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