Friday Night Notes

winning souls for... the community???

It was a cold, miserable night for street preaching.  A frigid, humid wind blew through the marketplace all night, and my spring jacket offered very little warmth under those conditions.  Nevertheless, I pressed on, determined to give a full three hours of street evangelism for the first time in weeks/months.

I made it to the market a good hour before Pastor Tim (he was on a date with his wife... celebrating 44 years together), and I wasted no time, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and handing out Bible literature.  By the time Pastor Tim showed up, I was seriously shivering from the cold, wet weather.  He immediately took over preaching duties while I warmed myself in the nearby parking garage.

Crowds were obviously smalled tonight.  Still, up until 9:00pm-9:30pm, there was a pretty regular flow of people walking by our preaching spot.  I handed out a fair number of Bible tracts and both Pastor Tim and I had a few chances to speak one-on-one with lost sinners.  We didn't face too much opposition from the Lord's enemies tonight, though the same old wicked guitar player was up to his antics again; howling and yelling all manner of mockery toward us and against the Gospel of Truth.  The Lord deal with him as He sees fit.

I had a long conversation with two men who professed to be believers.  I knew from the get-go that there was something a bit off about these men, but as is my custom, I gave them the benefit of the doubt.  They said they were part of a community of believers called the "Twelve Tribes".  Both men were fairly knowledgeable in Biblical teachings but one of the men was definitely the leader; he was the most vocal.  I would even say he was borderline aggressive.  We spoke about a number of Biblical doctrines and practices and I found myself agreeing with them alot, but the conversation kept being steered to "loving each other IN UNITY" and "having all things IN COMMON".  I started suspecting these men were some sort of Christian Communists, and as it turns out, I was pretty much right.

After a good 20 minutes of us agreeing with each other and both men expressing their respect and admiration for my way of life, the chief man pointed to my John 3:16 sign and boldly proclaimed that my sign, my evangelical effort and my very Christian walk wasn't Christian at all!  I was lost and not doing God's work because I wasn't bearing fruit.  I wasn't bearing fruit because I didn't love the brethren.  I didn't love the brethren because I didn't sell off everything I had and moved in with them in order to provide for their needs, physical and spiritual.  I have to admit I was both amazed and disturbed at the same time.

So, after confirming that with the men that my lost estate could be traced directly to the fact I wasn't part of their "community", I made sure to point out that I believed this to be heresy and that I believed they erred greatly concerning the faith.  I ended the conversation pretty much there because I didn't want to waste the whole night arguing with cultists.  Still, I was glad I took the time to learn about these guys.  It is a rare thing to see these cult communities actually coming out of their enclaves to reach out with their message in the public place; so their beliefs and practices are rarely well understood.  In 20-30 minutes, I came to understand exactly where their faith, which truly seemed Christian, got all messed up... this is from a pamphlet they gave me:

"Community didn't save me in the sense of forgiving my sins.  No, Yahshua did that.  But this life does save me in the sense of making me fit to rule and reign in His Kingdom with Him.  It (the Community) saves me daily as I'm trained to love."

You notice above how Yahshua, or Jesus, has a co-redemptor: the Community.  Enough said.

Pastor Tim also had a short, pointed conversation that was something to witness.  I watched as the good preacher dealt with a drunk homosexual who has caused us some trouble in the past.  The lost soul was far gentler tonight, probably due to the fact that he was in a drunken stupor.  Slurring his words, he tried to express his exasperation toward Pastor Tim's preaching.  That's when Pastor Tim turned his attention to him and with a gentle yet firm tone, he said:

"I see you every Friday night, drunk out of your mind... and I believe I know why you do that to yourself... it's how you deal with the awful mess and shame of your life.  By your wickedness and your perversions, you likely brought shame not only to yourself, but to your father, mother and your siblings.  You don't have to continue this way.  If you will call upon Jesus right now and ask Him to make things right, if you change your mind about how you are living your life right now, if you follow the Lord, He'll make you clean, He'll save your soul."

Again, slurring his words, he tried to express how he didn't appreciate Pastor Tim judging him.  He even made an attempt at citing Matthew 7:1.  Even the drunkards can cite Matthew 7:1.  Too bad none of them keep reading down to verse 20.

The Lord have mercy on this poor lost soul.

There were a few other conversations, a few other notable events I could report, but I'm too tired now... it's time for some rest.  Remember us in your prayers, dear saints.

God bless you all,

Rand

"Therefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." (Acts 20:26-27)

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

getting busier...

By late evening, it got pretty chilly but without a doubt, spring is here! That will make Bible street preaching a whole lot more comfortable. Spring time will also increase our audience by a whole lot; we easily had four or five times the crowds we had over the winter. As we endeavour to bring the Gospel to these souls, we hope and pray that this year will be a year of revival and awakening in the Capital.

Pastor Tim and I were only out preaching for a little over two hours (I have an important engagement tomorrow morning, so I needed to be back home in good time tonight), but many souls were presented with the Gospel in that short amount of time. Pastor Tim had good one-on-one conversations; one with an ecumenical Catholic, the other with a Muslim woman who sadly, didn't know much about her own religion. I had an unprofitable conversation with a couple of young men who wanted, at all cost, to present the God of the Bible as contradictory and ultimately, the author of sin. I was gracious and attempted to give an answer for the Faith, but seeing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, I simply walked away.

I can recall two women who, when walking by me as I handed out Bible literature, said a heartfelt: "God bless you! It is really good, what you are doing here tonight." The Lord bless them and reward them for their kindness and love of the Truth. Not too many of that sort in the marketplace on Friday night!

Another unexpected blessing: none of our Bible signs were knocked down, kicked or spat at tonight. That is a rare event indeed. I was really pleased by this break from the usual. You have no idea how it annoys me when someone messes with our Bible signs.

The wicked guitar player was at his usual post, mocking us and disrupting our preaching as best he could. The Lord reward him according to his folly. Despite his best efforts, both Pastor Tim and I managed to present the Gospel to the people who passed by us. For that, we are thankful.

All and all, it was a good night of evangelism. I hope the Lord will give us many other Friday nights like this one in the months ahead.

God bless you, dear readers...

Rand

Ps: Both my wife and I are doing much better, health-wise. I really want to thank all of you who have prayed fervently for us. Your prayers were answered!

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

back!!!

After a month of continual upheavals, it was good to be back downtown, proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would categorize my overall health (and my wife's) as improving, but still rather fragile, so I'm easing my way back in. I lasted roughly two hours, and at that point, I knew it was time to go home.

The marketplace is beginning to get busier. With the week of above seasonal temperatures that we just experienced here, the streets of the market have filled with a steady flow of people heading to restaurants and bars; giving us the opportunity to share the Gospel with many souls.

Sadly though, most of the souls we ministered to were quite hostile toward the Lord and His Word. There were very few conversations, and I handed few Bible tracts (though Pastor Tim mentioned that he had given out a fair number). Most grimaced as they read our Bible signs, other mocked, and a few lifted up their nose at us, insulted that we would dare to point out their need of the Gospel. These are dark days in Canada. The Lord have mercy.

Tonight was the first time that I can remember when we didn't bring our 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Bible sign with us. My hope was that we wouldn't have to deal with insulted sinners kicking down our sign tonight. In its place we brought another sign which had John 3:16 on one side, and John 14:7 on the other. We left the sign for less than 10 minutes, and it was kicked to the ground. Did I not say it was dark days?

There was a bit of good however. Just like the last time I was out street preaching, I met a couple of Arab Christians who blessed me greatly with words of encouragement. It's always good to see that the Gospel is powerful enough to break the spiritual chains of Islam.

With that, I'm off to bed. Again, I thank all of you who have been praying for us over the last few weeks. Your support over the last few weeks were a real blessing. Lord willing, things will begin to get back to normal soon...

God bless you, dear readers.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

God's strength... made perfect in weakness...

It was an eventful night of street preaching. There is much I could report, but sadly, I don't think I'll get a chance to even scratch the surface...

The night didn't start out too well. The wicked beggar with the guitar was at his post yet again tonight. His persecution is unrelenting. From "singing" little tunes in which he compares us to scammers, all the way to his calling me a pedophile of all things, I must admit, it was difficult to keep a good Christian attitude.

After about an hour of watching souls reject the Gospel (often with mockery), the Lord refreshed me by having a group of eight fellow believers come by with some encouragement. These beautiful brothers and sisters are from and Arabic church in Montreal and were in town on a visit. We had some fellowship time, took a couple of group pictures and they even shared some cupcakes they had just bought from a fancy shop near our preaching spot. It was a real breath of fresh air!

Feeling somewhat energized (could have been the sugar in that cupcake!), my second hour of evangelism just flew by. At that point, I was quite able to block out the mockery and scorn of the guitar player, so the preaching of the Gospel went mostly unhindered. A couple of wicked souls tried to knock our Bible signs down, but I was quite surprised at who didn't try it. I mentioned last week how a disgruntled homosexual had taken the habit of knocking down our signs, and how I stopped him last week... well he was back tonight. He walked up to one of our signs, I stood right behind him, figuring I would have to put a stop to him again. To my surprise however, he read the sign, and simple walked away. Praise God! I hope this is a new, more civilized trend.

The marketplace was quite busy. It's been quite mild lately, so people are more inclined to come downtown for various activities. Pastor Tim and I handed out a fair number of Gospel tracts and hundreds (if not thousands) read our Bible signs. We didn't have a great deal of one-on-one conversations, but who knows what the Lord could still do through those tracts and the Word that was read or overheard.

By the beginning of the third hour of evangelism, I started feeling exhausted. I started praying that the Lord would strengthen me for the final stretch, and decided to run up and down the stairs of the nearby parking garage in order to warm up and stay alert. That ended up being unwise. I came back to my Bible sign feeling weak and disoriented. I struggled, but I managed to finish the third hour at which point I told Pastor Tim that all was not well with me. The good preacher kindly drove me home and I seem to be recovering from whatever ailed me. Not sure what's going on... could be exhaustion... it's been quite busy these last few weeks. A little prayer from my brothers and sisters probably wouldn't hurt (hint... hint...).

Anyway, that is why my notes will be short tonight. I need to rest now. If I can, I may add a little addendum to this post sometime over the weekend.

Have a blessed and safe weekend, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

one for the powers of darkness...

It was a tough end to a tough week. A number of setbacks throughout the day had me tied up in the lab until 8pm, which means I was over an hour late for street evangelism. When I finally caught up with Pastor Tim downtown, I noticed someone had knocked down one of our Bible signs (seen here). I suppose it was a foreshadowing of how our night of evangelism would go.

As I put the sign back up, I realized that it was our John 3:16 sign. That really struck me. It wasn't the usual 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 sign which often generates anger because it reminds the wicked that their actions are sinful, and those sins will be punished. No, now it's John 3:16 that gets tossed.

It's getting bad out there.

We struggled all night with adversaries who drove us from our preaching spots. A wicked beggar with his awful guitar playing, a deranged man who yelled out obscenities at everyone he laid eyes on, and an employee of a nearby bakery all took turns at mocking and disturbing us to the point we had to walk away. On a couple of occasions, both Pastor Tim and I wanted to stand up for ourselves and show a little fight, but the Holy Spirit kept us from such folly. Not always easy this business of not rewarding evil with more evil.

Nevertheless, we soldiered on. We endured the cold (as frigid wind blew into town around 9pm... it was pretty nasty), tried to not pay any mind at the laughter/obscenities, and preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We handed out a fair number of Bible tracts, and a couple of Christians did come by to encourage us, which is always much appreciated. The Lord use our efforts for His honour and glory, and may he richly bless those who blessed us tonight.

Rand's tough-guy moment of the night: a drunk homosexual that Pastor Tim and I have often dealt with in the past walked past the good preacher as he was teaching. I could tell he was eyeing one of our Bible signs to do some damage, so I made haste and stood next to the sign. When the wicked soul took hold of the sign to knock it down, I swiftly pulled it out of his grasp. He never saw me coming... his shocked look was priceless. He then told me that our sign was in the way, and that if I didn't remove it, he would call the police. I said: "Go for it." He then pulled out his phone, and pretended to look for the number, but after a few seconds he realized I wasn't at all intimidated. He walked away quite annoyed.

Lord have mercy on him.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

(Short) Friday Night Notes

helping mass specs, and sinners...


I had my jacket, my boots, and my gloves on. I was on my way downtown straight from work for our night of evangelism. However, I just couldn't go without having one more look at the lab, to make sure everything was in order. I wasn't in the lab two seconds, and my gloves and jacket came off. The instruments in the picture to the left were not behaving at all. It took me two extra hours to get everything patched up.

Throughout that extra two hours, I regularly tried to reach Pastor Tim by phone, but there was no answer. Seems we got our signals crossed, he assumed I wasn't available for evangelism tonight, so he planned a couple of personal visits (which is why there was no answer at his house). It was 8:30pm when I finally left my work, and not wanting to go a whole two weeks without an evangelism report for you, dear readers, I made my way to the market. I always keep a stack of Bible tracts in my coat pocket, so I had some equipment with me for evangelism.

I found a street which had a steady flow of people and started offering tracts to those who walked by. I was surprised at how many tracts I gave out in an hour. The flow of people was pretty steady (there were a lot of hockey fans in the market tonight... my city is hosting the NHL All-Star Game this weekend). I even found myself offering a tract to François Gagnon, a sports writer and TV analyst for the Montreal Canadiens; sadly, he turned down my offer.

Nothing much else to report. I was glad that I was at least able to hand out some tracts and not have totally lost my Friday night of evangelism. Hopefully, next week, the good preacher and I will be at our post, proclaiming the Gospel of Peace to a very wicked, lost generation.

Remember us in your prayers, dear saints.

Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

the pope is an antichrist!!!

We got a good shot of winter the last couple of days, with two solid days of snow as you can clearly see in the above picture. I thought the snowed-over roads would discourage many people from coming downtown... I thought Pastor Tim and I would be pretty lonely in the marketplace, but there were a fair number of souls walking the streets of the market tonight. We handed out a number of Gospel tracts and had a few one-on-one conversations. A better night of evangelism than I anticipated.

In my first half-hour of preaching, a young lady stood across the street, listening intently to my words. After a few minutes she came over with some questions about my evangelism and about the exact nature of the faith I was proclaiming. She was quite honest with me, telling me that she had no faith, but found people of faith interesting. I was able to give a short Gospel message to her and a friend who joined her moments later. She truly appreciated my words, and her friend concluded that I was: "the sanest preacher she ever spoke to!"

After completing our first hour of evangelism, the temperature starting dropping and the wind began to be a factor. The good preacher and I alternated warming ourselves in a nearby parking garage while the other carried on with the Gospel work. I prayed that the Lord would keep those who would harm us or our Bible signs away... the marketplace can be a dangerous place when unbelievers see that the preacher is alone. One man spat on our 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 sign and another tried to rip my Romans 6:23 sign from my hands, but I held on tight. A few short minutes after, the same man tried to do the same to Pastor Tim but even at well over 60 years of age, his grip is as good (if not better) than mine! Other than those three incidents, the rest of the night went pretty well.

During my round of preaching, a Muslim man came by to challenge me. It was pretty funny. He had all his anti-Christian arguments ready to go... he figured he was going to show me... poor soul, he left pretty confused. His problem was that in his mind, Christians were synonymous with Romanism. You should have seen his face when I said: "The pope is an antichrist! He is a really, really evil man!" All his "anti-Christian" arguments were actually "anti-Romanism" arguments, and when I pointed that out to him, and continued to point to the Bible as my sole authority for faith and practice, he was speechless. He walked away one confused man.

In our last hour of evangelism, Pastor Tim and I both dealt with a homeless man who had read one of our Bible tracts. He said that God would never judge or condemn him, no matter what! He said nothing could change his mind on that and quickly walked away, perceiving that Pastor Tim and I had an opposing point of view to present. We watched him go back to his panhandling, to his misery, and barring future grace, his condemnation. A sad sight.

Moments before leaving the market I had a quick word with a young mocker who pridefully exclaimed: "God's a fake!" I told him that he would regret those words on the judgment day. He stood in front of me, surprised that I had responded to his folly. I couldn't believe how effeminate he looked. I don't think he was a homosexual, but the Justin Bieber hair, the little cigarillo between his fingers, and his general disposition was, well, feminine. Kind of disturbing. His friends encouraged him to just walk away, which he eventually did after dishing out a bit more mockery. The Lord have mercy on his soul.

And that pretty much sums up our night of evangelism. I thank the Lord my God for His protection on us, and that we were able to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ on yet another Friday night.

God bless you, dear readers. Have a blessed and safe weekend.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

saved FROM our sins...

It was good to be back at our post tonight, for our customary night of evangelism in the downtown marketplace. Much quieter than in the summertime, but we still ministered the Gospel of Jesus to hundreds of souls with open-air preaching, tract distribution and holding forth our Bible signs. I trust the Lord was glorified.

