Crazy and Demonic

Ministry Update July 24, 2016

Crazy and Demonic

We encountered one man that seemed crazy and another one that appeared to be demonic last Friday night. Aaron, Brian, Diana, Elise, Jimmy and his son, Serenity, Erica, a couple of young girls from her church and I witnessed downtown on the square. 

Crazy

Since we got started a little late so we only sung a couple of hymns then I brought a message challenging people to quit pretending. Either tell God no one time for all time or submit to the Lord Jesus. Right off the bat as soon as I started the message, the crazy guy sitting on the steps next to me threw his drink in my direction. It landed in front of the stand. He jumped up mumbling something and walked away. He yelled a few times as he walked around the square. While this was going on, Aaron was witnessing to a lesbian that wanted to know why we come out and preach.

Sadly, one young man took me up on my offer for anyone to curse God and tell God to leave him alone for all time; that they’re alright with going to Hell. I invited any takers to put it in writing. This young man wrote f God and walked off. I told him that I pray God ignores him and still tries to reach him, but I pointed out that God takes vows very seriously (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

Demonic

I continued with the message and right toward the end, a guy with a sun glass lens over one eye, holding a light saber (I know he sounds like the crazy one, but he was the demonic) came up and shined a strobe flashlight in my eyes to distract me from preaching. I called him out on being a false Christian and he told me that’s no way to talk to a brother. I assured him that he’s not my brother. No true brother in Christ would hinder the Gospel from going forth.

The demonic saber holding guy stayed around and he mocked Brian the whole time Brian preached. Brian is soft spoken and pleads with sinners to think about God’s truth that he shares. The demonic guy yelled the whole time that Brian preached. Jimmy and I tried to engage the demonic in a conversation to distract him, but he would just mouth off and walk around still trying to distract people from listening to Brian. Erica handed the demonic a tract and again, he just kept walking around quoting Scripture, twisting Scripture and trying to draw people away from God’s truth.

Crazy Man Going Crazy

While this was going on, the first guy, the crazy one asked Aaron if he could stay with him. Aaron said yes, the he could hang out with us downtown. Then he came over to me and wanted to know if he could stay at my house that night. I told him no and he wanted to know why not. I told him that I have a wife and a daughter and I don’t let strangers stay with me. He started cussing, knocked my hat off a couple of times and then splashed water from his water bottle on me. By the way, it was a water bottle that Brian had given him. Brian brought cold water for everyone on the square that night.

About that time the crazy guy said f God and walked away. Later on he came back and apologized to me, shook my hand, patted my belly (I really don’t know what that was about) and kept saying f this and f that and then told me he just wanted to see if we were real or not. He told me that he goes into prisons and witnesses to people and I thought Lord I hope not. What an awful witness he would be for Jesus.

Blind Leading The Blind

Then Aaron preached about the blind leading the blind. The demonic really mocked Aaron. It was so bad that a professing Muslim tried to get the demonic to leave Aaron alone. The friendly Muslin believes that we have the right to free speech and to say what we believe. He holds that Jesus was a prophet. Aaron has witnessed to the Muslim many times in the past and several of us have given him Gospel tracts. I think the Muslim is intrigued with street preaching.

We sang several hymns to end the night and the demonic kept hanging around. In fact after I preached, he left his flashlight near our stepstool and set it as a strobe light and tried to distract everyone the whole night. As we were packing our things up to leave, he started in again. We kept telling him that he needs to repent and trust Jesus.

The Truth Comes Out

Aaron went after him pretty hard because it was very much against God how the demonic kept working against us. He pointed out to the demonic that it was of the devil to oppose the Gospel (Acts 13:8-10). At one point the demonic said basically that he was going to love going to Hell. I looked at Brian and said would you ever say anything like that and of course he responded no way. Then a few minutes later the demonic said f Jesus. There you go. His true colors finally showed up at the very end. He pretends to be light just like Satan pretends to be light. Not everyone that professes to be a Christian really is one. Jesus said that we’ll know His disciples by their fruits and this demonic exhibited evil fruit.

While we were singing hymns a couple came up to Aaron and pointed out a woman who seemed to be rocking back back and forth, maybe a drug problem, we don’t know. But Aaron went over and talked to her and she said that she was hungry so he went and bought her some food and brought it back to her and that was the end of another crazy night.

Encouraging

My wife and I were on vacation earlier in the week and on Wednesday I decided to hold sign by a busy highway. There appears to be a lot of Christians in Northern Iowa.

Then my wife accused me of preaching to the choir and I replied, yes, even the choir needs to hear the Gospel. I stood there holding my sign Jesus Came To Save His People From Their Sin and the other side says Repent and Believe the Gospel. It was in the high 90’s and I was there for a little over an hour.

I had around 12 people wave at me, five or six honks (friendly honks), four or five thumbs up and one lady honked and gave me a thumbs up. Nobody yelled at me and no one cussed me out (unlike Springfield, Mo).

Encouragers

A pastor from a across the street came over and brought me a bottle of ice cold water and two cookies. He thanked me for being a witness for Jesus. Then a woman and her young daughter stopped and gave me a Minute Maid lemonade and some Skittles. I gladly took the lemonade, but told the little girl that she could keep the Skittles. The woman thanked me for representing Christ.

Shortly after that a guy named Dale stopped by after that and he gave me a Snapple Peach Tea. He wanted to know why I was doing what I was doing. I gave him a short version of my testimony and said since Jesus saved me, suffered for me, bled and died for my sins, holding a sign by the road seemed like a minor thing to do. Dale told me that he also had been a false convert and that God truly saved him in 2000. He told me that it was encouraging to see me holding the sign by the road.

No Need For Will Work For Food Sign

When I went back to our hotel room, I joked with my wife that I wouldn’t ever have to hold a sign Will Work For Food. I can just hold my witnessing signs and people would give us food and water. I excitedly told her about the three people that gave me something to drink and how they said I was an encouragement to them. Then my lovely wife pointed out that maybe God sent them to encourage me (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It was such a difference response than what we get in downtown Springfield. It truly was encouraging to see Christians go out of their way to bring me something cold to drink on very hot day.

These updates are provided to encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ to share your faith in Jesus with others. Please hand out Gospel tracts, tell people your testimony. Tell this lost and dying world about Jesus Christ our Lord.  The time is short. Redeem the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).