A Fiery Farewell to Southampton

For the past two years, nearly every Friday, I have found myself in Southampton preaching the good news of Jesus. Today was my last outreach in this city (for now!). Over the time I have been here, I have seen the outreach team grow, and preachers develop. These co-labourers have become friends, and I have been so encouraged to see their growth in evangelism, and more importantly, in their love for Jesus. It was sad to say goodbye to them, but I know they will continue to lift high the cross of the Saviour. 

From the start of the outreach, the free Bible and literature table was busy. People would stop, take literature, and copies of God’s Word. Our desire is that people will take up the Scriptures and read their way into the Kingdom. 

I commenced the preaching by speaking on “Name that Carol.” Using lyrics from well-known Christmas carols, I presented the gospel. There was little engagement, though a few did listen. There was a hardness and a sense of mockery in the air – people didn’t want Jesus. One lady walked past wearing reindeer antlers and a Christmas jumper. She kept shaking her head, saying, “Really! Really! Really!” As she did this, I directed my comments at her by pointing out that she wanted Christmas without Christ and that one day her celebration of the season would rise in judgment against her as she rejected the Saviour who had been born. I wasn’t expecting to be so direct, but I do hope the biblical rebuke will cause her to consider Jesus.

Mike Mellor preached next; he spoke on “Where Are They Now?” He stressed that Christmas doesn’t mean death goes away; we like to celebrate, but life continues and, in some cases, ends. He then stressed that Jesus is the only one who can give hope to those in darkness. The mockery and hardness of the people continued, so Mike issued a biblical rebuke. He said, “It will be more tolerable for Sodom on the day of judgment than Southampton. Sodom didn’t have preachers on the street, but Southampton does!” He then appealed to people to come to the Saviour. Three young ladies listened and then spoke with Mike afterwards.

Jeremy was the next preacher; he did a great job taking John 3:16 and using it to explain the gospel and the meaning of Christmas. A couple of people listened, then spoke with team members when the preaching concluded.

One older man who listened expressed his objection to God. He told me he was a war veteran who had served with the Paras. After seeing action and evil, he concluded God wasn’t real. I asked how evil disproved God, but he just replied, “I know it does!” Since he was appealing to military experience, I told him the story of C.S. Lewis, who, after seeing the trauma of trench warfare in the First World War, came home concluding that God couldn’t exist. However, after considering it further, he asked the question, “Who did the evil – humanity or God?” As he pondered this question, Lewis saw that God said, “Love one another,” but humanity insisted upon hate and evil. The older man saw the argument and began to rant; he wasn’t interested in answers, he just wanted to justify his unbelief.

Ben preached next, speaking on “What’s the Real Reason for This Season?” He stressed it was all about Jesus, but again, he saw the mockery and indifference, so he biblically rebuked the people, calling on them to wake up and see Christ!

I said to Ben after he finished preaching that all the preachers had a directness to them today. Ben said he believed it was because the Holy Spirit was directing the preaching – there was a need for biblical rebukes.

It was one preacher after another. Next up was Richard, who spoke on “Life: What’s the Point?” He did a good job stressing the futility of life without Jesus. A Hindu man who listened took issue with the preaching, so he spoke with me afterwards. The man said, “Christianity causes all the wars!” I countered by showing, from the Encyclopedia of Wars, that only 7% of all wars were religious in nature. The Hindu man then declared that Christians created slavery; I countered this by pointing to Philemon 16 and William Wilberforce. The Hindu man then boldly declared Jesus created the Hindu caste system, so I spoke about William Carey overthrowing that belief. The man looked at me and said, “I am never wrong, as Brahma directs me!” The man had a hatred for Jesus and was completely closed. He walked off shaking his head.

I had the honour of preaching once more in Southampton; this time I spoke on “Christmas Signs.” Using different prophecies, I showed how Jesus is the Saviour who has been given for us. The mocking and opposition continued. One man came out of the pub mocking Jesus, so I warned him that he’d give an account for every idle word he speaks. I stressed to the people that it was the height of rebellion to reject the Saviour who has been given freely for sinners, yet then celebrate His birth. I pray the biblical rebuke would be used by the Holy Spirit to bring conviction.

With that, my two years of ministry in Southampton came to an end. We had been praying that if the Lord wanted us to remain in the south, that by 4pm today we would have a lead on a house to rent. If that didn’t happen, we’d take it as an indication we are to move north – the deadline passed. God-willing, on Tuesday, we will head north to Stoke-on-Trent, where we will seek to establish a home and several new outreaches. Please pray for us as we launch out on this next adventure, and pray for all those who heard the good news in Southampton.

SDG!

_____

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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