Originally posted by procyon:
I dont know whether any of you have done street-preaching. I mean standing on the street with a group and preaching from a mike and with a group of hostile people watching. You have to be so careful with the words you speak. You need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. You should not offend their religion! It's tough. You keep praying inside and speaking the gospel outside, totally focused on Christ. And sometimes, you feel, there's an invisible army surrounding you and your group! That's a kind of 'baptism' every Christian should have, to know what it costs to follow Christ. If we cannot speak up from Christ, stand up for Jesus, our testimony is weak and our faith poor!
What do you think?
I've done that. Back in those days in the Philippines when I thought there were still 'lost' sheep that the merciful Lord had not covered with His blood, when I thought without preachers the Lord would not be able to do His work of regenerating His people, when I thought people had to accept Christ as their Savior or else Christ's title of Savior remains just that, a title.
Yeah, I've done that.
And I know what you mean when you say you had to choose your words, but not because people were simply just staring at you in a hostile way.
We've actually been stoned with stones, and with dung. We've had gospel tracts torn right before our eyes, and thrown back at us, and they walk away spitting. We've been spat at, kicked, slapped in the faces, embraced by others, served food in some areas, denied even water in some, welcomed in some areas, had doors slammed in our faces in some.
Tony Romasanta, a close friend, had his back pierced medya style, which means, in Filipino, just enough to draw blood, but not to kill.
We've gone on 48 hours non-stop street preaching in major street corners of Metro Manila, and the parks, in prostitution areas, and drug-infested areas, in gang controlled areas, and communist cadre controlled areas, in Muslim areas, and in heavily Roman Catholic areas.
And you know what ?
Street preaching is good. It makes you feel good, like you're really serving the Lord, you go home feeling satisfied, and with questions, like what's wrong with people ? Why can't they be like us, who love the Lord ? Like, look what we're accomplishing for the Lord.
And you know what ?
When all's been said and done, there ain't nothin' nobody can ever do to really pay the Lord back for what he's done for the sinner, and when all's been said and done, one realizes it's all about the immeasurable, unfathomable, amazing grace, kindess, and mercy of the Holy God who had no obligation towards anyone, yet condescended to save many, with or without pulpit, or street, preachers.