Not much to report tonight. Pastor Tim had a couple of short one-on-one conversations with curious souls, I had but one, and it was of the unprofitable sort. I spent most of our last half-hour of evangelism enduring the ramblings, false charges and diatribes of an annoyed guitar playing pan-handler. The wicked soul was unimpressed with our Bible signs and berated Pastor Tim whilst he tried to preach the Gospel. So I suggested to Pastor Tim that he preach a little further down the street, while I offered myself as a target for the foolish persecutor. It was a long, long twenty minutes I have to say. At first I was called a hypocrite, then a hatemonger, a liar, and to cap things off, I was told that I was just looking to be a martyr to satisfy an ego trip (don't ask how that makes any sense... arguments against the Gospel get pretty wacky when sinners make things up as they go).

We gave out a good number of Gospel tracts tonight. Pastor Tim and I prayed that the Lord would use these throughout the weekend to save the lost.

I thank the Lord for a relatively soft winter night weather wise. It was about -9 Celsius (or 15 Fahrenheit) which is cold, but in Canada, not terrible. I thought I'd be able to make it through the night without heat-packs in my gloves and boots, but that was folly. After an hour in the cold breeze, I sought and found a dry spot in a nearby parking garage where I pulled out a couple of heat packs and threw them in my boots, and two others in my gloves. It did the trick.

Watching many souls walk by tonight, obviously unconverted, I thanked the Lord for saving me. Had it not been for His grace toward me, there would be no difference between the lost souls of the marketplace and myself. Praise God, Jesus died for me!

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

let it snow!!!

It took awhile, but we have snow on the ground! Just a dusting... but it's a start. For the first time in a long time, I was actually prepared for the cold and snow: a pair of gloves with heat packs in them, my winter boots, a few sweaters, winter jacket and a hat. Unfortunately, not everyone in the market was prepared. You have no idea how many drunk women in high heels I watched slip and fall on their behinds tonight.

The response to our evangelistic effort was quite varied. There was some good, and some not so good. That said, the Lord helped us much. We kept warm, we preached the Gospel for a good 3 hours, and spoke face-to-face with a few lost sinners who had questions. I trust my God was glorified by our work.

After my first half-hour of Gospel preaching, a young man named Dominic came with some questions. He professed to be an agnostic, and wanted to know how I dealt with "God's apparent cruelty". I wasn't sure what he meant at first but after a bit of questioning I realized he meant "eternal condemnation". I explained that God's nature itself necessitates judgment and condemnation. His attributes like righteousness, holiness and justice required the wicked be judged and condemned, and that any compromise on God's part would destroy his perfect attributes. I then went into the Gospel message and showed forth God's perfect love and mercy toward lost sinners. The conversation was a good one. Really good.

After a few minutes however, another young man by the name of Taz showed up. Taz cut into our conversation and attempted to discredit everything I said. He was quite snarky and condescending. He spoke like Jeff Goldblum, snippy little diatribes, separated only with "uh... uh... uh...". Wanting to be "the bigger man", I just let him talk. I didn't defend myself or lose my temper. I just prayed for the Lord's help... and I got it. What happened next was most impressive. Dominic, the agnostic, looked at Taz and said:

"What are you doing? Why are you being so sarcastic and condescending? This guy isn't doing anything wrong... definitely nothing worthy of contempt."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Not only was an agnostic sticking up for me, but Taz totally backed down and was apologetic. Never saw anything quite like that! At that point, Dominic and Taz started speaking of various philosophies, trying to understand the nature of morality, faith and happiness. It was quite the conversation. I contributed very little to their exchange, but when they wanted to hear what I had to say, I replied:

"My friends, I don't feel I'm well equipped to comment on the various philosophies you've been debating for 10-15 minutes now. All I know, for sure, is that Jesus died for me. He saved me from sin and misery 25 years ago, and by His grace, I have saving faith, the Holy Spirit is working sanctification in my life, and I am the happiest man on Earth. That's why I'm here tonight. The Lord has done so wondrously in my life, and this work is my reasonable service."

Neither of them had anything to say at this point. Taz shook my hand and bid us "goodnight", Dominic and I conversed a little more before he took off as well. Both men said that I had given them much to think about. I truly hope this is the beginning of wonderful stories of grace.

I'd say the first hour of our evangelism was the best. We handed out a fair number of tracts and the street preaching went on without much opposition. Both Pastor Tim and I spoke briefly with Christians who were walking by, and answered a few questions from curious souls.

By the second hour, we started receiving more mockery and scorn. From F-bombs to grievous blasphemies, we heard it all. An Eastern European woman, at one point walked up to me, just to make it clear that she "didn't care at all about the Gospel". An older gentlemen suggested I read some of Christopher Hitchens' works to "edumecate" myself. I replied that poor Hitchens knows a whole lot better today, sadly.

At 10:30pm, we called it a night and headed home. On our way back to Pastor Tim's house, I thanked the Lord for enabling us to serve Him tonight. It's rarely easy. There so much unpleasantness to endure, but as Hebrews 4:12 puts it: "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." I know Someone who has though, and I hope to serve Him all the days of my life.

God bless you, dear readers. Have a blessed and safe weekend.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

you meet all sorts...

Winter street preaching is definitely here. Had all my winter gear on this evening, for the first time this year, to keep me warm for our customary three hours of open-air evangelism. The colder weather is probably to blame for the thinner crowds (compared to last week), but still, we easily preached to hundreds of lost souls tonight. The Lord use our work as He sees fit.

We dealt with all manner of people tonight, and by this I mean all sorts of wicked crazies (and I'm not using that word lightly). Consider:

- While I was preaching the Gospel, a couple of homeless drunkards decided to have a seat and enjoy a drink just a few feet from me. They professed to be believers and referred to their cheap booze as "holy water".

