Street Preachers

[Saricharity]

St Joe,

Have you seen Do you believe?

 

[SaintJoeNow]

Jesus wants every one of His disciples to lose their lives for His sake and for the gospel. He did not give us the gospel so we could sit around in comfort knowing God. He wants us to take up our cross and follow Him, to know the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection. If we are living godly, we are going to suffer persecution and we are going to know the Lord's sufferings for lost people He died to save.

Excuses for relaxing and passing time are not Biblical. All spiritual gifts are for the Lord's exaltation and His gospel, not for our own personal enjoyments and not so we can be recognized by other people.

It's supposed to be all about Him and His gospel, not all about us and His blessings on us.

<Staff Edit> Calvinists are not Baptists if they call themselves Baptist or not. They think they don't have to be carrying their cross and denying themselves, losing their lives for the Lord's sake and for His gospel but rather enjoying His salvation and feeling no need to try to get lost people to see the Light of the gospel. Many become scholars and debaters of Christians rather than believers who are carrying their cross following Jesus through death into eternal life and trying to win others into the same course Jesus followed which guarantees hatred from the world and persecution from the enemies of the gospel.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

St Joe,

Have you seen Do you believe?

I will see Jesus soon. He is my life. I cannot hide the light He has given me. I am compelled to try to get lost people to see the light of the gospel. Time is so short. People all around my are dying and on their way to Hell, and I am living and on my way to heaven. They have eternal death, I have eternal life. I want them, as God wants them, all to come to repentance and not to perish.

I hope that answers your questions, thanks for asking. I know you are actively engaged in reaching out to lost people to show them God's love so maybe they can see the gospel is true and they can be saved.

God bless you.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

I know ten year olds who are soul winners, sharing the gospel with their friends, witnessing of the Lord's salvation, so little kids are getting saved by the Lord's working in and through His little children. Those kids are not Bible school graduates or strongly trained in Bible doctrine. They know they are saved and they know who saved them and they know He can save their friends and they gladly try to get their lost friends, and even lost strangers, to see how they can be saved.

Those kids put the naysayers in this thread to shame, but they will probably be too proud to admit it and come back with a long doctrinal statement trying to prove why they are not supposed to be trying to spread the gospel.

 

[Saricharity]

I will see Jesus soon. He is my life. I cannot hide the light He has given me. I am compelled to try to get lost people to see the light of the gospel. Time is so short. People all around my are dying and on their way to Hell, and I am living and on my way to heaven. They have eternal death, I have eternal life. I want them, as God wants them, all to come to repentance and not to perish.

I hope that answers your questions, thanks for asking. I know you are actively engaged in reaching out to lost people to show them God's love so maybe they can see the gospel is true and they can be saved.

God bless you.

It does. For some reason, you came to my mind when I saw the man in the movie carrying the cross.
I try hard to reach out to the lost. There are so many people who are. I guess sometimes, what strikes me the most, are the people who are so lost they don't even realize it. They are so wise in their own eyes...similar to the doctor in the movie. He was so blinded by his knowledge and what he believed to be truth. I see it on this forum as well. It makes my heart sad. Those people are the ones truly lost and they don't even know it. It's like if it can't be explained logically or scientifically or fill in the blank....then it doesn't exist. Being lost and so wise in your own eyes is probably one of the saddest existences there is....those people hurt my heart the most.
I really respect your zeal from reaching out to the lost.
After seeing that movie, I feel like I'm not doing nearly enough.
People are dying everyday and somehow, we need to find a way to love them enough to make them see.....really SEE CHRIST in us.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

Here's a test...do you shout Praise the Lord when you see a lost sinner bow their head and ask God in Jesus' name to save them, does it stir your heart so your bowels of compassion for that sinner are moved? Do your eyes water up in tears of joy when you see a person go down in baptism representing their identification with the Lord's death, and their confidence in His resurrection when they rise from the water?

Do you long to see more of these things, and do you make yourself available to God to be the instrument God uses to reach others and make these things happen?


If you say no to any of these questions, I say why not? If you say no to any of these questions, please spare me your doctrinal dissertations.

 

[Saricharity]

Doctrinal dissertations?

