Friday Night Notes
It was an up-and-down kind of night, as far as evangelism was concerned. I was on my own tonight (Pastor Tim is out of town spending some quality time with his son and grand kids), with a pocket full of Gospel tracts and a Bible sign in hand, right there on a street corner in the marketplace. Downtown was busy enough, but not as busy as I figured it would be considering the warm weather and clear skies.
The first hour of my evening of evangelism was less than stellar. A woman walking by with her boyfriend fastened her eyes on me and my John 3:16 Bible sign and gave me the finger. No idea why. I didn't think asking for an explanation was going to be a very profitable use of my time.
Moments after that encounter, an elderly man, in a snarky voice, pointed out that he appreciated my "quiet preaching" (I wasn't preaching at the time, I was just handing out Bible tracts). He scoffed and rejected my Bible tract offer, and walked away, his nose pridefully up in the air. The Lord have mercy.
My second hour of evangelism didn't start out too well either, as I started feeling physically ill. Not sure if it was the humidity or if I'm slowly coming down with something, but I felt week and queasy. I did my best to shake it off and pressed on with a second round of Gospel preaching. An Iranian immigrant came by as I was preaching and took one of my Bible tracts. She claimed to be a believer but judging the way she was dressed, I had my doubts. She shared with me various problems and hardships she was going through and how she needed the Lord to help and uphold her. I encouraged her to get close to God by joining a sound, Bible-preaching church, and invited her to our church on the Lord's Day. She said she would come by on Sunday. I hope she does, as I hope the Lord will save and sanctify her.
Right after this conversation I ran into David. I met David for the first time a few months ago, he was high on drugs, but at the same time, knew he was in big spiritual trouble. I encouraged him to leave the wicked downtown environment, head home and start seeking God in prayer and in the Bible. I was shocked to see him take off for home that very second, and I was hopeful that perhaps the Lord would do something for the young soul.
Tonight, David had a bunch of Bible tracts in his hands. He was labouring with the Open-Air Campaigners and he had obviously been spending time in the Bible. He seemed to have made some progress spiritually, but the more we spoke, the more I was concerned for him. I don't think he's having a great deal of success over his addictions, and he is definitely tormented by various fears. Bottom line: I'm seeing evidence of a man who is trying to self-reform by religious works. He asked me to pray for him, and I promised I would. I encouraged him to build and work on a real relationship with the Living God, through Bible meditation and prayer. I hope he will again receive and follow my advice.
During my third hour of evangelism, I dealt with three lesbians who were for the most part, totally ignorant of the Gospel of Christ. I explained God's New Testament commandment that all were to repent (change their minds) of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The women weren't too disrespectful (there were a few shenanigans), they took a few Bible tracts and went on their way. The Lord save them out of their ignorance, unbelief, and immorality.
With roughly thirty minutes left to my night of evangelism, I decided to walk around downtown with my Bible sign; there were so many people walking the streets, and many more sitting on outdoor restaurant terraces, I figured that taking my Bible sign around would be a good way to show forth the Word of Truth to many, many souls. I was, of course, mocked by many, scorned by others. I did however get some encouragement:
"God bless you, my brother," one man said, while driving by in his car.
"You're on your way to Zion, my friend," another man said. (I think I replied something like: "Can't wait to get there!")
That's all I have to report for this week. Remember me in your prayers, dear saints, as I will be responsible for all preaching duties at church this Lord's Day.
Have a blessed and safe weekend...
Rand
Labels: Friday evangelism
Jake… how long has it been? A couple of years now?
It’s a shame that you haven’t gained much wisdom in that time. You are still quite quick to charge God with unrighteousness. It’s like you took lessons from James/Taffy, the troll who still visits my blog weekly just to blaspheme. I really hope one day, you will learn the valuable lesson Father Abraham learned: “Shall not the Judge of the whole Earth do right?”
There are a lot of reasons why people come to religion. Some need to feel included in some social club. Others need a feeling of justification despite continuing in their sins. I wish everyone who came to my church were, in your words, “trying hard” and “praying much”, for those actions are proofs of the Second Birth. Without the Second Birth, no one “tries hard”, or “prays earnestly/honestly”.
I mentioned in my post that I spoke at length with David. I learned many things about what he believed, and about his general way of life. I didn’t include much of our conversation in my post because I feel I need to keep such information confidential. Suffice it to say that the two godly actions you ascribe to David, well… I’m really not sure those are happening.
Anyway, I think I’ll leave it at that. You’re not really looking to understand. You’re just looking to kick dirt on my faith (“... lovingly decided to torture for all eternity…” - that’s cute, really).
Wonder why you’re doing that again after such a long hiatus… you bored?
I was waiting for my computer to finish processing a BLAST search so, yeah, bored. I was reading a blog post that made me think of you:
http://www.patheos.com/community/slacktivist/2011/08/01/we-too-fall-with-it/
This part was especially striking:
"[St. Augustine said,] "We should not rush headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it.”
...
He wasn’t actually writing about science, but about the way we approach and interpret the Bible. Specifically, he was warning against a prideful overconfidence in the way we interpret [it]"
Heh hee.
Is it too easy to point out that quoting such statements at someone else is simple enough? Applying it to oneself is where wisdom lies. You read that quote by Augustine and thought of me. When I read such quotes, I think of… well… me. Not Jake, whom I have had nothing to do with in roughly 2years.
I judge myself routinely, Jake. As the Bible commands me to do so (Matthew 7, 1 Corinthians 11… just off the top of my head). I really don’t need your help.
I know all too well how long BLAST searches, MASCOT searches and other database matching algorithms can take. Surely, you can find something better to do with your time than good-old-fashion mockery?
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I wonder about David. What if he's not one of the elect? If he is one of the billions that God has lovingly decided to torture for all eternity then, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he prays, he will never be saved. How sad for him.