- A young lady walked by me while I was distributing Bible tracts and seeing my Bible sign said: "My friend stole one of your signs awhile back, took it while you weren't looking!" She said this with a "take-that" tone in voice, obviously pleased that her friend had defrauded us. Pastor Tim had had a sign stolen when he was out by himself a year or so back, so it is quite possible that this young lady was speaking the truth. What I found remarkable was the joy and contentment that crime brought her. I'm sure that in her mind, she honestly believes she is a "good person"... makes you wonder what makes a "bad person".

- Two French ladies walked by me and after reading my Bible sign they said to one another: "It's Friday night, not Sunday Mass!" ('cause God only exists for an hour on Sunday... apparently)

- Had a conversation with a couple of French guys who wanted to know if my evangelism was a mandatory practice of my faith. They weren't mocking, or being insulting so I told them that my Christian service wasn't mandatory; it was and is my "reasonable service". They asked me a few more questions and my answers seemed to surprise them, as in, they were surprised I was logical and reasonable. One of the guys, before leaving, hugged me.

- Tonight's street music was provided by a couple of young men with harmonicas. It was a welcome change from the vile guitar player we usually have to put up with. That is, until about 9:30pm when one of the men put away his harmonica and decided to "rap" for 40-45 minutes, a rap which made use of the f-bomb as noun, verb, adverb and adjective. Only two words could describe it: vulgar and annoying.

- On our way back home, Pastor Tim and I were approached by a very drunk young man. He asked us to speak to him about the Gospel. So we attempted to do so. I say we attempted to do so because the young man never let us get beyond "sin", or more specifically, "his sin". At first he seemed to reject the notion that he was a sinner. We pointed out his obvious drunkenness, and that for that one sin alone, he was guilty before a holy God. Well, that offended him to no end. He went off on an angry diatribe, and seeing no point in carrying on, Pastor Tim and I walked away as he continued to spew venom.

I believe I said this before... some Friday nights more than others (but all of them at varying degrees) are carnivals of demented wickedness. I often come back home on Friday and it takes me an hour or so to just get over the folly and evil I've witnessed. Before falling asleep however, I usually remember that without the salvation of the Lord, my plight would be no different than the lost souls I've endeavoured to help in the market. My closing prayer usually begins with...

Thank you, Lord...


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

meh...

Hatred for the Gospel of Christ and disdain toward God's Word is pretty much all we saw tonight. It's tough to write a post after such a lousy night of evangelism. I know that the Lord could still use our efforts tonight to work out something truly glorious, but as of right now, it's all pretty miserable. For the most part, people sighed, hissed and grumbled at the mere mention of Christ and His Gospel (literally). Even our John 3:16 sign generated mockery and scorn!

Despite the negative responses, Pastor Tim and I soldiered on, preaching the Gospel and handing our Bible literature for a good three hours. We were thankful to the Lord for the mild weather, which brought out larger than normal crowds to the market. We easily ministered to thousands of lost souls tonight.

It truly was a carnival of wickedness. From the mocking laughter of bar-hoppers, to the lesbians who rolled their eyes at me, to the punk/goth teenagers who, in a drunken stupor, cursed God with many vile words, it was all pretty sad. A precious few souls took some literature, and fewer still had a good word to share with us. A couple of souls, professing to be Christians, gave me a "God bless you", but a quick glance at their general conversation/way of life, had me seriously questioning the veracity of the their claims.

I could write more, but I think you get the picture. Pretty miserable night. I'll close with an earnest request that prayers be made for the people of my city, and for us evangelists labouring in this hard environment.

Have a blessed, safe weekend, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

Reminder: it's a wretched world...

It had been some time since Pastor Tim and I had had a Friday night of open-air evangelism... it was good to get back at it! We set up at our usual preaching spot with our new sandwich-board Bible sign (see above), and preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for a good three hours. The market wasn't terribly busy, but we certainly preached to hundreds of people; the Lord use our efforts as He sees fit.

It was a cold night (-3 Celsius), and generally the hearts of the people were just as cold and hard. There were no kind words for us tonight, just mockery and hatred... in both of Canada's official languages. On a few occasions, I observed people pointing us out to friends and with disgust in their voices saying: "Christians." Amazing how in just a few decades in Canada, the label "Christian" has gone from admirable to revolting.

I also overheard people refer to us as "the Jesus-guys" on more than one occasion. One woman actually asked how many years Pastor Tim (she called him the "Jesus-guy") had been preaching in the marketplace. I answered the question hoping the good preacher's many years of service would invoke some sort of positive response. No such luck. I will say this though, being labeled a "Jesus-guy"... totally fine by me.

I'm trying hard to remember one good thing that happened tonight, and the only thing I can come up with is seeing Sal, a police officer/friend of ours. Other than that, it was pretty miserable. Alcohol and drug abuse, immorality, blasphemy, idolatry... you name the sin and I assure you, it was well represented in the market tonight. The Lord have mercy on our ungodly city.

Just as our night of evangelism was ending, Pastor Tim and I had a rather animated discussion with a Roman Catholic who was none too pleased with our evangelism. We did our best, using the Scriptures, to show the errors and heresies of Romanism, but none of it mattered to the man. He wouldn't even look at the Scriptures. Our discussion ended with him F-bombing us (now that's good religion!). Pity.

Please pray for us, dear saints... tomorrow is the Santa Clause parade, and Pastor Tim and I are planning to "participate" (if you catch my drift).

Have a great weekend everyone,

Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Just A Few Notes

what a work-week!!!

This week has been a crazy one at my workplace. Two of our mass spectrometers (very, very expensive lab instrumentation) experienced serious technical difficulties which required my intervention. A lot of overtime was done, and alot of money was, and will be spent to fix to complete the repairs. I spent the day and a good portion of the night staring at images like the one above (they are called "mass spectra"), so I didn't have much time for evangelism tonight.