 

[SaintJoeNow]

It does. For some reason, you came to my mind when I saw the man in the movie carrying the cross.
I try hard to reach out to the lost. There are so many people who are. I guess sometimes, what strikes me the most, are the people who are so lost they don't even realize it. They are so wise in their own eyes...similar to the doctor in the movie. He was so blinded by his knowledge and what he believed to be truth. I see it on this forum as well. It makes my heart sad. Those people are the ones truly lost and they don't even know it. It's like if it can't be explained logically or scientifically or fill in the blank....then it doesn't exist. Being lost and so wise in your own eyes is probably one of the saddest existences there is....those people hurt my heart the most.
I really respect your zeal from reaching out to the lost.
After seeing that movie, I feel like I'm not doing nearly enough.
People are dying everyday and somehow, we need to find a way to love them enough to make them see.....really SEE CHRIST in us.

I'm considering carrying a cross around at the county fair as a tool to start conversations with lost people so I can tell them the gospel.....many creative ways of showing people God's goodness, showing them that our faith is something wonderful and desirable for them to know. My church always rents a booth at the fair, but I may rent a booth of my own to have greater freedom for creative ways to bring people in to try to lead them to the Lord. I really like the way Ray Comfort uses gimmicks to draw a crowd as he preaches. Anybody can do it if they want to. If my pastor told me I can't set up a booth myself and present the gospel in the best way I can dream up for God to use my unique personality, talents, and all He has given me, I would quit the church. He might not want to have the church name on my booth, but I sure will invite people to come to our church. You don't have to be ordained by the local church to be a soul winner. Every believer is ordained by God to be like Jesus and that means He wants us to be fishers of men.

 

[WirSindBettler]

As you can tell, I'm not a Baptist, but I have one thing to say:

I love street preachers!

Having come to Christ as an adult, before I was saved I used to hate them. I distinctly remember two who were phenomenal, looking back now. They were standing across from each other on a pedestrian mall of sorts, one on a bench staring eye to eye across this six foot gap with the other who was standing on a box crate, people walking in the middle. They had a big box of Gideon's on either side, and I believe they were Assemblies of God. They kept jubilantly shouting at each other about Ezekiel 37, and though I hardly remember the conversation, it was very call and response, and it went something like this:

-And the Lord moved Ezekiel!
-He did?
-And he placed him in a valley of dry bones!
-Dry bones?
-And God told him to preach His word!
-What happened?
-Those bones started rattlin'! And do you know what?
-What?
-Those bones started forming! That flesh started crawling! Those sinews started stretching!
-Then what?
-God gave them His breath! And you know what? They rose!
-They rose?
-They Rose! We rose!
-We rose?
-'Cause what was that word?
-Was it THAT Word?
-Yes it was!
-The Word made flesh?
-Don't you know it!
-The Word called Jesus Christ?
-Yes sir!
-And what's this about?
-Well, you and I are dead!
-We're dead?
-Without Jesus we're dead in sin!

And it continued on and on. I thought it was just crazy talk until Christ found me!
I love street preachers!

 

[SaintJoeNow]

It does. For some reason, you came to my mind when I saw the man in the movie carrying the cross.
I try hard to reach out to the lost. There are so many people who are. I guess sometimes, what strikes me the most, are the people who are so lost they don't even realize it. They are so wise in their own eyes...similar to the doctor in the movie. He was so blinded by his knowledge and what he believed to be truth. I see it on this forum as well. It makes my heart sad. Those people are the ones truly lost and they don't even know it. It's like if it can't be explained logically or scientifically or fill in the blank....then it doesn't exist. Being lost and so wise in your own eyes is probably one of the saddest existences there is....those people hurt my heart the most.
I really respect your zeal from reaching out to the lost.
After seeing that movie, I feel like I'm not doing nearly enough.
People are dying everyday and somehow, we need to find a way to love them enough to make them see.....really SEE CHRIST in us.

God bless you. You know He wants you to give your life to Him and His gospel.
I feel guilty for sitting here and not being out knocking on doors trying to reach people for the Lord. It helps when I try to get others stirred up to be more active for promoting and spreading the gospel....and it helps to keep me fired up so I practice what I'm preaching here when I go out of my house and encounter people. I can hardly walk past a person any more without trying to talk to them to see if they are saved from Hell and going to heaven. That person I pass on the sidewalk might be minutes away from death, and if I let them go by me without trying to give them the gospel then I could have just sat quiet while they plunged into Hell. It's not hard to offer a friendly hello and start a conversation to tell them God loves them and wants them to be saved. You don't have to have a particular gift to do that. All you need is to know God's love, and that love reaches out to others for the Lord and His gospel.

Yes it's very sad when you see lost people strong in pride thinking they are wise and living good and right and ok while they are rejecting the Savior. It's sad when you know they are lost and on their way to Hell.

Yes, doctrinal dissertations are often used as excuses for not caring about lost people's eternal destination. They kinda make me want to puke. A lot of Christians can write books about doctrine, set themselves up as teachers of the Bible........forgetting that following the Lord means to be in fellowship with His sufferings, hated by the world, and suffering persecution because of the love we have from God which compels us to reach out to lost sinners and try to show them that God loves them and His goodness leads to repentance.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

As you can tell, I'm not a Baptist, but I have one thing to say:

I love street preachers!

Having come to Christ as an adult, before I was saved I used to hate them. I distinctly remember two who were phenomenal, looking back now. They were standing across from each other on a pedestrian mall of sorts, one on a bench staring eye to eye across this six foot gap with the other who was standing on a box crate, people walking in the middle. They had a big box of Gideon's on either side, and I believe they were Assemblies of God. They kept jubilantly shouting at each other about Ezekiel 37, and though I hardly remember the conversation, it was very call and response, and it went something like this:

-And the Lord moved Ezekiel!
-He did?
-And he placed him in a valley of dry bones!
-Dry bones?
-And God told him to preach His word!
-What happened?
-Those bones started rattlin'! And do you know what?
-What?
-Those bones started forming! That flesh started crawling! Those sinews started stretching!
-Then what?
-God gave them His breath! And you know what? They rose!
-They rose?
-They Rose! We rose!
-We rose?
-'Cause what was that word?
-Was it THAT Word?
-Yes it was!
-The Word made flesh?
-Don't you know it!
-The Word called Jesus Christ?
-Yes sir!
-And what's this about?
-Well, you and I are dead!
-We're dead?
-Without Jesus we're dead in sin!

And it continued on and on. I thought it was just crazy talk until Christ found me!
I love street preachers!

PRAISE THE LORD!!

That's what I'm talking about! Enjoying our faith so much that it overflows and we can't help but shout it out! That's a great story about a couple guys who had a very creative, simple, and effective way of spreading the gospel.

Many people get saved thanks to those believers simply enjoying giving voice to the gospel.

You will like Ray Comfort Street Preacher videos......his organization is Living Waters.....

but that's an excellent example of a creative way of sharing the gospel with strangers you posted. Thank you for posting that.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

As you can tell, I'm not a Baptist, but I have one thing to say:

I love street preachers!

Having come to Christ as an adult, before I was saved I used to hate them. I distinctly remember two who were phenomenal, looking back now. They were standing across from each other on a pedestrian mall of sorts, one on a bench staring eye to eye across this six foot gap with the other who was standing on a box crate, people walking in the middle. They had a big box of Gideon's on either side, and I believe they were Assemblies of God. They kept jubilantly shouting at each other about Ezekiel 37, and though I hardly remember the conversation, it was very call and response, and it went something like this:

-And the Lord moved Ezekiel!
-He did?
-And he placed him in a valley of dry bones!
-Dry bones?
-And God told him to preach His word!
-What happened?
-Those bones started rattlin'! And do you know what?
-What?
-Those bones started forming! That flesh started crawling! Those sinews started stretching!
-Then what?
-God gave them His breath! And you know what? They rose!
-They rose?
-They Rose! We rose!
-We rose?
-'Cause what was that word?
-Was it THAT Word?
-Yes it was!
-The Word made flesh?
-Don't you know it!
-The Word called Jesus Christ?
-Yes sir!
-And what's this about?
-Well, you and I are dead!
-We're dead?
-Without Jesus we're dead in sin!

And it continued on and on. I thought it was just crazy talk until Christ found me!
I love street preachers!

Excellent quote from Number 11:29 in your signature

 

[WirSindBettler]

Excellent quote from Number 11:29 in your signature

Thank you, brother.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

You've been a blessing to me tonight, I needed it. Had a couple dry days here, it's encouraging to see others cheering the street preachers and some I know are in similar ministering methods equally encouraging to me.

