“I’m Sinless!” – Portsmouth Evangelism
After a few days of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, it was lovely to be back out on the streets sharing the good news. The weather was pleasant in Portsmouth as we shared the life-changing gospel.
Once we had set up, the team began handing out tracts and chatting with people. We did this for a little while, then I commenced preaching. My first message was on “Steps to Peace with God.” I began by asking the question, “Do you have peace with God?” One lady, laughing, called out, “NO!” then walked away mocking, but others seemed intrigued by the question. As I explained that the reason we don’t have peace with God is because of our sin, a group of young ladies stopped. One of them boldly declared, “I’m sinless!”
Something I like to do in open-air preaching is engage with people. When a heckler arises, that can be the best thing to happen to the outreach. People begin to stop, and a crowd forms to listen. I know some preachers ignore hecklers, but a good interaction in the open air can allow you to reach more people.
As the group of young ladies laughed, I asked the ‘sinless’ one if I could test her to see if she truly was perfect. She laughed and agreed. I then asked her if she had heard of the Ten Commandments – she had – so I asked her to name as many as she could. After listing about four commandments, I said, “I want to test you by the Commandments to see if you are sinless, as breaking God’s Law is sin.” She agreed, so I began to walk through different commands, looking at the issues of lying, stealing, hating, and disobeying parents.
The young lady quickly admitted to breaking God’s Law, so I asked her, “How can you be forgiven and have peace with God?” She replied by mentioning good works and religion. Using Isaiah 64:6, I showed her that our best deeds aren’t good enough, then I pointed to the cross to show what Jesus had done. The group heard the gospel and took material from team members. They may have wanted to mock, but still, the truth was shared with them. At the end of the message, when I offered copies of John’s Gospel to those listening, six people responded.
The team went back to handing out tracts and chatting with people, then it was Jim’s turn to preach. He did a great job speaking about the risen Christ, and how Jesus can make people brand new. He is always joyous and passionate when he preaches – I half expect him to break into a hymn of praise!
While Jim preached, Margaret asked me to join her in a conversation she was having with a friendly and well-educated Muslim lady from Pakistan. The lady was trying to convince us that Jesus never died and that the Bible had been corrupted. These are standard Islamic arguments, so we answered her objections and pointed her back to the gospel. We had a good discussion, and at the end, she took a couple of booklets designed to answer Muslim questions and share the good news.
Another encouragement today was seeing Nigel and Jyothi speak with a man who has passed by the preaching on numerous occasions in recent weeks. Each time, he has spoken with team members, but today he shared that he understood the seriousness of the message and said he would read his Bible. As a show of kindness, the man then gave Nigel and Jyothi sweets/candy.
By now it was nearing the end of the outreach, so I preached once more. This time I spoke on “Are You Good Enough for Heaven?” Using the Ten Commandments, I showed that all have sinned and that no one is good. A few people listened, but one lady in particular became quite emotional during the preaching. At the end, she took a copy of John’s Gospel and chatted with Sarah.
The time we spent on the streets flew by today; it was a joy to be out sharing the good news. Please pray for all those who heard the gospel.
SDG!
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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.
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