That said, at about 9:30pm, I left the lab and before catching the bus home, I took a small detour to the marketplace and distributed some Bible tracts. The market was busy enough; I gave out a fair number of tracts in a little more than half-an-hour. I spoke to a young man named Julian, a student who is actually working in a lab in my building. He and I have spoken before about the Gospel of Jesus and I was pleased that he continued to show an interest in the things which pertains to the Scriptures. He took one of the Bible tracts I was offering before taking off... I hope and pray the Lord will save him.

The Lord use the little I was able to do tonight for His own honour and glory!

Have a blessed weekend, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

descent night of evangelism...

We nearly cancelled our night of evangelism due to rain, but by evening, the rain was really light, so we pressed on. It was wet and damp, a bit cold, but the Lord helped us complete another three hours of street preaching for His honour and glory.

For a rainy night, the marketplace was busy enough. We had a steady flow of people walking by our Bible signs, some took some of our Gospel literature, and we had a number of one-on-one conversations with lost sinners. All in all, a good night of street evangelism.

I spoke at length with three men: Liam, James and Clay. Liam had a battery of questions for me, from "why am I preaching downtown?" to "how does God affect your daily life?". He also asked questions about my life in general and was surprised that I was, in his words, "a real dude!" I was kind of funny. By answering his questions, Liam and his friends got a pretty good Gospel presentation from me; I hope the Lord will be pleased to save them!

Pastor Tim also had a few conversations with souls that had a genuine interest in the Gospel. I saw him shake hands with a number of people who offered him encouragement or simply came for some answers. Both of us heard "God bless you!" on a number of occasions tonight; some of those came from polite unbelievers, but many came from saints. During our last half-hour of evangelism, I even had a young couple, Evgeni and Rachel, come over to pray for me! And as if that wasn't enough, as this dear couple asked the Lord to bless me and help me in prayer, Pastor Tim, a block away, was visited by a group of young Christians who, you guessed it, formed a circle and prayed for him. The Lord bless and reward richly these dear souls for refreshing us evangelists.

The night did have its challenges though. The wicked guitar player that has been plaguing us these last few months was at his post again tonight, mocking and blaspheming. Pastor Tim and I agreed that it was best just to ignore the wicked soul, but when he yelled at me tonight, mockingly asking me to preach to him, I couldn't resist:

"Okay," I began, "you are a miserable, wicked sinner. You need to repent and be converted to God."

"Bah," he replied, "I may be a wicked sinner, but I ain't no hypocrite!"

"No," I said, "you're a hypocrite too!"

At that point, the wicked soul began walking away, heading for a pub I had seen him go to on a number of occasions in the past. Again, I couldn't resist:

"You go blow that money on drink now!"

The inside joke is that he proclaims to one and all before beginning his "musical" act (note the quotation marks... he's awful!) that donations go to help support his family. The fact of the matter is, the second he has enough money for the pub, he scoots off for a few minutes, only to return to "work" for the next trip. Good thing "he ain't no hypocrite".

There were other mockers and scorners, but at this point, I've forgotten most of what they said, and that's a good thing. The Lord have mercy on them.

On that note, I'll say goodnight and have a blessed, safe weekend, dear saints.

Remember us in your prayers!


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

oh... what a night...

Lots went on tonight... it had been over two weeks since my last street preaching endeavour, so it was good for me to get back at it. Pastor Tim and I, as is our custom, made our way to the market with our Bible signs and Gospel tracts and proclaimed the Gospel to sinners who were out to play in the pubs and shops. There was no shortage of lost souls tonight; the market was packed with people, especially from 7-9 pm.

We had a few promising one-on-one conversations with souls who were interested in our work. A Frenchman named Serge spoke to us, asking us intelligent questions and showing some interest in the Scriptures. Pastor Tim also spoke at length with a couple of men who wanted to know why we were preaching in the market (I was a spectator to that conversation... did Pastor Tim ever reason well with them!).

With the good however, came a lot of bad. We had a number of unprofitable conversations, with our weekly dose of mockery and scorn. One young man, while walking by my Bible sign said: "Why don't you just make up your own quotes?" I replied with: "Like everyone else does these days?" Reminded me of Judges 17:6... "every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

The mocking guitar player was there again, and he was as vile as ever. Actually, this time, he was worse, since he didn't just disrespect us, he intimidated and bullied another guitar player (this one was a woman) who had set up shop where he wanted to play. Pastor Tim and I were incensed. We both prayed and tried to keep our cool, but when the woman took off, having had enough of being badgered, Pastor Tim high sense of honour moved him to action.

"You just really showed off what a little, gutless man you truly are!" he said while walking toward the wicked musician.

"You better watch your mouth, or I'll..." the guitar player said while getting into the preacher's face.

I was a fair distance away when all this was being said and done, but thank the Lord, things didn't go any further. The good preacher stood his ground and the wicked soul walked away cursing and swearing. We both figured that Pastor Tim's attempt to shame him was a total waste of time, but an hour after all this took place, the young woman, the other guitar player, walked by us and told us that the bully apologized to her.

There may yet be hope, dear readers!

On my way back home, after three hours of evangelism, I met up with the Open-Air Campaigners a few blocks away from where Pastor Tim and I were preaching. It was good to speak with and encourage the brothers in their work. Brother Paul of The Word Street Journal was lending a helping hand to the Campaigners tonight, and graciously offered to give me a ride back home. We had great time of fellowship on that short drive, and I am grateful to the Lord working that out!

That's all I have for tonight, dear readers... please remember us in your prayers, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

the effect of the cold...

Well, for all intents and purposes, summer is over in Canada. Temperature dipped as low as 6 Celsius or 43 Fahrenheit, and the streets of the marketplace reflected that reality. It was much quieter out there tonight; two weeks ago, Pastor Tim and I would have ministered to thousands (easily), tonight it was more like hundreds.