 

[dcalling]

You've been a blessing to me tonight, I needed it. Had a couple dry days here, it's encouraging to see others cheering the street preachers and some I know are in similar ministering methods equally encouraging to me.

StJoe brother, I will pray for you, harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. I have been an atheist for too long, many brothers and sisters tried to save me, all failed. I think most lost hope, but God found me eventually, and I am truly grateful!

You just never know how God will use you, or how God will touch someone, sometimes the seed you put forward get harvested by others, or even in the next generation.

Good night and God bless!

 

[JM]

Jesus said if you follow him, he will make you a fisher of men. Yes He said that to Peter. It's the same for me and you. If we are following Jesus, He is making us into fishermen. If you are not trying to fish for men, something is wrong. You don't have to be a street preacher, but if you are not actively trying to win people to the Lord, not actively trying to get them to see the Light of the gospel, something is wrong.

I went for a walk the other day and got to present the gospel to several people. Some of them are lost, and they were not ready to be saved, but they sure heard how they can be saved. You don't have to be a street preacher, but there is nothing wrong with going out an doing it with or without your pastor's approval. If you are afraid to do it, or you think you have to make excuses as to why you are not supposed to be testifying and witnessing of what the Lord has done for you, something is wrong. Believers baptism is the first testimony of faith, the first witnessing for the Lord, the first testimony we are commanded to give.

A Christian who is intimidated or afraid to approach a stranger and tell them God loves them and Jesus is God who died for their sins and offers them forgiveness in His resurrection if they will repent and believe on Him and receive Him by faith has nothing to tell me about how to be a good Christian, nothing to teach me about Biblical doctrine.

If you are not ready to be a soul winner, that's ok. Spend time in the word, praying for lost people to get saved and praying for Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be useful instruments of God for reaching the lost, to encourage one another to live and walk in faith, pursue personal holiness and love the brothers and sisters in the Lord. But don't sit there and try to pull me down by impressing me with your Biblical knowledge when you seem to be ashamed of the gospel and afraid to be rejected by lost people. If you feel unequipped or ungifted for sharing the gospel, then you need to get in the word and get in prayer and ask God to change that. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Hope makes not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. He wants to be rivers of living water flowing out of our bellies, and that flow is to attract people who are thirsty and dying of thirst. There is no excuse for not trying to win souls or being unconcerned about people who are standing on thin ice melting over the fire of Hell.

From the moment a person gets saved, God wants that person to be active in getting others to see the same light of the gospel that shined through to you by which you were converted from eternal death to eternal life.

Hey Joe. Almost missed your post.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXE6-6QK-Lg
To place such an emphasis on evangelism, based on dreadful exegesis of a few passages, is troubling. It’s as if you place those who street preach according to Finneyism at the top of some spiritually elite hierarchy. The Bible does not teach that everyone is gifted with the same abilities or called to the same office. It has nothing to do with being intimidated but has everything to do with finding a scriptural mandate for assuming everyone is called to street preach. Anyone can learn the Ray Comfort method of evangelism to solicit an emotional response. The old guard in the 1800’s referred to the mission fields manipulated by emotional means as “burnt gournd.” I praise God for using the weak and beggarly methods of man to call His people to Himself but that does not validate the method itself. You acknowledged that being called to be “fishers of men” was given to Peter only to discard the context. I’m open to discussing scriptural reasons and methods for evangelism but not willing to assume everything in scripture is written to me or about me personally.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGdovFDTCC4
Yours in the Lord,

Jm
PS: Pile on may commence.

 

[JM]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOyEJVwIJk0

 

[JM]

A good read about Hyper-Evangelism.

Hyper-Evangelism: Another Gospel, Though A Mighty Power

 

[SaintJoeNow]

StJoe brother, I will pray for you, harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. I have been an atheist for too long, many brothers and sisters tried to save me, all failed. I think most lost hope, but God found me eventually, and I am truly grateful!

You just never know how God will use you, or how God will touch someone, sometimes the seed you put forward get harvested by others, or even in the next generation.

Good night and God bless!

wow, amen, and God bless you also

 

[SaintJoeNow]

A good read about Hyper-Evangelism.

Hyper-Evangelism: Another Gospel, Though A Mighty Power

Thank you, I'm sure you know all about resting in faith, resting in the Lord's finished work on your behalf so you should be able to sleep well.