Post by messengermicah on Jun 5, 2009 15:05:40 GMT -5
Sunday May 17, 2009: Sister Elizabeth and I attended local church services. In the evening service I preached for 50 minutes from Judges 2:6-13 on “A Gospel of Power”.
HISTORICAL STRONGHOLDS AT WSU
Monday May 18, 2009-Wright State University-Dayton, Ohio: This campus has always been a difficult campus to preach on as they have organized groups of atheists and homosexuals who show up and try to destroy the open air preaching. It is not that they can stop us but they try to heckle, interrupt, protest with poster signs, and dominate all the time to keep anyone else from being able to listen.
Last year, I was kicked off campus and given a trespass from the police because a lifetime student who vehemently hates my preaching began drawing a satanic star right in front of me while I was preaching and claimed I tried to step on his hand when I accidentally touched his hand. I was able to get the trespass removed and return to preaching on campus a few days later.
Sister Elizabeth and I met Brother Rick on campus. Brother Rick arrived before we did and had begun the preaching. He was gathering a nice crowd of playful, attentive listeners of around 40-50. They were spread out fairly well over the preaching area and were keeping a good distance away. They had the barricades set up for us again to keep the students away from us to avoid problems like last year. A police car was parked right in front of the barricades.
NEMESIS SHOWS UP
Brother Rick turned the preaching over to me around 1:30 PM. Soon after I began preaching the lifetime student, who had me kicked off campus the previous year arrived with his friends. The crowd had already crowded in all around me around the barricades and grew to around 60-70.
It was tough to get in much quality preaching as it was the typical Wright State crowd where students all heckle, yell, ask questions at the same time and do not listen as you try to answer. I answered questions and preached over the ruckus as best as possible.
The lifetime student and his friend (apparently another lifetime student) threw their coffee all over my water bottle and on my Bible. They stood behind me and made threats, accusations, trick questions, and comments the whole time I was preaching.
MORE DIFFICULTIES
I preached to the rabble until 3:00 PM and then exited the barricades with a campus police officer who escorted us to our vehicles. This school allows free speech from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and they are strict on enforcing the policy of making us stop at 3:00 PM. This makes preaching here more difficult as we are not able to stay around after the preaching and weed out the sincere seekers from the hecklers, hypocrites, and perverts.
These times of talking with the sincere students after the preaching is over are always a great aid in opening the students’ hearts towards our preaching.
TAKING AUTHORITY IN PRAYER
Tuesday May 19, 2009-Wright State University-Dayton, Ohio: This morning God strongly impressed upon my heart to pray, take authority over and bind the hindering forces at work at Wright State. During prayer I was able by the grace of God to lay hold upon God (Isaiah 64:7) and believe Him to intervene and remove the obstacles so that the Word of the Lord would have free course in the preaching (2 Thessalonians 3:1). After praying I had the peace of God because I knew I had been able to take hold of God and He had answered.
Brother Rick, Sister Elizabeth, and I arrived on campus around noon. As far as weather goes it was another picture perfect day for preaching with clear sunny skies and weather in the high seventies.
WHY SOME PREACHERS ARE NOT EFFECTIVE
There was another preacher preaching to around 20-25 students sitting on the wall. The other preacher was not in the barricade pen that had been set up for us. Any preacher who does not preach against sin does not call sinners to repentance and needs no pen because no one will be offended by his message. False prophets never offend anyone (Luke 6:26, John 7:7, Isaiah 30:9-10). Real Bible preachers follow their Master’s example in calling sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).
I stepped into the pen around 12:05 PM and immediately the preacher stopped preaching. I think some of the students must have told this preacher we had been preaching “condemnation and judgment” on campus and he showed up to set the record straight. I think the students were in the area waiting for us to show up and so he had a group to preach to. After the students have begun to come under conviction from our message of “sin, righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8) they welcome any and all ear ticklers who will drive all their conviction away (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
I began preaching and the crowd gradually grew to around 40-60. I saw the preacher making his way through the crowd and talking to various students who were listening. He never said anything to me and I did not say anything to him. He did not even approach Brother Rick and Sister Elizabeth on the sidelines. Sister Elizabeth said she heard him telling the students that we preach “judgment and condemnation” and that Jesus loves sinners. Yes, Jesus died on the cross to save sinners (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3), but most sinners think that love means unconditional acceptance. God does not unconditionally accept anyone (Luke 13:3, 5, Mark 1:15, Proverbs 28:13, Acts 3:19) and this is what preachers must earnestly seek to make sinners understand.
