“So you had your own boat,” the young man asked, “and fished commercially?”
“Yes. It was a long time ago,” the old preacher said.
“That’s really cool. Why did you quit?”
“It was ‘cool,’ as you say,” said the preacher. “I actually quit twice, then left for good. Life has other things that need to be done, things that aren’t always as pleasant. Not that staying up all night fishing to come home without even a fish to cook for breakfast is so wonderful.”
“That happened?”
“It surely did. More than once. There was one time,” then the preachers voice fell off and his eyes glazed over, misting.
“What?”
“I had gone back to fishing after about four years away, after my teacher and friend died,” the preacher continued. “I was with old friends, fishermen. We’d been out all night long, catching absolutely nothing—not even a nibble. Just after dawn we headed back in, knowing it was no use staying out longer. As we came to shore, not far from our town, we saw a man on cooking stirring a small campfire. ‘If he’s waiting for fish to fry,’ we all thought, ‘he’s gonna wait a long time.
” ‘Do you have any fish?’ the man on the beach beckoned to us. We all called out, ‘No!’ at the same time. He called back to us, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ ”
“Did you catch some then?” the young man prodded the old preacher.
“I can’t imagine why we even gave that man the time of day,” the preacher mused aloud. “I mean, some non-fisherman tells us, the experts, where to drop a line to catch fish. But we did.”
“And,” the young man impatiently prodded.
“And we wereunable to haul it in because of the great number of fish,” the preacher said.
“WOW! So who was that man?”
“Well, it was our teacher, the one we’d originally left fishing to follow around the country.”
“Wait! You said he died, that was why you went back to fishing.”
“That’s true,” the old preacher said. “He died and came back from the dead and came to us on the beach. It was just like him, too. We pulled that load of fish up on the sand, and he was already cooking fish on his campfire. He looked at usand said, ‘Come. Have breakfast.’ ”
“WOW! Wasn’t that a shock?”
“Oh, we’d seen him before,” the preacher explained. “After he died, he resurrected and came to us so that we’d understand all that he’d taught us.”
“So he’s the one who taught you how to be a preacher?”
“Indeed! We mourned him even when he returned to speak to us. And one of my friends said, ‘I am going fishing!’ and a few of us went, too,” the preacher explained.
“But you quit fishing then, right?”
“Yes. Our teacher left us with a mandate; he said:
This morning I received an email from Witness Well. It’s a five-part series discussing the idea of churches canvassing. It’s a good article, and I recommend reading it.
According to the author there is a benefit to not just those contacted, but to those that make the contact.
“One of the greatest benefits a congregation will receive is when members are trained on how to proclaim the gospel when they go door-to-door.” The activity becomes more than passing out invitations to the church or a church activity, but an opportunity to share the Gospel of our Lord.
There is also great benefit to the entire congregation.
“The greatest benefit a congregation receives from members who have received a meaningful experience in proclaiming the gospel is a core group of Christians who have a zeal for reaching the lost – and are willing and able to do it.”
There are going to be difficulties in door-to-door interaction with non-Believers. It can’t be helped. In the area in which I currently reside, there are few church members that come around. Usually it’s members of a church that isn’t a ‘real’ church, i.e., won’t pass the Apostles’ test for a Believer. So when someone comes around from a Bible-believing Church, they are received as if they, too, are from a false church.
It also occurs to me that when someone hears to Gospel message presented clearly, truthfully, and in a loving, considerate manner, AND DOESN’T RESPOND, it could be a seed planted or a watering of another’s seed planted. And if never the hearer responds, at least they’ve heard the Gospel message. They can in no way ever say, “I didn’t know!”
Yesterday I waded through lists Street Preaching videos uploaded to YouTube. Among them were videos by people who scolded or harassed Street Preachers, videos of Street Preachers being attacked, videos of Street Preachers being arrested, and quite a few by Street Preachers doing their thing. I even watched a few minutes of about twenty videos.
In addition to those videos, there were instructional videos on Street Preaching as well as a video of a conference on Street Preaching. The instructional videos mostly were just more videos of guys wearing flashy “Jesus” tee-shirts and yelling to crowds of angry people. A few were videos of talking heads discussing Street Preaching. The first part of the video taken at an Atlanta Street Preachers’ Conference was about a portable megaphone system for screaming at people, confronting them.
It became clear early on as I reviewed those available videos that this form of evangelistic effort was not my thing, not my style. I don’t feel called to stand in a city screaming into a microphone at people. What, to me, was disturbing, is that these Street Preachers seemed content more to threaten people with Hell, than invite people to Heaven. Perhaps that’s a calling for them. Perhaps that’s a way to offer the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Y’shuaJesus The Messiah, to a stiff-necked, nearly reprobate people. I don’t wish to seem judgmental. All who are called use their talents their own ways to fulfill the calling.
God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
—Romans 2:4
But there are some other effective ways for the rest of us to Street Preach. A woman once told me her story. “I was in terrible shape. I didn’t know what to do. I was using drugs, living with two men, and on the very edge. . . dying inside. I was in a laundromat when a woman approached me and said, ‘God Loves You!’ ” For her, that was enough to bring things into perspective. In the midst of sin, she heard the voice of the Living G-d speak through a woman the equivalent of “I LOVE YOU!” That was all she needed to start the process of receiving Messiah Y’shuaJesus into her heart and then allowing Him to extricate her from her sin.
Now don’t get me wrong here. While Y’shuaJesus extended His hand to a woman about to be stoned for adultery, He also was clear about sinning no more. He healed people out of love from them, and still does. But Y’shuaJesus loved the Father so much He drove sinners out of the Temple. He screamed at people, calling them vipers. We can’t cite just one incident in the life of Y’shuaJesus and see it as the only way He modeled Himself for us. We must take hold Y’shuaJesus in His entirety.
So I’m not particularly comfortable with the style of Street Preaching that screams to crouds at a “Gay Festival,” things like “God hates homosexuality. It is a sin. Repent or go to hell.” But the Street Preacher is right. And those who hear the words can’t come to the judgement seat of Christ saying “Hey, we didn’t know!”
Another thing I’ll say about this form of Street Preaching is that at least those folks are actually doing something. How many people warm pews on Sunday, live their quiet lives the following week, and return to warm a pew the next Sunday? And there are many like me who say, “I’m not comfortable with that style of preaching, witnessing.” Time to raise our hands to G-d, and say, “What can I do?”
That brings to mind a song in which the refrain is something like, “We can at least pray!” That is truth. If there is nothing that we seem talented enough to do, or nothing that we truly feel comfortable doing to help save the lost, the eternally dying, then at least we can pray.
I read about a man in Wales, around the turn of the Century—19th to 20th Century. This man became the preacher of a small church. He wasn’t exactly the preacher-of-the-year sort, either. A bit weak and timid. But two older, stronger women began to pray for that young pastor. I don’t recall how long it took, but the great Welsh Revival was spawned through those two women and that pastor. That Revival spread throughout Wales, and proceeded by several years the Azuza Street Revival in the United States.
Lone Cross atop a mountain in east central California, hope of a sunny day breaking through. c Will Robinson. 1975.
There is a lot we need to understand about ourselves, and about G-d and His plan for all people, in order to become Genuine Christians. To this end, when reaching out to people with the Gospel, refer to four spiritual laws before offering to have folks pray the Sinner’s Prayer. I’ve included the text from a tract below that explains these laws and contains a version of the Sinner’s Prayer.
There are times in which G-d has sown the seeds of need within peoples hearts, and they simply need immediate peace though receiving the Lord Jesus. Hence, they’re often offered a hand and prayed with to receive Christ. I’ve included another version of the Sinner’s Pray toward the end of this column.
It seems to me G-d is not limited in the way in which He finds and saves the lost. Luke tells of a criminal, a sinner, dying on a cross next to our Lord Y’shuaJesus.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Luke 23:39-43.
The Four Spiritual Laws and Sinner’s Prayer
Law 1
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
God’s Love
“God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).
God’s Plan
[Christ speaking] “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly”
[that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10).
Why is it that most people are not experiencing that abundant life?
Because…
Law 2
Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.
Man is Sinful
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man Is Separated
“The wages of sin is death” [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).
Separation
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion -but he inevitably fails.
The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf…
Law 3
Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
He Died In Our Place
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
He Rose from the Dead
“Christ died for our sins… He was buried… He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures… He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
He Is the Only Way to God
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me'” (John 14:6).
Bridge The Gulf
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these three laws…
Law 4
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
We Must Receive Christ
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
We Receive Christ Through Faith
“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as result of works that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ Through Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
The following explains how you can receive Christ:
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer (Prayer is talking with God)
God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
Father, in Jesus Name I ask you the best way I know how that you forgive my sins and take my life and direct it, lead it, and guide it, all the days of my life. I want to know You Lord Jesus in a more personal way and to have You help me to grow in Your Word. I believe that You died on the Cross for me and that You were raised from the dead. I confess You Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.
Jonah’s Song 