Sunday Afternoon Notes

one more abomination...

Today was the one Lord's Day that I dread every year. Today was the day my city put up the annual abomination called the "Pride parade".

Being totally responsible to proclaim the Truth and to stand against this vile wickedness, my pastor and I took our Bible signs, and made our way to the evil festival. I carried a sign with had the following verses on it:

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)

"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." (2 Peter 2:6)

Pastor Tim had a Bible sign with the following two verses on it:

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

"Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD." (Proverbs 16:5a)

The effect? Well, I guess the local newspaper best summed up our effect on the sodomite party:

The large, cheering crowd gathered in front of Parliament Hill to support the marchers was all but oblivious to a lone protester, a man with a sign reading "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord."

We were mocked, belittled, scorned, and for the most part, completely ignored. Terribly sad. That said, the Word of God was present and quite visible to all who were there, and God's Word is powerful! (Hebrews 4:12) Perhaps the Lord will yet save souls through those clear Bible verses, or perhaps He won't. In the end, glory be to God. That's all that matters.

I did have a number of conversations today, which is quite unusual at Pride parades. Usually, anything I say is drowned out by a choir of profanity and vitriol, but not today. I was able to speak to people without any foolishness going on in the background. I actually was able to deal with a "christian" (please, note the quotation marks) who supported the Pride event. He first charged me with being a Pharisee. After dealing with that for a few minutes, he realized that indeed, Pharisees were hypocrites, and I, quite simply, didn't fit the bill. So then he started to discredit the inspiration of the Word of God, and its preservation. After dealing with that for a few minutes longer, he realized that his "faith" really wasn't based on anything except what he invented in his own mind. He left us without the slightest fuss, and surely, with a lot on his mind.

I also had the chance to speak to several Christians today. A number of saints were downtown today, completely oblivious to the abominable parade that was set to start. That's one thing I'm really thankful for: for the most part, the only people who know/care anything about the Pride parade, are the sodomites themselves (and many of them aren't even from my city, they truck in by the hundreds/thousands from other cities). I received a number of encouragements from brothers and sisters-in-the-Lord and that was quite refreshing considering where I was, and what I was doing.

Finally, one of the most dramatic moments of our evangelistic effort today came when the very first vehicle of the Pride parade rolled passed pastor Tim. The car was carrying the new Police chief of my city, I believe his name is Vernon White. My pastor read that when this man was sworn into the position of police chief, he kissed the Bible they used in the ceremony. He KISSED THE BIBLE when he was sworn in, and now he was yelling out "HAPPY PRIDE" in the homosexual parade. My pastor didn't miss the opportunity. He looked at him squarely, made sure he read the Bible sign and then, with a loud voice said:

"Shame on you, sir."

The police chief, insulted, parroted the same to my pastor. Seems like the officer's spiritual blindness kept him from seeing his blatant hypocrisy. Too bad. I will be faithful in praying for him, as 1 Timothy 2:1-2 clearly commands me to.

The Lord deal with all as He sees fit. I have and will pray for mercy and grace, salvation and revival, for the Lord, truly is good...

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-7)


Rand

Friday Night Notes

Hell will be well populated...


Hot and humid weather equals a very busy Friday Night in the marketplace. There were thousands of souls in the market tonight, all of them out to enjoy the "night life" of my city. Well, almost all. There were these two quacks carrying Gospel signs, handing out Bible literature and preaching that all should repent and believe in Jesus.

Crazy, huh?

Kidding aside, I do admit that I sometimes find myself wondering: what in the world am I doing? Why am I one of these quacks with a Gospel sign doing the exact contrary to what the thousands are doing? Why is it that my city's "night life" draws in so many souls, and yet, repulse me like dung? Then, I'm reminded of St-Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1:18...

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. "

The Lord saved me... that's why I walk around downtown streets proclaiming the Gospel of Truth for three hours every Friday. The Lord has done so much for me, it is my reasonable service that I should give my all for Him. Again, the words of the apostle Paul:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

I shared all this to a young lady and her boyfriend tonight. They wondered what I was doing with my 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 sign. When I explained, she pointed out that this way of thinking was pretty extreme or fanatical. To that I responded:

"It surely is, miss! Listen, like the apostle Paul, "to live", for me, "is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21). Being willing to die for a belief, that's extreme! But you see, miss, the Lord laid His life down for me. He saved me from my sin. He saved me from the horrific consequence of my sin. How could I live any other way, than in complete devotion to such a wonderful Saviour?"

To my surprise, all that really touched her. She said that what I was doing was truly admirable (this was quite a change from her first impressions of me). They took a Gospel tract from me and wished me well. The Lord bless them, and if He wills, save them.

Other than this brief, positive exchange, the night was a pretty rough one. We weren't roughed up physically, we weren't even threatened in the least, but the vile mockery and blasphemy was grievous. Some of the things unconverted people say and do when exposed to the Gospel is truly distressing. They glory in being condemned. They count their sins and laugh. There is no fear, no concern that they will one day, answer to the Sovereign of the Universe. Terrible. Yet again, the apostle Paul in Romans 1:28-32...

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Pastor Tim and I were good and faithful soldiers of the Cross again tonight. We dealt with a few individuals one-on-one (for the most part, it was quite unprofitable), we gave out some Bible literature, and we did our utmost to communicate the Gospel to all who were in the market. I have plenty of observations and details I would like to give you, dear readers, but I'm too tired and weary. It's been a busy week, and I'm exhausted.

Please continue to pray for us, this Lord's Day afternoon is the cursed "Pride parade". We will be there with our Gospel signs, protesting this most evil of spectacles.

Have a blessed weekend, dear readers.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

No Notes Tonight

knee-deep in work...

There will be no Friday Night Notes tonight, dear readers, since I was unable to go out street preaching tonight. I am in the middle of house renovations, I have a sermon and a Sunday School lesson to prepare and several other minor, yet necessary, responsibilities I need to tend to. Basically, I had to take the night off from evangelism to clear some work that NEEDS to get done.

Things are EXTREMELY busy in my life right now. They have been for several weeks now. Please pray that the Lord would guide me and help me meet all my responsibilities, all the while being faithful to Him. Also, pray for pastor Tim and I, for we will be protesting the homosexual parade in my city next Lord's Day.

I'll try to get back to blogging soon. I might actually post a few pictures of the work I have done around the house.

God bless you, dear readers.


Rand

Friday Night Notes

the usual North American apathy...


Three hours of street evangelism done tonight, and nothing much to show for it. We declared the Gospel of Truth in open-air preaching, we offered Bible literature, and we walked in front of all the downtown bars and pubs with our Gospel signs, and the response: pure apathy.

I have been through several nights like tonight. Nights where us preachers are no better than a lamp post. Oh! it's not like we were totally ignored by one and all. We were mocked and scorned by many, but even the souls who dished it out didn't even look or care to listen at anything having to do with the Lord. It's not like they actually read the signs or listened to the preaching. They just had to hear the words "Bible", or "Jesus", and we were given signs of exasperation and frustration. Truly sad, but I suppose the Scriptures are once again vindicated:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)

The night wasn't a whole waste though, I did deal with three Muslim young men, and things went rather well. It's not like I witnessed anything like conversions, but I did share the Gospel with them and they all appreciated what I had to say. With all three men, their chief objection with Christianity was that those who call themselves Christians are terribly carnal; they pointed to the hypocrisy of Romanism and then the half-dressed women walking around downtown who called themselves "Christians". I pointed out to the men that Christians are those who actually followed the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that pretty much ruled out Romanists and the half-naked hypocrites in the marketplace. I gave them all a Gospel of John. Please pray that the Lord would move them to read His precious Gospel, that they may come to the knowledge of the Truth.

The most aggravating moments tonight came when I was faced with two wicked, hypocritical false professors. The first was a young man who was waiting for a bus. He saw me walking down the street with my 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 sign and after reading it, he scoffed and laughed. I told him that he wouldn't be scoffing of laughing when stood before God, with that verse condemning him to Hell. He again scoffed and said:

"Bah! I believe in God"

"No, I don't think so, my friend," I answered.

"F#*$ you! you..." the young man replied.

"You believe in God, but you curse like a devil," I replied.

The young man continued to curse, albeit in a lower voice. I think even he was realizing the extent of his hypocrisy. The Lord have mercy on him.

The other aggravating moment came in the form of terribly dressed (or perhaps I should say "undressed") young woman. Dear readers, I assure you, she won the "wardrobe malfunction" prize for tonight. She was wearing a dress that was probably two or three sizes small for her; the thing was so tight and tiny, her bra was sticking out of the top AND the sides. Anyway, she walked up to me as I was preaching, and if memory serves the last thing I said before she interrupted me was:

"... we are all wicked sinners by birth and by choice."

"Hey! I'm not wicked!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you are," I answered.

"No, I'm not," she obstinately claimed.

"Miss, look at how you are dressed," I said, totally exasperated.

And then I witnessed the saddest, most pathetic scene of the night. She continued to claim that she was righteous as she attempted to stuff her bra back under her dress. AS IF I COULDN'T SEE WHAT SHE WAS DOING!!! Oh my...


That's all I've got tonight, dear readers. I'm going to bed. I have a really, REALLY busy weekend ahead of me, so I need my rest. Please remember me in prayer, dear saints of God, that the Lord would continue to give me boldness to proclaim His Truth, and that He would give me the strength and power to live out His Truth every moment of every day.

God bless you all!


Rand

Ps: I just uploaded last Sunday night's sermon. In it, pastor Tim deals with the word "world" in the Bible, and the necessity of the believer's separation from the world. The Bible Text at the beginning of the sermon is 1 John 2. It is quite good. Just CLICK HERE to hear it (yes Jean, this is the sermon).

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

where have the foundations gone?


As I made my way towards the downtown core for our night of street evangelism, I drove past a Convention Baptist church (our most liberal/unbelieving Baptist denomination). It had a sign on the front lawn:

Laughter: a tranquilizer with no side effects.

Now that's a Gospel message! I don't know why in the world I go out preaching the Bible every Friday night. I mean, if there was a better quote in the Bible than the "laughter" quote, surely they would have posted it, right? (written with tongue firmly against cheek)

Not wanting the people of my city to only have the "laughter" quote for a Bible teaching, pastor Tim and I went out for our usual 3 hours of Bible preaching in the marketplace. We didn't speak much on laughter... our message rather centered on repentance to God, and faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. There were no shortage of people who declared to us that they would much rather have us speak on laughter and other "positive" concepts, but alas, call us miserable, we stuck with "repent and believe on the Gospel of Jesus".

It was a pretty rough night for me, though I can't say I let any of it get to me. Call it the "old, battle-hardened soldier of the Cross" effect. I had a woman who professed faith in Christ, shout in my face that I was an unloving, judgmental pharisee. Another woman told me that I should be ashamed of myself for carrying a Gospel sign with John 3:36 on it; apparently, according to her, that was the last thing God wanted me to do. I had a man shout out that I should be a Jehovah's Witness, like him. I answered that I WAS Jehovah's witness, and that I served a God who's Name was above all names (Philippians 2:5-9). Another woman actually threw her shoe at me as I walked by her with my Gospel sign (that is a first... I had food, drinks, even cigarettes thrown at me... but not a shoe...).

The only kind word I got tonight was from a Pentecostal who witnessed the "shoe-throwing" incident and walked with me for awhile as a show of support. The Lord bless him.

Don't worry, I'm not going to whine. Like I mentioned above, I took it all rather well tonight; thanks be to God for His grace. The following passage did come into mind though as I realized just how hostile the response was to the Gospel:

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

All too often, I feel like we are treading water in our evangelistic efforts. We work... we preach... we explain... but the foundations are destroyed. The most basic and obvious moral standards, the most rudimentary Biblical teachings are so warped (if they are not missing completely), that no one understands the Gospel, nor does anyone care to learn anything about the Truth that is in Christ. If the Lord doesn't work a mighty work of grace in my city/country... and I mean a work of grace from scratch... we die.

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)

Please pray for a mighty work akin to the revival and awakening the Lord caused in Nineveh in the days Jonah. Hey! to quote king David: "who can tell what the Lord will do?"

Please continue to pray for pastor Tim, that the Lord would heal him of his lung infection. Also, pray for me, I have had some health problems of my own.

God bless you all, dear brothers and sisters-in-the-Lord.

Dear readers, have a blessed weekend... and a holy Lord's Day.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism