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 Re: Mercies and Love. God saves, not our preaching.

I have done this throughout my life, to one extent or another, and mostly, I must admit, in either the wrong spirit or without love and anointing. Only God knows the fruit of it, and I remember the days when I hated God, and heard someone preaching in open air.

It was like someone had a smoky fire pressing my torso; very uncomfortable, to say the least. This was the conviction of sin upon me, though I knew it not; I just knew that this guy was making me sick.

I remember the same feeling encountering a street preacher, when I was filled with pride, and maybe a little ashamed of such a radical approach. "Can't we just all get along?" type of Christianity.

I think I have grown some, but I must say that all of street preaching is not necessarily Spiritual in itself. We can preach from pride, and righteous controversy, and applaud ourselves as the ones going the extra mile for Christ! Most of street preaching is in this vein, as I see it, and the current condemnation preaching that backs a sinner into the Law condemning him to Hell through his own confession is the same; carnal and not spiritual.

Saying this, God can use anything, and there is a power in the Word that goes on in the Universe that God may use later in any individual. I am guilty of doing these same things, so I go lightly, but identify it as I see it. I have had my days street preaching before.

I found a large rock, about ten-twelve feet high. I was in the midst of a huge slum built on the beach shores around Madras, India. I had an interpreter beside me, a PhD. Theologian, who was committed to interpret exactly and whatever I preached. I opened my mouth about Jesus being God, the one and same and only God that created all, and went from there to the Cross , and His sacrifice, and the Holy spirit He gave to men.

After I preached a bit, [ with hecklers!...who I rebuked and confronted...] I asked the crowd gathered who believed my message to raise their hands, and the rest to go on. Often about half of the crowd would stay. I would then tell them that God was going to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit and that they would be born again the second time from above.

I then lined them up, often from 7-8...or more, and approached each one of them, and laid my hands upon them, and ministered to them by name. I watched them become born again, and filled with the Holy Spirit, and cleansed from their sin. It was amazing, and then we turned them over to lay ministers who gathered information from them for follow-up, and gave them bibles, etc.

The Lord had a token for me, a surprise. As nightfall grew, I had to stop, and in my last crowd was a very tall, lanky Indian man, who really got it all, so to speak. He believed my message, and seemed amazingly moved when I laid hands on him for baptism of the Holy One. I spent some time with him, and it became dark, and we had to go.

As we left, I looked over to see these new Christians walk away, and my tall friend was literally glowing...not a little, a lot! He was filled with a visible light akin to a lightbulb, and was smiling as he walked away. I never saw him again.

Sometimes I doubt whether I have ever done any good, but here the Lord wanted me to know, that He touched at least one soul through me, and was happy with both of us.

The strongest exhortation I may submit to anyone desiring to do this, is walk in Love...the God so loved the world kind of thing that opens your eyes to the least of people to see their need as God does, and capture His heart to give them life through His Son.

The second thing is akin to the first. Jesus did preach to crowds. This may or may not be your calling, or forte' in gifting. Remember that Jesus went to the ONE the SINGULAR, over and over...the one leper, the one harlot, the one demoniac....and just loved them.

More souls are one by compassion than hard preaching, I assure you, and one thing you have inside you that the world needs, is that; COMPASSION and MERCY!....and all of us can pray for people...Jesus help Larry...He needs you!..and often, I have see the soul melt with tiny offerings just like this.

"So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."









 2012/9/9 5:48
jimp
Member



Joined: 2005/6/18
Posts: 1481


 Re:

hi,a dear friend of mine gathered together a group of youth that had a clown show and a puppet show and some Godly music... he also bought hot dogs and drinks . he had a young preacherboy and the coloring book. he took the troupe toevery project in new orleans.thousands of kids got savedand a few parents.a church came to him and challenged his authority to do this on his own and were thrown out of his office.as i have ministered in new orleans on and off for years, i have seen the turn or burn guys come and go with little to no results.most that do well speak of the love of Jesus and his mercy to sinners(people who go to new orleans to have fun).jimp the coloring book has 4 pages 1. is black with sin 2. red with blood(His blood) 3. soul in salvation...white 4. gold...we will walk on streets of gold.

 2012/9/9 8:49Profile
proudpapa
Member



Joined: 2012/5/13
Posts: 2936


 Re:

Much of what I have seen plastered on the internet of Open-Air Preaching is an Embarrassment to Christianity, But there is a need and I believe a call for true heart felt Spirit filled Open-Air Preaching. As the video about Guidelines for Open-Air Preaching that I posted pointed out A.W. Tozer was converted after Hearing a message from a street preacher.

///Just before his 17th birthday, Tozer heard a street preacher on a corner in Akron, Ohio, as he walked home from his job at a rubber factory. He could not shake off the simple message. "If you don't know how to be saved," the preacher said, "just call on God, saying, 'Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.'" Wrestling with God for some time at home, Tozer emerged from his attic sanctuary a new creature in Christ./// http://www.awtozerclassics.com/page/page/4891821.htm

Billy Sunday was converted after hearing a gospel preaching team from the Pacific Garden Mission preaching on the corner of a street

///On a Sunday afternoon in Chicago during either the 1886 or 1887 baseball season, Sunday and several of his teammates were out on the town for their day off. At one street corner they stopped to listen to a gospel preaching team from the Pacific Garden Mission. Attracted by the hymns he had heard his mother sing, Sunday began attending services at the mission. A former society matron who worked there convinced Sunday, after some struggle, that he should become a Christian. He began attending the fashionable Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church, a congregation handy to both the ball park and his rented room.///
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Sunday#Conversion

We need to becareful not to be discouraging towards those whom may be feeling led to open air preach but rather encourage them to be of the right heart and motive.


 2012/9/9 15:29Profile
davidkeel
Member



Joined: 2006/5/11
Posts: 519
West Sussex, England

 Re:

I am so thankful for the open air preacher as I got saved in Liverpool city centre, in England.

I truly feel that the Lord had led me there because my life was just filled with depression and hopelesness in this world. It seemed to me like there was no way out of complete blackness. I had nowhere to go to hear about God, or Salvation. I didn't know that there was such a thing as salvation. I also had no friends.

A few months before I heard this man preaching about Jesus I had tried to end my life with tablets. I had such a terrible fear of death that I couldn't stop my depression and it led me try to commit suicide. Dark voices used to command me to inflict terrible pain on myself or they would bring about my death. So I was constantly trying to bang my head on the wall and to bite through my tongue.

When I tried to end my life in the bathroom the Lord miraculously appeared there and I heard Gods voice speaking to me and revealing the love He had for me.

A few months later a desire came for me to go into the town centre to hear a man who was always standing on a box who I knew talked about God.

I got off the bus and looked hoping to see him there. I was so pleased and when I got there, I saw a crowd of about 20 people listening.

He seemed so sincere in what he spoke about and he had others there to help him.
One of them came to me and asked if I had heard of Jesus and if I knew that he came to die for me.

A short while later I bowed my head in prayer in front of a number of people. Doing that in public was so hard for me to do.

I said a sinners prayer and asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my life. It was at this time that I heard the same dark voices that used to speak to me talking to me and telling me that nothing was going to happen to me. I said to them : I don't care I believe something will happen. Just then the power of the Lord came on me and filled me with the Holy Spirit.
I had been depressed for 6 years without a break but when the Lord filled me the depression was forced out of my head and I was filled with a joy that seemed to have come from nowhere.

I would just say to anyone that if you feel you are going to be a bit judgemental in your preaching then take another friend along with you to make sure he can guide you into how you are coming across as well as doing other things like conversing with anyone stadning there listening...

Also if you are preaching alone and someone comes up close to listen to you or seems to want to speak then stop preaching and go and talk to them. A lot of these people are afraid to speak to someone who is a preacher and won't hang around for you to finish your whole preach. They will think you are more concerned with preaching than about them.

There's a lot of broken people isn't there ?


_________________
David Keel

 2012/9/13 9:49Profile
proudpapa
Member



Joined: 2012/5/13
Posts: 2936


 Re: davidkeel

Hi davidkeel, wounderful testimony

 2012/9/13 23:34Profile
Heydave
Member



Joined: 2008/4/12
Posts: 1306
Hampshire, UK

 Re:

Hi I agree that some street preaching just makes you cringe, it's so bad or like throwing stones at folk.

However for those who are called to this, it can be an effective tool to reach people and to glorify God.

Here is a very good example of someone called Josh Williams who is gifted in street preaching. Not offensive, but very clear and engaging without any compromise of truth. One guy comes forward at the end to respond to his need for Christ.Very effective.

Take a look, you will be blessed I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhDlH3CMaVo&feature=youtube_gdata_player


_________________
Dave

 2012/9/18 12:57Profile





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