A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE PREACHING
God was so faithful in moving out the group of hecklers who normally come out to oppose and disrupt the preaching. I was able to preach freely and answer questions in a way we do on most other campuses and the students were fairly attentive and receptive most of the time. Praise the Lord!
The main instigator spent most of the time while I was preaching talking to Brother Rick and Sister Elizabeth on the sidelines. This heckler’s name is Frank and he is ok with Brother Rick and Sister Elizabeth but hates me. I believe their conversation with him will soften him up some at least towards me if not towards God. Another factor was I was able to audio record him threatening to damage my vehicle if he found it.
I turned the fairly civil and attentive crowd of 40-60 over to Brother Rick around 1:30 PM. Brother Rick did an excellent job of preaching and answering questions until 2:30 PM and then turned the preaching over to Sister Elizabeth.
SAVED BUT NOT DELIVERED?
Sister Elizabeth preached from 2:30 PM until our time expired at 3:00 PM. I had an excellent conversation with a very open and sincere young man who believed he was saved from sin but still needed deliverance from sin. He was very open, receptive and thankful for the conversation we had. He came over to talk to me while Sister Elizabeth was preaching.
Wednesday May 20, 2009-Wright State University-Dayton, Ohio: It was another beautiful day although it was a little hot with temperature around 80 degrees with no clouds in the sky. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived on campus around 11:45 AM.
ANOTHER PREACHER TRYING TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT
As I walked up to the free speech area I noticed it seemed there was a young man wearing a Gilligan hat preaching. He had about 10-15 people listening to him. He was not preaching inside the barricades that had been set up for us but outside of them and was standing on the wall. We are not allowed to preach standing on the wall.
I stepped inside the barricades around 11:55 AM and began preaching. I believe the reason the young man wearing the Gilligan hat had a small group of listeners is because the students were waiting on us to hear us as we announced we were coming back.
YOU DON’T KNOW THE BIBLE!
There were already students sitting around waiting for us to begin preaching and some of the young man’s audience came to where I was preaching once I began. I quickly gathered a small group of 20-25. The young man with the Gilligan hat began to accuse me of not knowing the Bible. So from that point on every time I began to quote a verse of scripture in my preaching I asked him if he knew what that verse said. Each time he did not. This helped increase the crowd to around 40-50.
After some time the young man invited everyone who wanted to hear him to move down and listen to him. He moved down the wall about 20 yards and about 20 students followed him.
BROTHER KATTE SHOWS UP
Around 12:30 PM Brother Rick and Brother Katte showed up. Brother Katte is a brother from a local church. He came out to preach with us last year and has been preaching outdoors on a regular basis ever since.
Soon the young preacher and his crowd came right back to where I was preaching and continued listening to me. The young preacher challenged me on several things and I answered him with scripture. Several other students had been asking me questions about the Bible and I answered them also with scripture.
IF YOU WANT TO PREACH THEN GET YOUR OWN CROWD
I was glad this young man was out trying to preach to the students and I commend him for his effort but it seemed he did not like the fact the students were ignoring him and listening to me. He kept trying to preach to the crowd I had but almost everyone just ignored him. Finally he moved down about 20 yards away with a handful of students and they stayed down there for the rest of the afternoon. Brother Katte was walking through the crowd of 40-60 and talking to certain students. Brother Rick and Sister Elizabeth were on the sidelines talking to students.
I continued preaching until around 1:05 PM and then turned the preaching over to Brother Katte. He preached fervently for about 35 minutes and the crowd grew to around 60-80 at one point. He turned the preaching over to Brother Rick around 1:40 PM.
Brother Rick, Sister Elizabeth, Brother Katte, and I all had excellent profitable conversations on the sidelines with students today. We praise God for the work He is doing on this campus and the breakthrough He gave us.
Brother Rick preached until around 2:25 PM to a crowd of around 40-60. He turned the preaching over to Sister Elizabeth but the crowd was too loud and rowdy for her so she called on me after a few minutes.
STIRRING THE POT WITH THE HAMMER OF THE WORD
I began preaching around 2:30 PM to the loud rowdy crowd. The Lord really strengthened me and I preached as loud and fervently. I just hammered them with the Word of God and the message of repent or perish holiness or hell, turn from sin and turn to Jesus. The crowd grew to around 120-130.
BIDDING US FAREWELL
The students here know we have to stop at 3:00 PM so a few minutes before three they began singing to us the song “Nananana nanananana hey hey hey Good bye!”
