3rd Street Meeting

Our third street meeting took place on the promenade of the town proper's municipal hall. Because of the previous violent protests in and around Metro Manila, the administration shuttered the park to protect it from potential vandalism. Last Sunday it was closed for a night market, prompting us to hold fellowship at a nearby diner to share a meal and continue our message on the chronological events of the life of Christ. Despite the rain throughout the first two meetings, we persisted. We were blessed with beautiful weather this Sunday. The authorities informally permitted us to conduct our meeting here even while the area remains closed to the public. We were able to invite the few folks in the park to join us for a seat.

Both the saints and the common folk were considered in our exegesis of Luke 12:13–34. I spoke to them as fellow humans and begged them as souls heading to eternity. Before we read the word, a group of six young adults sat not far from us. We invited them to join us and offered them to take free bibles, but as expected they politely declined to come near, so a brother went over to where they were and personally handed them the bibles. After pointing them to the passage, they read together with me as I read the word over the speaker. Conversing with them about the practicality of the Word and the futility of centering our short lives on only the things of earth, the Word uncovered the hidden sin of covetousness festering in our hearts, leading to a fear of tomorrow. Rather than giving a lecture, I offered them Christ. In Him alone may we find the glory of true riches through the trustworthiness of His promises. 

This one vendor sat close by to listen, and since no one was buying from him, he was able to pay close attention to the hour-long plea without distraction. For his patience, we bought his items and gave it away to the other listeners after the meeting. I was praying for the listeners in my mind as I was speaking. Two more couples came and sat in front of me past half the message. Around us, families stopped to linger and children played. Far away, a man sat looking intently towards our direction. These were only the ones I saw. Like in every instance, there were always those who I know I would never see but have heard. Such is the nature of fishing for men.

Street meetings are not new. The motive was to bring the Word of God to the masses who otherwise would never have stepped inside a church service in their lifetime. There were a number of powerful preachers harshly censured by the authoritarian church of their time, and so they took the Word of God to the fields. They became known as "field preachers". Whereas a building can only hold a hundred or so, field preaching enabled the message to reach thousands. Among the fiery voices God raised in this calling Howell Harris was close to my heart, as was dear George Whitefield:

Just outside the city of Bristol was a coal mine district known as Kingswood Hill. Whitefield first preached here in the open on February 17, 1739. The first time about 200 came to hear him, but in a very short time he was preaching to 10,000 at once. The largest crowd George Whitefield is reported to have preached to was estimated at 80,000 people. Often they stood in the rain listening with the melodies of their singing being heard two miles away. One of his favorite preaching places was just outside London, on a great open tract known as Moorfields. He had no designated time for his services, but whenever he began to preach, thousands came to hear -- whether it was 6 a.m. or 8 p.m. Not all were fans, as evidenced by his oft-repeated testimony, "I was honored with having stones, dirt, rotten eggs and pieces of dead cats thrown at me." In the morning some 23,000 listened to him in Boston Commons, and in the evening some 35,000 gathered, which was the single largest assembly in American history to date at that time.

This was before the advent of modern amplification. 1

Times are different now. People in society are calloused to the gospel, or should I say, because of a different, humanistic gospel, commonly presented. It is not something new to the ears of the perishing, save for the elect. There are still much sheep among the sea of lost churchgoers, but this "many" is nothing compared to the number of people in remote places who have not yet heard of Christ; in these places, entire villages are converted through God-sent missionaries, and those converted in turn go on to other tribes as missionaries themselves; in the city, very few come, and even fewer go. They are not made aware of the work that should continue through their conversion. It is difficult to die while living in comfort, and today's Christians are neck deep in comfort. It is with this heart that we chose to forego the comforts of a roofed gathering, and practically take the message of the church outside to where the people are. It serves both as food and as an example for every believer as to what they are to do with what they have learned thus far.

While I am well aware that this would go against established norms, this is not, in any way, a departure from the institution of the Church—it is an emphasis of it: to be a light in the world. God ordained the church to be the sole mouthpiece for the good news. We are not independent from it, but work as part of it. Yet being "unrecognized" by any group frees us from obligations and restraints that could only hinder the work. I could not disobey the voice of God which commissioned me for this work. The public  proclamation of the Word of God is the great need of our time. The saved owe it to the lost to tell them of the cross of Christ. It would mean the difference between heaven and earth for just one soul to hear of Christ, and come to the cross, but the results so far have been greatly encouraging.

I came to the end of the message, offered a short prayer, and I invited the audience to meet again next Sunday. As I stepped down, one of the youth from the group sitting away from us came over to shake my hand and thank me. They were just passing by this area from a rehearsal that afternoon, and providentially became God's answer to our prayers. We asked for souls, and God did send them. 

While in the lot, a man approached me apologizing for being late. He was the Roman Catholic who talked with us about the message during our first street meeting. He said he would try to be here next week. May the LORD will. Upon exiting the park an attendant whom I wasn't aware was listening came over to my window and told me, "Thank you. Your words  struck me hard. It was painful to hear. But they were true." 

God still saves, and He saves through the faithful preaching of the Gospel alone. He sees to it that every generation would stand before Him fully aware that at one time in their lives, He sent the good news of salvation. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). 

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Matthew 24:14

Let us say with the Apostle John, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." But let us also do what is necessary to make that a possibility.

1 
http://www.william-hogarth.de/GeorgeWhitefield.html
https://www.learnreligions.com/george-whitefield-4689110