Post by messengermicah on Mar 29, 2008 14:49:51 GMT -5
Monday March 17, 2008-University of Mississippi-Oxford, Mississippi: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:15 AM. The Dean of Students had been very helpful to us last year. We went to his office to let him know we were here and give him a “heads up”. Last year I was moved to three different spots in the free speech area so I asked him where he would like me to preach at.
He told me he wanted me to start preaching on the ledge near the steps coming down from the student union. This was where I preached the last two days last year and was probably the best location as students could sit down on the steps in the shade and listen.
I began preaching on the ledge facing the steps at a 45 degree angle. The crowd gradually built up to around 220-230 but unfortunately did not sit down. They stood on the stairs and listened, asked questions, heckled and mocked. Eventually they moved in closer to where I was preaching.
Several times the Dean of Students came by and made them back up past a certain line, but as soon as he was out of sight they would close in again.
This was one of the most vile, angry, God hating crowds I have ever preached to. I was constantly threatened with violence from all angles from many of the students. They danced, gyrated, simulated sex acts, cursed me, moved in close, blew smoke in my face, slandered me, insulted me, my wife, etc. In addition to this, every ten minutes or so the crowd would be led by one of the students into its school chant. Much of this behavior came from those claiming to be “Christians”.
Of course others who claimed to be Christians were not bothered by any of this blatant mocking of God or flaunting of sin, but were offended by the god haters being offended by my preaching of the Bible. These would even acknowledge that what I was preaching was the truth but were still offended.
The real problem here is that these so called “Christians” have sin in their lives. Since they have sin in their own lives, they do not have the moral courage or authority to confront sin in the lives of others without being a rank hypocrite. They realize we are just telling them what the Bible actually teaches and they do not live up to the requirements of God. This makes them look bad and they resent it. They will either have to admit they are not living or teaching what the Bible teaches, or they will have to repent and clean house.
At 2:00 PM the crowd was so rowdy, vile, and blasphemous that I did not want to cast my pearls before swine or give that which is holy unto the dogs (Matthew 7:6) so I stopped preaching, sat down and tried to focus on answering some sincere questions.
The hypocrites, hecklers and perverts crowded in around me blowing smoke in my face, cursing me, interrupting me, slandering me, and threatening me etc. while I tried to focus on answering sincere or at least good questions.
Eventually I had to move away from the hypocrites, hecklers and perverts. They followed me around for some time but eventually left.
From around 2:45 PM to 5:00 PM I was able to do some very effective Bible teaching, questions and answers with small groups of 5-25.
Tuesday March 18, 2008-University of Mississippi-Oxford, Mississippi: We arrived on campus around 11:00 AM. The school newspaper ran a front page picture and caption. There was also one editorial and one article in the opinions section.
I began preaching in the same spot as the day before at 11:45 AM. Gradually the crowd began to build up. As the crowd built up to over 200 then 300, everyone decided they were going to be the preacher. I wonder why no one ever preaches when there is no crowd or before we arrive.
A female who attends a “Jesus Only” (Oneness Pentecostal) church became frantic and began telling the crowd “Jesus loves all of you!” I reminded the crowd that hell was full of people Jesus loved, people He died for (Matthew 23:33, 25:30, 25:41, 7:23), but the real issue was whether or not they loved Jesus (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3, Matthew 6:24, Matthew 7:21, John 15:10, 1 John 2:3-4).
This girl condemned me for judging those in the crowd but then judged me by calling a hypocrite. I heckled and exposed her hypocrisy by exhorting the crowd “Since God loves us all and it doesn’t matter what we do then let’s all go get drunk and fornicate!” The crowd erupted with applause and this made the girl more frustrated. I told her she was angry at me for telling them not to do those things and that it didn’t matter whether we did or not since God loves us so much.
After she left and the crowd swelled to over 300 a large man in a wheelchair rode up and stood up. He demanded I allow him to speak to which I refused. He was welcome to come and preach any day and I did not know what he was going to say.
After some time I allowed him to give his testimony of how he was in a terrible accident and God spared his life and healed him. I praise God for this but he mentioned nothing of repentance from sin and faith towards God (Acts 20:21). He was quick to claim he could do all things through Christ except stop his sinning (John 8:11, 1 Peter 4:1-2, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18).
The message Jesus told us to preach to all nations was “repentance and remission of sins” (Luke 24:47). Most people only preach the second part and leave off the first part. The second promise of remission of sins is ALWAYS conditional upon the first part (repentance). Without repentance (or forsaking) all sin (Proverbs 28:13) there will be no mercy or forgiveness (Luke 13:3, 5, Acts 3:19, Acts 26:20).
The crowd was much better behaved today even though it was larger but this was mainly due to the police presence on hand all day.
The crowd dwindled down to around 50-60 around 1:00 PM and gradually built up again to about 70-80. I took a restroom break at 2:00 PM. When I came back there were a handful of students waiting for me. I was able to effectively teach the Bible, answer questions and refute arguments for the next two and a half hours (around 4:30 PM). Once again the atheists asked the best questions, were the best listeners and acknowledged that if the Bible were true they should live as we were preaching they needed to live and go out in public and warn sinners to repent and turn to Jesus Christ to flee the wrath to come. Most of the students who claim to believe the Bible do not really believe the Bible, study the Bible, or obey the Bible. The Joel Osteen antinomian preaching of the day has lulled them into a deep sleep where they no longer think or study for themselves.
Wednesday March 19, 2008-University of Mississippi-Oxford, Mississippi: It was cold and drizzling rain all the way as we drove to campus. We arrived at 11:30 AM. I began preaching in the cold and drizzle at 11:50 AM.
There seemed to be a small group already waiting as I began. The crowd quickly built up to 50-60 and soon after that went over 100.
The students gathered on the steps under the student union. The rain began to come down harder but the students all stayed because they did not get wet. Sister Elizabeth brought me an umbrella and I continued preaching.
The crowd quickly swelled to around 220-230 with students lined up all over the steps under the covering. It was a great time of preaching. Although the crowd was lively and feisty at times I still had the least amount of interruptions. This was partially due to the police being on hand.
For some time I had a student standing next to me playing a guitar. It was not much of a distraction though. At times much of the crowd would leave the shelter and in spite of the drizzle come in close and crowd around me. They also continued to sing the school chant several times during the preaching. By now it seems I have almost memorized the ridiculous sounding rant.
One student who had been around all week and had vehemently opposed me and defended sin while toting and quoting his Bible called me a M-----F-----. There is always a reason why people defend sin. It is because they are hiding sin. Of course, now this hypocrite exposed himself.
Around 1:30 PM a student with a huge cross around his neck carrying two Bibles under his arm came walking up to the student union. The crowd of 125-150 cheered as he came walking up. He stood across from where I was, while facing the crowd and began to open his Bible. Of course the crowd assumed that this “Christian” was opposing me and was on their side and so they all ran in around him to hear him read the Bible.
I was planning on stopping at 1:30 PM anyway partially because of the rain, because I needed to get work done in the library, and because we had planned to attend a church service that evening. When the man with the Bible stopped there, opened the Bible and then the crowd moved in around him I stepped down from the planter and headed into the student union.
Inside the union one student offered to buy Sister Elizabeth and me lunch. We accepted his offer. As we sat down, the man, “Goose” who came out with the Bible sat down near us. I kidded him a little by saying, “You mean you drove away the crowd that fast?”
Goose asked if he could sit with us. We all had a good discussion. I explained to Goose that by him coming out, standing next to me and reading the Bible while I was preaching, this gave the students the impression that he did not agree with me and they could discredit everything I told them. I think Goose eventually saw the truth in what I told him.
A male African American student also sat down with us and listened for a while. I also had a very productive conversation with another student in the cafeteria who claimed to be a Christian.
Thursday March 20, 2008-University of Mississippi-Oxford, Mississippi: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:30 AM. I had heard some of the students tell me earlier in the week there would be loud gangster rap being played in the free speech area on Thursday. There were speakers set up when we arrived and a predominantly black fraternity was in the area getting ready. I asked the leader (who had been a frequent heckler and regularly led the crowd in singing the school chant while I was preaching) at what time they were going to finish. He told me around 1:00 PM. It seemed I had earned the respect of many of these guys as they treated me with respect, greeted me, and some called me sir. Earlier in the week the leader had threatened me with physical violence several times.
Before heading to the library I had a very good conversation with a student who had been listening to the preaching the day before.
Sister Elizabeth and I returned from the library around 1:20 PM and I began preaching at 1:25 PM. I was immediately confronted by two older men who were Catholics and professors at the university. One of them taught Greek. Neither of them could explain to me how Good Friday (Catholic tradition) to Sunday morning was three days and three nights.
The crowd gradually grew to around 100-120. I had gotten a late start due to the fraternity rap event and today was the day before a three day weekend so many of the students were leaving early, so the crowds were not as large as the previous days.
Today was the day where I seemed to have better questions, better listeners and a more civil crowd. After about an hour the crowd began to get smaller and I began to focus on the sincere questions of those around me who seemed to be open hearted listeners.
Around 2:30 PM the Dean of Students who had been so helpful and cooperative asked to speak to me. I came down and went to where he was standing. He wanted me to continue to talk to the students in a small group and not to begin the loud preaching against sin again. This was the direction things were moving anyway but I wondered why he was asking me not to do this. The Dean said he could ask me to leave if I called girls “whores” that were walking by.
I have never called anyone walking by me a name much less a whore. I told him I had recorded everything I had preached and that this was simply a flagrant lie. He acknowledged he had seen me preach many times and never saw me doing this but then added he does not watch me all the time. The police are regularly on hand watching and they had never seen me do anything like this. I had never even been cautioned by them. He also told me my audio recording of my own preaching would not be enough evidence because it is not a video. I think even he realized he did not make sense there.
The Dean let me know he had a responsibility to respond to a complaint, the position he was in, and he was responsible to uphold the reputation of the school. I let him know I understood his position, was going to have more of a small group discussion for the remainder of the day, but would return preaching at the beginning of next week.
I continued the small group discussions with groups of 5-25 for the next two hours. The two older Catholic gentleman really opened up to me and by the end of the day they were listening to me intently, being very respectful, and invited me to eat out with them on the following Monday. I also had a very good discussion with two sincere 5 point Calvinists.
We left the campus around 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM.
Friday March 21, 2008: There was no school today due to Good Friday.
Monday March 24, 2008-University of Mississippi-Oxford, Mississippi: We arrived on campus around 11:20 AM. Inside the student union I ran into the Dean of Students. He was very friendly, asked him how my weekend was and told me he prayed for me at his Catholic Mass.
It was a clear, sunny, cold day (40’s and windy). I began preaching around 11:50 AM on the planter facing the stairs. Soon a group of 30-40 was sitting on the stairs listening. They were obviously listening intently but did not ask many questions. After some time they began to ask more questions.
Around 12:30 PM, since the group was small and very civil, I decided to move down from the planter and stand in front of the stairs so I would not have to have a conversation from so far away.
I answered questions and taught the Bible standing in front of the stairs to the small group of 5-40 until 1:45 PM. One time a student with a camera would stick the camera in my face, ask questions and follow me around. Later he showed up with a worldly muslim girl asking me questions.
By now the group had dwindled down to a handful so I sat down and talked with them for another hour or so. We left the student union area around 3:00 PM and headed to the library.
Leaving the library the student with the camera spotted us and we talked to him for quite some time. He asked very good questions but did not seem to be honest with himself or us. He has been brainwashed by humanism and thinks it is Bible Christianity.