From Opposition to Openness – Portsmouth Evangelism
It was wonderful to return to Portsmouth. After being unwell during April, and then taking leave, it has been a few weeks since I’ve preached in this coastal city. My challenge today was our team numbers were very low, but as Charles Spurgeon stated, “One man with God is a majority though there be a thousand on the other side.” Thankfully, by the end of the outreach, three of us were out sharing the good news.
After setting up for the outreach, we spent time handing out tracts and engaging people in conversation. I had a good chat with a lady at the literature table who told me she was a lifelong Christian, and that God forgives everyone. I shared the gospel with this church-going lady, but then the first wave of opposition came in like a flood.
A young man whom I’ve spoken with previously decided to start preaching. This man is a lone ranger hyper-charismatic, who believes all churches are false. When he started preaching, he immediately interrupted and ended two gospel conversations which were taking place. I shut down the open-air board, as I wanted it to be clear that he was not with us, then I tried to speak with him. The moment I engaged him, he started to denounce me as being just like the religious leaders in the days of Christ who tried to silence Jesus. The young man then declared that the Holy Spirit had told him to preach, so that is what he’ll do. I challenged him on his behaviour and how he was acting contrary to the Word of God. The man walked right up to me, got into my face, and started to shout, “You are manifesting a demon!” I asked him what church he attended, and he declared he didn’t go to one. I referenced 1 Timothy 3, and the importance of being in a local fellowship under godly Elders, and his response was to say, “Forget 1 Timothy 3!” That comment alone was more than enough to prove this man was not operating according to the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit will never go against the Scripture.
The young man shouted to those passing by that they shouldn’t go to any church as they are all corrupt, then he started to declare that only the King James Version of the Bible is true. His ‘preaching’ (if you could call it that) was messy, unbiblical, prideful, and contrary to the Holy Spirit (for more on the dangers of this kind of theology / practice, please listen to ‘Charismatic Chaos’).
While all this was happening, I sent out prayer requests to our WhatsApp group; immediately, people began to pray, and soon this man left. But the opposition wasn’t finished yet; in the chaos that had been caused, two Mormon missionaries had snuck in and began to engage a young man near our literature table. By the time I got to them, the young man was agreeing to attend a study with them, so I decided to put myself into the conversation. I asked the young man if they had told him how the Book of Mormon was discovered and translated? He said they hadn’t, so I told him the tale of Joseph Smith and the fanciful claims he made. The Mormons agreed with what I said, but the young man was stunned – he thought the claims of Smith were ludicrous, so he quickly decided not to study with the Mormons. With that he walked off, allowing me to now speak with the LDS elders.
The Mormons asked if I had read the Book of Mormon, and if I believed it. I answered by saying I had read it, and because of the Bible, I rejected the claims of the LDS. They then asked where the Bible went against LDS teaching, so we began to chat about the gospel. As I explained salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, one of the Mormons began to get angry. He told me that nothing I could say would ever convince him as his heart told him the Book of Mormon was true. I countered by referencing Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?”
The Mormon responded by declaring, “The Bible is not the Word of God. It may not even be true!” At this stage, the other Mormon stepped in, and pulled his friend away. Sadly, the young man was captured by the demonic lies of the LDS. Please pray the Lord would reveal the truth to him.
All this took place in the first hour. It was constant opposition and attack, but the Lord is faithful! For the second hour, it was like a switch had been flicked – now people were open, and nearly all opposition ceased.
A Muslim man stopped at the literature table stating he wanted to find out about Jesus. He took a copy of the New Testament, and The Unique Jesus. Others then stopped to browse the literature, and many were taking tracts.
I decided it was time to preach, so I spoke on “How Can You Be Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” An older veteran stopped to listen. He seemed very engaged with the preaching. Afterward, he spoke with Margaret, and took a copy of John’s Gospel.
One lady heckled by calling out, “I don’t believe in God!” So, I asked, “What God don’t you believe in?” She didn’t know how to answer, so she went to the problem of suffering. Unfortunately, she wasn’t interested in answers, but she did bring others along to listen.
At the end of the message, two young ladies took copies of John’s Gospel, then they asked me, “Summarise one key point you like about Christianity.” I answered, “I like that I get to know the God who made me and have all my sins forgiven because of Him; now, I am a new person.” The young lady replied, “That sounds really nice.” She then went over to the literature table.
Another man stopped to chat with both Margaret and me. He said he likes to ask questions, but he isn’t very interested in answers. I tried to engage him, but he wasn’t interested. He wanted to question, but not seek the truth. So, I asked him a question, I said, “If I can answer all your questions satisfactorily, would you become a Christian?” He replied, “No!” I shook his hand and said goodbye. It would have been a waste of his time and mine, when he had already determined that there were no answers, and he didn’t want to hear them. It was a case of not answering a fool according to his folly (Proverbs 26:4).
Over at the literature table, I was able to speak with a church-going lady who trusted in her religion to save her. She was concerned as she said when she prays, she feels nothing. I gently pointed out that was because she doesn’t know the One she is praying to. Using Isaiah 59:2, I explained her sin separated her from God, but God has come to rescue sinners. She listened to the gospel of grace, then took a booklet explaining the gospel more in-depth.
The final hour of the outreach flew by; the opposition disappeared, and now we were left with an openness to the gospel. Please pray for all those who heard the good news, and also for those who were in opposition.
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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