Nevertheless, we continued the work of the Gospel, and presented Salvation in Jesus Name to the lost sinners that were out and about in the market. We were greeted with adversity from the very beginning, with a young sodomite cursing at us and yelling that we should: "Go back home!" We also had to endure, for a time anyway, the folly of a wicked street musician who mocked us and blasphemed God.

Things more or less settled down after an hour of work. Both Pastor Tim and I had a few one-on-one conversations with sinners. Not sure if I would classify any of them as profitable, but who knows what the Lord will do? I spoke to an emotionally distraught woman who wondered why her boyfriend cheated on her. I replied that when one chooses to dance with the devil, one can't really complain about getting burned. She knew what I meant. I pointed out that she could easily find comfort and help with the Lord. Don't know if she will...

Couple of charismatics came by again. They were quite favourable to us and prayed for us. It was nice, but I really wonder at these souls true spiritual state. They looked so worldly. I don't know... perhaps the Lord will use our witness to get them to be better students of the Word. The Lord bless them and sanctifying them by His truth.

I dealt with a number of young people tonight who opposed themselves with much hostility. Many of them were clearly under the influence of alcohol. They cursed, mocked, and threatened, but all of them eventually walked away without any serious trouble. The Lord be merciful to them.

After about 2 hours of street preaching, I had to quit, having lost much of my voice. That's been happening quite a bit lately... don't know what's going on there. Pastor Tim picked up the slack and I went back to handing out Gospel tracts. We were out there for a total of three hours, doing our utmost to do good to our fellow man, and to glorify our God. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Remember us in your prayers, dear saints. We always need that support!

God bless you all. Have a blessed and safe weekend... especially the Lord's Day.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

a little late...

Not too much to report on our night of evangelism yesterday, since I was only out there with Pastor Tim for about an hour and a half. We are in the midst of home renovations and there were tasks I needed to take care of Friday night.

The marketplace was busy enough, but I was a bit surprised that there were no students roaming the streets. With the universities starting their Fall semesters, I would have thought the market would have been full partying students, but hardly any were out.

I had a few one-on-one conversations with sinners; some of them were profitable, others, not so much. I spoke to a foolish couple who seemed more concerned about whether their dog went to Heaven than their own souls. I also spoke to a young Romanist woman and gave her a Gospel tract. Finally, Pastor Tim and I both dealt with a really messed up young man, no doubt damaged by substance abuse and lost in all manner of eastern religion.

A number of Christians came by and encouraged me during my short time of evangelism. The Lord bless them. Pastor Tim stayed in the market after I left, I hope everything went well for him.

Remember us in your prayers, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

the good, the bad and the ugly...

The noise was intolerable. That's what I want to point out right from the get-go. It was intolerable! From the sound of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, to the disco music coming out of the bars, the loud laughter of drunk women, the blasphemies of wicked men... all of it was so loud. Trying to preach the Gospel loud enough so that people could hear me was quite a chore, and I don't know how successful I was at being heard.

The market was quite busy. It was good to have Brother Rod with us; he gave out a fair number of tracts while Pastor Tim and I took turns at preaching the Gospel. It was an interesting night of evangelism. Great ups, terrible and annoying downs. I trust the Lord was glorified by our efforts.

The Good

A number a Christians came by to thank me for my efforts. Many of them encouraged me with kind words. An elderly couple showed me much grace. A woman also came by and told me she would pray for me and blessed me greatly with kindness. The Lord reward these kind brothers and sisters.

About an hour into our night of evangelism, a woman stood across the street from where I was preaching. She listened attentively for several minutes, and then she crossed the street to receive and Gospel tract and to speak to me. She asked me why I stood there, and preached in the marketplace. I explained to her how the Lord had given His Church a Great Commission in the Bible, and that is why I was preaching His Gospel in the market. She marveled. She thanked me and said 'goodnight'. The Lord show her mercy. (It should be noted that I actually had a near exact exchange with a young man about an hour later... the Lord show favour unto him as well!)

The Bad

I dealt with a young man who claimed to be a Christian during the first half hour of our evangelistic effort. He had a tatoo of the Romanist "jesus" on his chest, and Psalm 23 on his back (the whole psalm!). The young man was with a scantily clad woman who was smoking marijuana, and he himself reeked of alcohol. I told the young man that he couldn't serve two masters. He took exception to my observations claiming that we were brothers and that I shouldn't have judged him. I tried, on several occasions to point out that his way of life didn't show forth fruit unto salvation, but he would have nothing of it. He left holding on to the belief that the Lord would instantly forgive his sin and that we were brothers. The Lord save him from his delusions.

Moments later, I dealt with a couple of young ladies who also claimed to be Christians. Both of them had way too much make-up on, and both were dressed pretty immodestly. I told them that I didn't believe they were honoring God in the marketplace. The answer I got back pretty much summed up their spiritual situation: "Not everything needs to honour God." Oh dear...

The Ugly

Two incidents, both involving homosexuals. It never ceases to amaze me how that particular group of people, who often claim to be victims of discrimination and hatred, show us so much vile hatred and violence.

A lesbian walked up to me tonight and cursed at me. Repeatedly. The woman was probably in her 40s. If it had been an 18 year old, I could have marked it down as immaturity, but forty years old and telling a stranger to "f%#k off"? Quite disgraceful.

Later, a couple of sodomites, with just 5 minutes left to our night of evangelism, broke one of our Bible signs and began to run off with it. Not even thinking of my safety (which was stupid), I chased them into a parking garage. I was furious and annoyed. I managed to get the sign back and it wasn't until I got home an hour later that I realized that had those men been up for a fight, I would have been in big trouble. Providencially, the Lord saved me from, well, me.

I'm still such a hot-head, and that annoys me just as much as the persecuting homos. It was just a sign. Easily replaceable. Not a big deal. Yet, I was in a rage against the wicked men... not exactly Christ-like. The Lord help me to be more gracious...

