouldn't be "Jesus-only" if I were born in another land where Christianity wasn't well established. I, of course disagreed. I told the young man that if God was to save me, He would have saved me wherever I was. I also made clear that some of the most faithful and godly Christians in the world are the ones who live in countries where the Gospel is suppressed, and Christians are persecuted heavily. The sad soul had no appetite for my profession, so he walked away, shaking his head. The Lord be merciful.

The only other persons who spoke to me... well other than those who hurled mockery and profanity at me... were a group of three young people. They thanked me for my Gospel work, told me that "I was blessed" and that "the Lord would remember and reward me", but then they walked into one of the bars at the end of the street. "Oh dear..." I thought. They confessed that I was blessed and would be rewarded of the Lord, but as for them, well, none of that! Trade it all away to play with the world. Again, the Lord have mercy.

I did witness a rather funny one-on-one conversation between pastor Tim and an old Romanist. It wasn't really a conversation because pastor Tim just let the old man talk, figuring that any discussion would be a waste of time. The old "you need to preach more positively" came out, along with some "don't speak of judgment and sin", and a dash of "God wants to save, not judge". I tried hard not to laugh while I watched pastor Tim do his best not to roll his eyes. When the old man was done with his monologue, he walked away and I just couldn't resist saying:

"You heard the man! Now shape up preacher!"

LOL


Rand

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

oh yeah... winter is here!!!


I may have said that the temperature was cold last week, but it was down right balmy compared to tonight. It dipped down to -16 Celsius (or 3 Fahrenheit, for my American readers), and there was no mistaking: winter has arrived in Canada! Pastor Tim jokingly said: "Well... just 4 months 'till Spring!"

The cold weather undoubtedly was to blame for the low traffic in the marketplace tonight. Christmas shopping and get-togethers usually draws many, many souls in the market, but not this time around. We preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to a few hundreds of people, but no more than that. All and all, it was a quiet night of evangelism.

A number of souls however heard something of our preaching, nearly everyone who walked by us read the Bible signs we were carrying, very few took a Bible tract. There were a few mockers, a couple of Christians had kind words for us, and we had a bit of fun with a city bylaw officer (no really... it was all fun and games). Nothing really bad to report... but then again, nothing really good to report either. Oh! that the Lord would cause a great spiritual awakening in my city/country! How I would joy in writing a post on how the Lord worked salvation and sanctification through the preaching of His Word on the streets of the capital!

The Lord's will be done.

There was a sweet moment in the middle of our three hours of preaching: a young lady who works in a restaurant near our preaching spot listened attentively to my preaching as she was outside having a cigarette. Once her smoking break was done, she made her away across the street toward me and said:

"It's pretty cold tonight... I work at the restaurant across the street... could I get you a cup of coffee?"

My heart melted (such kindnesses toward us are few and far between). I told her that I was alright, but thanked her repeatedly for her empathy and kindness toward me. She walked away without saying a word, I let a "Merry Christmas!" out before she went back into the restaurant. The Lord be merciful unto this young lady.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

After that sweet moment, there was a ridiculously funny one. A man walked by Pastor Tim as he preached about sin nature and total depravity of all men. With a smug look on his face, the man turned to me and said:

"I don't sin, I'm human."

I laughed. He didn't stick around so I was unable to help the poor soul understand that he was indeed both human, and a professional sinner. Poor soul.

And on that note, I'll close this edition of the Friday Night Notes. Please note that for the next two weeks, there may not be any evangelism reports since my family and I will be visiting family on both Christmas day, and New Year's. If the Lord opens a door for me to do some evangelism over the next two weeks, I'll be sure to give you all word of it!

Dear readers, have a blessed Christmas Season, remember the Lord Jesus Christ and be safe in your travels.

God bless you all!


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

all pretty wretched...


Well... there was snow on the ground for our night of street preaching. Winter is definitely here, I'm afraid. It was cold tonight, but not terribly so. Pastor Tim and I were able to preach the Gospel for nearly three hours, and only called it quits because I needed to go back to my workplace to fix a misbehaving mass spectrometer.

The picture attached to this post was one of the few (the very few) blessings I received from people in the market tonight. A group of young people had lined up near one of our Gospel signs and sang beautiful Christmas hymns. I stood nearby, offering people Bible tracts and enjoyed the wonderful sound of praise to our God. I didn't get a chance to speak with any of these good souls... I get the feeling the cold wind got the best of them after a few minutes of singing. The Lord bless them for their sacrifice of praise to the Living God, and that, in the sight of all men.

The night, in general, was pretty wretched. There was even a great deal of sadness surrounding the small choir in the picture above. Most of the people who walked by them, ignored them. Some even mocked them. It was an awful sight... and what made it worse was the sight of another musical act just down the street, attracting some devoted fans: a guitar-playing drug addict singing old Beatles songs. He got nothing but praise. What a mess!

The "highlight" of my night came when I dealt with a drunk homosexual who came after me with the incredibly cerebral argument of "You're a sinner if you eat shrimp!" (a reference to the the dietary restrictions in the Mosaic covenant). After doing my best to keep my eyes from rolling back into my skull, I explained the Gospel to the scorner who showed his appreciation by telling me not to judge people (I had yet to point out any particular sin), and then the wretch grabbed me by the collar and gave me a fat smooch! Can you say... DISGUSTING???

Wretched absurdity.

A short time after that nonsense, I was forced to find another spot from which to preach from because a couple a men decided to use the parking garage behind me to smoke marijuana; I can't stand the smell of pot. As if the drugs weren't bad enough, one of the men kept spouting off anti-Semitic slurs that annoyed me so much, I thought it best for me to leave. I remember him saying:

"Jews are evil man! They control the world with credit. They're organized and evil."

To which I responded that drug users, in my book, were evil. They didn't say anything. So I took a parting shot before walking down the street to another preaching spot:

"You're in really bad shape my poor friend, all that hatred toward Jews... and it will be a Jew who will one day judge your soul."

Deafening silence was once again their response.

In closing, I must say that there were a couple of upsides in tonight's street preaching endeavour:

1- There were more people in the market tonight than last week, and that, despite the cold weather and snow.

2- Due to the larger crowds, we gave out a few more Bible tracts.

3- A woman did drive by us as we were making our way home with our Bible signs, and called out to us with a "Praise God! The Lord bless you men!"

The Lord use our efforts as He sees fit. May all glory, honour and praise be to the Living God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen, and amen.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism