“No one ever told me Jesus rose from the dead!” – Portsmouth Evangelism
Our plans must always take second place to God’s plans. He leads, directs, and ordains whatever comes to pass.
As I entered the city centre of Portsmouth, I heard a busker singing at the top of his lungs—amplified for good measure! As I approached our usual preaching location, I saw the busker nearby. Not to worry, I could still set up in our usual spot. But then I noticed a van parked right where I normally preach. This was unusual. I was now forced to move further along Commercial Road to a different location. I didn’t think it was ideal, but it would have to do. This spot had been ordained by the Lord, and He would soon reveal some of His plans to us.
Six of us set up the open-air board and literature table. We prayed as a team and began handing out tracts. It didn’t take long for team members to engage people in conversation and for the literature table to be busy with people looking at the material.
I decided it was a good time to preach, so I spoke on “Your Life.” One lady stopped from the very beginning; she positioned herself to my right and stood listening intently. As I shared the good news, she nodded and exclaimed, “Wow!” and “Amazing!” She was fully engaged, drinking in the message. When I spoke about Jesus’ death and resurrection, she asked, “Did He really come back to life?” I assured her that Christ is risen from the dead, and she was stunned. When I offered her a Gospel of John, she quickly came forward to receive it.
Margaret spoke with the lady after the open-air. It turns out she isn’t a Christian but has visited many churches in the Portsmouth area. She is open and searching, but what she told Margaret both shocked and grieved me. She said, “No one ever told me Jesus rose from the dead!” For the first time, this lady had heard the wonderful news that Jesus isn’t dead. She took some material and said she’d return another week to talk further.
While this was happening, another lady spoke with Sarah. She was open to the gospel and admitted to reading the Bible regularly. Sarah shared the good news with her and referred her to a good local church.
After spending more time handing out tracts and chatting with people, it was time to preach again. This time, I spoke on “Hope for a Broken World.” A few people paused to listen, including a group of young ladies who gave attitude. They heard the message, so afterwards, I went to speak with them. They were committed atheists because their teacher at school had told them God isn’t real. I tried to reason with them, and even though they couldn’t answer my points, they kept returning to the lie their teacher had told them. That teacher has much to answer for on Judgement Day! We sowed the seed and urged the young ladies to consider Jesus. We now pray the Lord will cut through the deception and bring them to the truth.
As we began packing up the outreach, I found myself speaking with a young man who had stopped at the open-air board. He told me he was spiritual and that he knew the ‘real’ name of Jesus. He then shared how he was recently converted to a spiritual belief and now regularly has visions in which Jesus visits him. He said those in his spiritual group all have the same visions of Jesus appearing as a blue silhouette.
After listening, I asked, “I don’t want to be rude, but how do you know you are actually seeing Jesus?”
The young man paused and said, “I don’t know!”
I continued, “The Bible tells us that Satan can appear as an angel of light to deceive people (2 Corinthians 11:14). How do you know you aren’t being deceived?”
The man freely admitted he could be deceived and wasn’t sure if it was Jesus. I then asked, “May I show you from the Bible the account of Jesus’ friend, John, and a vision he had of Jesus?”
The man agreed, and then opposition began to flood in!
So many Christians live as if there is no spiritual battle raging around us, as if the demonic realm doesn’t exist. But at that very moment in Portsmouth, it was plain to see that a battle was being fought. As I went to show the young man the Scripture, a bloke walked by, placed himself between us, and asked if I had seen some random movie. I ignored him, as the conversation I was having was far more important—this was just a distraction tactic. The bloke then walked away. As I opened the Bible, another random man approached, grabbed the young man I was speaking with, and began saying, “Don’t listen to him! Don’t listen to him! It’s all lies! It’s all lies!” Then he walked away, shouting at us.
Thankfully, these attempts to distract and silence the gospel failed. If anything, they reinforced the point I was about to make. I read Revelation 1:9-18 to the young man, then asked, “Is the Jesus John saw in his vision different from what you are seeing in your visions?”
The young man agreed there was a great difference. He then asked for a New Testament and said he would read it. I shared the gospel with him and urged him, based on 1 John 4:1, to test the spirits with the Word of God. I asked him, “The Bible is the most hated book in history, and it’s still banned in many countries. Why do you think that is?”
He answered, “Because it contains light and truth!”
I agreed and said, “It prevents people from being deceived, and Satan doesn’t like that. Did you notice that the moment we started testing your experience with the Bible, people randomly appeared to try and stop you?”
The young man agreed. He admitted it had made him think, as it was clear that someone didn’t want him reading the Bible.
There is a battle that rages, but we rejoice that we serve the conquering King, who, by His death and resurrection, is victorious! His truth will continue to spread.
Please pray for the salvation of all those who heard the gospel in Portsmouth.
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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