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." (1 Peter 2:21-23)

Remember us in your prayers, dear saints.

Have a blessed week-end, especially the Lord's Day.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

labourers are few...

On my way to Pastor Tim's house for a night of evangelism, I had the misfortune of spotting a couple of men huddled together in the corner of an alley, one assisting the other in locating a vein in which to inject heroin in. I wasn't out of my workplace for more than 10 minutes, and I was reminded of the depths of depravity all around me. The Bible says that "the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." (Proverbs 4:19) That fact isn't lost on an evangelist as he observes the wicked vanity all around him.

I was on my own again tonight. Pastor Tim is miles away, attending revival meetings in the good old U.S. of A. The intimidation factor always seems worse when I don't have my faithful street preaching partner with me. There's nothing like walking downtown, Bible sign in one hand, Gospel tracts in the other, hundreds (if not thousands) of eyes all focused on me; most of those eyes watching me in disgust and hatred. I never would have been able to work up the courage to carry on in the past, but God's grace is an amazing thing! To Him be the glory!

I had a lot of mockers tonight, but before the harsh words had a chance to discourage me, the Lord sent, on a number of occasions, saints that refreshed me with kindness and encouragement. An number of them said variants of "keep going, brother, the Lord's is coming soon!" My response every time was: "I hope so!"

I didn't have much by way of one-on-one conversations tonight. Nothing of any promise anyway. The panhandling guitar player was at it again tonight, mocking me with blasphemous songs, he even came by to speak to me just to clarify that he thought I was a *$&#ing hypocrite. I didn't say a word to him... it would have been a total waste of effort, and would likely have motivated him to further persecute me.

I didn deal with a young couple who asked me why I focused on the wrath of God. They claimed that the Bible signs we used always referred to judgment and wrath. I pointed out that the only sign I had with me tonight was John 3:16, which primarily speaks of God's love, and John 3:36 which mentions God's wrath, but also the way out: faith in the Son! I told him Pastor Tim and I made a real effort to keep our Gospel presentations as balanced as possible.

"Just like when you go to the doctor, my friend. If you have a health problem, the doctor first gives you the bad news, and then tells you how best to treat the issue," I concluded.

I didn't think they would receive my explanation/defense at first, but they totally did! They both thanked me for answering their question, and the fellow even quietly said: "God bless..."

Dealt with another couple a few moments later. That was unpleasant. The young lady took one of my Gospel tracts, thanked me, then spat on the tract and threw it down to my feet. She quickly ran off after her tantrum. You'd think I would have been annoyed, but truly, I wasn't. I felt so sorry for her. The Lord have mercy.

I suppose if there is one solid positive I can report about tonight, it's my ability to remain calm, and compassionate toward adversaries. Most of the time, when I am faced with obnoxious, rude sinners, my attitude is considerably less than Christ-like:

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." (1 Peter 2:21-23)

That said, tonight, on several occasions the thought of answering some adversary quickly in anger or frustration just wasn't there. It's like I was able to see the desperateness and folly of their conversation/conduct and stayed cool. I hope and pray that this is going to be a continual trend. The last thing I want is to say or do something that will bring reproach to the Lord and His cause, when I'm out there presenting the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With that, dear saints, I'm off. It's extremely late, and I have to work a bit more on a sermon I will be preaching on the Lord's Day.

Remember me in your prayers, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

busy streets...

Tonight was the busiest I've seen the marketplace this year. Thousands upon thousands of lost souls walking the streets looking for some vanity, some foolish and destructive activity to indulge in. It truly is heartbreaking to watch.

Due to an uncooperative experiment in the laboratory where I work, I was late in getting downtown for our customary night of evangelism. When I got there, Pastor Tim was already setup and preaching the Gospel. He was facing annoying resistance from three young panhandlers who were begging for spare change across the street from our usual street preaching spot. They yelled out obscenities from across the street, and on a couple of occasions, they walked up to him only to yell and mock. After 30 minutes of that nonsense, the young sinners realized that the good preacher wouldn't be intimidated, so they remained quiet for the remainder of the night.

During my preaching shift, I was able to share the Gospel with a young man who claimed to have studied the Bible. The conversation wasn't a long one, but I gathered the young man, while religious, wasn't saved. I handed him a Bible tract and encouraged him to prayerfully consider the words therein. The Lord be merciful to him.

Shortly after that exchange a young woman walked by me, surrounded by her friends. All of them were dressed provocatively, which always presents a challenge for an evangelist. The young woman read my John 3:16 Bible sign and professed to believe. I was about to point out her lack of modesty, but she walked away before I could utter a word. The Lord however would give me another opportunity. Moments later, the same group of women walked by as I was preaching...

"The Bible says the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good," I began, "what is God watching you do tonight? What words is God hearing you speak? What kind of clothing (or lack thereof) is He seeing on you? What secret thoughts do you have, that He is fully aware of?"

There was no doubt the young women felt conviction. They quickly turned their guilt into a joke and walked away laughing. What folly.

I spent a good portion of the night simply standing on a street corner with a Bible sign in one hand, and Gospel tracts in the other. With the crowds in the market, the noise level was so high (from music, chatter, and car traffic), it was difficult to preach. It was so noisy it was difficult to think! However, I did hear a lot of mockery directed at me, and in some instances, directed at God Himself. Only one man, driving a taxi, rolled down his window and said: "God bless you, my brother." The Lord bless him for his kindness.

We preached the Gospel to a whole lot of people tonight. A good number of souls have Gospel tracts in their pockets. Surely amongst all those souls, we've had some contact with some of God's lost sheep. The Lord use our efforts as He sees fit.

With that, it's really late, and I'm sooooo tired. Goodnight, dear readers.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism