Another Ticket!

Another Ticket!

Ministry Update April 24, 2016

Another ticket! No, I’m not joking. Same old, same old. Three men preach using the same amplifier, but Aaron was the only one who received a ticket. Aaron showed the police officer and the acting Sergeant the agreement that he has with the city, but they totally ignored it. I pointed out to the first officer that it wasn’t fair that Aaron was being ticketed when three of us were preaching so he took my license, but in the end he handed it back to me and only ticketed Aaron. This is blatant harassment and it is wrong. 

Neither policeman checked the decibels of our sound system. One man complained about the Gospel going forth, so they claim they have to write a ticket. I don’t believe it. The man lives in a loft apartment downtown. Frequently there are concerts on the square. While we were leaving, there was a concert a block away that was much louder than we were. Did they receive a ticket? No they didn’t. If you don’t believe the Bible is God’s Holy Word, then you haven’t really read it. It is supernatural. Not only have hundreds of prophecies of Jesus proven true, even simple verses prove true. The Bible says that the Gospel is offensive to those who are perishing and that was proven true Friday night.

The man who was offended claimed that he was a Christian. He told the police that he couldn’t hear his TV over our amplifier. The man walked up to us from the South side of the square holding his dog, not to our right and behind us where he lives. He was offended while out in the open, not while watching TV, so he lied to the police from the beginning. He was offended by the Gospel, even though he claimed that he is a Christian. I have news for (and yes, go ahead and call me judgmental) if the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ offends you, then you are not saved!

This man most definitely is not saved. How do I know? First of all he complained about the Gospel being proclaimed in the open-air. Secondly, he told me that he was going to put a stop to this ____ (he cussed). Thirdly, he flipped me off – twice! He also flipped Diana off too. Jesus said that we would know His disciples by their fruits (works). This man exhibited the exact opposite of works for Jesus. He’s lost and that’s why he didn’t want to hear the Gospel.

Other than the excitement of the man with the dog complaining that we were disturbing the peace and two police officers  violating our freedom of religion and freedom of speech rights, the rest of the night was fairly quiet. Brian and I brought messages and we sang hymns to start and end the night. Serenity had the funniest comment when the policeman first approached us she said “No, I can’t go to jail, I’m too pretty.”

The Gospel went forth through the preaching and singing, in spite of the drama of the night. Also, the police shut us down and said that we couldn’t use the amplifiers the rest of the night. The ironic part was that the preaching was already over and we were singing hymns to end the night. But it really is frustrating when our first amendment rights are violated, so I jumped back up on the box and read Romans 1 with a very loud voice. A man and his family came over and sat in the grass on the square and listened. May God use His word to convict lost souls.

You Don’t Believe in Creationism, Do You?

I had a scheduling conflict at work this last week, so I went to MSU on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.  Because of this change, Aaron was unable to join me. I brought a message and was literally finishing up when a young student named Emily came over and told me that this isn’t how to reach her generation. So I pointed to the bench across the sidewalk and asked her if she really would have stopped and talked to me if I had just been sitting on the bench. Of course she wouldn’t have.

Emily had on an atheist t-shirt so I pointed out to her that someone built the library behind us, someone built the four wheeler type vehicle that was driving by us and someone even built the light post that was near us. I said if you understand that someone built these things, why is it so hard to believe that God created everything. She then said that she was agnostic; that she never claimed to be an atheist. (Isn’t it funny how quickly she backslid from atheism into agnosticism?).

Then she told me that she grew up Catholic. I replied no wonder she doesn’t believe in God, she was never introduced to the real God. She pointed out that the pope says atheist will go to Heaven. I told her that the pope was wrong and that he’s lost. She visibly recoiled and stepped back. I told her that she just said that the pope says atheists will make it to Heaven. I said even an atheist knows better than that. I also pointed out to her that Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man and that the pope blasphemes God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit by taking on all three of their titles. He also allows men to bow down to him, kiss his ring and/or hand. No true believer would do these things, especially not blaspheming God by taking His title.

At one point I walked her through some of the 10 Commandments because she made a comment about something that she would or would not do. She was a tough one because she wouldn’t admit her sins. She claimed that she’s only ever told white lies and only then so she wouldn’t hurt someone’s feelings. She claimed that she had always obeyed her mom and dad, never coveted, never stole anything and that she was a virgin. So I asked her if she had ever lusted and she really thought for a little bit and finally admitted that she probably had done that before. But she didn’t think that we could be held accountable for our thoughts, so I quoted her Matthew 5:27-28. She still didn’t believe that her thoughts could cause her to sin. The only commandment that she freely admitted to breaking was blaspheming God. She said she does that all the time and it didn’t bother her at all.

Emily and I actually had a good back and forth discussion and she even took a tract from me. Most atheists won’t take a tract there at the campus. Then she said that she had to go and started walking off. I thanked her for stopping and talking to me and was ready to leave, again thinking that we had a good conversation. But about three or four steps away from me, she spun around and said, you don’t believe in creationism, do you? I said of course I do. She said science disproves that. I said no it doesn’t, real science backs up the Bible. It was just like a switch went off in her head and she yelled, “Go ahead and preach then, make more atheists.” I was ready to leave, but I hate to leave when anyone encourages me to keep preaching, so I brought a short message to end the lunch hour. It was heart breaking to me how Emily decided to end the conversation, but all I can do is hope and pray that God will reach her. That God will convict her with His truth. That God will convict and convert her as only He can do.