Friday Night Notes

weary soldiers soldiering on...

All and all, it's been a "bleh" kind of week for me... which probably explains why going on preaching tonight was something less than appealing. Yet, what I lacked in motivation, I made up with commitment, and made my way downtown with pastor Tim, Bible signs firmly in hand.

The market was full of activity tonight; the streets were crammed with thousands of people. There some sort of "Blue's Festival" going on in my city this week, so part of the marketplace was cornered off for a live performance. It was... well... it was loud. Oh, and ungodly too. Loud and ungodly. No wonder thousands of people came down to the market tonight.

While it was disheartening to see so many taking in the ungodly spectacle, it was a great opportunity to preach to so many people. We were literally around the corner from where the concert was and there was a steady stream of sinners who both saw our Bible signs and heard the preaching of the Gospel. The Lord use His Word as He sees fit.

There was plenty of mockery and scorn, but to be honest, I was expecting things to be worst than they were. Usually, big crowds means big trouble. Not so tonight, thankfully. We gave out a fair number of Bible tracts, and had a couple of one-on-one conversations; nothing too promising though.

Brother Alex, a fellow street evangelist, came by to say "hi". It's always good to see a friendly face when labouring in "vanity fair". I thank the Lord for Alex. He is the only one from his church who consistently and faithfully goes out for evangelism. He's not a pastor, he's a young man who has realized that the Great Commission is for everyone, and is doing something about it. The Lord bless him and give his tract distribution ministry great success.

Shortly after brother Alex left for home, a man came by and wished to engage me in a conversation on the so-called "Gnostic epistles" and the legitimacy of the Canon. He started... then he asked me what I thought... I answered... then he said "okay", and walked away. I think he thought he was going to "wow" me with his basic knowledge of church history; poor soul, he walked away looking a bit deflated.

Another man mockingly asked me if I had had "any bites" tonight. I laughed and said: "I am a fisher of men." The man just looked puzzled at my answer. Seconds after he left, Simon Peter's words came to mind:

"Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing..." (Luke 5:5)

Sigh.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism