Post by messengermicah on Feb 27, 2009 17:20:13 GMT -5
Saturday February 14, 2009: I had been invited to be a groomsman in a wedding at our church some time ago. This is part of the reason we had left the South Georgia area last week and began heading down into the central Florida area.
A TASTE OF PASTORING
As we were preparing to begin heading down into Florida we learned a pastor friend of ours had become very sick and been hospitalized. We were asked to preach in the church services on Sunday morning and evening, Tuesday, and Thursday.
We attended and participated in the wedding and headed back to the church we where scheduled to preach at.
Sunday February 15, 2009: We attended Sunday services. On Sunday morning there was no preaching and on Sunday evening I preached for about one hour on “Principles of Fruit Bearing” from John 4:35-38.
Monday February 16, 2009-University of Central Florida-Orlando, Florida: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around noon. There had been preachers preaching on this campus the previous week so I expected it might be more difficult to get the attention of the students.
PUSHED INTO A CORNER
The free speech area was also almost completely taken up with tables, wooden signs, and representatives campaigning for the Student Government Association (SGA) elections.
I began preaching in the corner of the free speech area around 12:20 PM. I preached for about 10 minutes and no one stopped. Soon a student came up and began to ask me questions. I answered his questions and dealt with him concerning his condition before God. The student consistently contradicted himself, could not defend his justification of living against sin and soon left.
I continued preaching and around 12:45 PM, one student hanging around the SGA election campaigners behind me began opposing my preaching. He claimed to be a Christian, yet claimed to be sinning every day.
I began to refute his unbiblical ideas with scripture and soon a few more students began to listen and stop. As others began to ask questions and listen the group gradually grew to around 25-35.
I continued preaching to this small group of listeners until around 2:40 PM. By this time the group had dwindled down to around 10-15.
From 2:40 PM to around 3:15 PM, I continued answering questions and talking to the handful of students who remained. Sister Elizabeth had a small group of students gathered around her most of the day also. She was able to give away a Bible.
Tuesday February 17, 2009: We did not go to the campus today. I have preached many times at this church so I needed to stay home today and prepare for the service.
That evening I preached for about 50 minutes from Matthew 9:36-38 on “Praying for Laborers”.
Wednesday February 18, 2009-University of Central Florida-Orlando, Florida: Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around noon. I began preaching in the free speech area around 12:20 PM wearing my sandwich board sign. The free speech area was again crowded with the SGA candidate promotions and campaigners.
THANK GOD FOR THE LEADING OF THE HOLY GHOST
I preached with virtually no response until around 12:45 PM and then sensed the Spirit of the Lord was leading me to try preaching on the other side of the free speech area. I noticed along the sidewalk facing the large fountain across from the library there were no SGA activities set up. I felt the SGA activities & stop human trafficking display were a hindrance to the preaching but I believed they had the right to be there and did not want to interfere with them.
I walked across the free speech spot and continued preaching wearing my sandwich board sign facing the fountain across from the library. Soon a few students began to stop and ask questions along with some of the students campaigning for SGA.
Although, I honestly did not try to interfere with the SGA campaigns, I thought they actually benefited from me being there as it helped them get more students to vote. At the end of the day, they told me they liked me being there. Some of them asked a good many questions, listened well, and proved to be civil.
The crowd grew fairly quickly to around 50-60 and it was a very good day of preaching, teaching and answering questions.
By 3:15 PM to 3:30 PM the crowd had decreased to around 20-30. By now most of the remaining students had moved in closer to me, so I was not actually preaching to them anymore but just teaching and answering questions until around 4:00 PM.
ANOTHER STUDENT CONVERTED?
One very interesting incident took place during the preaching today. Around 2:30-3:00 PM some of the students were trying to discredit the effectiveness of the preaching by saying in all the time I had been coming there to preach no one had been converted. They asked me if anyone had ever been converted as a result of my preaching at this school. I began to tell them of the one student I knew was converted there who had heard me preaching, got so convicted, went to his room, began reading the Bible, and cried out to be saved. He then finished his semester at UCF and enrolled in a Bible college to begin preparing for the ministry. That is fruits of repentance and fruit that remains (Matthew 3:8, John 15:16).
I first heard about this student’s conversion by another student who introduced himself to me when I was preaching at the University of Florida in December 2007. He told me it was a pleasure to meet me and that his roommate at Bible school was converted after hearing me preach at the University of Central Florida. The student who was converted sent me a testimony of his conversion.
Well, I began to relate the testimony of this student’s conversion as the students asked me if anyone had been converted through the preaching at this university.
A HECKLER TESTIFIES TO THE FRUIT OF THE PREACHING
Before I could respond, a student who has heckled and opposed me preaching on this campus all three years I have preached here interrupted and sincerely defended me by telling the crowd of a female student they knew of who was converted through the preaching and who now wears t-shirts with scriptures dealing with repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have not been able to verify the conversion of this other student yet but thought it was interesting!
Thursday February 19, 2009: I was not planning on heading to the campus today as I needed to prepare for the evening service; however it ended up raining anyway.
In the evening I preached for about 45 minutes from 1 Peter 2:19-24 on “The Sufferings of a Christian”.
Friday February 20, 2009-University of Central Florida-Orlando, Florida: Yesterday a student from Florida State University who had contacted me the previous week gave me a phone call. He told me he and a group of students were going to drive down to the University of Central Florida to film me for a project they were doing. I gave him directions for how to find the free speech area.
FILM CREW SHOWS UP
It was considerably cooler today with a high around 62 degrees. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:30 AM. I arrived in the free speech area around 11:45 AM. The student who had phoned me from Florida State University and his crew were already there. We introduced ourselves and they seemed very polite, professional and sincere about doing their best to be unbiased. I don’t generally expect them to be unbiased but it is a plus if they are and earn my respect.
I began preaching around 11:50 AM. I think the presence of several students filming with professional looking equipment helps arouse the curiosity of students. Soon a small group of students began to gather, listen, and ask questions.
One young man was a fierce heckler, who kept telling the crowd I was a fraud and a con man who makes a living by getting students to hit me and then sue them. I noticed some students in the crowd who have been coming out to listen to me for the past three years at this university. I asked one young man if he thought I was here to get students to hit me so I could sue them; he looked at the heckler and said very sincerely something to the effect of “No we know he is not here to do that.” This caused the fierce heckler to listen and quiet down for some time.
THE WORD GOES FORTH WITH POWER
The crowd gradually grew to around 40-60. It ended up being an excellent day of solid, straight forward preaching. The crowd for the most part was subdued and very civil. At several points it seemed Holy Ghost conviction was upon the entire crowd as a question would be asked and I answered the question with long, thorough, scriptural answers none in the crowd could refute. The Word seemed to go forth with power (Luke 4:32) and the crowd could not “resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spake” (Acts 6:10). No one heckled, no one said a word, no one moved. The crowd just sat and stood silent and stunned. Many who had been opposing and objecting earlier were convicted and silenced.
I asked for further questions and comments and when there were none I asked if any in the crowd were ready to forsake all sin, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and serve Him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. All seemed to understand but none responded.
As the afternoon wore on the crowd gradually decreased some to 25-35. They slowly moved in close around me and I continued to answer questions and teach. I noticed several who had listened for hours through out the week never asked any questions or opposed.
By 3:00 PM the group was down to around 10-20 moved in close around me. I concluded the day of preaching, teaching, and answering questions around 3:15 PM.
Throughout the afternoon the FSU film crew interviewed students on the sidelines of the open air meeting.
A SINNER AWAKENED AND CONVICTED
As usual Sister Elizabeth always had small groups of students surrounding her most of the afternoon. She told me of one male student who had been listening attentively and sincerely for hours and wanted to know of any good churches in the area we knew of. She said the young man was very convicted of his sin of living with his girlfriend and was asking questions of what he needed to do to make things right. He took a Bible and tract from her.