“I Don’t Live to the Standards of Jesus” – Southampton Evangelism
We faced several challenges today in Southampton. First, it was very hot. Second, a loud professional busker set up near us. Third, a drunk man was yelling abuse and threatening us for much of our time there. Yet, with all these challenges came unique gospel opportunities. Many people got to hear the wonderful news of the Lord Jesus.
Mike Mellor commenced the preaching by speaking on “Heaven?”. One lady heckled a bit, which drew in a few more people to listen, including a group of young ladies who seemed interested. Afterwards, Mike had a good chat with the group.
While handing out tracts, a young man took one and said, “I’m an Irish Roman Catholic, but I am going to Hell, as I don’t live up to the standards of Jesus.” This bloke was struggling under the weight of works-righteousness; he knew he had sinned, but he didn’t know how to be forgiven. I explained to him that none of us live up to the standards of Jesus, which is why we need a Saviour. He listened eagerly to the good news, then shook my hand and took a copy of John’s Gospel. It was the first time he had heard the message of grace.
Another good conversation took place between Richard and an older gentleman. The older man had been informed that, due to a medical issue, he has less than a year left to live. When faced with his own mortality, he began to consider eternity. Richard was able to share the gospel with the man, who was very open. The gentleman took a copy of the Bible, the booklet Ultimate Questions, and contact details for a local church.
It was now my turn to preach, so I spoke on “God and Humanity”. As I preached, a few people stopped to listen, including two young men I know from a different context. It was encouraging to see them listening to the good news – they were friendly and both took copies of John’s Gospel.
One Spanish lady who listened to me said she disagreed with my message, as her religious group had the true answer on how to have eternal life. She took me to John 6 and explained that if we truly want to be saved, we must literally eat the physical body of Jesus and drink His real blood. This lady was clearly part of a cult, as she mentioned her leader having divine revelation to understand this truth. She told me that if we don’t take communion with the real flesh and blood of Jesus, then we will never be saved.
I asked her, “In John 6, was Jesus inviting the crowds to come to Him?” She agreed, so I asked another question: “Was Jesus inviting them to come to Him for eternal life?” Again, she said, “Yes!” So I asked, “If someone has to literally eat Jesus and drink His blood to be saved, was Christ holding out His arm, inviting the crowd in John 6 to literally come and munch on Him?”
The woman looked stunned and said, “I’m not sure. I must leave. God bless!” With that, she quickly walked away.
Ben was next to preach; he did a good job despite the challenge of the loud busker nearby. After him was Jeremy, who faced the threat of the drunk man – I genuinely thought the man might punch him. Thankfully, nothing happened, and the gospel continued to spread.
The final preacher of the day was Richard, who, as usual, did well in explaining how life is futile without Jesus Christ.
As Richard preached, I found myself speaking with two young ladies at the literature table who were confused. They said they believed in God but weren’t sure how everything works together. We had a nice chat, and they took a copy of John’s Gospel.
Despite the challenges of the day, the good news kept advancing. Please pray for all those who heard of Jesus.
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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