Poster | Thread | Mattie Member

Joined: 2004/7/23 Posts: 210
| Many Street Preachers Missing the Spirit | | While many attack open-air preachers, I truly admire and hold them high for going and preaching a Gospel in places no man would dare to go. Yet "methods" are over-taking too many of today's open-air preachers. In order to "draw a crowd" you must do this, or in order to effectively reach the most people we should preach at parades and festivals, etc. It's too many how-tos that we're forgetting "Who" to look to in it all.
Read the Prophets, the Gospels, and the book of Acts. Not ONCE, did they go out in their own strength or go and find a "good" spot to preach. The Holy Spirit initiated it ALL. Pentecost was not planned. Peter filled with the Spirit stood before devout Jews preaching without planning, and 3,000 were cut to the heart crying out what to do to be saved. Acts 3, do you know how they drew a crowd there? They healed a lame man! 5,000 cut to the heart again. Even Philip who was the evangelist of his day didn't go unless the Spirit told him to. He leaves Samaria, which was undergoing an outpouring of the Spirit, and leaves it all to go to a eunuch in a desert. How many open-air guys today would leave the hype for the one? Read Paul's journeys. The Holy Spirit forbid him to even go into certain places.
All this to say is we are getting caught up in what the latest street preachers have to say and what the methods are that we are missing the Holy Ghost and the life that there was in the early church on those street corners. I think the key is that they lived their life unto Christ daily and only spoke as they were LED of the Spirit. The prophets in the Old Testament had a specific word for a specific location.
We would do well to heed the Word of God above the traditions of men. Amen? Amen! |
| 2006/7/1 10:56 | Profile | repentcanada Member

Joined: 2005/5/9 Posts: 659
| Re: Many Street Preachers Missing the Spirit | | Bless you Mattie |
| 2006/7/1 17:48 | Profile | KingJimmy Member

Joined: 2003/5/8 Posts: 4419 Charlotte, NC
| Re: | | Mattie,
Good thoughts. I as a street preacher strongly agree with your general line of thought. Much of what passes for "street preaching" these days has very little of God's Spirit involved in it. I suppose it's much like what we see in many heavily institutionalized churches, where operations can continue without the presence of Christ. Street preaching can often become simply another method in one's how-to-save-the-lost tool-box, along with the accompanying techniques.
However, as much as the leading of the Spirit is needed for one's open-air preaching and direction in ministry, let's be careful not to be so hyper-charismatic that we overlook the fact that in book of Acts that the Church which was highly driven by the Spirit still employed some "methods" in their ministry.
Take for example, Acts 16:6-10
They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
It's interesting to see how they were setting out to attempt to evangelize Asia-minor, and it was their hearts desire to do such, yet Christ simply would not let them do such. It seems He setup various obsticales to prevent them from going to Asia-Minor to preach the gospel. Eventually through revelationt Paul saw they should go to Macedonia to preach the gospel.
And Acts 16:13 continues...
And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
Paul, Timothy, Luke, and their apostolic team seemed to have an idea of some good "fishing holes" they liked to target people at. The were "supposing" that there was a place of prayer amongst the Jews at a certain location, and thought that'd be a good place to start preaching at.
It's interesting to note that Christ directed them to this town through a revelation, but once there they took up simply finding a good place to start their work. It's especially interesting to note that in Paul's dream he saw a Macedonian man asking him to come help out. Yet when Paul and his fellow apostles arrived there, they sought out a good place to preach at, and their first audience was a bunch of women (compare v 10, 13)!
We can see many such examples throughout the Old Testament, the Gospels, and book of Acts. When we read Paul's letters to the various churches, he regularly talks about his itinerary which seems to some degree up in the air, subject to possible future change. For example, in Romans 1 we read how he often wanted to come to Rome to partake of the fruit of the gospel there, but was unable to do such yet. Then in the close of Romans we read how he's intending to eventually go on to Spain.
So with all this said, while yes the Spirit-driven aspect of things is vital, and we must always seek the direction of God in our ministries, God will still bless the efforts and methods we set forth to do in His name so long as we diligently seek His blessing in that work. _________________ Jimmy H
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| 2006/7/1 23:15 | Profile |
| Re: Too many street-preachers are missing the Spirit | | Hi Jimmy,
I want to comment on this neatly defined observation from you.
Quote:
It's especially interesting to note that in Paul's dream he saw a Macedonian man asking him to come help out. Yet when Paul and his fellow apostles arrived there, they sought out a good place to preach at, and their first audience was a bunch of women
First let me say I liked your thesis - how they were led in a certain way to Macedonia, but once there, used their common sense when looking for those most likely to receive their word.
You mentioned 'a bunch of women', as if this was in opposition to a possible bunch of men. I'd say 'not so'. It is only in recent years that women have had such a separate identity from men - from their own men.... wives keeping the maiden name sometimes, women not marrying but living in every other respect as a wife to their 'partner'. When Paul saw 'a man' in his dream, he would have automatically assumed the man was married, and be completely familiar with the concept so clearly defined in Lev 18 - that the woman is part of the man - almost to the point that they are interchangeable.
Therefore, preaching to a 'bunch of women', might have been the quickest way to get the word into a home. Imagine you're the man, and your wife comes back with not just information you've never heard before, but the gospel, entreating you to come and hear for yourself this wonderful truth.... How can you refuse this entreaty from the wife of your bosom? Aren't you curious, at least? I think it's here that the authority *(of God) in the voice of the preacher (I don't mean how loud he can shout, but rather, his assurance and the witness of the Spirit in the hearts of his hearers), carries the most impressive weight.
I suppose the next challenge for a street-preacher, is to hold his nerve when the crowd starts to build, and not be thrown off course but to capitalise on the few minutes when most attention is being given by the hearers, to the kernel of the word. |
| 2006/7/2 6:23 | | KingJimmy Member

Joined: 2003/5/8 Posts: 4419 Charlotte, NC
| Re: | | Quote:
You mentioned 'a bunch of women', as if this was in opposition to a possible bunch of men.
When I mentioned this, I was just thinking how if I had a dream with a man beckoning me to come and preach in the city he lived at, I would've probably first sought out that man, or some other man first, as I would've probably concluded that was what the Lord was directing me to do in my dream. But this the apostles did not do. They simply sought to reach out to those they thought they could reach first. Thus, as Paul's habit, he sought out a Jewish audience first, who in this instance just happened to be a bunch of women praying by the river.
Or in otherwords, they had divine direction of the general place they were to begin their next mission at, but once they got there, God left them to do the work as they saw best to do. And of course, I'm sure if they would've been shown a specific person, group of people, or street corner to attempt to reach first, they would've followed the Lord in this regard.
The reason I believe the Lord allows this "flexibility" in ministry is because the calling is upon the minister to do what he's been called to do no matter what locale he might find himself in.
Thus for me, when I do street evangelism, I generally seek out places that seem like they would be good places to preach at (and there are very few areas in the greater Charlotte area to do this.) Thus, I have gone for the past couple years generally to one or two spots over and over again.
And generally, unlike when I preach from a pulpit, I had little idea of what my exact message would be until I got there and comitted myself to preaching. Sometimes I went to a specific spot with a specific message from the Lord already on my lips, but frankly, most of the time not. I genearlly am ready to preach a basic gospel message of:
1. The pleasures of sin is for a season, but hell is forever, thus not worth it 2. Jesus came from heaven to earth and died for your sins 3. Jesus is Lord and demonstrated His lordship by raising from the dead 4. Therefore, how can you not but repent and live your life different if you truly believe this?
As a minister of the Lord, I believe this is the general message God has anointed me to preach at any place and any time, wherever I might be. Often my evangelistic preaching is simply variations of this basic message, presented only from different angles. I believe this is what we see in the NT as well. _________________ Jimmy H
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| 2006/7/2 8:38 | Profile | dohzman Member

Joined: 2004/10/13 Posts: 2132
| Re: | | Quote:
I suppose the next challenge for a street-preacher, is to hold his nerve when the crowd starts to build, and not be thrown off course but to capitalise on the few minutes when most attention is being given by the hearers, to the kernel of the word.
How right you are! Most street preachers hope for hecklers so they can gain a larger attendance for themselves. Personally speaking I always answered a heckler with a gentile reply, that usually turned away thier wrath and gave me a respectful ear from all the hearers. If I had a persistant hecklers, the Lord usually gave me some insight to thier heart, word of knowledge, discernig of spirit etc.... and than I would just follow the Holy Spirit's leadings. But it's all good :-) . _________________ D.Miller
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| 2006/7/2 13:51 | Profile | hmmhmm Member

Joined: 2006/1/31 Posts: 4994 Sweden
| Re: Many Street Preachers Missing the Spirit | | well thank the lord that you have street preachers... they are extinct in my country...a few times in my life ive seen people give out tracts or witness about jesus...but never have i seen someone stand in public and talk about jesus or the word of god... you should all thank god you have these people willing to go when the lord has called them... i pray god will raise up some men in my country who will do this... stand up and preach repentence, gods love .
we need more of these people.... more who are willing to go...
_________________ CHRISTIAN
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| 2006/7/2 14:34 | Profile |
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