We do not want to have to be reminded to leave by the campus police and seem we are not cooperative with the policies and be banned. Thus, we always leave on time and do not cause the campus security any unnecessary trouble.
STUDENTS BECOME MORE SUPPORTIVE OF PREACHING
Brother Katte and Brother Rick both had already departed. On the way to the car one student and youth pastor from a campus Christian organization followed us and we had a great discussion for about 40 minutes. They seemed to just want to understand better about what we believe on certain doctrines so they can know whether to get behind our preaching or oppose it. When I was able to clarify certain doctrines to them they seemed to be supportive of them and let us know they believe the same thing. I hope this is true but oftentimes it seems many people believe certain things but do not practice or preach them. Either way it seemed we made a lot of progress on the campus this day and with the student and youth leader/pastor from the Christian organization on campus.
Thursday May 21, 2009-Wright State University-Dayton, Ohio: Another beautiful day and even slightly hotter than the day before (low 80’s) with no clouds in the sky. Sister Elizabeth and I arrived around 12:40 PM and Brother Rick was preaching inside the barricades to an attentive crowd of 30-40. He turned the preaching over to me around 1:00 PM.
LARGE CROWD GATHERS
I began preaching around 1:00 PM. The crowd began to increase in size until it reached around 200 and stayed that way for some time. They were rowdy at times but other times would just listen attentively as I preached as fervently and loud. Although many of the students surrounding the barricades were hecklers and mockers, I could see many in the large crowd listening intently and coming under conviction.
I turned the preaching over to Brother Rick around 2:20 PM. By now the crowd size had come back down to around 60-70.
GOD DEALING WITH HECKLER
Brother Rick preached until 3:00 PM to the crowd of 50-60. I had some very good conversations on the sidelines and one was with one of the most adamant hecklers of the day. It seems God is dealing with him and he is searching for truth. He mentioned something about setting up a formal debate on campus.
We all praised God for the way He has opened up this campus, the breakthrough we have had here and the work He is doing!
CAMPUS PREACHING GOES FAR BEYOND CAMPUS
On the way home we stopped to eat and the young man who sat us down is a student at Wright State and had heard us preaching. He asked us many questions while we were there. Just before we left he kept asking me questions and I kept answering him with scripture. He sounded fairly effeminate and was totally in deception concerning what the Bible actually teaches. He became so focused on what I was saying that he asked me questions for about 20 minutes trying to find a loophole in what I was saying and the message I was preaching. His manager eventually had to come over and move him away from us. It seems God is dealing with this young man and he is being awakened to his lost state.
Friday May 22, 2009-Wright State University-Dayton, Ohio: Sister Elizabeth had to go to Florida for a wedding the previous evening. Brother Rick was considering heading back home to take care of business at home but decided to stay and preach with me before leaving since he knew I would be by myself and the history of opposition we have had at this school.
We had gotten a slightly later start than normal today and arrived on campus around 12:15 PM. I began preaching inside the barricades around 12:20 PM. There was a group of 10-15 students already waiting for us. I preached and answered questions in a fairly straightforward manner and the crowd grew to around 50-60. Around 1:30 PM I turned the preaching over to Brother Rick.
BACKUP SUPPORT
A sister from a local church who has met us on campus the previous two years showed up with a hand made poster sign dealing with the subject of hell and repentance from sin. I greeted her and we talked a few minutes. She spent the rest of the afternoon talking with a female student who seemed to be very sincere. This same student had asked me several questions while I was preaching.
Brother Rick continued preaching until 3:00 PM to the attentive crowd of 30-50. Brother Rick had been on a radio show on this campus last year and the student who interviewed him was in the crowd.
I had a good conversation with several students who had been listening regularly throughout the week. One was a black male student who grew up Catholic and used to be very religious. He said in high school he began fornicating and stopped seeking the Lord. He had asked me many good questions throughout the week, struck me as being very sincere and he listened carefully to my answers. He also mentioned he saw the errors in Catholicism.
Brother Rick and I stayed around for 15-20 minutes talking to some of these students as the police did not show up to escort us off nor were called by any of the students as usually occurs.
VERY PRODUCTIVE WEEK
This was by far the most productive week of preaching I have had since I began preaching here in 2007. We thank God for His intervention in removing the hecklers and hindrances to preaching. We were able to have many great conversations as well as great times of preaching throughout the week and seemed to make great progress with the students. The Lord put a love in my heart for the students of this campus and I was somewhat sad to leave.