Last year I attended the 2010 San Luis Obispo Earth Day event to pass out tracts and evangelize 1-2-1. Only to find out that speaking of Jesus Christ wasn’t appreciated by some. If you remember, I was pretty much booted from a booth that I was invited into by Jarrod, a Jewish rabbi. The booth was there to promote “religious tolerance.” But when Jarrod began to disagree with the Jesus of the Bible I was presenting, a reverend lady got upset with my being there and ran me off.
My Brother in Christ Jeff Harrison and I attended the 2011 SLO Earth Day event last Saturday. Our intention was to go into the event and pass out as many gospel tracts as we could. Then just before leaving the event, we where going to read aloud, open-air style, from Matthew 26-28, participating in the Project Ezra: Mission Good Friday outreach.
But when we arrived in the parking lot, we found 20-25 people standing on the sidewalk waiting for a shuttle to take them into the Earth Day event. Our plans changed quickly and we decided to remain by the shuttle pick up point and preach open air to the groups of people that would form every 10-15 minutes. We did this for quite some time. We had the privilege of sharing the Law and Gospel to maybe a hundred people. Praise be to GOD! This video gives some indication as to how well we were received by them.
At some point we decided to go ahead up into the festival. It was interesting and sad. The blatant idolatry expressed there was appalling. It grieved me to see it - not to mention the witchcraft.
The summation of the outreach is this. These people desperately need Jesus Christ – just as I still do today. Thirteen years back, I would have been at this festival partaking in all manner of sin. Apart from the grace that I received through faith in Jesus Christ, I too would resist the Gospel and GOD’s people’s pleadings.
I’m always blown away just how irrational a sinner can be though. Lost folk might promote religious tolerance, or even say, “make love not war” or “give peace a chance,” while at the same time, gnash their teeth at you in hatred of the Light that you’re trying to share with them in hopes they’ll be saved. Wow some of these folks are snarky and intolerant of us sharing our faith.
By GOD’s grace, we persevered in the face of their resistance and we pray GOD was glorified and that these people were convicted of sin, or righteousness, and judgment and that they'll see their need for Christ Jesus.
Lord willing, later this week I’ll be uploading the videos from this evangelism effort.
I met a very nice young man named Austin in Pismo Beach the other day. It was a beautiful day – in the High 80’s. There were people all over Pismo and Austin was out to show off his “Parkour” skills.
“What is Parkour,” you ask? Wikipeia says,
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) is a utilitarian discipline based upon the successful, swift and energy-efficient traversing of one's surrounding environment via the practical application of techniques, based around the concept of self-preservation and the ability to help others. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. Skills such as jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are employed. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles are preferable and it is most commonly practiced in urban areas.
In this interview I used the dangerous nature of the tricks I saw Austin perform to springboard into talking about the surety of death and the afterlife.
As you watch this interview, notice how Austin takes a position that he doesn’t believe in Creator GOD but instead “science” (at the beginning of the interview). But after opening up the Ten Commandments to him, we found a place of agreement in his conscience. He acknowledged his guilt before GOD and Austin’s eternal destiny if he died in his sins.
Christian, don’t forsake the use of what GOD has given us to speak the truth in love to lost people. Use the Law to bring about the knowledge of sin. Speak of the character and nature of GOD. Speak of the torments of Hell. Do your best to make Hell reasonable to them so that you can preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. More often than not, like Austin, a person will move from denying the existence of GOD to acknowledging their sin, guilt and the existence of GOD.
But ultimately, all of this is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a sinner. It is He who must save. So trust Him to use you and share your faith today.
Lately I’ve been using a flipchart and easel when I go to Pismo Beach Pier to evangelize. I’ve used it a bit in the past but lately, it’s been very effective in getting people interested to stop and engage in conversation. Ultimately I know that it is the Holy Spirit who draws these people in. Our Sovereign LORD has all these details worked out.
When I’ve used the flipchart in the past, I’ve used it for open air preaching. And over the 3rd and 4th of July, that is exactly what I did. However, just recently I've noticed that my voice hasn’t been holding out as long as what it has in the past. I’ve been really bummed out about it and would appreciate your prayers. After preaching for thirty minutes or so I need to give my voice a break.
While I’m giving my pipes a rest, I’ve found myself standing in front of this flip chart just passing out tracts. As I said above, GOD has provided many encounters with people during these rest periods in my preaching.
It’s happened a couple of times now where I’ve had groups of 10-20 people stand there and listen to the Law and Gospel preached (a mini-open air) after going through the “Intelligence Test” and Three Triangles test.
Typically what’s been happening is two or three people stop and want take the “Intelligence Test” – then before I know it, there are 4-8 people standing there listening and engaging in answering the questions. One small group after another stops and hears the Law and Gospel! I’ve really been blown away by how GOD has used this. As soon as one group leaves (after hearing the law and gospel) another couple stops and again, before I know it, I’m preaching to another group of people (and this goes on all afternoon).
Below are a few videos from my preaching on the box from July 3rd, 2010 in Pismo Beach. In the days to come, Lord willing, I’ll edit and upload some of the video footage of what I’m talking about above from my efforts on the 4th of July.
Christian, during these warm sunny days, when people are on vacation, taking things a bit slower, take advantage of it, be deliberate, glorify GOD and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with lost people.
Last Sunday I had the privilege of reading the Word of God aloud and heralding the law and Gospel of Jesus Christ. I packed my open air box, the wooden cross, and my tracts and bible and headed to Pismo Pier. I arrived and setup near the mouth of the pier at around 3:30 PM. There was a fair amount of foot traffic. But I also know that the closer it is to sunset the more people come out to enjoy it.
Direct interaction with people while preaching was minimal for the first couple of hours. I read from Psalms, Romans and from the book of Acts. I preached the law and Gospel and did my best to speak of the Person of Jesus Christ – not only what He did to save sinners but also who He is.
As I said, as sunset draws closer more people come out. This day was no different. There was a group of 10 -12 teenage boys riding around near where I was preaching. I’ve had conversations with many of them before but this day I met a young man I’d never met before. As these guys rode around, a young man named Kevin yapped at me about “ramming religion down our throats.” This twenty-seven minute audio is an excerpt of the open air.
I believe GOD used this open air, and Kevin’s loud voice and opinions to draw in a group of people who stood around waiting for the sun to set.
WARNING: There is a lot of profanity in this audio. One other side note: there were no Christians there. It was just the pagans gathered and myself. Maybe there were Christians there listening or praying but they didn’t make themselves known to me. But something that always blows me away is when unregenerate people defend me. When things heat up between Kevin, me and one other guy, several unregenerate people standing just behind me step up and come to my defense.
There is one other unexpected twist to this story – nothing earth shattering – but it also blows me away. You’ll hear me offer Kevin some tracts at the end of the audio. He was upset and just road off on his bike. A little while later I had the opportunity to spend a few more minutes with him and give him, “The Atheist Test” tract and one other old Evolution tract that Living Waters used to sell. God gave me the opportunity to reiterate some of the truths I had shared with Kevin during the open air. Except this time, with gentleness and a pleading concern for his soul. I put my hand on Kevin’s shoulder and looked him in the eye and said, “Kevin, I care about you. Please turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ. It’s time to get right with GOD.” He calmed down and talked quietly for a few more minutes. We even shook hands before he left. I thank GOD that He gave me those few minutes with Kevin.
Fast-forward to Thursday night (last night): I attended a local Farmer’s Market in San Luis Obispo. SLOtown is approximately eighteen miles north of Pismo Pier. It was around 9:45 PM. Another Brother and I were witnessing to the numerous high school kids that gathered just outside of Jamba Juice (a great place for 1-2-1 witnessing). I was in conversation with three fourteen year old young ladies when I heard a guy say, “Hey, I know you.” I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t think the guy was talking to me. He dropped his bike and came walking up to me and held out his hand. He said, “What’s up? Are you here doing the same thing you were doing in Pismo.” It was Kevin and he held out his hand to shake my hand again. I don’t know what GOD is doing in the hearts of people but Kevin was smiling and seemed genuinely glad to see me, even wanting to go over some of the things we had talked about on Sunday. Please pray for this young man.
I must leave you with two things. First, just because things might get heated in either a witnessing encounter or during open air, hang in there, GOD works during those times too. You never really know whose being disturbed or even called to repentance by the Holy Spirit. I’m not saying Kevin is saved by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems from my limited perspective, the Holy Spirit is doing something there. So don’t shy away from the heat of a passionate discussion and plead with them to repent and believe the gospel. Plead with them, preach the law and the gospel to them and don’t quit.
Secondly, after the open air kind of died down, maybe fifteen people or so stood around for another hour discussing spiritual matters, GOD, the Bible, Jesus Christ, etc. Sad to say, but I was all these pagans had. There were no other Christians there to minister to these people who GOD had brought there to hear the gospel. I’m not exaggerating, I had a girl asking me sincere questions and at the same time a guy who was just as sincere asked me questions about the Bible and GOD. Many of the others had questions and wanted to hear more too. I wasn’t able to talk at length with all of them. At one point, I had to tell the one young lady who had a ton of questions that I couldn’t have a conversation with her and the guy I was currently talking to. This really grieved me.
Chrsitian - If you are not engaged in regular, deliberate evangelism, not only are you disobedient to our Lord’s command but you're missing out on the joy of spreading His fame – preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Last year I attended the 2010 San Luis Obispo Earth Day event to pass out tracts and evangelize 1-2-1. Only to find out that speaking of Jesus Christ wasn’t appreciated by some. If you remember, I was pretty much booted from a booth that I was invited into by Jarrod, a Jewish rabbi. The booth was there to promote “religious tolerance.” But when Jarrod began to disagree with the Jesus of the Bible I was presenting, a reverend lady got upset with my being there and ran me off.
